Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
the worlds for each new plot that Charlie casually saunters into. During the entire six-month shoot, we rarely found any location we could use as is, or even come close to what was needed. The sustained challenge was to invent, fabricate and layer every detail of the story. While hammering together the dinner theater in episode eight or building and dressing the lodge in episode nine, the Art Department was always trying to conjure a miraculous alchemy, to embellish each episode with just the authentic details that would summon its own personality supporting the story. Episode One: "Dead Man's Hand" - Nevada Viewers are introduced to Charlie Cale working as a cocktail waitress at a lower rate casino in a small, out-of-the-way gambling town in Nevada. It's a timeworn spot you'd drive past without a second look on your way elsewhere, a far cry from the glitz of Las Vegas or even second-tier Reno. It's where the series begins at Frost Casino. I knew our chances of finding a working casino that would allow filming were slim to none, but we attempted to scout a handful that exist in New York State. The production originally explored finding a casino where we could film the interior and exterior in the same location, but it quickly became apparent we'd have to be more creative. We scouted casino exteriors in small gambling towns across Nevada, eventually finding one in Laughlin, two hours south of Las Vegas. It's an unknown destination for most people, but it still draws a loyal betting crowd in the dusty, sunbaked desert that matched what we imagined for Frost Casino. The original 1966 architecture of the hotel and casino had several extensions and additions from the '70s, '80s and '90s, which provided sufficient design leeway to create a casino interior in NY. The series' timeline and resources didn't allow us to build a casino on a stage and the Umbra stages we were stationed in did not have the necessary square footage or height. Lady luck was on our side when we stumbled upon a closed event space in nearby New Windsor, NY. With a general idea of how to match the interiors to the Laughlin exteriors, Lizzie Eggert, the set decorator for the first two episodes, was tasked with finding enough working casino equipment to fill two separate casino floors and a casino bar. The script also called for a crow's nest in the casino where Sterling Jr. would preside over his betting operations and use as his hangout to do business. Rian really wanted to shoot these scenes practically, A. FROST CASINO FLOOR #1. ALL INTERIOR CASINO SETS IN EPISODE 101 WERE BUILT IN AN ABANDONED EVENT SPACE, ANTHONY'S PIER 9 IN NEW WINDSOR, NY. SET PHOTO. B. FROST CASINO— CROW'S NEST. FROST JR. (ADRIEN BRODY) AND CHARLIE (NATASHA LYONNE) DISCUSS HIS PROPOSED SCHEME. THIS SET WAS BUILT ON A PLATFORM NEXT TO THE CASINO FLOOR TO OVERSEE GAMBLING ACTIVITIES ON THE FLOOR. PRODUCTION STILL. C. STERLING FROST JR.'S OFFICE. SET BUILD IN A DIFFERENT PART OF THE ABANDONED EVENT SPACE. SET PHOTO. A B C