Gwyneth Paltrow chose the location of her first standalone store for more than its charming aesthetics.
“It’s fitting that Goop Lab is in the Brentwood Country Mart, which has been a party of my life since I was a child,” she tells Architectural Digest, adding it “even occupies part of the candy store I used to walk to.”
The shopping center in Los Angeles houses everything from artisanal restaurants to high-end shopping, and now plays host to Paltrow’s new permanent shop. Outfitted with help from her personal interior designers Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman and Williams,...
“It’s fitting that Goop Lab is in the Brentwood Country Mart, which has been a party of my life since I was a child,” she tells Architectural Digest, adding it “even occupies part of the candy store I used to walk to.”
The shopping center in Los Angeles houses everything from artisanal restaurants to high-end shopping, and now plays host to Paltrow’s new permanent shop. Outfitted with help from her personal interior designers Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman and Williams,...
- 9/19/2017
- by Megan Stein
- PEOPLE.com
If you're a fan of taxidermy, filament lighting, pharmacist bottles, and plaid, you can thank Roman & Wiliams, a New York-based design duo who has brought whimsy, fantasy, and authenticity back into our sterile modern interiors. As one of the firms featured in last year's book Dark Nostalgia, we got to see several of their projects (like the Ace Hotel in New York, above), and now a sweet little documentary produced by The Scout gives us insight into their process.
[vimeo 10452010]
Their golden-lit vintage look comes from a desire to create dramatic interiors that yank people out of their contemporary routine. "It's a shame to only have dreams at night," says partner Stephen Alesch, who still draws all their renderings by hand. "You should have a few opportunities during the day." The film is a treat just to see Alesch and partner Robin Standefer's studio, filled with so many drool-worthy trinkets...
[vimeo 10452010]
Their golden-lit vintage look comes from a desire to create dramatic interiors that yank people out of their contemporary routine. "It's a shame to only have dreams at night," says partner Stephen Alesch, who still draws all their renderings by hand. "You should have a few opportunities during the day." The film is a treat just to see Alesch and partner Robin Standefer's studio, filled with so many drool-worthy trinkets...
- 4/2/2010
- by Alissa Walker
- Fast Company
Opens
Friday, Sept. 26
NEW YORK -- The darkly comic situations of "Duplex" remind of Danny DeVito's first two movies as director, except that this time, they're coated with scatological humor. Chances are that the resulting puke and gunge gags, coupled with a romantic pairing of Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore, will connect with teens and twentysomethings at the boxoffice. But more demanding viewers hoping for the cruel wit of DeVito's "Throw Momma From the Train" or "The War of the Roses" will likely be disappointed by its lack of comic bite.
Predictable situations mean that "Duplex" fails to scale any comic heights, though belly laughs will be had by those with an appetite for crass physical humor -- gags about excrement, sick and the like. The film's emotional core also is problematic. It demands that viewers empathize with a young couple who, however appealingly portrayed, are still yuppie upstarts trying to murder an old lady for no greater sin than being a nuisance.
The story, scripted by coproducer Larry Doyle, begins with Alex (Stiller) and Nancy (Barrymore) deciding they need more living space. So they move out of their Manhattan apartment and buy a duplex in Brooklyn. It's a great-looking pad, which comes with only one small problem -- the top floor's a rent-controlled apartment occupied by ninetysomething tenant Mrs. Connelly (86-year-old Brit Eileen Essel).
Alex and Nancy don't anticipate problems with Connelly and joke that she'll probably pass away soon, anyway. But from Night 1, they're kept awake by "Hawaii Five-O" reruns blaring from the old lady's TV. Daytimes aren't much better because Connelly pesters the pair to run errands and do repairs. What's more, she seems very healthy.
Complaints lead to trouble with New York cop Dan (Robert Wisdom from "Storytelling"), Connelly's self-styled guardian angel. So Alex and Nancy decide to rid themselves of the elderly pest by hiring a hit man. They fail. Despondent, they sell up.
The story resembles DeVito's earlier works as director, though he only became involved after Doyle's script was finished. There are clear similarities to "Throw Momma", DeVito's 1987 directorial debut, and his 1989 "Roses". The former tells of a talentless writer trying murder his odious mother. The latter's a bitter story of a husband and wife who duel over possession of their dream house.
