The Best Day on the Set of "Saving Mr Banks"

Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi is guest-blogging all day!

by Daniel Orlandi

I had been preparing for the high-pressure two days of shooting at DisneyLand for several months. There were about 800 extras including 250 kids that had to be costumed and the research had been surprising. People used to actually dress up for a day in the park back in 1962. We had everyone in colorful 1960s California finery. When dressing extras I like to give everyone a character — so no souvenirs or T shirts!  We found a website where people posted their old personal photos of Disneyland. That was invaluable.

We also had to dress the park employees. Recreating Disney’s 1960s walk-around characters proved even more challenging...

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Costume sketches for film characters

Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi is guest-blogging all day!

by Daniel Orlandi

I thought I'd share a few random sketches from past movies and TV specials.

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Busty Rusty in Flawless
Director Joel Schumacher was a former costume designer. So he was great to work with. He gave me a lot of confidence as a designer. Robert DeNiro recommended me for the job...

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5 Things I Learned From Bob Mackie

SPECIAL GUEST STAR DAY. Please welcome Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi (Ford V Ferrari, Trumbo) who has taken over the blog for the day -- Editor

Bob Mackie (left) and me at the 1981 Oscars

by Daniel Orlandi

Let's start at the beginning! About a year after graduating from Carnegie Mellon a couple of college friends and I drove to LA from NYC because it seemed like our friends in LA were working a lot more than we were. A month later I got a call to work in Bob Mackie's shop for two days to help with a Las Vegas show. I ended up making G strings! After I finished, the head of his workroom asked me to organize all of Bob's trims and fabrics that had been neglected for awhile. I guess Bob was impressed. He was looking for an assistant on Pennies From Heaven (1981) and he hired me with no film experience at all.  I ended up staying for 8 years. To watch he and his partner Ray Aghayan work was an invaluable education. It seemed like every star walked through the doors of their studio. 

 Here are five things I learned in those earliest years of my career that are my best advice for young professionals...

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Announcement: Weekly Trivia!

Hey, everyone. Michael Cusumano here with an exciting announcement. My company Whiskey Cat LLC recently launched a weekly Movie Trivia night on Zoom and The Film Experience has come aboard as a sponsor! It's 5 rounds with 50+ question with a variety of questions and games including audio and visual clues. Rest assured I am taking care to craft questions that The Film Experience audience will enjoy. Oscars and actresses will no doubt abound. Nathaniel will be writing one of the 5 rounds this week!

Here's an example of one ten minute round last week. Within that time limit, how many of these could you answer correctly (no googling allowed obviously)

How do you play? The event is held every Thursday at 7:30 PM EST on Zoom and runs about 2 hours. It’s $5 per person payable through Venmo or PayPal. Send a team name along with the payment and I will reply with the ZOOM information. You can include your information in a comment along with the PayPal or Venmo payment or contact me one of these ways: 

Email: WhiskeyCatProd@gmail.com
Twitter: @TriviaWhiskey
Facebook: Whiskey Cat presents: Zoom Movie Trivia  

Hope to see you there this Thursday!

Podcast Recap & Interview: 'Mrs. America'

by Murtada Elfadl

Blanchett and Henderson in Mrs. America

Over at Sundays With Cate, we're recapping/reviewing Hulu's Mrs. America starring Cate Blanchett. This week we tackle episodes 6 and 7. Also in this episode an interview with Bria Samoné Henderson who plays activist and former Ms. Magazine editor Margaret Sloan on the show. My guest is Andy Stewart.

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