Immersing

When I get into a new project, I really like to go in deep, immerse. I hunker down at the library, watch hours of footage, endless google searches... Understand that objects and media that are directly influential can be sacred, cherished.

Mélodie Mousset made an organic flowing sculpture that was inspired by the tiled pattern of Frank Lloyd Write's Ennis House. Untitled, 2012 (Downward Dog)
 

The Ennis house is in LA, in Los Feliz. It sits atop a big hill and just sort of appears as you drive up a winding road. I went there once and poked around on my birthday. Mélodie Mousset did me one better by taking a dip in the pool. : )
Awesome. Connecting with one's work. Architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright. Yes.

there's a cute video about it on NOWNESS

 
Mélodie Mousset: Downward Dog
on Nowness.com.

Mélodie Mousset  - www.melodiemousset.net

Shooting in an asphalt jungle

Developing a feature film is like climbing an invisible mountain. The uncertainties far outweigh what is known. The only thing that an independent filmmaker initially has on their hands is time. And then if any kind of financing comes through and a production is viable, there will begin the process of working in the most difficult schedule. & then if creative decisions have not been made, there is no time to dwell on them and things can be lost. So I am trying to concentrate on decisions now, like the look and locations of the film. I really want to make the city almost a character and strong backdrop for the actors. Chicago is hard, dark, concrete and steely. Shooting in an asphalt jungle it would seem. (A jungle is a metaphor applied to Chicago from time to time...) The film noir Asphalt Jungle, was a good place to go for inspiration-

The opening shots of Asphalt Jungle are shot on location. The film does not specify where the story takes place except that it's a city in the Midwest. The opening was filmed in Cincinnati. The author of the novel, W. R. Burnett, was from Ohio before moving to Chicago. The photography is great. Arthur Rosson, the Director of Photography, was adept at shooting a nice tight, B&W noir (he wasn't a slouch when it came to color either, he shot Wizard of Oz and Singing in the Rain). The exteriors at the beginning are open and vast before the film goes inside to the low angles and tight shots that fit the claustrophobic feel of the story. Sterling Hayden is running from the police and the architecture of the city works with him as he ducts behind buildings and into shadows.





















































The Asphalt Jungle is a nice, dark noir. Directed by John Huston, it has a silent jewel heist that is referenced in later films. Plus there's an early appearance by a young, cute MM.

Scout photos

This past winter Jose and I did a scout for my science fiction noir script. Al Cohn, a locations manager for "real movies" assisted with the scout, which was awesome. Noted locations were the Uptown Theater and Hilliard Towers Apartments. We got a hot dog break in there too.

I am not afraid of storms

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

—Louisa May Alcott

Wrigley Building, Chicago

I have dreamed in my life

 













"I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind." Emily Brontë  

Pena National Palace

Building Blog

In my research for my Sciencefictionarchitecturenoirfilm, I tumble into this undisciplined rabbit hole of research. I should be getting back to the actual script, concentrating on structure and writing. Initially I was self conscious about writing for characters as architects when I felt I knew little about architecture or design. I grew up in Wisconsin where every art teacher was quick to remind that Frank Lloyd Wright was from our home state and that architecture was something that was genius and dramatic. When I began my script I knew that I wanted my characters to be artists which led me to think of the most visual and firm art form I could think of. And over the years of writing and researching I've just fallen love with architecture. I love buildings. I get sidetracked as I delve into different styles and eras.

Often there is a Brutalist bent to some of the architecture in science fiction, like in this still from  Blade Runner.
 










Brutalism in real life can often feel dreary, I think of the UIC campus in Chicago. It's grey upon grey in a grey city. But I came across the work of Paul Rudolph, his work has a lighter touch to the brutal style. And speaking of architectural heritage, he is from Elkton, Kentucky, which is where my father is from (a rather random place for an architect to be from as there's not a lot of buildings there or anything else for that matter). He designed the white blocked building at the top of the post, the Milam house in Florida. It reminds me of Michael Mann. Like a house that would be in one of his movies, airy white and stark. Someplace where the guy that's been a bank robber his whole life retires to before he's pulled into one last heist. Or where the well-connected dealer stays. Or the house where William Petersen lived in Man Hunter.


