Fri 29 Jun 2007
Apparently part of New Haven, CT, is getting a 50’s makeover for the shooting of Indy IV. Check out these great pics over at the This Modern World blog:
Sun 24 Jun 2007
I’m at the dog run this morning, having my morning coffee and letting the dog get some air and playtime, as it’s my weekend morning ritual. I plopped down on a bench next to an older guy I’d seen around a bunch of times but had never talked to before. He was in the midst of a conversation with someone and announced that he’d been a propman in film for 20 years. This is the kind of NYC moment I live for.
So I tell the guy that I’m the prop master at the Public and he instantly goes into storytime, because I’m one of those few individuals who he immediately knows will want to listen to his stories, since on some fundamental level we’re the same, just separated by a couple of generations. Whenever I meet someone who’s been in the business that long I almost feel a duty to shut up and listen to whatever it is they want to say, because someday I’m gonna be that guy, the guy on the bench in the park who just wants someone to listen to the stories that I’ve collected in my life, who just wants a friendly ear to let me babble. This guy, Steve, is 72 years old. He must have told me ten stories within the span of an hour. and they were all great. He’s become another reason why I love the dogrun, love living in the East Village, and generally love living in NYC. I can’t wait to chat with this guy again.
Of the several stories he told I was probably the most struck by his telling me about working for 3 weeks as a set decorator on Godfather II. Turns out they did a bunch of shooting on 6th street between A & B, whic his a mere two blocks from my apartment. He gets going telling me about how they covered all the steel basement entrances with wooden facades, that there are spots on the sidewalk where you can still see the ramset bolts they installed to mount decor to, and all these details about how they decorated the interior of a deli for a specific scene (Godfather II just rocketed to the top of my Netflix queue btw).
While he and the main set decorator are working on this deli set Coppola and DeNiro wander in to check out what’s going on. Now I can’t remember where he said he had made this connection with DeNiro before this moment or not, but either way they recognized each other from back in the day. And I mean waaaaaay back in the day. Turns out they both hung out on the same playground in Washington Square Park, and Steve was one of the older guys who would let little 15 year old Bobby shoot hoops with them. So Bob walks onto this set and calls him Stevie Hoops, good to see you, this is Francis, etc etc. I freaking love little anecdotes like this.
Then he tells me this little story about seeing a production of As You Like It when he was young. He’s not much of a Shakespeare fan so it seems to stay with him that he actually saw this production in the theater. But he missed the curtain because he was running a little late, and as he got there the usher had to make him wait while he seated a 19 year old Elizabeth Taylor. This man saw Liz Taylor when she was nineteen! He went on and on about the eyes, the beautiful olive skin, how beautiful she was. Can you imagine?
I’m am so looking forward to running into Steve again, and the beauty of living in this neighborhood, of frequenting the dog run, is that I know I’ll probably see him soon and often. This guy has a free pass to tell me whatever stories he wants and I’m gonna sit there and soak it up like a sponge. Because hopefully, someday, some kid will do the same for me.
Tue 13 Mar 2007
Thu 14 Dec 2006
This article shows you how to resurrect your old dead rechargeable batteries. And though it seems improbable, it really works! We tested this out in the shop today and it worked like a charm. And we managed to not make any explode either!
[found via Make]
Wed 22 Nov 2006
If you’re a tv addict like I am, you may know about the best show on television, HBO’s The Wire. I won’t go into the multitude of reasons as to why it holds the number one spot on my TiVo here, but I will point out this article on their prop master, Mike Sabo.
Mon 6 Nov 2006
Even non-tobacco smoking banned on stage in Colorado
Posted by propboy under Props in the NewsComments Off
This is a precedent I’m certainly not in favor of! Let’s hope they win the appeal, because I don’t relish the idea of trying to defend this if they try it here in New York.
Article Last Updated:11/04/2006 08:09:16 PM MST
Had the state attorney general’s army of lawyers simply gone before a Denver District judge on Monday and said, “Your honor, we too fully believe in the First Amendment, but should they ever clash, public health must take priority over free speech” - it would have been hard to take issue.But that’s not what the state argued to a judge who refused to exempt theater companies from smoking even nontobacco products in live performances. The state instead said there’s no “free speech” without the speech.
That mere suggestion drew snickers at Monday’s hearing, but guess what? The judge agreed. So all you actors who thought you were conveying meaning through body language or a gesture, guess what? A small group of bureaucrats, none of whom have likely set foot in a theater but have full authority to set public policy, don’t get that. As a result, the individual constitutional freedoms the government has been chipping away at for the past five years just lost another chip.
Must it really be argued that smoking can reveal character or propel a plotline? Can you imagine a “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff” without Martha blowing smoke in George’s face? In “Match,” a man smokes hash, gets high and spills his guts, changing the direction of the story. In Curious’ “tempOdyssey,” the play that prompted Monday’s hearing seeking pre-emptive relief from the statewide smoking ban, you first see a smoker puff smoke. Later, when the same man tries to puff, there’s no smoke. That’s how he - and the audience - learn he’s dead. If that doesn’t convey meaning, nothing does.
[much more in link]
Sun 5 Nov 2006
Check out this beautiful inlaid MP5K. You so rarely see this kind of artistry applied to modern weapons.
From the site it originated from:
This MP5-K was engraved and inlaid with gold at the request of an undisclosed client from Kuwait who never took delivery. It remains in the H&K Oberndorf Pattern Room.
[found via Brass Goggles]
Tue 31 Oct 2006
George Gershwin Smokes Lucky Strikes!, originally uploaded by nyctreeman.A nice little ad for Lucky Strikes, circa 1921, featuring George Gershwin.
Interesting a useful fact: pre-WWII Lucky Strike packaging used green in their design, as pictured here. When the US entered the war the packaging changed to white, conserving the green ink for the war effort. So if you have a pack of Luckies in your show, make sure they’re the right color for the right year.
Thu 19 Oct 2006
Wed 18 Oct 2006
Check out Bent Fabrication’s suitcase chair and aluminum pramulator, and click thru to his site for a gallery of fantastic art furniture.
[found via Boing Boing]