54
P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 7
by Steve Saklad,
Production Designer
Do Sequins
Still Sparkle
Under a Layer
of Grime?
★
★
A year and a half after
writer/director Lee Daniels
and I shot the pilot for
Empire, we bumped into
each other while jogging
around the Silver Lake
Reservoir. We're both
panting hard and covered
in sweat when he says he
has a new show called
Star for Fox that he'd
like me to design. Like
Empire, it's about the music
business and yes, there
will be song-and-dance
performances punctuating
every episode. But this one
is set not in posh Manhattan
boardrooms and bedrooms,
but in the forgotten black
neighborhoods of Atlanta
where a struggling girl
group is just starting out.
Covered in sweat is just how
this show should feel.
