Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474575
the travails of the 'making of,' but the limited series' telling of the events is based on the experience of someone I'd not paid much attention to, the inimitable producer Al Ruddy. "What sealed it for me was when Al said, 'Every day of making The Godfather was the worst day in my life', and that told me we had a show. For every character in the fi lm, getting it made or stopping it from being made was at the core of their actions, and it was a matter of life and death to them." The Off er writer/EP Michael Tolkin, as told to Vanity Fair. Michael (The Player, Escape at Dannemora) spent days talking with Al about that experience, and it was from the unimaginable stories he heard that he and show runner/writer Nikki Toscano (Hunters crafted the script—one that I found astonishing, thrilling and terribly funny. I was particularly taken by the tremendous heart in the portraits it drew of all the players: The determination and investment they brought to their eff orts and struggles somehow beautifully expressed the collaborative creative process in an artistic and commercial venture at its craziest best. Dexter Fletcher Rocketman), who directed the fi rst two of the ten episodes, setting style and tone, was stuck in London awaiting a visa the fi rst of seemingly endless COID complications), so together we spent a couple weeks poring through photography and fi lm of the late sixtiesearly seventies, sharing images and ideas through long, fun Zoom sessions. We were led to the sense that design for this sprawling story in the contrasting worlds of Hollywood, NY business and organized crime needed grounding in realism, but couldn't be afraid to exert itself in bursts of slightly exaggerated style. And because of the fragmented storyline, jumping coasts and between worlds as it did, attention needed be paid to clarity of locale. s Supervising rt Director ann Engel put together a team, and I began location scouting and designing the core sets, I was oined by director of photography Sal Totino and location manager Boyd Wilson. Sharing a long preproduction gave us space to explore, so that by the time Dexter arrived, we were able to present a coherent approach to fi lming the fi rst block—one that excited us. I was lucky to be oined in the adventure by a crew that shared my enthusiasm, because we certainly had challenges fi rst and foremost, shooting New ork and Los ngeles with side trips to Vegas, Texas, Mexico and, especially—Sicily) all in L. There are very limited opportunities out on the streets of Los ngeles to convincingly sell NC, and a fi nite number of backlots, which come with their own set of problems. And given the disregard Los ngeles has always shown for its history and architecture, physical changes there make exterior L period work tough as well. e knew going in that we'd need to rely on visual eff ects both for set extensions and changes to period anachronisms. Early on, I developed a strong working relationship with VFX supervisor John Mangia. We collaborated closely—along with the DPs—to develop an approach that would make sense in handling big exteriors; getting the right look was key, but budget was always a concern. Extensive research by both the rt Department and FX yielded the A. CASTELLO DEGLI SCHIAVI. IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY REPLICATE CASTELLO DEGLI SCHIAVI, SET DESIGNER PHIL TOOLIN DID EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON HISTORICAL AND MODERN DOCUMENTATION.THIS IS ONE OF MANY SHEETS OF HAND DRAWINGS HE DID FOR THE BUILD. B. CASTELLO DEGLI SCHIAVI. PRACTICAL BUILD IN PROGRESS AT SABLE RANCH. B A