The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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18 • LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2019 desk clerk peeked out from behind a door with a puzzled look, "We're not closed." Well, two-thirds of it was, for a very slow-moving remodel. Yep, the owners needed money to complete their work, the place wouldn't be filled with guests, and we could make a deal to own it for a month and a half. I quickly hired local assistants, re-found all the movie's locations in three weeks and we only had to push the start of production by one week. Icing on the cake? The director smiling at you after such an unexpected, whirlwind experience with "I like this location even better than the other one!" Working closely with directors is one of my favorite aspects of the job—being hired on early enough in the process, with enough time to scout locations properly with a director's input. And that was definitely the case with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I had previously worked with writer/director Martin McDonagh in LA on Seven Psychopaths so I knew this new one would also make for a terrific working relationship. We toured five tax incentive states together, visiting small town after small town, to zero in on that perfect one in Martin's head, and ultimately selected the wonderful town and people of Sylva, North Carolina. Martin liked to play music he was considering for his movie while driving all those winding country roads (Townes Van Zandt, Jim James, Conor Oberst—works for me!). In addition to "charming, old-fashioned, Midwest vibe," there were several specifics to how the main street of Ebbing needed to lay out in order for it to work as written, and I love tackling fun challenges like that. In this case, the correct proximity of a 2nd floor "advertising office" across not too wide a street from a corner "police station," where Molotov cocktails could be hurled out the windows of one building while getting permission to set fire to the other. Oh, and a stairwell, Martin really wanted a stairwell that faced the main street and led up to the advertising office. If the stairs were on the side or back of the building, it wouldn't give him that perfect two-minute- long single take he had in mind of Dixon exiting the police station, crossing the street, walking upstairs to throw Red out the window to then follow Dixon back down across the street and back into the police station. For all the reasons that Sylva worked beautifully, that one aspect was probably the clincher. How rewarding that day was to watch Martin's ambitious and intense scene be realized. In terms of Los Angeles, people ask me what my favorite iconic location is. Well, unfortunately it can't be a favorite for going on 15 years now, but my mind always goes back to the Ambassador Hotel. Due to its historic and architectural significance, how it secured its place in cinema history (The Graduate, Forrest Gump, etc.), but also due to my own memories of filming there before its heartbreaking demise. One of my favorite experiences being on set was watching the great Albert Brooks improvise hilarious dialogue with Meryl Streep in the Ambassador's main lobby for his under-appreciated gem Defending Your Life. A more somber memory of the Ambassador Hotel? The time I gave Ben Stiller a tour of the kitchen where Robert Kennedy was shot. He was curious to see it and pay his respects, as many were when filming there. And the finished billboards Sizing up the billboards in Black Mountain, NC.