Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433736
T H E H A R D E R T H E Y F A L L | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 5 brilliant team led by Steve Kahn and Robin Blagg, had already begun stripping down the Ford Ranch buildings in December. This was a critical move. The town was falling down, and we knew that, in the least, we needed to make it safe and strip o all the decrepit and weatherworn parts. The town also had adequate interior space the crew could renovate and modify for most of the sets, apart from the main showpiece set, which was the mayor's mansion. I wanted and needed to make a statement with the mayor's mansion. Both Greg and I agreed it needed to be built. The end of the street exactly opposite the church was an empty lot. The perfect position for a domineering, imposing, showo of a structure. Greg apalia was assigned the task of designing and drafting up this two-story beauty. The schedule was so tight, we did not have time to design the whole thing and hand over a complete set of drawings to construction as one tidy, complete package. We did our best to get them going and provide enough information to begin building. It was a balance of getting the structural decisions to our unshakeable foreman, Bart Slade, while keeping space for the ornamentation and detail to follow. Quite a balancing act and a testament to Greg Papalia's experience and talent. With construction under way on the mayor's, the Art Department continued to deepen our focus on all the street facades, as well as the five other interiors. I had a world-class paint department at my fingertips led by the brilliant and wonderful Randy Ortega Sr. His tireless crew was there for me through all the weather and painstaking detail I had to dish out. I am deeply grateful to them all. They gave the town the charm, nuance and detail that truly made Redwood sing. This included period-perfect hand-painted signs from Bill Horn. All of the business names in the town were called out by Jeymes, as he wanted the signs to be of people of personal significance to him. Matt Gatlin was the Redwood Art Director, with support from Greg Hooper and Wendy Stokes as the in-house graphic genius and crystal color guru. I honestly can't say enough glowing things about this group of people. Creatively, practically and personally to have their support and partnership is such an honor and truly what it is all about to me. I have known them all for years, love them all very much, and truly couldn't have done it without them. Trudy's aloon was next to demo and renovate. Followed by a jail, a bank and a telegraph oce. Jeymes, with his typical, tireless enthusiasm, declared that the church should be the gym! (A set cut from the final version of the film. We now had all our set construction building blocks in place and I could get back to the tasty task of getting deeper into the design of the interiors. Color, texture, pattern. Layers of furniture, upholstery, drapery and custom wallpapers were next. As my luck would have it, the decorator, Jay Hart, was available and interested. Now I had yet another brilliant collaborator to work with. C. INTERIOR MAYOR'S MANSION. SET PHOTO. D. INTERIOR MAYOR'S MANSION. SET PHOTO. C D