On Monday, the Guardian tipped me off to Spacesicks’ I Can Read Movies series.
Since this project has been up since the January, I am feeling woefully unhip over the fact that I have just discovered the wide, wonderful, dizzying world of Spacekick. I actually don’t know QUITE how to describe this mind-bending experience so all I can say is you have to see it to believe it.
The concept: give cult classic and popular films the 1960s pop art book cover treatment.
The result: sweeeeeeeeetness.
Filed under: architecture, cinema, design, history, preservation | Tags: (500) Days of Summer, Downtown Los Angeles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Los Angeles conservancy, Marc Webb, walking tour, Zooey Deschanel
Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Zooey Deschanel
OK all you Los Angelinos, mark your calendars: this Sunday, August 30, the Los Angeles Conservancy is holding a (500) Days of Summer architectural tour.
If you’ve had the chance to see this excellent indie rom-com, you’ll no doubt remember that the biggest scene-stealer in the film was the city of Angels herself. It is a singularly unique ‘LA movie’ in that it is in no way affiliated with anything Hollywood or Westside, but rather it revels in the neglected beauties of Broadway and Hill and Hope and Fig.
If you’re interested in seeing these gorgeous pieces of architecture first hand and are looking for something free to do, join the Conservancy on Sunday at 3:00pm for what will surely be a fascinating walking tour.
Here’s the lowdown from the Conservancy’s Flavorpill page:
Do you love the hit movie and want to know more about the locations where it was filmed? If so, join two film experts on Sunday, August 30 from 3 – 6 p.m. for a tour of some of the sites. Harry Medved, author of the SoCal movie location guidebook Hollywood Escapes, and Marty Cummins, a key assistant location manager for the film, will host and lead the tour. The tour starts at Old Bank DVD, 400 S. Main St.
There’s no charge, although donations are welcome. Harry will be selling copies of Hollywood Escapes before and after the tour, with proceeds going directly to the Conservancy.
Filed under: arts, design, fashion | Tags: Hollywood glam, Hollywood regency, interior design, Joan Crawford, William Haines
"I would rather have taste than love or money." - William Haines
William Haines is perhaps best known today as being the first openly gay actor in Hollywood, and his refusal to deny or hide his relationship with his lover, Jimmy Shields, killed a soaring film career in its tracks. The handsome, witty Haines was a silent film superstar, and one of MGM’s biggest attractions and a consistent top box-office draw into the early 30s. But Louis B Mayer released Haines from his contract when he refused to end his relationship with Shields. However, Hollywood’s loss was, well, Hollywood’s gain, because the indomitable Haines (who was already buddy-buddy with the likes of Orry-Kelly) became its resident designer du choix. And while his work as an actor (particularly the comic roles as in Vidor’s Show People) is enjoyable, it is his memorable career as an interior designer that made him legendary.
The immaculate taste and style of the fearless William Haines is alive and well and flourishing in the 21st century thanks to William Haines Designs. Based out of West Hollywood, with showrooms on the east coast, the company faithfully reproduces original Haines designs and celebrates his famously glammed-up interiors (now coined as “Hollywood Regency”) with inspired décor that would do Haines proud. Kelly Wearstler and Jonathan Adler are just a few of the modern designers whose distinct sense of heightened glamour is more than just slightly influenced by Haines’ work.
But there ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, and the beautiful William Haines Designs website not only displays Haines’ classic interiors, pays homage to the man with a lovely pictorial biography.
It’s little wonder than such fashionistas as Carole Lombard and Joan Crawford (his best friend whom he lovingly nicknamed “Cranberry”) regularly employed Haines’ hand: his look positively screams Grand Hotel.
By the way, Haines and Shields remained together for fifty years until Haines died in 1973. As George Cukor put it, ‘they were the happiest married couple in Hollywood.’
Below are a few examples of Haines’ Hollywood glam interiors, both original and inspired-by.
(all images copyright William Haines Designs)
Filed under: 1920s, art, arts, classic movies, design, hollywood, photography, vintage | Tags: alice white, bette davis, buster Keaton, colorized photos; claroscureaux; vintage photos, gloria swanson, hedy lamarr, myrna loy, rudolph valentino, veronica lake
Right, so like most things in life, I am probably the last person in the blogosphere to know about this fella. Many thanks to Forget the Talkies for bringing it to my attention!
Claroscureaux colorizes vintage Hollywood photographs.
Normally the word “colorize” makes my skin crawl and I get a sudden urge for sudden death. But Claroscureaux’s work is beautiful– if I might rhapsodize, I daresay his work is exquisite. Some are spine-tingling in their realism, some have an Earl Christy-ish painterly quality, but all are obvious works of tireless, tedious attention to detail.
He has a store online to fulfill all of your every day classic cinema needs– coffee mugs, et all– and the prints are priced very reasonably.
