Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535796
Seat of Power - City Hall and Gracie Mansion Mayor Wilson Fisk is striving to put his Kingpin past behind him. He appears to be a changed man. Nothing he is experiencing is comfortable or familiar. The furniture is too small. Everything is too formal. The world is too bright. He is making the best of it, but he is out of his comfort zone. He feels the weight of history, imagines past mayors and feels responsibility for this great city. We also feel the percolating dark side. After touring the spaces, I found that the actual Gracie Mansion and New York City Hall told this story extremely well, and I borrowed much of the look and feel for the stage sets. It was important to feel authentic. There is a historic and wonderful out-of-date, stuck-in-time feel to these real places that scream "velvet rope—don't touch," which seemed perfect. To help Vincent's character feel uncomfortable, I reduced the scale of doors and ceilings and chose small and fragile furniture. It was fantastic watching the imposing Vincent D'Onofrio as Mayor Fisk navigating this fragile world. Then, as the show progressed and he slipped back into his old ways, we added more white around him and emphasized the growing influence of his wife, Vanessa, through art pieces in Gracie Mansion. All of this cold formality served as a wonderful contrast to Matt Murdock's earthy and warm environment. Red Hook Port Revitalization Project There are not many actual places left with views of the city, which are derelict and in need of revitalization. The real Brooklyn waterfront has undergone massive gentrification. All the places previously used to film desolate scenes are now parks and high-rises. A good thing, I guess! In the series, Vanessa and Wilson are going to rebuild the dysfunctional Red Hook port into a fully gentrified port complex, park and residential buildings. Of course, there is an ulterior motive which gets revealed later. The one location that came to me was the old grain terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which has excellent scale and this fantastic decayed patina with views of the city. Increasingly, the greatest challenge is finding a unique and appropriate location that has not been shot to death. The grain terminal was both overshot and highly unique, and, thankfully, unique won in our E. MATT'S APARTMENT. ILLUSTRATION. F. MATT'S APARTMENT. PRODUCTION STILL. G. GRACIE MANSION DINING ROOM. PRODUCTION STILL. H. MAYOR'S OFFICE. PRODUCTION STILL. E F G H