Early scenes in which the couple find their house actually play like a rerun of "Roses". But Stiller and Barrymore lack the vengeful barbarity of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in that film. "Duplex" demands that the couple remain very nice people while they're trying to do a very nasty thing, and the director's desire to keep them likable become the film's fatal flaw. Couples who try to kill old ladies aren't good people, yet DeVito works overtime trying to convince us that they are. Some of the comic nastiness of "Roses" or "Train" would have given Alex and Nancy more credibility.
Stiller performs with his usual panache, reprising his accident-prone character from "Meet the Parents". He acts with every bone in his body and manages to make the gags funnier than they really should be. Barrymore hasn't quite got the comic chops to keep up. Essel is fine as the old lady, playing innocence with an undercurrent of grumpiness.
Tech credits are all very good indeed. Camerawork by Anastas Michos ("Death to Smoochy") is stylish. Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch's production design makes the duplex look both desirable and worn-in, and editing (by Lynzee Klingman and Greg Hayden) ensures the film moves at a snappy pace.
DUPLEX
Miramax Films
A Red Hour Films/Flower Films production
Credits:
Director: Danny DeVito
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfield, Jeremy Kramer, Nancy Juvonen, Drew Barrymore
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster, Jennifer Wachtell, Richard N. Gladstein, Alan C. Blomquist
Co-producer: Larry Doyle
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designers: Robin Standefer, Stephen Alesch: Music: David Newman
Costume designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
Editors: Lynzee Klingman, Greg Hayden
Supervising sound editor: Bobby Mackston
Cast:
Alex Rose: Ben Stiller
Nancy Kendricks: Drew Barrymore
Mrs. Connelly: Eileen Essel
Kenneth: Harvey Fierstein
Coop: Justin Theroux
Chick: James Remar
Officer Dan: Robert Wisdom
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, Sept. 26
NEW YORK -- The darkly comic situations of "Duplex" remind of Danny DeVito's first two movies as director, except that this time, they're coated with scatological humor. Chances are that the resulting puke and gunge gags, coupled with a romantic pairing of Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore, will connect with teens and twentysomethings at the boxoffice. But more demanding viewers hoping for the cruel wit of DeVito's "Throw Momma From the Train" or "The War of the Roses" will likely be disappointed by its lack of comic bite.
Predictable situations mean that "Duplex" fails to scale any comic heights, though belly laughs will be had by those with an appetite for crass physical humor -- gags about excrement, sick and the like. The film's emotional core also is problematic. It demands that viewers empathize with a young couple who, however appealingly portrayed, are still yuppie upstarts trying to murder an old lady for no greater sin than being a nuisance.
The story, scripted by coproducer Larry Doyle, begins with Alex (Stiller) and Nancy (Barrymore) deciding they need more living space. So they move out of their Manhattan apartment and buy a duplex in Brooklyn. It's a great-looking pad, which comes with only one small problem -- the top floor's a rent-controlled apartment occupied by ninetysomething tenant Mrs. Connelly (86-year-old Brit Eileen Essel).
Alex and Nancy don't anticipate problems with Connelly and joke that she'll probably pass away soon, anyway. But from Night 1, they're kept awake by "Hawaii Five-O" reruns blaring from the old lady's TV. Daytimes aren't much better because Connelly pesters the pair to run errands and do repairs. What's more, she seems very healthy.
Complaints lead to trouble with New York cop Dan (Robert Wisdom from "Storytelling"), Connelly's self-styled guardian angel. So Alex and Nancy decide to rid themselves of the elderly pest by hiring a hit man. They fail. Despondent, they sell up.
The story resembles DeVito's earlier works as director, though he only became involved after Doyle's script was finished. There are clear similarities to "Throw Momma", DeVito's 1987 directorial debut, and his 1989 "Roses". The former tells of a talentless writer trying murder his odious mother. The latter's a bitter story of a husband and wife who duel over possession of their dream house.
Early scenes in which the couple find their house actually play like a rerun of "Roses". But Stiller and Barrymore lack the vengeful barbarity of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in that film. "Duplex" demands that the couple remain very nice people while they're trying to do a very nasty thing, and the director's desire to keep them likable become the film's fatal flaw. Couples who try to kill old ladies aren't good people, yet DeVito works overtime trying to convince us that they are. Some of the comic nastiness of "Roses" or "Train" would have given Alex and Nancy more credibility.
