LMGI COMPASS FALL 2020
It’s in our DNA; resilience in the face of adversity is woven into the fabric of every location professional. All you need to do is present an obstacle and we immediately find a workaround. Thinking outside the box is what we do best. Combined with strength, courage, compassion and discipline—if anyone can get through a pandemic, and help our industry chart the way toward safely resuming production, LMGI members are your team!
We are delighted (reported in our “In the News” column) to invite you to our 7th Annual LMGI Awards streaming this year to a couch near you! And like our Trailblazer Spike Lee admonishes, we hope we all do the right thing moving forward. Between the COVID pandemic, BLM awareness, climate change and the critical importance of the upcoming American vote, now is the time to take a stand and be part of the solution.
Our cover story eerily echoes a different America, underscoring our inextinguishable hope for change. Filmed in Canada, this season’s dystopic regime features a trip to Washington, D.C., in Nancy Mill’s look at The Handmaid’s Tale. Shaun O’Banion takes us on a spree of “International Bayhem: Latella and Crook’s Wild Ride.” Join our colleagues celebrating the travails of filming ancient cities with the master of blockbuster films. We go to different extremes with global adventure scout and brilliant photographer, Tom Carr-Griffin. And, with a nod to the macabre, location manager Chris Fuentes reveals the ultimate location, touring his final resting place.
—MAYA ANGELOU
Our columns include “In My City” with Texan Paul Knaus’s hometown hospitality on a tour of Austin. Kei Rowan-Young encapsulates the urgency of the international Black Lives Matter protests in a single compelling “Martini Shot.” “Career Focus” shares the story of a frustrated stuntman turned award-winning location manager, as we travel Spain with Tate Aráez Guzmán. “In the News” reports on our repeated success at this year’s online Comic-Con—for the eighth consecutive year, the “LMGI Hollywood Location Scouts” panel was an important part of the incredible programming. 2020 also marks our continued relationship with Oscar, as more members joined the Design Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additionally, the LMGI hosted a Virtual Town Hall Discussion on the “Complexity of Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Film Industry.” Hundreds of location pro producers and DEI champions discussed inequality in our workplace. Australian member Duncan Jones launches Myriad Studios, an organic synergy of his location acuity with the growing world of VFX. And be sure to register for this year’s “We See It First: 2020 LMGI Awards Go Digital!”
Stay safe out there.
Always a pleasure, never too busy.
Ken Haber, Lori Balton, Stevie Nelson and Paul Messana