The Red Carpet Issue

The Academy Award ceremonies have been around since l929 when a group of 270 guests paid 5.00 each to dine on Lobster Eugenie and "Los Angeles Salad." Back then, it was all about the food....apparently today it's all about the fashion.

For a juicy behind the scenes insider's look at what really goes on with the Academy Awards red carpet, check out the Sundance Channel's documentary The Red Carpet Issue which airs Thursday night at 7PM CST. 

French filmmaker Olivier Nicklaus interviewed numerous designers, stylists, celebrities, editors, and fashionistas as they jockey for position, making sure their frocks land on the backs of a glamorous star. A A few of the engaging interviews include stylist Karl Lagerfeld, Phillip Bloch, Georgina Chapman, Marc Jacobs and Roberto Cavalli. Exposure and press are the name of the game.

For more on my commentary of The Red Carpet, see The Huffington Post.

Fashion stylist Mary Alice Stephenson scours the runways for her clients

Actress Anne Hathaway

Photo Credits: Sundance Channel, Tears of Joy Video

All Things Oscar

With the Academy Awards upon us next Sunday,  I thought conduct a quick history lesson on Oscar, perhaps the most coveted award next to the Pulitzer or Nobel Peace Prize (depending on who you ask!)

He was born in l928 at the hands of celebrated MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the 36 founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Lore has it Gibbons sketched the design on a notepad during a meeting). Gibbons was nominated a record 39 times and won eleven for his outstanding work in art direction. Since the first Awards ceremony in l929, 2,071 have been awarded to date.

The dashing Cedric Gibbons (left)

Legend also has it that Oscar is named after AMPAS librarian Margaret Herrick's uncle Oscar (who remarked on the resemblance after seeing the statue and the name stuck). He stands 13 1/2" tall and weighs 8 1/2 pounds and fifty statues take up to 3-4 weeks to manufacture. Officially known as the Academy Award of Merit, Oscar is actually a  knight standing on a reel of film with five spokes at the base -- each one representing a branch of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).




The most recognized, coveted, speculated and dreamed about award resides in some pretty interesting places. For some, Oscar is placed proudly on the library or home office shelf (Sidney Poitier, James Stewart, Cecil B. De Mille, John Wayne and George Clooney)  while others honor his presence in the most unlikely of spaces -- the bathroom (Kate Winslet) or a suit closet (Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful award).

James Stewart's Oscars on display in a library niche

Cecil B. Demille's home office houses
his award for The Greatest Show on Earth

John Wayne called this space his "50 Years of Hard Work Wall"

Sidney Poitier's awards reside on the top shelves of his built -in bookcases. His office
was designed by his wife, interior designer Joanna Poiter of JSP Interiors

Winslet quoted "The statue is going in the toilet, next to (husband) Sam's (Mendes)"

Kevin Costner had a specially designed shelf for his Dances With Wolves Oscar. "I used to have my Oscar in my underwear drawer for three or four years until I built the scrrening room. Now they are in a specially designed shelf unit." Barbra Streisand reportedly houses her award in a barn (custom built for her memorabilia collection) at her Malibu ranch).

The little gold man has even found himself orphaned in a pawn shop or given away (father /daughter Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie passed the awards on to their mothers) while Julia Robert's sister became the lucky recipient of her award for Erin Brockovich.


At least the Oscar winners didn't turn their statues into lamps. One day I hope to have a pair to use as bookends (which will of course be after I win the lottery, become Mrs. George Clooney, find a cure for cancer and discover the meaning of life):)

For all things Oscar, take a look at 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards by Robert Osborne (you know him from Turner Classic Movies) and my friend Jim Piazza (truly one of the wittiest people I know) and Gail Kinn's book The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History (Black Dog). Both are available on Amazon.

The Oscars will be telecast on Sunday, March 7th at 8:00 PM CST on ABC.

Photo Credits: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cathy Whitlock, Architectural Digest

Design Inspirations: The Movie as Muse Part Two

There are people you meet in life that are instant kindred spirits, ones you feel like you have known forever. Usually there is a common link -- such as a love of design and movies. Such was the case when I met Joe Ruggiero.

