Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/929567
KIM JENNINGS, CO-SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR: From the first conference call with Rick, Deb and I knew this would be a special project and I was excited to come onboard. Rick told us that his instinct was that the design for the story would be stronger, and the actors would benefit from, a slightly rougher, less completed designed framework. This was an exciting prospect and certainly was in sync with the short shooting schedule. It was clear that Rick had forged a mutual respect with Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kaminkski and the actors. He discussed how the design would help the actors tell the story, and he reinforced that the strength of the story was in how relevant it is to us all today. The Art Department wall was filled with a timeline, photos of Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee, the Vietnam War, and photos of the protests and social unrest of the 1960s and '70s. Discussions with Rick revealed a story about people initially removed from the demonstrations and anti-Vietnam sentiment of the time. They are more tied into the government system, and are then taken out of their bubble and exposed to the truth. Locations were found in Manhattan and nearby White Plains, NY to portray Washington, DC, including the exterior of the Washington Post building. The downtown area of White Plains reminded us of DC, and also provided the exteriors for the scenes in which Ben and Katharine walk past protesters on their way to work. For the exterior of The New York Times, the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen building in mid-Manhattan was used. It is a distinctive 126-year-old neoclassical building with an arched entrance flanked by globe lights. White Plains was home to many buildings in the Federal-Brutalist style, made up of almost all rectangles and squares. A second unit also filmed a couple of days in DC, as well as in Georgetown at the exterior of Katharine Graham's real home. Also in NYC, the Columbia University campus stood in for the US Supreme Court, with the throngs of people who would be standing outside to hear the court's verdict about The Pentagon Papers. Whether filming on stage at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn or at Manhattan locations, the production was able to move very quickly because of the coordinated abilities of all the department heads, especially between the Art and Construction Department teams, the great set decoration crew, the tenacity of the prop persons, and the location management group. The SUNY Purchase campus became Vietnam. It had a field and a brook that was turned into a US base camp and a patrolled Vietnamese area. Photoshop was used to compose some composite sketches of what could be achieved at these locations, and as Steven and Janusz began to translate them, the story became more clear. Rena and her team filled the sets with dressing that evoked the period and the characters' personalities. It was a thrill to see them all come to life. C D