Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521244
The scenes were shot in front of a very long blue screen because this house is supposed to be in the Caribbean. The second important architect for this show is Edward Killingsworth, who also participated in the Case Study House Program. The former Killingsworth residence in Long Beach is an absolute highlight. I saw this house for the first time a couple of years ago: It was for sale by Crosby Doe. Sadly, I wasn't working on anything for which I could have used at the time. I remembered the house, but it had been sold in the meantime. The location manager, Kristopher Bunting, persuaded the new owners to allow us to show it to the director and DP. I was over the moon after I realized the house was completely original and more or less untouched. After the first scout, Andy and I fell in love with the place, with its oversized doors, the water feature in the inner courtyard, and the signature slat ceilings that create this unique light, all of these elements typical for Killingsworth's architecture and designs. We could imagine the scripted scenes perfectly well in this environment. (Other examples of Killingsworth's designs are Case Study Houses No. 23 and 25.) The architecture lovers who had bought the house preserved everything that was still original and reinstated other elements that needed repairing. The aesthetic challenge was to build a jacuzzi in the yard that blended in with the original design of the house, the terraces and the natural stone. The logistic challenge was to accommodate the brutal stunt scenes without damaging the house. Surprisingly, one location that helped us set the tone for the overall atmosphere of the show was the Astro Diner in Silver Lake. This diner was designed in 1958 by Louis Armet and Eldon Davis, who designed and built close to four thousand buildings around Los Angeles. In this case, the architecture, a beautiful example of the Googie Period, was not the main reason why we chose this location to be part of Griselda's world. Instead, it was the mere color of the tiles. I even applied orange panels on the outside walls, which can be seen through the windows, to have the same color scheme in the reverse shot. (as one can see in the still of Sofia Vergara). A lot of the atmosphere in Griselda is based on the character of old Polaroid photos, which the DP Armando Salas and Andres Baiz have taken repeatedly on our many location scouts. F D. OCHOA RESIDENCE. SET PHOTO. E. OCHOA RESIDENCE. PRODUCTION STILL. F. MARTHA OCHOA'S PAD. SET PHOTO. G. MARTHA OCHOA'S PAD. SET PHOTO. H. MIAMI DINER. SHOT AT THE ASTRO DINER IN SILVER LAKE. SET PHOTO. I. MIAMI DINER. PRODUCTION STILL. G H I