Best of 2020: Meet the Background Actors Who Populate HBO’s “Perry Mason” – Part I

We put together our annual “Best Of” list with an eye towards the conversations that weren’t just about our particular area of interest—how films and TV shows are made and the people who make them—but delved into broader discussions that were unavoidable in this historic, often heartbreaking year. These conversations include our chat with Laverne Cox about her role in Netflix’s Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen,  Lovecraft Country cinematographer Michael Watson on filming during a pandemic,

Cinematographer Oliver Bokelberg on Transforming Vancouver Into Montana in “Big Sky”

This article contains light spoilers for previously aired episodes.

Big Sky, David E. Kelley’s new ratings hit for ABC, which was just picked up for another six episodes, juxtaposes Montana’s sweeping vistas with the bleak interior of a locked away trailer, where an unlikely criminal duo is holding three teenaged girls. Based on C.J. Box’s novel “The Highway,” the crime drama sets viewers up with stunning aerial shots of rural Montana before zooming in on run-down bars,

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle on Filming HBO’s “The Undoing” – Part II

As mentioned in Part I of our interview with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, a good many of The Undoing’s settings were shot on location in Manhattan, while the main interiors were built at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens. Many of the locations were found in the Upper West Side, something that took some getting used to for Mantle.  “We were very true to the Upper West Side, which I actually found hard to embrace because it’s not a world I’m drawn to,” he says,

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle on Filming HBO’s “The Undoing” – Part I

When Nicole Kidman first began reading scripts for HBO’s hugely popular limited series from David E. Kelley, The Undoing, among the first things she noticed was intense scenes in which her very interior character said little, and gives away even less. When she wondered aloud about how best to handle such performances for the camera, director Susanne Bier simply replied, “I’ve got ideas.”

The limited series follows Grace (Kidman) and Jonathan Fraser (Grant),

Meet the Background Actors Who Populate HBO’s “Perry Mason” – Part IV

Here are Parts I, II, and III of our deep-dive into the casting, costuming and prepping of Perry Mason’s background actor cast. 

A large collection of background actors voicing their objections to a case on the City Hall steps or finding themselves under the spell of Sister Alice at the Radiant Assembly in HBO’s Perry Mason aren’t just dressed, sent over to the set and told,

Meet the Background Actors Who Populate HBO’s “Perry Mason” – Part III

Here are parts I, II, and IV of our deep-dive into how HBO’s Perry Mason finds, outfits, and directs its many background actors.

Even with all of the fitting and other work they’ve done prior to the shoot, before showing up to the set to film, background actors must prep the night before. Women are given sheets of paper with details for setting their hair in curlers (which should be in place when they arrive).

Meet the Background Actors Who Populate HBO’s “Perry Mason” – Part II

In Part I of our deep dive on the extras—properly known as background actors—in HBO’s Perry Mason, costume designer Emma Potter’s revealed just how much work goes into the wardrobes of folks we often only see on screen for only a matter of seconds. Potter’s approach to the design of the costumes for Perry Mason’s background actors was based on both her research and the sense of Los Angeles in 1932 that she got from reading the scripts for the first time.

Meet the Background Actors Who Populate HBO’s “Perry Mason” – Part I

On the west façade of Los Angeles City Hall, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) and Della Street (Juliet Rylance) step out of a car and begin to push their way up the long staircase, through a crowd of 200 protestors, angry about the child murder case Mason is working. But while the crowd appears to be jeering and shaking their fists, they are eerily silent.  “It’s like we’re making a silent film,” says one of the extras,

Jordan Peele, The Russo Brothers & More Bringing Their Next Films to California

Not all film news needs to be bad film news. In what we’re hoping is a sign of optimism and good old business acumen, some of Hollywood’s biggest directors and stars are banking on making their movies in California. While the entertainment industry has been upended by the ramifications of COVID-19 and the shuttering of productions across the globe, there is a slew of big features and intriguing projects planned for production in the Golden State.