I had the pleasure of meeting the multi-faceted interior designer and television personality at the High Point market last October and our paths crossed again at his lecture at my friend Donna Hysmith's Designers Gallery in Nashville recently. His incredible career has spanned a variety of multi-media disciplines within the design profession for the past 27 years ranging from design consultant on Good Morning America, host and producer of a number of shows and specials on HGTV (Homes Across America), Editor in Chief of Home Magazine and Director of Advertising at Ethan Allen -- and this list just barely scratches the surface. My favorite gigs are his HGTV specials on international design where he literally traveled the globe reporting on one incredible residence after the next based on the best of French, Italian, Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Mexican, Scandinavian and Spanish design. The ultimate dream job!

Today he designs the JR Home collection that includes the Domino line of all seasons wicker for Woodard,  an upholstery line with Miles Talbott, the Sunbrella  textile line, a wood furniture collection with Caperton and an outdoor furniture line with Terra Furniture. 

His Maxfield sofa is reminiscent of the classic Harlow movies of the thirties -- streamlined, modern and sophisticated while low to the ground and comfortable. The Bergen chair is influenced by all the twenties and thirties travel themed escapist films  where ocean liners played a predominant role. Art Deco, French Deco and Moderne ocean liners were notably featured as both a backdrop and plot device in films such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical  Shall We Dance (1937), The Big Broadcast of 1938, Transatlantic (1931) and Reaching for the Moon (1931). 

One of Harlow's most stylish films was the 1933 comedy Dinner At Eight

Harlow in Life Magazine

The Bergen chair was a Pinnacle Award winner in furniture
and as Joe notes, "inspired by French design but paired down to the bare essentials."

Ginger Rogers publicity photo for Shall We Dance

Barrymore Chair
(think thirties actor John Barrymore, grandfather of actress Drew)

Joe's travels have taken him literally all over the world and he was particularly influenced by his visits in Kyoto which later became the muse for his Geisha fabric as seen on the kimono and interiors below. While in Kyoto, he purchased kimono fabrics from garments of the early 1900's and a collection was soon born. "I have always loved the simple design principles of Japan and have been inspired in the design of all my home furnishings," he details.

His collection reminds me of the film Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). Production designer John Myhre (of Chicago fame) designed a section of the pre World War II city of Kyoto on a horse ranch near Los Angeles. Seen below is the tatami room for the geisha and the baron's lair. The geisha district was miraculously built in 14 weeks and strongly influenced by the novel of the same name, traditional dance and Kabuki theater as well as actual historical and cultural references.

The JR collection's Chop Block Mist Sunbrella fabric also found its way on the television hit Melrose Place. Seen below is the star Heather Locklear.

Chop Block Mist

For more on the  Joe Ruggiero Collection, see his website here.

Photo Credits: Architectural Digest/Columbia Pictures Company, MGM, Life Magazine.

The Celluloid Commander in Chief

They have been portrayed as egomaniacal philanderers, bumbling boobs, and hapless stand -ins as well as steadfast leaders and action heroes who save the day. Biopics have loosely chronicled everyone from Young Abe Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. They are the Commanders-in-Chief, celluloid style.

The presidency on the big screen is often more memorable than those who have actually graced the oval office. Over the years, Hollywood has shaped how filmgoers view the highest office in the land through imagery, interpretation, fact and fiction -- and often somewhere in between.

With President's Day upon us, here is a quick overview of some of the varied themes of politics and the presidency on film:

Historical

Perhaps Abraham Lincoln is the most celebrated president in film history, chronicled by Henry Fonda in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), D. W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930) and his fateful day at the Ford Theater in Birth of a Nation (1915) to Walter Huston in Abraham Lincoln (1930) and Raymond Massey's sterling portrayal in How the West Was Won (1960). Even Steven Spielberg has acquired the rights to Doris Kearns Goodwin's bio Team of Rivals, Simon and Schuster, 2005) on the l6th President, slated to star actor Liam Neeson. (It has been noted the actor and his subject are the same height for what it's worth).