Speaking of Man Hunter, THIS is awesome. This is my favorite scene from the movie. There's a lot of great things going on (like the ripping of the nylon off the dash), but I love how the door glows behind Joan Allen's head.

The Langham

When young hopeful artists or twentysomethings move to LA without a trust fund, they often have to live in a layover neighborhood. A stopover before they get their bearings and move somewhere with a better zip code. I lived in North Hollywood but a few of my friends landed in Koreatown. K-town is pretty bland. Highrises, few trees, and a lack of anything else to do besides Korean BBQ. It's a little sketchy but the sketchiness doesn't make it more interesting (strangely). I have lived in many an emerging neighborhood and I've learned that there can always be little discoveries & places reveal themselves, especially if the neighborhood had anything to do with "Old Hollywood".

This past summer I was house sitting for my friend Jose while he shot a documentary about the banana trade in Central America. He lives in an apartment off of Wilshire Boulevard, converted from a 1920s hotel called The Langham. During the 1930s the Mid-Wilshire region was a pretty fancy neighborhood. Ritzy apartment buildings and hotels, department stores and restaurants. Although not as grand as it's neighbor the Ambassador Hotel, The Langham is still pretty ornamented by contemporary standards. So in the middle of Koreatown I was staying in an old golden gem. Though converted to moderately priced apartments and by no means lavish anymore, the building has maintained a lot of character. My friends eyes were like saucers when they entered the lobby with two story ceilings, a Kane-like fireplace and carved brass plated elevators. Most units still have a dressing room and built in vanity area-where, I am sure, one would primp before heading to the Oscars at The Ambassador. There is a penthouse on the top floor used for (many), film and photo shoots. And my favorite was the rooftop pool, allegedly LA's first. When Jose and his girlfriend broke up I asked if he was going to move and he said, not yet, "I'm not finished with this building." So for a couple months I was able to hide away, pad the floors & work on my script. I swam and took phonecalls by the pool. I often would hear sirens, but at times I could tap back into the fantasy, the echos of the old dream city.






























































































































photos by me and by Jose of -the lobby, stairwell, pool, one of the film shoots in front of the building, Nick & Natalie's engagement photo & Wendy Rose.

Chicago 1965

Chicagoans are back and forth about how they feel about Bertrand Goldberg's cylindrical Marina Towers. Evidently the apartments are "pie shaped" with the widest portion being the window. I worked on a commercial that involved a car driving off one of the Tower's parking garages and into the river. The Towers are definitely interesting to be in. There are below-street-level shops that cater to the residents. The whole place seemed like it's own world. Sort of like a frozen modern dream.

Marina Towers postcards

Elizabetes Iela 10b

I've seen pictures of this building before but I assumed that it was from a film set, not an actual building. Referenced by the address, Elizabetes lela 10b is an apartment building in Riga, Latvia. Evidently Riga is an Art Nouveau hub. The building was designed by Mikhail Eisenstein in 1903. Eisenstein's son Sergei was also an artist but he worked in a different medium.

Order in your imagination

image Cedric Bihr

In the midst of things

In a round about way I found myself on a jury for some final presentations at IIT. I am doing a lot of networking (don't say networking) and research for my feature length script. My script deals with architects in Chicago and the story begins in the classroom. As the script opens the architects are still in school and preparing for a final project. So I had been angling to sit in on an actual presentation for awhile. My experience was great and strange. Great because I thought the students were talented and it's reassuring to know that I sought out useful information for my research. I studied the student's characters and responses to criticism, as well as the practical details like what materials they brought to class. It was a little strange to experience something that I had written about beforehand. I was able to talk to some of the students afterward and they gave me some of their paperwork and research materials. The presentations were in the middle of Crown Hall. All around us were students working at tables piled with paper and cardboard finishing work for other classes. I was surprised to learn that the students work communally. Their work stations were so cluttered but also expressive and active. It was great to be a part of it and then also actively be a part of my own project too.

images: top-flickr, the rest my own