Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1475069
22 • THE ARTISAN FALL 2022 In pre-production, Corinne and I met with cinematographer Todd Banhazl. We had many favorite photographers and directors in common, one being John Cassavetes. Todd was adamant that everyone's skin be shiny like Azizi Johari in Killing of a Chinese Bookie. We tested Ikegami, 8mm, and 35mm cameras to replicate the overexposed and highly saturated skin tones of 1970s films. When Todd called me after the camera test, I thought, "Uh oh. I'm in trouble," but he was calling to tell us how happy he was. Costume designer Emma Potter was equally collaborative, sharing her research and fitting photos. Accessing her images was integral to defining a character's mood and story arc. We needed to understand Emma's specific color palette and vibe for the fans of each city that the Lakers visited throughout the season. For example, Los Angeles was a palette of sunny earth tones, while Michigan was more pastel blues and greens. The rival city Boston's palette was to be particularly cool. In terms of principals, each episode focuses on the origin story of a specific player, coach, or owner. All the looks were taken from researched images and archival footage. One of the best "strange but true" physical evolutions is that of Pat Riley (Adrien Brody). Just look up Riley in 1974! We only used creative license for Above, clockwise from top left: Sarah Ramos (Cheryl Pistono) and Solomon Hughes; Carina Conti (Paula Abdul) & the Laker Girls; Tracy Letts (Jack McKinney). Below: Kate Biscoe touching up Solomon Hughes; tattoo coverage on actor Jordan Southerland with T.C. Luisi, Anne Tagge and Jennifer Gerber. characters when documentation wasn't available. Two of these characters were Jessie Buss (Sally Field) and Claire Rothman (Gaby Hoffmann), and even then, what Jamie Hess did make- up-wise was authentic to the period. Another real character that lacked reference photos from the 1979-80 period was Cookie Kelly, and for the story's sake, we used our imagination. Marsha applied the make-up on Tamera Tomakili, who portrayed Magic Johnson's college sweetheart and future wife. Incidentally, Tamera was covered in tattoos, something you would never guess due to Marsha's ability in hiding them. The amount of tattoo coverage required on Winning Time would be one of the many things that would be a surprise to me. And what I don't think any of us, production included, ever foresaw was how big this show would become. Luckily, I had hired an extraordinary team. Where I was deficient in TV experience, my Co-department Head Corinne Foster was proficient. Before Winning Time, I was ignorant of the workings of block shooting, lunchtime production meetings, multiple directors, and rotating AD departments. Corinne devised a system where I could concentrate on design, research, and daily make-up testing while she focused on the schedule and hiring.