The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500507
LMGI COMPASS | Spring 2023 • 31 Atlanta. Spielberg had been sharing photos, 8mm movies and tapes of his youth with Rick for months by that time, and he in turn shared many of the images with Leann. "What was still undetermined at that point," Rick says, "was whether or not we'd be able to shoot this all in L.A., which they wanted to do for budgetary reasons—but also because moving people amidst the pandemic was very difficult. We had to know if that was even possible before anyone else came on at the beginning of April. Leann came in as one of the first artists to help me interpret how we could make it work. "The thing about Leann is she's so engaging, so intelligent and you notice that just in the initial conversations you have. Then, for me, to see her methodology and what she would deliver and how quickly she could deliver it … she's just very impressive." Rick had never gone to see any of the actual homes Spielberg grew up in personally, but as it happens, Leann's parents live in the hills just under Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona. There was no question she would be stopping by the real house where Spielberg had spent a considerable portion of his youth. Rick sent her a photo and an address he had found on Google Maps. ON HALLOWED GROUND Leann drove from Atlanta on a Sunday, got to Arizona, and didn't even stop at her parents' house. She drove straight to the address Rick had given her. "I was just buzzing," Leann recalls. "For me it was like, I don't know, going to Mecca or something. Like 'This is where the man grew up!'" Rick had mentioned that if they decided to shoot Arizona for Arizona, they'd love to see if it would be possible to film in the actual house, but they didn't want Leann to approach the owners just yet. "When I got to the neighborhood, I parked a block away and walked over to the street. I had my camera out and I'm just looking around going, 'wow, he used to ride his bike here.' So, I see the house, snap some pictures and, as I turn around to take a panoramic shot, a woman comes out and says, 'excuse me, why are you taking photos of my house?' "I just said that I was a location scout, and we were thinking about shooting in the area," Leann relates, "and the woman says, 'oh, that's cool. You know, crazily enough, Steven Spielberg grew up in that house across the street,' and I was like, 'oh really? That's wild!'" Rick had accidentally sent Leann to the wrong house! After scouting a week in Arizona and two weeks in L.A., Leann made a photo presentation comparing locations in each state. Rick was impressed and decided to include her on Zoom sessions with Steven. That was a big deal. Up until that point, the Zoom meetings had been inner circle only. "Once I'd narrowed down a few neighborhoods and showed them to Steven he said, 'wow, California looks great, let's just shoot it all here,'" Leann says.