Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/765720
Because the 1950s' era Golden Arches franchise was the true icon of the film, I began with it first. Searching online gave me useful images, including an archival photo of Kroc's crew in front of his Des Plaines franchise. I was also able to locate, on eBay, a reproduction blueprint of a franchise from the period. But by far, the most practical element of my research was an hour away, in Downey, California, where McDonald's Store #3 has remained almost untouched since opening in 1953. It was there that I was able to fully understand all of the intersecting geometries, which enabled me to begin defining these forms through a SketchUp ® model. Because the film was unauthorized by the McDonald's Corporation, I had to be discrete in my photography, but found the experience so fruitful that I visited again, this time with set decorator Susan Benjamin and costume designer Daniel Orlandi. Using some field measurements taken in Downey, I was able to transpose those proportions to the archival photo from Des Plaines, and arrive at a high-fidelity re-creation of Kroc's first franchise. Once I knew the footprint of the archetypal Golden Arches restaurant, I began trying to decode the SpeeDee Kitchen, and size it to fit within this floor plan. Working from multiple archival sources, including a training manual from the 1950s, I was able to demonstrate to John Lee Hancock how the assembly line functioned, which was critical to the telling of the story. We then hired a choreographer and—using low-definition wooden mock-ups—began rehearsing the extras in their specific tasks because, as John had envisioned, "We wanted it to play like a Busby Berkeley musical." In keeping with the theme of the SpeeDee Kitchen being a machine in a factory, I took this kitchen layout from Des Plaines, then reversed engineered the footprint of the San Bernardino octagon to enclose the same components, in essence, creating a building perimeter tailored to the universal kitchen plan. Above: A matching set frame showing the completed Des Plaines set, with the kitchen crew ready for its first day of shooting. Below: The front and side elevations of Kroc's Des Plaines Golden Arches franchise. Working from an archival photo of the building and using the size of the ceramic tiles to provide a scale, Set Designer Yolande Thame was able to find the exact size and proportion of the counters and service windows.