the old navy episodes - pattern play pt. 2

and now, to the stairwell. the set was a "blade runnner" esque building in central buenos aires, simply shockingly beautiful:


paul goes pensive . . .


connie takes her perch:


the boys, well, do what the boys do:


darius called the light down from the heavens:


and nina? she ran up and down stairs all day.





i directed, more or less:





and everything came together.


rather nicely.

the old navy episodes - pattern play pt. 1

lots of pattern goin on . . .
lots of windows and doors to be navigated.


richard was building out nina and sam's closet:


we hung sara's butterflies:


nina on the nightstand:



the joy of shoes:


i want it THIS high:



eddie n the style crew taking in the first shot:


the loverly (audrey hepburnish) nina keita:






the heart-rendingly handsome sam saffman:




yes connie, yes, there he is . . .



now stay back. i don't want anyone disturbing my actors!


especially the littlest ones!

the heartache of new york real estate -

this sign pretty much sums it up.

i know you have to read it backwards, but you'll understand.

that's how turned around i felt once i put it all together.



i know, i know.
i'm not buying anything in new york.
yet.
ever.
because here's what i learned this past week in the city:

this is a building by an architecture firm
that has just been selected to build GOOGLE's campus,
and i think you can see why.

there's an amazing agression in american architecture these days, particularly in this city, where you see a real fearlessness in design combined with a desire to mix impact with the urban environment, a dialog of sorts. this building in particular is amazing in that it early on acknowledged the explosion of the meatpacking district, where the warehouse old would meet the brand new modernity of retail and restaurant and club. the building virtually predicted the hood.

or, a few blocks away, this:


the "high line" building is literally built above and around an abandoned elevated train line, which the city will be turning into a park. you can see here how the building almost cradles the line beneath it, which will eventually be greened, and turn the floating glass chevron above it into one of the most unique views in the city.

then (see, we're getting to the sign, promise)
richard walked me down bond street,
a little street between soho and the bowery that is just developing.

this is 40 bond:

yep. stunning, right? it's pretty much sold out already, and while it's obviously a high end building, the stories in it are amazing. first, the grille and facade were inspired by new york industrialism and grafitti. you can see it. but let's go closer, shall we?


these? oh these are some strange anodized composite gates. to each individual ground level townhome. yep. that's your private entrance. and one, under construction, gave us a glimpse into the back private garden. just in case you needed it.

oh, look UP:


yes, that's custom blown glass cladding the infrastructure, which gives the building it's greenish liquid feel, and lets it shimmer day and night.

the final straw?

there WAS one apartment left. it was in the back, no real view, and only 1200 square feet. now that's a good size for new york, but let's say you wanted it.

got 5.5 million?

i'm just going to buy a cardboard box and retire early. . .

where i was LAST week -

it will always be, for me, the supreme city.

new york. my birthplace. where my heart beats most steadily on the streets as i walk them.
where i feel most welcomed, and perhaps most understood.
most appreciated, even?



especially when there with my coven.
the sirens of eastwick, los angeles, and beyond.

time to make the donuts -

i can't promise it's going to make any sense at all.

first, you start with like hundreds and hundreds of images, artfully arranged and subdivided:


and surround yourself with books and friends,


and then we spend several hours (days/weeks) playing with the pictures, putting them in randoms piles. no reason. just cause it's pretty.


sometimes you can get a little lost in the racks of ideas.

or sometimes you can just spend too much time practising tyra's "open squint" for the camera.


now see, that's lazy.

some people just insist on derailing the delicate process of the afternoon.

we call them "selfish".

or "connie".


anyway.

we eventually cobble all of these images into something coherent.

we spin it, polish it, and refine it over weeks.

eventually we get to put it together on film,
and edit it, and air it.



oh yeah.

then we eat cupcakes.

things you should know about tim johnson -

when we met,
(keep in mind i was 22),
i didn't want him to be "tim".

"tim" seemed so not him,
not unique enough, not tall enough, not blue-eyed enough, not blonde enough,
not enough enough,
so i wanted him to change his name.

(remember, again, i was 22. these were the things i thought were normal to ask.)

i thought, hell, i wasn't always "landis",
so surely he can change his name.

so i suggested "gray". think about it: gray johnson.
now THAT is a cool name.
and yes, much of it had to do with the thought of us being called
gray and landis. landis and gray.
it worked for me.

he kind of chuckled, and told me that he had plenty of names to choose from,
that maybe i could use one of his other given names.

so i took the bait and asked,
what are they?

he is, officially, on the birth certificate and all:
timothy michael thaddeus francis johnson.

at that point, i knew he would never be:
mike, tad, thad, fran, frank, deus . . .
or gray.

because he was tim. and that was all he would ever need to be.

ADVICE - march edition

these are some things i've been thinking about recently,
and by "thinking about",
i mean, reading and pausing and absorbing.

we don't do enough of that, do we? pause. absorb.

so right now, do me a favor. pause.

read some of these.

absorb.

let me know what you think. that's a big one too.
you lurkers out there, hit the "post" button and show yourselves.
i'm feeling lonely. ;)

oniomania – the uncontrollable desire to buy things

ok, first, i'm afraid that they've named it.
second, i'm going to pretend i never read it, and it's not classifiable.

In the thirties and forties, Hollywood referred to actors as “rug actors”
(the ones who could do love scenes)
or “dust actors”
(the ones who could shoot and fight).
Don’t we all want a rug and dust man?

i got one. he's just more rug than dust. as it should be.

a two seater sofa is called a "tete a tete",
while a sofa for three was called an "indiscret".

and i always thought it was called a "too much tequila."

You're perfect, yes it's true. But without me, you're only you.
-faith no more

i LOVE this. if tim has taught me anything, it's that i'm perfect.

no, wait. that's not the point, is it?

i guess if i were perfect, i could figure it out,
but i have to go buy something right now.
maybe a rug.

pit bulls pose for papa -

what? i'm having an alliteration moment.