Here are some of my favorites:
Myrna Loy - © Claroscureaux
Hedy Lamarr - © Claroscureaux
Veronica Lake - © Claroscureaux (this is quite possibly my favorite photo of the year)
Bette Davis - © Claroscureaux
Valentino - © Claroscureaux (smolder alert, ladies!)
Buster Keaton - © Claroscureaux
Gloria Swanson - © Claroscureaux
Alice White - © Claroscureaux
Filed under: art, arts, classic movies, culture, design, fashion, history, hollywood, photography, vintage | Tags: cecil beaton; 30s fashion; 40s fashion; costume design;, julie andrews; sylvia sidney; gwili andre
As something of a cantankerous twitterer, I have as of today softened somewhat in my outright cynicism towards the juggernaut. Thanks to Stephen Fry’s twitter page (yes, I’m a voracious snoop), I am thrilled to learn that the Chris Beetles Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition of photographs taken by the legendary photographer, artist, writer, designer and all around pop culture icon, Cecil Beaton. This exclusive collection of Beaton’s prints is certainly the most extensive such exhibition to date. For those of us unable to attend thanks to rather formidable masses of land and ocean, there is a special 92 page illustrated catalogue of the exhibition available for purchase directly from the gallery. On a personal note, this exhibition ends the day that I land in London for a holiday and I have every intention of braving the jet lag in order to get an up-close-and-personal look at some of Beaton’s most jaw-dropping work:
Sylvia Sidney
Gwili Andre
Julie Andrews
Filed under: art, classic movies, culture, design, entertainment, film, hollywood, illustration, movies, nostalgia, vintage | Tags: art; movie magazine; vintage movie magazine; cover art; earl christy; rolf armstrong; wilson hammell; photoplay magazine, golden age of movies, pulp art; pastel art;
We at the Pictorial love Earl Christy. And Rolf Armstrong. And McClelland Barclay. And R Wilson Hammell. And Charles Edward Chambers. And all of the other American artists from the early 20th century that made up advertising’s great, golden age of Illustration. Not only because of what they did for women’s journals and literary magazines but, of course, for the exquisite works of art created for American movie magazines. Photoplay, Modern Screen, Picturegoer, Screenland et al. Working largely from celebrity photographs, and in mediums such as oil and pastel, their work was firstly functional and not always … shall we say … artistic (hey, they had a hell of a workload, OK?) But when they were able to push the creative envelope, oh mama! The results were downright breathtaking.
According to the superlative website Grapefruit Moon, “The printing industry with its technological advancements and the American Industrial Revolution made for a multicolor offset printing process that was fast, affordable, and flat-out glorious in print. Cover artists were much in demand, earned lavish salaries and often became household names and stars in their own right.” Of course the likes of Norman Rockwell are venerated these days for their work, but today, for no reason at all, the Pictorial felt obliged to tip its hat to the illustrators of the great American movie magazines of yesteryear.
Below is a culled retrospective of some of our favorite eye-popping, sensational, drool-worthy illustrations of that explosively creative era.
* * *
Constance Bennett, by Earl Christy
Norma Shearer, by Marland Stone
Anna Q Nilsson, by Rolf Armstrong
Ann Sheridan, by Earl Christy
Bette Davis, by John Rolston Clarke
Claudette Colbert, unknown artist
Joan Crawford, Wilson Hammell
Katharine Hepburn, unknown artist
Carole Lombard & Fred MacMurray, by Earl Christy
Martha Mansfield, by Rolf Armstrong
Mary Astor, by Earl Christy
Myrna Loy & William Powell, colorized studio photo
Norma Talmadge, by Earl Christy
Filed under: art, arts, cinema, culture, design, film, movies | Tags: blake edwards; pacific design center; the art of blake edwards; los angeles
Opening today at Los Angeles’ Pacific Design Center is the new exhibition “The Art of Blake Edwards.” We of course know Blake Edwards as the delightfully wacky creator of such films as Operation Petticoat, The Pink Panther and The Great Race. (Edwards’ remarkable The Days of Wine and Roses is the austere anomaly) But he has also been a painter and sculptor for over four decades and the Pacific Design Center’s new exhibition showcases a collection of Edwards’ art. “He brings to his art the same passion, elegance and humor that delights us in his films.” The exhibition will run until January 31st.
For more information visit the design center’s website or call 310-657-0800.
Filed under: arts, design, illustration | Tags: charcoal; portrait; gerard butler; art; drawing; black and white; movies
we take this break from your regularly scheduled program for a little teabreak. this is a shamefully narcissistic moment as i am posting a charcoal portait study that I did about three years ago of actor gerard butler. hey, it’s my blog, and if i feel like being self-indulgent, well then, so be it.
