Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124104
T H E A C T | P E R S P E C T I V E 7 3 The Story The Act is the first edition of a new crime anthology series created by writer/producers Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean. Based on real events taken from the news, it originated from Dean's successful BuzzFeed article, "Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter to be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom Murdered." Their excellent pilot script is a cautionary tale, one rich in character, details and backstory and I was very grateful to be a central participant in its visual realization. With apologies to Charles Dickens, but from the beginning "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." And due to a series of unforeseen circumstances both unnecessary and avoidable, The Act proved to be a very difficult endeavor for this author and his Art Department. The two-hour pilot was the story's anchor and it is the visual cornerstone for the entire season. Directed by an excellent creative collaborator and gifted storyteller, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, The Act is a complex and dark tale about a grifting mother, played by Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee Blanchard, and her victimized accomplice in larceny, daughter Gypsy Rose, played by Joey King. Dee Dee Blanchard had falsely misled their well- meaning neighbors and the larger social media world to believe that Gypsy Rose was physically and mentally handicapped, when in truth she was not. Gypsy Rose was an emerging woman, one who was emotionally conflicted, sexually repressed and well coached by Dee Dee at portraying many physical afflictions in order to game the social welfare system. At the beginning of the story, these two tormented souls have just moved into their brand-new American with Disabilities (ADA) compliant custom-built home, one that was donated to them by the Habitat for Humanity community of Springfield, Missouri. A Visual Concept that was Wide and Tight Conceptually as well as in reality, their home looked like an adult-sized dollhouse; more a living character than a set piece, that over time, A. HOPE ROAD, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY COMMUNITY BACKLOT. AERIAL VIEW OF SKETCHUP MODEL BY HIND AL-SHANEEN. B. DEE DEE AND GYPSY'S HOUSE. STAGE SET. SKETCHUP MODEL VIEWS BY HIND AL-SHANEEN. B