Calendar

There are no yellow production signs leading me to the location of director David Ayer’s new film “The Tax Collector.” Driving into the heart of gang territory in a part of South Central L.A., I feel a surge of adrenaline and know only to expect the unexpected. Upon parking, I text my contact, Michael Haro. He’s the industry’s go-to supervising location manager when productions want to shoot in the city’s most at-risk areas, and this neighborhood definitely qualifies, with more than 200 violent crimes reported in the first six months of 2018.

Haro works alongside Cle “Bone” Sloan, an actor who’s also credited on productions as a technical adviser with expertise in such matters as gang wardrobe and locations. The pair met on Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 release “Training Day” when the director described the type of cul-de-sac he wanted to find. Sloan knew just the place but warned the crew “it might be a little too real for this production.”

The street was in Baldwin Village, an area notorious for gang violence and often referred to as “the Jungle.” However, Fuqua and “Training Day” screenwriter Ayer both loved it. Sloan remembers: “Everybody said it couldn’t be done. LAPD said, ‘You guys are crazy; they’re going to run you out of there.’ But I was from there.”

Sloan acted as a go-between with the gang in the neighborhood, easing the way for the production to come in and shoot for approximately 40 nights.

Haro and Sloan say they’ve learned a lot over the years while building relationships in L.A.’s toughest neighborhoods. Developing these lines of communication is an art that has garnered them a reputation across the city for bringing opportunity, respect and money to low-income areas. “We don’t occupy the neighborhood,” says Sloan. “We’re guests, and they graciously let us film [there].”

They talk of making the neighborhood part of the production. “We empower the community,” says Sloan. “We empower the gang members to be part of a process that a lot of them have never participated in before. You give them an opportunity, and they’ll go hard for you.”

The process begins when a production decides on a specific location. Haro and Sloan reach out to a community leader, who is hired as neighborhood liaison. That person is tasked with helping to select the people who will ultimately be hired as background cast. Haro and Sloan have a motto: “Let the streets play themselves.”

The process benefits productions in another way as well: “You don’t want to bring someone in who’s not friendly with the local gang,” says Haro. But, equally important is that “we want to be able to give jobs to the people of the neighborhood and show them another way of life — show local kids the magic of moviemaking.”

Any production striving for a similar level of safety and cooperation must be willing to make the same community commitment. Haro went to Colombia
for “Narcs” and says the process was the same: The location manager must first find a key person and build a relationship. “If a production doesn’t want to [do that], then they shouldn’t shoot there,” he maintains. ... See MoreSee Less

16 hours ago

To Film in High-Risk Areas, Hollywood Studios Hire Gang Members as Crew

variety.com

There are no yellow production signs leading me to the location of director David Ayer’s new film “The Tax Collector.” Driving into the heart of...

Our thoughts are with our Wilmywood friends in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The area is usually best known as a filming location for US dramas One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek. Hulu pilot 'Reprisal' & DC series 'Swamp Thing' are believed to be currently prepping in the region.

Wilmington has been completely cut off from the rest of the state because of deepening flood waters as officials say all roads in and out are now impassable and have warned evacuated residents to stay away.

The National Weather Service has warned of at least two further days of possible flash flooding in the area before conditions are forecast to improve. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

Storm flooding cuts off whole US city

bbc.com

Impassable roads have left the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, cut off completely.

If sometimes it seems as though every photo has been taken and every angle of every photogenic structure exploited, turn to the work of photographer and creative director Minh T for a boost of hope. Minh, who posts to more than 160,000 Instagram followers as @thismintymoment, tirelessly hunts to highlight the simplicity and strength of architecture through his images, and often reveals fresh perspectives on some of the world’s most identifiable and iconic buildings.

Minh T was born in Vietnam and grew up on the east coast, near Washington D.C. He now calls Los Angeles home and tells Adorama that he’s lived there “long enough to be called a local.” His desire to showcase underappreciated architecture is often at odds with his location, however; Minh laments that social media has already “photographed L.A. to death.” Luckily his work requires him to delve deeper into the city’s grid as well as leave it completely. He’s traveled abroad for projects with Aman Hotels and Delta Air Lines, and has a client portfolio that includes Issey Miyake Parfums, Skagen Denmark, Nespresso, Adidas, Mr. Porter, and Soho House.

Adorama caught up with Minh T to discover how he still manages to uncover unique photo locations, and what it’s like to work against some of the world’s most iconic architecture. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago

Through the Lens: Back in the USA - Photographer Minh T (@thismintymoment) - ALC

adorama.com

If sometimes it seems as though every photo has been taken and every angle of every photogenic structure exploited, turn to the work of photographer a...

No matter how sparkling a story is or how charismatic its characters, sometimes it’s the setting that steals the show. Vivid descriptions of the changing seasons or a flaming sunset viewed from a palm-fringed beach have our imaginations working overtime. Listed are seven novels, and literary landscapes, that transport the reader to another time and place.

From the old-school glamour of Long Island and the thatched cottages of southern England, to the watering holes of Havana and the Kenyan coast, explore seven landscapes straight from the pages of literature ... See MoreSee Less

4 days ago

You’ve read the books – now visit the places where they’re set

scmp.com

From the old-school glamour of Long Island and the thatched cottages of southern England, to the watering holes of Havana and the Kenyan coast, explor...

The community of Montrose has never been nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe or Emmy. It doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Don’t look for it as a destination for tour buses taking out-of-towners to movie star homes or famous locations.

However, the tiny Glendale-area community has become a familiar spot for numerous hit films and TV series, ranging from the 1985 film version of “Teen Wolf” and “The Wedding Singer” to NBC’s comedy “The Good Place.” It has a featured “role” in HBO’s new dark drama “Sharp Objects.”

Its three-block “shopping park” on Honolulu Avenue, a quaint stretch of mom and pop shops, has buildings that date to the 1920s, tree-lined streets, old-style street lamps and the kind of neighbors that greet each other by name in passing.

Still, the area is regularly invaded by large film and TV crews — about one every 30 to 45 days. One of the most recent was a two-day shoot for the ABC action-drama series “Station 19.”

Montrose’s small-town charm is particularly appealing to productions looking for a middle America setting that’s also close to major studios, said freelance location manager Caleb Duffy. In 2016 and 2017, he scouted Montrose for “The Good Place” and years earlier for the 2012 biographical drama “Hitchcock.”

“[Montrose is] first of all beautiful,” Duffy said. “Secondly, the trees hide the mountains. You can get affected by limitations of where you can look and point a camera — you’re fairly well protected to not show palm trees or mountains.”

For assistant location manager Madeline Bell, Montrose fit the bill perfectly for “Sharp Objects,” set in a small Missouri town. She said much of the Montrose filming was done in Holiday Hats and Gowns, a dress shop filled with country club attire.

“It’s a really, really cute place to film,” Bell said. “Some of it is a little bit lost in time, which is perfect. It’s not totally gentrified yet, which is helpful.”

In five years as Montrose’s film liaison, Steve Pierce, a Vietnam veteran and retired business owner, has amassed a treasure trove of stories about the productions and stars that have made a stop in a place he’s called home since the late 1960s. His pride was obvious during a tour of some of the more notable locations. ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago

From 'Sharp Objects' to 'The Good Place' — this L.A. community has the small-town charm that production teams love

latimes.com

Montrose, near Glendale, has become a hotbed for filming. It has been the scene of shoot for TV shows and movies including "The Good Place," "The Wedd...