Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1179836
THE ARTISAN FALL 2019 • 57 Opposite page from top: Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore; Murphy with Stacey Morris and Vera Steimberg. Above left: Wesley Snipes with Morris and Carla Farmer; above right: the hair and make-up depart- ments with Criterion Group agents Susan Wright and Alicia DeAnda. Photos courtesy of Stacey Morris. Left: Snipes in the period look. Mindy Kaling, as Mrs. Who, receives finishing touches from Kim Kimble and the hair styling team. The hair team had a remarkable attentiveness to partic- ulars, even on heavy days with more than 300 participants that ventured through the works for hair and make-up. Many challenges were met along the way, particularly, adhering to the period-specific looks. A fair number of cast and background members came on board the show with looks that were far from period-accurate. In these cases, wigs or hair had to be created, added or built on the spot. In addition, most shoot days were done on exterior locations in extremely hot summertime temperatures. These elements required the laborious undertaking of making sure lace-fronted and synthetic wigs remained intact through heat and sweat between every single shot. One of the biggest challenges was that understandably, actors wanted very much to take their wigs off during down periods to cool off. Once wigs had been taken off after being applied, the reapplication process had to be incredibly fast to get them set-ready; no easy feat on the fly. The looks and styles were important to be preserved in haste. Despite this, the wigs appear freshly and prop- erly applied throughout shooting. Determining who was or was not going to wear wigs, pieces, and extensions depended on whether their exist- ing haircuts fit the period and could be styled into one of the many distinguishing looks of the '70s. It was very important to ensure that everyone didn't look the same, which oftentimes happens in '70s period films depicting the black culture. Close attention was paid to the men, deviating away from them all wearing the typical big fro, bushy mus- taches or beards and pork chop sideburns. Not everyone in the period wore the common, on-screen Hollywood stereotyped '70s coiffures. The black men of that time Plausibly, Dolemite Is My Name is a heftily hair-dependent movie. The amount of hair to be managed on the produc- tion necessitated the skills of a core team of stylists, handpicked by Carla and Stacey. This core team consist- ing of nine extra stylists was essential to bringing Carla and Stacey's vision for Dolemite to life. Their expression of gratitude to their team for executing countless styles is immeasurable. Linda Villalobos, Lillie Frierson, Conrad Hilton, Debra Pierce, Jessica Allen Brunel, Shian Banks, Tinisha Meeks, Linda Stevenson Khan, and Maynard Mathews spent countless hours into the wee hours of the night, monitoring tedious details at the demand of main- taining the standard set forth. The hair department's col- lective skill set and attention to details paid off and were illuminated when director Craig Brewer made mention of the fact and took pleasure in capturing unanticipated b-roll of characters beyond the principal actors and cast.