The Cinema as Muse: Then and Now

The late Art Director Cedric Gibbons (1893-1960) and Founder and President of J. Robert Scott Sally Sirkin Lewis no doubt are kindred spirits and would have had much in common had the two met.

Both were (and are) extraordinarily accomplished. Both favor clean, uncluttered contemporary lines and hand-polished lacquer finishes in their work. And the two designers have had a major impact on their industries -- Gibbons is credited with a record 1500 films during a 30 plus year tenure at MGM while Lewis has been awarded 150 U.S. and British patents for her innovative textile and furniture designs.

Gibbons even designed the coveted Oscar statuette (he was nominated 39 times and winner of 11) while Lewis' upholstered designs with a dressmaker's attention to detail put home couture on the map. He is said to have driven to the studio in his Dusenburg every day clad in top hat and gloves while she was the driving force behind the concept of California Design.

From a body of work ranging from Grand Hotel (1932) to Kismet (1955), Gibbons' aesthetic is seen on every MGM set, prop, costume and even the logo during his reign as supervising art director. He preferred all white rooms steeped in luxury and draped in fantasy and moviegoers loved it.

Gibbons in his Art Deco home with actress/wife Delores Del Rio

The Night Is Young (1935 )

Gibbon's Art Deco designs for The Merry Widow (1934) won him an Oscar nomination

Oscar winning fantasy sets for An American in Paris (1951)

Gibbons would have loved J. Robert Scott's collection of furnishings with exotic veneers (such as shagreen, snake and goatskin parchment) and 22-carat gold finishes and would have had a field day browsing through the hand-woven silks, mohairs and velvets.

Many of these furnishings would fit right at home on an MGM set as well as modern interiors of today...

The Medallion Daybed

The Le Ronde Bed

The Escargot stool

Susie Slipper Chair

Pleats Mirror and Darby Chaise

For more on Gibbons, see Twenties Cinema Style on The Kiss, The Single Standard and The Wonder of Women. For more on J. Robert Scott and Sally Sirkin Lewis, visit their website.

Photo credits: J. Robert Scott, MGM

The Ultimate Map: The Best Films of All Time

While the cinema has been profiled, categorized, divided, highlighted and chronicled in a variety of "best of " lists, this by far is one of the most ingenious and creative I have seen.

It lists the best films of all time on a map that looks like the New York subway. Developed by the French film site Vodkaster, films were chosen based on their popularity on the Internet Movie Datebase (IMDB) and broken down by genres and subtopics from "Dark and Weird Drama" to "Masterpiece about Show Business." So based on your interests, you can go from The Wizard of Oz, take a crosstown transfer at Stand by Me and end up at Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Sounds alot more exciting than the #4 Lexington Avenue Line at rush hour. (Strangely I didn't see The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 listed).

(For more on the map click the Vodkaster link above).

Many thanks to Tricia Lewis for locating this on Fast Company.

Twenties Cinema Style

I spent the past Friday morning at one of my favorite and familiar LA haunts, the Margaret Herrick Library (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) which is a treasure trove of documents, stills, books, drawings and letters of everything imaginable from the cinema. (I am in the process of putting the final photo submissions to bed for my film book to be released next year).

My research led me to some incredible images from sets in the twenties filled with Mediterranean, Turkish and Art Deco influences. (Perhaps one of my favorite designs is the picture perfect Pleasure Crazed (1929) shown above). While film design was certainly in its infancy, it was an exciting time where art met technology, Art Deco fused into Modernism and the most stylish films were aimed at stories about the rich and famous --anything to take the Depression off the minds of the moviegoing audience.

Arches, ornate ironwork, symmetry, gloss and the inimitable Greta Garbo seemed to be the order of the day....

Cobra (1925)

Garbo in The Kiss (1929)

Greta Garbo appeared in several highly stylized films such as A Woman of Affairs and The Kiss. Designed by Cedric Gibbons, The Kiss introduced moviegoers to Art Deco. While not adaptable to every American household in real life, it was a popular film decor.

The Kiss (1929)

Thief of Bagdad (1924)

The big budget extravaganza was introduced in the twenties and you can see the effects designs from the fantastical Thief of Bagdad with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. had on other film interiors of the day.

The Wonder of Women (1929) also designed by Cedric Gibbons

A Woman of Affairs (1928) above and below

Check Turner Movie Classics for these films or you might get lucky on Blockbuster.

Photo Credits: Fox, MGM, Margaret Herrick, Paramount Pictures

Dinner at Eight

Eleven shades of white?

That is the exact number of shades used by art directors Hobe Erwin and Frederic Hope for MGM's film Dinner at Eight (1933). One of the first true films to chronicle the art of social climbing, director George Cukor cast John Barrymore as a washed up matinee idol, real-life brother Lionel as a shipping magnate trying to save his family's firm while his wife Millicent tries to throw the ultimate dinner party. Set against the Manhattan backdrop of a looming Depression, Jean Harlow (as a social climbing bimbo) lounges in bed, eats bon bons and along with the designs, steals the film in every scene she appears.

