Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538080
creative team was able to all get into a room and hash out the details. For the Chinatown exteriors, my initial plan was to dress a block of facades and side alleys at the Universal Studios lot, and for the pilot, we did just that. The Art Department packed the city streets full of storefronts, sidewalk vendors, graphics, and carefully chosen wares to evoke that beautiful chaos and energy of dense Chinatown living. To cap it off, we built a traditional decorative Chinese gateway, which can be seen in the opening scenes. A wrench was thrown into the plans after the crew had already started construction of our large stage builds: I was informed that we wouldn't be able to stay on our rented lots. After a lot of deliberation, we decided that we'd have to recreate not only the exterior of The Golden Palace, but also the entire block it faced—on our new soundstages. This was tricky, as we had to change the angles of the street and the ratio of the building fronts in order to make it fit on stage and still feel as though it were the same street. The series also got to shoot on location, not only in Los Angeles' own historic Chinatown, but in Orange County, San Pedro, Santa Clarita and Palmdale. Unfortunately, it's become rarer to shoot in L.A. these days—when traveling for work, I'm normally the lone soldier showing up to an entire crew I've never met, let alone worked with. But for this show, I got to have my own local crew, which just adds an extra layer of comfort and shorthand efficiency. The entire crew was phenomenal, and I felt like we had so much more at our disposal in terms of props, set dressing, A B C A. & B. GOLDEN PALACE INTERIOR, FRONT OF HOUSE. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. C. GOLDEN PALACE INTERIOR, KITCHEN. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. D. SRO INTERIOR, WILLIS' ROOM. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. E. SRO INTERIOR, LILY'S ROOM. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. F. SRO INTERIOR, FATTY'S ROOM. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. G. SRO HALLWAY. BUILT ON STAGE. SET PHOTO.