It Really Wasn’t All That Confidential

It was my first time that I actually helped to find the location for a film shoot. I’ve been asked before, but it never went anywhere.

Kathleen Bell’s job for the Cinematography Class at UNLV was to find a suitable location for the class project. She called and I spent a day playing back scenes in my own mind of every home I’d ever been in Vintage Vegas. That’s a really big number. I didn’t realize how many homes I’ve been in during 20 years of promoting the historic neighborhoods of Vintage Vegas.

They needed 3 distinct settings. A detached garage, a 40’s or 50’s living room and a vintage bathroom with a window.

What were they doing? A re-creation of a scene from LA CONFIDENTIAL. It’s scene 15 in the DVD version that I have if you want to cross reference it.

At first it seemed we’d be doing 3 different locations, one for each setting. I knew the perfect garage, I figured out the perfect living room, and a great bathroom with a big window. The various owner’s weren’t willing to let us use any of them.

Then I remembered one of the Cinderella Ranches in Bel Air that I had sold last year. It had all 3 of our requirements all in the same house. The owners, Steve and Franklin were thrilled to help, and most accommodating to give up their home for a day.

The main actors were dressed in fedora’s, suspenders, baggy pants with cuffs, and skinny ties. I thought I was the only one who dressed like that, anymore.

The living room, which still has it’s silk wallpaper and flowered curtains. It was set up as “flop house” with naked mattresses and beat up furniture. This picture was taken after the shoot when they were putting it back together. 

I couldn’t get anywhere near the bathroom to get a picture during the shoot, what with all the equipment and people, but there’s a perfect “vintage pink bathroom” with a perp trying to squeeze thru the window in their movie.

I learned that shooting a movie is a lot like road construction. There’s only a few people doing something at any one time, and the rest are standing around waiting for their turn to do something.

So if you happened to be at Bruce and Oakey last Wednesday and were wondering what was going on…….