The Gatsby of Agents

Superagent  Ed Limato passed away last July and was blessed with loyal, dedicated clients. His roster while at William Morris and ICM included Michelle Pfeiffer, Steve Martin, Richard Gere, Denzel Washington and Steve Martin just to name a few. His Oscar parties were legendary -- so much so that Variety's Peter Bart coined him "The Gatsby of Agents."  He was a throwback to the days of Old Hollywood, acting as a full service hand-holding agent. He talked a reticent Gere into starring in Pretty Woman, landed Pfeiffer the Scarface role that put her on the map and conducted damage control due to the overactive mouth of Mel Gibson.   "Great legends," he infamously said, "are usually people who die young because they didn't live long enough to spoil their image."

His Coldwater Canyon estate -- known as "Heather House" -- was built in l936 by actors Dick Powell and Joan Blondell and later owned by George Raft. Apparently his screening room was named "Marlene Dietrich and the game room was lined with Hirschfeld caricatures from the old MGM commissary.

A.N. Abell Auction Company will auction some of Limato's incredible treasures this Sunday, February 20th. (You can see the exhibit now  through the l9th from 9 am - 4 pm). Some of the items include gifts from his clients:

Vasily Kafanov: Winter Scene Landscape (Lot #475)
This was a gift from Michelle Pfeiffer when she filmed Russia House. Very fitting!
Estimate 2500/3500

Roman Scene Capriccio - Attributed to Antonoi Joli (Lot #274)

Old Masters painting was a gift from Mel Gibson.

Estimate 20,000/25,000

Antique Mallard Decoy (Lot #146)

Richard Gere presented Limato with this during the filming of An Officer and A Gentlemen.

Estimate 400/600

Marlene Dietrich Signed Photographs (Lot 599)

From Limato's personal collection.

Estimate 700/1000

For more details, see the auction's website here.

And many thanks to the Wall Street Journal for their piece Highbrow Trivia, Elle Decor's Designed for Drama and Variety's Pros Setting Vetting coverage on my book Designs on Film! Also check out my interview on LA's NPR KCRW station along with their very interesting piece on The Black Swan.
Most appreciated!

Photo Credits: A.N. Abell, The Inside Pitch (Limato shot)

CatWomen

Actress Anne Hathaway has not only added Oscar host to her resume, she has also joined the ranks of Catwoman, signing on for "The Dark Knight Also Rises" last month. (Story has it she beat out Keira Knightley and Jessica Biel for the role). The film is directed by Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale returns as Batman. Here are some of the many women who have previously bared their claws on both the small and silver screen as the infamous Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman:

Anne Hathaway

Julie Newmar was the first woman to don the catsuit, starring in television's Batman in 1966-1967.
Her costume emphasized her hourglass figure and  now resides in the Smithsonian.

Model Lee Meriwether joined the Dynamic Duo in the 1966 film version of Batman...

while Eartha Kitt soon followed in the feline role for third and final season of the television show.

Michelle Pfeiffer took the role to the screen in 1992's Batman Returns and the scene where she voraciously laps up milk is priceless. Annette Bening was slated for the part but her pregnancy intervened. Pfeiffer was excellent as the mousy secretary who is thrown off a building by her boss (Christopher Walken) and brought back to life by a herd of feral cats.

Halle Berry did not fare so well with the critics for her turn as Patience Phillips/Catwoman and won a Golden Raspberry in 2004.  At least she looked the part.

For now, I am looking forward to Anne's appearance on the Oscars. That could potentially be a much harder role than Catwoman!

The Contenders

I just got back from Los Angeles for a week of book promotion events and was honored to attend the Art Directors Guild Gala for Excellence in Production Design awards last night. The event was held at the Beverly Hills Hilton (same place as the Golden Globes), red carpet, celebs and all.  Designs on Film was honored and the evening was magical. 

The awards went to Inception, Black Swan, The King's Speech, Saturday Night Live and Mad Men among many others. Congrats to all! I will post photographs and blog  at a later date as jet lag is setting in!

In the meantime, here is my two cents on the Oscar race as covered by Variety. You can read the article here.

Before They Were Films, They Were Sketches

Tom Walsh, President of the Art Directors Guild and I had the pleasure of being interviewed by
Susan Stamberg of NPR's Morning Edition this past week. The show focused on Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction and the NPR website did a wonderful accompanying piece on their website "Long Before Computers, How Movies Made Us Believe."

I love film art and thought you would enjoy a few renderings from the book. Above is production designer John De Cuir Sr.'s barge design for Cleopatra and below is the centerpiece set for Dr. Zhivago, the ice palace. Shot on set in Spain (and in the summer no doubt), production designer John Box literally placed wax on everything inside the dacha while a prop man dutifully followed him with a bucket of cold water and splashed the wax. Hence the look of ice cycles and one of the most memorable sets in Hollywood history.

Production designer Stephen Gooson's designs for the lamasery in Lost Horizons -- built and shot on the Columbia studio ranch. The film's version of Shangri La was built to scale in two months and the designers were strongly influenced by Buddhist buildings and the works of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Production designer William Cameron Menzies designed over 2000 sketches for the storyboards for Gone With the Wind. The watercolor of Tara below is by artist Dorothea Holt Redmond. Tara cost $12,000 to build on the Selznick backlot and telephone poles were wrapped to resemble trees. Sorry to spoil the grandeur of Tara.

