Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1184216
9 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 anchor desks. Bombshell would do the same, and so replicated with precision the set full of monitors and LED screens at Quixote Stages in Hollywood. With great effort, Rupert Murdoch's penthouse was found in Bing Crosby's house, squirreling his private elevator as an open three- wall set into the kitchen. A coincidence of real- life events placed both the first Republican primary debate AND the 2016 Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. While I was slightly worried that it would A appear the film was too limited to recreate two different locations, we actually benefited both logistically and creatively from sticking to reality. Both sets were shot at the USC Galen Center, whose color scheme is essentially the same as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jay had great experience and success in merging sets with real news events in Game Change, and the same was done here with the debates and conventions. The location's ticker was employed to match the "live" convention footage, showing the actual RNC banner move around the arena on foreground monitors. Lucite desks are expensive, so the convention anchor desk was another cost-saving "marriage" of The Real Story desk and the double America's News Headquarters' mini desks, with additional graphics. I've designed an array of projects—none like this. My father watches Fox News, but I'd not spent much time there. My dive was deep, and getting the details right was important. Honestly, I knew that Charlize's performance as Megyn would be so spot on that I'd need to match that recreation in the settings. I resisted dressing things up, embraced the reality of the white wall, and aimed for a documentary like verisimilitude that wouldn't betray the reality of the events. The real details came in many forms, and the crew worked harder than would be expected to make them invisible. One detail in particular caught my attention: There were an expansive number of monitors in the sets—all sizes, everywhere—and every B A. THE KELLY FILE DESK. MODEL STUDY AND RESEARCH BY ARIELLE NESS- COHN. B. THE KELLY FILE SET. C. REPUBLICAN CONVENTION NEWS DESK. CREATED BY COMBINING THOSE FROM AMERICA'S NEWS HQ AND THE REAL STORY, WITH SOME EXTRA GRAPHICS. PRODUCTION STILLS BY LIONSGATE/HILARY GAYLE C