Fonda as Lincoln

Satirical

No other film has unveiled the political process quite like director Michael Ritchie's 1972 satire The Candidate (1972). Robert Redford stars as Bill McKay, a successful lawyer and son of the governor of California who reluctantly enters the political race only to win and ask the inevitable question "What do we do now?" Said to parallel the careers of John F. Kennedy and Jerry Brown, the film highlights the importance of money and image in the political process and there is no doubt a sequel would have yielded a President McKay. The roman a clef Clintonian tome, Primary Colors (1998), Warren Beatty's rapping pol in Bulworth (1998) and Dr. Strangelove's (1963) blundering President Merton Muffley are also must-sees.

Beatty as Bulworth

Comical

The Oval Office has been fodder for many a comedy. Imagine the President as a single father and dating a lobbyist? (Michael Douglas as The American President, 1995).  A look- a - like who substitutes for a President in a coma? (Kevin Kline as Dave, 1993). Or a former talk show host runs an unlikely campaign and wins? (Robin Williams as Man of the Year, 2005). Even Richard Nixon is lampooned by Dan Hedaya in Dick (1999) who appoints two high school girls lost on a White House tour as his advisors on the Watergate scandal.

Classical

The President plays the ultimate protagonist in the Academy Award winning account of investigative journalists Woodward and Bernstein and the saga known as Watergate in All the President's Men (1976). Wide-eyed and innocent James Stewart charmed audiences in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), the classic Capra-esque story of a naive senator who discovers all is not as it appears in politics -- perhaps he would have made it to the Oval Office in more innocent times.

Stewart as Mr. Smith

Hoffman and Redford as Woodward and Bernstein

Thriller

Who else but Harrison Ford to bring the President as action hero to the screen? As President James Marshall, he single handedly fights terrorism and plane hijacking, naturally saving the day in the 1997 suspense film, Air Force One. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gene Hackman portrays a philandering president involved in a cover-up as his mistress is killed by the Secret Service in Absolute Power (1997). And Hollywood gives us yet another action turn with Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore in Independence Day (1996). Leading a squadron of fighter pilots, he successfully defends the planet against alien attacks.

Air Force One

And in a category all his own, Oliver Stone's unique reinterpretation of history gave us three films required for viewing -- the controversial JFK (1991), Josh Brolin's dead on performance of the 43rd President in W. (2008) and Anthony Hopkin's manipulative yet tragic portrayal of the beleaguered Nixon (1995).

It is a little early to tell what crop of movies the new administration will influence but it's safe to say that somewhere a screenwriter is sharpening his pen. Stay tuned. (And Hollywood's pick for  Obama -- Denzel? Will Smith? Any guesses?).

Hopkins as Nixon

A special thanks to the blog Savoir-Faire for the Cinema Style mention. Savoir-Faire is the blog of Ally Lewis,  formerly with In Style and Harpers Bazaar. You can read her blog here.


Photo Credits: Warner Brothers, Touchstone, Columbia Pictures

And the Oscar may go to.....

The Oscar nominees for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Best Costume Design were announced in the wee hours this past week....congratulations to all and if you haven't seen these films, here is yet another reason.

Best Art Direction Nominees:

Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox)

Production designer Rick Carter (the genius behind the designs of the groundbreaking films Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Forrest Gump) and Robert Stromberg along with set decorator Kim Sinclair designed the sci-fi film's dream state visuals of Pandora (coined by director James Cameron as "phantasmagoric") which are a huge hit with 3-D goggle wearing audiences everywhere. Carter reportedly described the project as "The Wizard of Oz" meets "Apocalypse Now" and the film's innovative designs of Pandora's ecosystem rise to the challenge. Avatar is also up for Best Picture along with other nominations.

Nine (The Weinstein Company): Production designer John Mhyre and set decorator Gordon Sim created movie magic once again (they worked on the sets for 2002's Chicago) with their creation of a two worlds for Guido Contini -- fantasy and reality. They used the Broadway play as a blueprint for the more minimal design of the musical numbers.

Sherlock Holmes (Warner Brothers ): The Academy Award nominated designers for Pride and Prejudice were naturals to design director Michael Ritchie's Edwardian England. Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer created dank prisons, cobweb filled laboratories and Victorian residences right down to the last detail.