The thirties sets were significant as it marked a time in Hollywood film design known as the BWS - Big White Set. Also coined the "polar bear" or "white telephone look", white was the dominant color. The original design is credited to the Astaire-Rogers musicals where angles, glossy reflective surfaces and Streamline Moderne was the order of the day. The look was also the result of the development of incandescent lighting -- the use of stark white would have blinded the viewer otherwise.

The Platinum Goddess a.k.a. "High Priestess of White"

Harlow's Manhattan apartment utilized elements of art deco while playing up her trademark assets - platinum hair and white powdered skin. Costume designers clothed her in white satin gowns (the gown above was known as the Jean Harlow Dress) while cinematographer William Daniels used gauze on the lens to film the iconic star. It's been said the MGM chief Louis B. Mayer did not want Harlow for the part and had to be convinced she was a comedienne.

While the film is considered a romantic comedy, it was a telling tale of the times. Based on George Kaufman's hit Broadway play, it also dealt with suicide, financial ruin and alcoholism. Dinner at Eight received the Film Circle honor of being one of the best films of l934.

The Cast

The film was later remade into a "made for television" movie in l989 starring Marsha Mason, Harry Hamlin and Lauren Bacall. But like everything in life, nothing beats the original.

One of several designs for the movie poster and dvd

Photo Credits: MGM

Emmy Time

Awards season officially begins next Sunday with the 61st Emmy Awards and while this blog centers on the cinema, television is not without its design too. The Creative Emmys were awarded last night and Pushing Daisies -- a show that has been cancelled -- was awarded for Outstanding Art Direction (production design and set decoration for the layman). Others shows that were nominated are ones we watch religiously (that would be Mad Men for me) or catch every now and then :

Bones

Bones: Watch a beautiful forensic anthropologist and special agent banter back and forth as they solve crimes on Fox Television's highly popular show. The designs include everything from laboratories to ships and everything in between. While not always glamorous, it's alot harder to design a forensics lab than a living room.

Mad Men

Mad Men: The production team has done a masterful job with their sixties style interiors from the hallowed offices of the Sterling ad agency to the Draper's brown plaid kitchen in suburbia. The country club and party under the tent from the present season was period perfect.

Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies: Cancelled earlier this season, the colorful chintz and chotchke-filled comedy told the tale of a pie maker who could bring people back to the dead. The interiors were designed to give the feeling of a storybook illustration and perhaps the show will end up on cable.

Trueblood

Trueblood: Given the success of Twilight, I am not sure what is up with plasma sucking creatures, but HBO's story of vampires and romance is certainly another cult favorite. Brought to the small screen by Alan Ball from Six Feet Under, the design of a Louisiana plantation, vampire bars and of course, cemetaries caught the eyes of the nominating committee.

Heroes

Heroes: NBC's science fiction drama that depicts humans with supernatural capabilities has become a huge hit. Designs have to take special visual effects into account with locations and interiors all over the globe.

Emmy nominees:

Set Decorator Kimberly Wannop, Production Designer Michael Mayer and Art Director Gregory S. Richman for Bones

Set Decorator Ron Franco,Production Designer Ruth Ammon and Art Director Sandy Getzler for Heroes

Set Decorator Amy Wells, Production Designer Dan Bishop and Art Director Christopher L. Brown for Mad Men

Set Decorator Halina Siwolop, Production Designer Michael Wylie and Art Director Ken Creber for Pushing Daisies -- Winner

Set Decorator Rusty Lipscomb, Production Designer Suzuki Ingerslev and Art Director Cat Smith for Trueblood.

Congrats to all!

And a special congrats to my next door neighbor growing up -- Robert Blackman -- who won for best costumes for Pushing Daisies.

Photo Credits: Emmy Organization, HBO, AMC, ABC, Fox and NBC.

Fashion in Film

Depending on your location and interests, fall can mean football and tailgating, getting the kids back to school or looking forward to the new Broadway and film season. For many, it's an annual rite of passage fashion wise, ushering in a new season of designs and trends. (And for my postman, it means a back brace hauling in the September magazines -- it's rumored Vogue once weighed in at five pounds).

For fashionistas, the definitive fall event is the runway shows at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park (Sept.10-17). So for the ninety percent of us that will not be attending, I advise catching the new season of Project Runway or check out my quirky film list at your local DVD store:

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Based loosely on the life of famed photographer Richard Avedeon, the l957 musical Funny Face featured Audrey Hepburn as an accidental model/muse for photographer Fred Astaire set against a backdrop of Greenwich Village and haute couture Paris, costumes by Givenchy and Edith Head and of course, Gershwin tunes. Avedon was hired as a "special visual consultant" and is credited for the film's "Think Pink" fashion number as well as the opening title design. One of his favorite models Suzy Parker was said to be the inspiration for Hepburn's Jo and is seen in a cameo.

