LMGI COMPASS
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Summer 2019
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Rick's pool, then cranes up and over the hedges to Sharon and
Roman in their car leaving the driveway."
During preproduction, Tarantino's reputation was crucial time
and again. "People strongly related to his name and stories of Hol-
lywood in the '60s," Balton says. "I got many more callbacks than
usual for cold scouting—Angelenos wanting to share their hous-
es, as well as their own stories of those times. And many were
celebrities. Beverly D'Angelo called me back. She lives in a house
that Mama Cass used to own. It was really fascinating.
"But my favorite was leaving a letter at a house that had me tres-
passing up a long winding driveway so I could see if the house
would work ... just my luck, a guy was pulling down the driveway
wondering what I was up to. After I explained myself, he got a
funny look on his face at the mention of Quentin Tarantino. He
explained it was Lee Van Cleef's home—a '60s time capsule—and
filled to the brim with Hollywood memorabilia that he thought
would interest Quentin. Quentin is a rabid Sergio Leone fan; Van
Cleef was in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars
More. Van Cleef died in 1989, but his wife still lives there with her
brother. We ended up shooting in their backyard."
"It stood in for the backyard of the Tate/Polanski home," Worley
explains. "Quentin was very specific about what he was looking
for. It was great that he was very specific, but he was so specific
about what he wanted that it was sometimes hard to find. Oc-
casionally, he would be ambivalent about a location, but he'd
stand there in the actual place and look around. You could see
him trying to figure out, 'If I had to shoot here, how would I make
it work?' Other directors might look at it, say it was wrong and
just walk away."
FINALLY, THE EUREKA MOMENT!
"While we were director scouting a number of houses Lori had
found, the AD and the DP stumbled upon a nearby cul de sac that
to them fit the logistical needs of the scene," Schuler says. "The
configuration would work, but the style of the houses was a bit of
a disappointment to the Location Department.
"Could it work with the help of the production designer and the
director of photography? Sure—and it did. And this kind of choice
is very much a part of the Quentin Tarantino way of doing things
when it comes to locations."
The team eventually found the houses in Studio City.
WORKING ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD
Steve Mapel focused his energies on the Hollywood Boulevard se-
quences. "In our minds, there are three huge stars in the movie,"
