Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1010570
he was imagining, so I left the meeting thinking, well, that was fun, but back to those reshoots. Turned out, though, that Drew liked the way I was thinking about the script, its characters and its world, and, surprisingly, he wanted me after all. So, after a few more meetings with the producers where they laid out that, yes, there was no money, and yes, it will all be shot on location, and yes, there was no money, and—by the way—there is no money, I took another deep breath and booked into the Hotel Artemis. One would think that, just on the design level, creating this world with almost no time or money would be tricky enough; the story required a hotel that was as much a character as the crooks inhabiting it, while meeting specific script points, while not looking like it was designed to the script. An interesting challenge, for sure, but there were a few other specific zingers awaiting: Zinger 1 – The industry was incredibly busy and my usual Art Department heroes weren't available. With the movie paying just scale, even the prospect of staying in LA wasn't enough to bring most people on board. Zinger 2 – The movie needed near-future tech, including robotic surgery and 3D printers capable of making human organs. But recall the producers' refrain: yes, there is no money. How to design, create and shoot complicated tech on a shoestring? Zinger 3 – After a week of scouting Downtown LA, it turned out all of the great old downtown hotels I remembered from my days as the Art Director of the underworld of Minority Report had either been "spruced up" or converted into $5,000/month apartments. About the only thing left with any character was the ballroom of the Hotel Alexandria, but even that had a shiny new coat of paint. No decaying grandeur to be found, anywhere. Zinger 4 – Drew, the director, was amazingly thoughtful and incredibly prepared. That's not the zinger—not only had he written a great script, he had a whole catalogue of shooting examples he wanted to employ to tell that story. This included oodles of noir-style shots: long hallway dollies, split screens with lattice or translucent walls, high angles shooting through ceilings. But I soon remembered why the production ended up building the flophouse in Minority Report—those downtown hotels are cramped and basically unshootable. A. PRODUCTION STILL OF THE LOBBY. B. LOBBY GATE. SKETCHUP MODEL DONE BY DAN JENNINGS. C. THE IMAGINARY LAYOUT OF THE HOTEL ARTEMIS. DRAWN BY JOE WEBER. D. PLAN OF THE ACTUAL SET BUILD AT LA CENTER STAGES. DRAWN BY GARY McMONNIES. E. DETAIL OF THE DOOR PLAQUES, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY DIANE CHADWICK. A B