Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1445703
46 • THEARTISAN SPRING 2022 RM: Crazy. How did you research such a specific look for that area and time? Striving for such authenticity, what were some of your inspirations? HEBA: The San Fernando Valley was a separate world unto its own, even from the rest of LA, making research even more nuanced. Our director sent us a file with pictures of Gary Goetzman's family from that time because he wanted similarities to a lot of his friends and family. Like Momma Anita, played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis. Cruising by Rick McCloskey was a great resource, it was our bible! LORI: He wanted the kids to look like real high school kids, so we watched a lot of docs and films shot in the '70s. A friend of mine who grew up in that area lent me her high school yearbooks, which were very helpful. I also bought quite a few San Fernando Valley high school yearbooks on eBay. RM: Share a little about the dynamic between a visionary director who doesn't even want you on set yet relies on you to fulfill his vision. Starting with your first days, then how this evolved… HEBA: Wanting to do the film without hiring hair and make-up, PTA had done a few trials and errors before I was involved. He called me up and had an honest talk after Lori recommended me and said that he "realized even when he does not think actors have any make-up on, it turns out in actuality that they do." To which of course, I agreed. No matter what, all the imperfections are magnified when you blow up on a screen that big. LORI: It was similar for me: Alana had balayage ombre color and a blunt haircut. I went to him one day during prep and showed him some reference images of what Alana's hair could look like, so he let me color her hair and give her a more '70s haircut, something that looked naturally grown out, not so blunt. Before he hired me, he had his wife Maya cut Cooper's (the male lead) hair. After watching the camera test, he reached out and said, "He's going to need a haircut." Which is why camera tests are so important, they give us the opportunity to see what does and doesn't work. PTA surrounds himself with so many talented people. While he draws lines in areas that make it challenging to do our job, I think he knows when to trust that we would respectfully do what we had to do to bring his vision to life. RM: Knowing what it takes to do your job while navigating these hurdles might engender a smuggler-like mentality—or worse! Please share more of what this was like. HEBA: Weighing what had to be done against doing what we were told, we had to find a way. Sometimes we had to lie, cheat and steal to get there and other times, we put the trust in the actors to do what we taught them! How Paul set us up felt disrespectful at times, yet we knew he really respected us. Lori and I both love and respect him plus we all had a common goal, so when Paul wanted a character make-up, he gave us all the time needed to do what had to be done. I love cinema verité, and I loved the challenge Paul set up for us but if we did not see the actors, who was deciding what pimples were OK and which had to be covered?! I had to put all my trust into Paul as the director and DP and the script supervisor to let us know if someone had put on the wrong lipstick. It was a true teamwork! LORI: We both respect and love the films PTA makes, so we were both willing to give it a try and do things the way he wanted them, Cooper Hoffman