The Devil Wears Prada

Life often imitates art in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), a thinly veiled roman a' clef of Anna Wintour and exquisitely played by Meryl Streep. Set at the fictitious Runway Magazine and culminating at the couture shows in Paris, the film is a must for fashion junkies.

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the September 2008 issue of Vogue magazine is the focus of the aptly named documentary The September Issue (2009). Legendary editor Anna Wintour is naturally at the center of the film (unlike Prada, she gave her blessing to this one) that is currently playing in New York and opens to selected cities September 11th. For more on the film, see the website.

Sex and the City the Movie

From the television series of the same name, Sex and the City (2007) is practically a fashion magazine itself, spawning fashion trends and product placements too numerous to mention. The sequel is currently filming in New York City and will hit theaters next May.

Designing Woman

Vicente Minnelli's (Liza's dad) 1957 film Designing Woman featured Lauren Bacall as a clothing designer who marries Gregory Peck in a whirlwind romance, only to discover later they have little in common. (Originally James Stewart and Grace Kelly were slated for the role but seems Grace had a wedding to plan with a prince...)

Roberta

A fashion house in Paris becomes the backdrop for Roberta (1935), a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical that also stars Lucille Ball and Irene Dunne. Jerome Kern's "I Won't Dance" and "You'd Be Lovely To Look At" became instant hits.

Garmento

The indie 2002 film Garmento offers a peak under the hemline of the fashion industry and often it's not pretty. Filmed on Seventh Avenue, Garmento takes a satirical look at the effects of corporate America and "the seamy side of fashion," filled with backstabbing, copycatting and of course, bitchiness!

Artists and Models Abroad

Parisian fashion is front and center once again for the 1938 film Artists and Models Abroad starring Jack Benny and Joan Bennett.

David Hemmings in Blow Up

Michelangelo Antonini's Blow Up (1966) captures the life of a London photographer in the sixties -- and of course complete with freewheeling sex, pot and mod clothing. It is said to be loosely based on photographer David Bailey (and ex-husband of Catherine Deneuve) who gave us all those great Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy covers of the sixties along with album covers of the Rolling Stones.

That is all for now...all this talk of fashion makes me want to shop....!

Photo Credits: Paramount Pictures, MGM, RKO, Warner Brothers, Universal, A&E Indie Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox.

Men in Film

Digital artist Phillip Scott Johnson created this incredible video of famous actors through the ages. The morphing effect is astounding to look at and the men are equally as good! Enjoy!

For more of Johnson's amazing work, check out his My Space page.

Chanel, Cinema Style

Before she was one of the most important forces in fashion, Jeanne Gabrielle Chanel a.k.a. Coco Chanel spent her youth in an orphanage where she learned how to be a seamstress.

Opening September 25th, the film Coco Before Chanel (Coco Avant Chanel) celebrates one of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century, chronicling the young designer's formative years.

This is not her first time on the screen, large or small. The iconic designer has been heralded in the biopic Chanel Solitaire (1981), documentary Signe' Chanel (2005) and Oscar winning actress Shirley MacLaine donned her pearls and black beret to play the legendary designer in later life in the Lifetime movie Coco Chanel (2008). She was even portrayed by Katherine Hepburn in the 1969 Broadway musical Coco. And in real life, Chanel was a costume designer on the Jean Renoir film La regle du jeu (1939).

MacLaine channels Mlle Chanel

Directed by the stylish Anne Fontaine (The Girl From Monaco), the story weaves the rags-to-riches tale of Chanel, concentrating on her early years. Fontaine referenced the Charles-Roux book Chanel and her World: Friends, Fashion, and Fame and noted, "I had to think about whether it was possible to stick to the first period of her life --the training years, what had happened before Chanel, herself, understood her dazzling destiny."

Director Anne Fontaine

French actress Audrey Tatou embodies both the spirit and sophistication of Chanel as well as the look. You may also recognize her from Amelie and The Da Vinci Code. Keira Knightly was said to have been offered the coveted role and turned it down.

Audrey Tatou as Chanel

Maison Chanel opened their archives for the historical period piece which features everything from the young Coco's Aubazine uniform (which is said to have greatly influenced her style with its black skirts and white blouses) to her classic couture. The daunting task of designing the film's costumes was assigned to costume designer Catherine Letterier who explained, "The Chanel style is distinctive in its cut, the supple hang of its fabric and the perfect simplicity of its finish. The costumes of this film had to be up to the exacting standards of haute couture."





For more on the life of Coco, check out Mademiselle: Coco Chanel/Summer 62 by Karl Lagerfeld and Douglas Kirland and the definitive book (in my humble opinion!) Chanel: A Woman of Her Own (Axel Madsen, Holt, 1991) as well as scores of other tomes.

And for more on the film, check out the official website.



Photo Credits: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics, Lifetime