The Young Victoria (Apparition) The Academy loves a good costume drama that is always filled with historically appropriate period interiors and this one does not disappoint. What sets production designer Patrice Vermette and set decorator Maggie Gray's work apart is they successfully blend the royal settings with a contemporary feel. Always great eye candy!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics): Designing a Terry Gilliam film is always a challenge as the sets are filled with fantasy on steroids while bizarre and whimsical at the same time. Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro, production designer and set decorator respectively, rose to the occasion beautifully. The sets are surreal and dare I say, pure imagination and have to be seen to be believed.

Best Costume Design nominees:

Coco Before Chanel (Warner Brothers) A film of this calibur about a fashion icon is a natural but perhaps daunting job for costume designer Catherine Leterrier whose training as a couturier came in handy (she also worked on Robert Altman's Pret-a-Porter). While the designs of Chanel's later years are well-documented, creating clothing for a time when the young designer was poor yet stylish was quite a challenge. The striped Breton top and palazzo pants were just a few glimpses of the many classics to come.

Nine (The Weinstein Company): Academy Award winning costume designer Colleen Atwood designed a variety of stunning costumes that included everything from sixties retro to Follies Bergere. Atwood also did the wardrobes for Public Enemies , Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha. Each actress had her own look and film influence -- Marion Cotillard in a little black dress a la Breakfast at Tiffany's and polka dot dress pays homage to Roman Holiday while Kate Hudson's fringe go-go boot ensemble channels many of the sixties films (and Hullabaloo television show for those of us that remember!).

The Young Victoria (Apparition) Often production and costume design go hand in hand and such is the case of the film about Queen Victoria's early years. Costume designer Sandy Powell designed the costumes for Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and certainly no stranger to period design. Perhaps one of the most sumptuous of the research laden designs was Victoria's intricate Coronation Robe which had to be dyed just the right shade of gold.

Bright Star (Apparition): Costume designer Janet Patterson's designs for a character who wants to be a costume designer take center stage in Jane Campion's l9th century love story between poet James Keats and Fanny Brawne.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Sony Pictures Classics): Imaginarium was a dream job for costume designer Monique Prudhomme who created a wide array of outfits from a white nymph dancer's costume to Dr P's asian kimonos. Much of the film's inspiration comes from 16th and 17th century theater designs and is quite electic. Below is the late actor Heath Ledger who sadly passed during the filming.

The Academy Awards will be announced on day, March 7th at 8:00 est. And if you are interested in ordering the poster at the top of the blog, it is 25.00 plus shipping and can be purchased through the Academy's website here.

Good luck to all!

Many thanks to the cool California blog Riviera View and Become shopping blog for the Cinema Style mentions.

Photo Credits: Twentieth Century Fox, The Weinstein Company, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures Classics and Apparition.

The Utopian Style of Lost Horizon

One of my favorite fantasy escape films design wise is Frank Capra's Lost Horizon (1937), a tale which is the ultimate "Lost" -- a group of plane survivors crash land in the Himalayas and find themselves in a utopian Shangri-La. A place where there are no guns and no illness - sign me up. And who couldn't use a little Shangri La right about now?

The film's fantastical sets were designed by Stephen Goosson with the centerpiece Lamasery (Tibetan temple) that was constructed on the Columbia Studios ranch. The contemporary structure was ninety feet tall, took 150 men to complete and was considered the largest set (square footage wise) to be built during this era.

The stark white walls, reflecting pool and dog statues have an Oriental feel to them. Ironically the sets were met with scorn by many of the design establishment at the time.

The elaborate sets took up to a year to complete. The landscaped courtyard is framed by the sanctuary's curved white lines and brilliantly lit buildings. The film won Goosson a Best Interior Decoration at the Oscars (when there was such an award) in 1937.

The film stars Ronald Colman as a British diplomat and Jane Wyatt (yes Mrs. Father Knows Best) as the love interest. And for you trivia buffs, the blinding snow scene was actually bleached cornflakes.

Lost Horizon was remade in the seventies as a big-budget musical in 1973. The all star cast included Peter Finch, Charles Boyer as the head Lama, Liv Ullman and Olivia Hussey of Romeo & Juliet fame. (Actually I rather enjoyed the film!) The soundtrack by Burt Bacharach and Hal David is below and no doubt a collector's item.

Photo credits: Columbia Pictures