Chinatown restaurant scene with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway above and continuity sketch below. The period film was designed by Richard Sylbert.

If you are in the Los Angeles area this week, I will be signing books on Thursday, February 3rd at Barnes and Noble, 1800 Crans Avenue in Manhattan Beach from 11-3 PM and Book Soup on Friday, February 4th at 7:00 PM in West Hollywood. I will also be speaking at the Beverly Hills Women's Club with a book signing to follow on Thursday evening at 6:30. For more information see their website here.
Whew!

Photo Credits: Columbia Pictures, Paramount, MGM, Twentieth Century Fox, Art Directors Guild

Congratulations Are in Order

The Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume were announced this morning and several of the lucky winners will soon be clearing space off the mantel. And yes, above is Vivien Leigh finding a spot for her Oscar for Gone With the Wind (1939).

And the nominees are...

Best Costume

The King's Speech:  Jenny Beavan, Costume Designer

This nomination was totally expected as the costumes are impeccable, well designed and researched and most importantly, not distracting. Of special note were the King's bespoke suits and the Queen Mum's hats. (I am also hoping vintage fur was used). This is not Beavan's first time at bat as she brought home the gold for A Room With a View.

True Grit:   Mary Zophres, Costume Designer

The perfect costume can immediately help an actor get into character and Zophres's designs for Rooster Cogburn's overcoat, Lucky Ned's wooly angora chaps  and La Boeuf's buckskin were as realistic as possible.  As Jeff Bridges notes, "You didn't have to do much acting to feel as if you were in those times."

The Tempest:  Sandy Powell, Costume Designer

Powell's  courtly attire gives a lush feel to the Julie Taymor's adapation of the Shakespearean play. Powell won her third Oscar last year for her period designs for The Young Victoria (prior awards include Shakespeare in Love and The Aviator).


Alice in Wonderland: Colleen Atwood, Costume Designer

Actors Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen) and Anne Hathaway (White Queen) were almost unrecognizable as they were transformed into characters of the beloved Lewis Carroll classic.  Colleen Atwood wanted a more authentic look with Elizabethan and Victorian references in the costumes.

I Am Love: Antonnella Cannarozzi, Costume Designer

Cannarozzi collaborated with Jil Sander and Fendi for sheer perfection. The tailor made suits, Swinton's tangerine sheaths, Berenson in mink cape and Hermes were very fitting for this period drama of a wealthy Milanese family at the turn of the century.



Best Art Direction

The King's Speech: Eve Stewart, Production Designer and Judy Farr, Set Decorator

The Academy loves a period film and this nomination is certainly well deserved. Stewart had the

difficult  task of designing the world of the royals and commoners on a budget. From Logue's shabby/chic artist's studio to the stately rooms of Buckingham and Balmoral Palaces, Stewart and

have created some of the most memorable interiors of the year.

Alice in Wonderland:  Robert Stromberg, Production Designer and Karen O'Hara, Set Decorator

The Academy also tends to award fantasy films and this year proved to be one of the most fruitful with director Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland leading the pack. Designed by Robert Stromberg (who won for last year's highly inventive designs for Avatar), the effects are pure "Burtonesque", alot of colorful digital eye candy as seen in Wonderland the Underland (think beneath the rabbit hole).

Inception: Guy Hendrix Dyas, Production Designer and Larry Dias and Doug Mowat, Set Decorator

Is it a dream or is it reality? That was the challenge Dyas faced in designing the sets for Inception who literally conceived the plans on the walls of director Christopher Nolan's garage. From the dream city built by Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) in his own mind to the Japanese castle, 20th century architecture played a major role.

True Grit:  Jess Gonchor, Production Designer and Nancy Haigh, Set Decorator

No swinging saloon doors here, Gonchor and   meticulously designed a post Civil War town (Granger, Texas became Fort Smith, Arkansas) to represent "America on the uprise" which meant brick buildings with awnings and balconies.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part One,  Stuart Craig, Production Designer and Stephanie McMillen, Set Decorator

The ceremony will be telecast on Sunday, February 27th. Good luck to all!

Photo Credits: The Weinstein Company, Magnolia Pictures, Miramax, Walt Disney, Paramount, Fox Searchlight, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures

A tip of the hat to the movies

Be it a chapeau, bowler, cap or bonnet, a character in the cinema is easily identified by the hat they wear. Think of Indiana Jones sable fedora,  Bogart and his Borsalino, Garbo making a point in Ninotchka (and starting a major trend), Bonnie's beret, Eliza Doolittle's over the top Edwardian number or Samantha's straw beach hat on steroids worn in Sex and the City and you get the picture.

Such is the topic of the "Cinema with a Hat: Borsalino and Other Stories," a unique exhibition in Milan that explores the connection between headgear and the movies. The exhibition tells the relationship of the hat and its ability to arouse emotions -- fear and seduction for example -- as well as making a show-stopping fashion statement on screen. Much of the displays are also devoted to Borsalino, a name synonymous with the classic men's felt hat.

Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady

Faye Dunaway in Bonne and Clyde

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones

Humphrey Bogart

Kim Cattrall in Sex and the City

The exhibit at the Triennalle di Milano runs now through March 20th so if you can't get away/snowed in/totally unfeasible/no time, I suggest watching Suzy Menke's interview for the New York Times below and enjoy!

Fit for a King

It's wonderful when a film encounters the perfect storm - a  finely crafted script filled with drama and comedy, impeccable performances and period perfect sets and costumes. The King's Speech is such a film. 

The true story of the relationship between "Bertie" a.k.a. the future King George VI of England (Colin Firth) and his eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), The King's Speech is set in  thirties London as the country is on the brink of war. Production designer Eve Stewart  designed two worlds -- the colorful palatial residences of the Royals (toned down to reflect the times) contrasted with the gritty Depression influenced interiors of the commoners.

Much of the film's scenes take place in  Logue's offices where Bertie uncomfortably received unorthodox treatments to cure his stammer. Filmed at 33 Portland Place in London, the actual space was similar to that of a Venetian palace mixed with an artists's studio. I was particularly intrigued by the walls which looked like some sort of distressed faux treatment. The original walls consisted of peeling wallpaper and treated with oil. Stewart liked the effect and reproduced the look for the entire room, creating an autumnal colored fresco that became the focal point. Little furniture was required, placing more audience focus on the actors. For authenticity, Stewart studied Logue's actual diaries and researched interiors at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Geffrye museum of interior design. 

A distressed wall becomes the focal point of Logue's office

Working on a tight budget, period locations were the key element. The production team created the opulence of Buckingham Palace at Lancaster House in the St. James district in London's West End. Considered one of the finest townhouses in London (Queen Victoria was said to have quipped upon arrival "I have come from my House to your Palace"), the ornate decor was the perfect backdrop as the royals nervously await Bertie's first wartime broadcast in the opulent gilt panelled state drawing room.   It was also used as the royal residence for the films National Secrets and Young Victoria.

On location at Lancaster House

Lancaster Hall was previously known as Stafford House
Shown here is the Grand Hall, Joseph Nash, 1850

King George VI (Colin Firth)  and Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter)

Meticulous research  --  right down to the actual microphones -- was required for the film. 

Costume designer Jenny Beavan faced the same budget restrictions of designing a royal wardrobe on a pauper's budget. After surveying "massive amounts of photos"and newsreels of the real King and Queen, Beavan decided to dress Bonham Carter in muted colors with two important fashion details -- the Queen always tipped her hat at an angle and loved a touch of fur.

The actual Queen Mum

The King's Speech Costume Exhibit

I fully expect the film to be nominated for Best Art Direction and Costume categories as well as Best Picture at this year's Oscars. It's a must see film on many levels.

Photo Credits: The Weinstein Company

For Your Consideration

For some it's the Super Bowl, Wimbledon or perhaps March Madness while others live for American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. For me, the best time of the year (competition wise) is the Hollywood awards season which starts next Sunday, January 16th with the Golden Globes and concludes Sunday, February 27th with the 83rd Academy Awards. And sandwiched in between for your viewing pleasure is the Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit awards. Let the handicapping begin.

While much is forecasted, predicted and generally dissected ad nauseum over who will get the plum awards -- Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress -- or who will wear what on the Red Carpet -- I naturally find the design related awards (Best Art Direction and Best Costume) to be of particular interest.

The Art Directors Guild recently announced their nominations for Excellence in Production Design which gives us a  glimpse of possible films in the running for the Academy Awards. Unlike the Oscars, the Guild awards films in a variety of design categories -- period, contemporary and fantasy.  This year's theme is Designs on Film (yes, my book!!!) and the ceremony takes place February 5th in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton.

The nominations for Excellence in Production Design for Feature Film are:

Period Film:

True Grit
Production Designer: Jess Gonchor

The King's Speech
Production Designer: Eve Stewart

Shutter Island
Production Designer: Dante Ferretti

Robin Hood
Production Designer: Arthur Max

Get Low
Production Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland

Fantasy Film:

Alice in Wonderland
Production Designer: Robert Stromberg

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
Production Designer: Stuart Craig

Inception
Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas

Tron: Legacy
Production Designer: Darren Gilford

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn
Production Designer: Barry Robison

Contemporary Film:

Black Swan
Production Designer: Therese DePrez

The Social Network
Production Designer:  Donald Graham Burt

The Fighter
Production Designer: Judy Becker

The Town
Production Designer:  Sharon Seymour

127 Hours
Production Designer: Suttirat Lalarb


Congratulations and good luck to all! You can read more about the nominations -- as well as those for television here. And if you are interested in purchasing the poster at the top of the blog, they are available for 20.00 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts website here.

And a special thanks to Catrin Morris of Apartment Therapy for her piece on Cinema Style.

Between the book launch, the Christmas holidays and a much needed vacation to the beach,  I am catching up with the current movies and plan to feature several noteworthy and stylish films in the weeks to come. Next up is The King's Speech so stay tuned.

Happy 2010!