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LMGI COMPASS
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Fall 2022
IN MY CITY: CLEVELAND
The gritty Westinghouse Factory—this vast Cleveland factory
hasn't roared with machinery in decades but now plays a central
role in movies. It was built as a generator plant to power the
Cleveland Railway Company's trolley system in 1890. It later
served various incarnations as an aircraft, auto parts and Titan
ICBM guided missile system factory. When business eroded in
the 1970s, the factory endured wave after wave of layoffs before
completely shutting down in 1979. It has stood silent ever since.
Scarlett Johansson toys with her captors in a Russian warehouse
scene in
The Avengers.
The Zverina Building—when we were searching for an option to
match the real Black Panthers Headquarters location in Judas
and the Black Messiah,
Sam Lisenco, our production designer,
invested a great deal of time researching as many photos of the
actual location as he could find. It was a difficult assignment
to tackle, especially since this location demanded weeks of
prep and filming that would incorporate the interior tied to
the exterior, and the exterior had to be blocks of period-correct
architecture to go along with it. After weeks of searching, we came
across one of the last functioning single resident occupancy hotels
in Cleveland, a building that was built in the 1860s complete with
original wallpaper. And the street was stuck in the same moment in
time. It was one of those rare moments where you know right away
you've got the perfect location.
Stevie: WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN YOUR JOB?
WG:
The biggest challenge in Ohio is convincing producers who have
never filmed here, they can be successful in this state. It's much
easier for producers to go back to the places they've always worked,
even despite architectural, logistical and cost advantages here.
Stevie: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE OR MOST MEMORABLE FILMING
EXPERIENCES?
WG:
I explored dozens of abandoned insane asylums in Massachusetts
for
Shutter Island. I spelunked through miles of tunnels in an
Cleveland Waterfront.
Photo: Aerial Agents
