
Everything today has been
heavy and brown.
Bring me a Unicorn
to ride about the town.
A.M.L., 1926
Late last year I had the chance to work on my friend Fay Eagles' short film, Alice Was Here. It will be making its big screen debut as part of the Ryerson University Film Festival which takes place this year at the Royal Cinema, May 14-16. Please come out to see some of the great new work being created by the next generation of Canadian filmmakers. You can check out the official schedule here.
One of the style boards I did for wardrobe.
On set at the studio.
It was on location at an outdoor tennis club, very late, after dark. It got really cold and I recall feeling bad for our model who was changing in and out of an assortment of thin tops and short skirts. I don't remember her name but I do remember that she was a very good sport.
Somehow the park lights had either all burnt out or had been turned off. There might have been a curfew on account of the coyotes. The courts were right next to a playground and at one point, in between look changes, Sian, the makeup artist, and I stumbled around in the pitch to find the see-saw and some goofy fiberglass anthropomorphized animals on big springs that rock back and forth and all around.
Sian, atop a duck in a bowtie, slipped and got a Ked full of sand. Perched on the footholds of a frog in a top hat, I almost turned my ankle while attempting a mock showy dismount. We marveled at how bright the stars were without any man-made competition to drown them out or steal their thunder.
It was a good night and I remember it fondly. I haven't been on a see-saw since.