Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500164
6 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 3 What happens when you get a panicky call from a producer friend asking if you can take over a troubled Art Department on a feature film that's to start principal photography in exactly four weeks? Maybe you'd look heavenward and ask for guidance, but in March of 2021, I took a more practical approach; I needed a script and some information fast. My producer friend Jonathan McCoy was on a Lionsgate picture based on the classic Judy Blume book, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Here was a sweet rueful tale set in 1970 New York and New Jersey following a year in the life of Margaret Simon, an 11-year-old who, along with her mom Barb, grandma Sylvia and best friends, struggle to find their place in the world. Charlotte, NC, would stand in for not only New Jersey, but Manhattan, Vermont and Miami as well. The previous Production Designer was leaving the show, along with her Art Director and Set Designers. I had exactly one conversation with writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig and one with acclaimed producer James L Brooks; they said yes to me and I gulped and said yes back. Now I'll tell you a surprising secret: entering a dire situation like this can be a blessing for the new designer—everything you suggest is welcomed with open arms as long as it doesn't cost much money. You can't really fail because you only got four weeks to prep for pity's sake. I have nothing but praise and gratitude for my predecessor who spent an entire day walking me through the state of the show to that point. I will forever thank her brilliant choice of set decorator Selina van den Brink, who filled every bedroom, classroom, rumpus room and streetscape with care and nuance. I inherited a great prop master in John Bankson, a terrific local Graphic Designer, A r e Y o u T h e r e , G o d ? I T ' S M E , S T E V E B Y S T E V E S A K L A D , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A. CONCEPT SKETCH OF THE GREENWICH VILLAGE STREET, WHERE MARGARET'S STORY BEGINS. B. THE STREET IN MONROE, NC, FULLY INSTALLED AND DRESSED FOR GREENWICH VILLAGE, NYC, C. 1970. C. GRAPHIC DESIGNER TIFFANY APPLE DESIGNED EXPERT LIGHTBOX SIGNAGE WITH FAUX-NEON CAN LETTERS TO TAKE THE GREENWICH VILLAGE STREET FROM DAY TO NIGHT. A