Stiller performs with his usual panache, reprising his accident-prone character from "Meet the Parents". He acts with every bone in his body and manages to make the gags funnier than they really should be. Barrymore hasn't quite got the comic chops to keep up. Essel is fine as the old lady, playing innocence with an undercurrent of grumpiness.
Tech credits are all very good indeed. Camerawork by Anastas Michos ("Death to Smoochy") is stylish. Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch's production design makes the duplex look both desirable and worn-in, and editing (by Lynzee Klingman and Greg Hayden) ensures the film moves at a snappy pace.
DUPLEX
Miramax Films
A Red Hour Films/Flower Films production
Credits:
Director: Danny DeVito
Screenwriter: Larry Doyle
Producers: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfield, Jeremy Kramer, Nancy Juvonen, Drew Barrymore
Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster, Jennifer Wachtell, Richard N. Gladstein, Alan C. Blomquist
Co-producer: Larry Doyle
Director of photography: Anastas Michos
Production designers: Robin Standefer, Stephen Alesch: Music: David Newman
Costume designer: Joseph G. Aulisi
Editors: Lynzee Klingman, Greg Hayden
Supervising sound editor: Bobby Mackston
Cast:
Alex Rose: Ben Stiller
Nancy Kendricks: Drew Barrymore
Mrs. Connelly: Eileen Essel
Kenneth: Harvey Fierstein
Coop: Justin Theroux
Chick: James Remar
Officer Dan: Robert Wisdom
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 10/10/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Samuel L. Jackson, who just might be the best actor working in American movies, delivers another suggestive, mesmerizing performance in "The Caveman's Valentine". The film -- an impressive second effort from Kasi Lemmons, whose "Eve's Bayou" displayed a fine instinct for narrative and complex characterizations -- is a highly unusual attempt to marry heavy dramatic material to a mystery-thriller format. While this marriage has its ups and downs, "Valentine" is an utterly fascinating film that probably would not work without Jackson.
The actor has developed enough of a following to attract moviegoers when "Valentine" opens next month. So with careful nurturing by Universal Focus and word-of-mouth reaching serious moviegoers and mystery fans, the film should far surpass "Bayou" at the boxoffice.
The film is based on a 1994 Edgar Award-winning novel by George Dawes Green, who adapted to the screen his tale of a paranoid schizophrenic in Manhattan who finds himself playing detective to solve a murder. The film is somewhat reminiscent of "The Fisher King" and George C. Chesbro's 1989 mystery novel "Bone", in which a homeless, mute man in Manhattan holds the key to a string of vicious killings.
Jackson plays Romulus Ledbetter, once a promising, Juilliard-trained musician and composer -- only his mind has deteriorated so badly he lives in a park cave and believes a powerful foe he calls Stuyvesant monitors his every move from the Chrysler building. When Romulus, known to everyone on the street as Caveman, discovers the corpse of a young man apparently frozen to death in a tree outside his cave on Valentine's Day, he grows convinced the man was murdered.
Police dismiss his ranting. So he must fight his mental illness to pull together a convincing enough case against the man he believes is the killer, a prominent art photographer named David Leppenraub (Colm Feore in a eerily quiet, forceful performance).
To be sure, the entire story is an exercise in suspended disbelief. An audience is asked to buy, among other things, that Romulus' daughter (Aunjanue Ellis) just happens to be a cop, that Romulus' musicianship and contacts from his previous "sane" life enable him to gain entry to penthouse suites and upstate art gatherings, that a yuppie lawyer Anthony Michael Hall) would befriend a filthy street person and that Leppenraub's own sister (Ann Magnuson) would go to bed with him.
But we do buy all these things, thanks largely to Jackson's multidimensional, charismatic acting. With his hair in dreadlocks and bulky winter clothes hanging from his body, he shuffles through city streets as if expecting an attack from his nemesis at any moment. While Romulus' illness has the upper hand, he understands he is ill. He understands he must fight with all his mental strength to hold onto what little clarity he possesses to sort out clues and interview witnesses.
Lemmons has created a visually arresting landscape to depict Romulus' "brain typhoons." Flashing colored lights that emanate from the Chrysler building roll over Romulus in waves. Scenes from his past pop up as visions filtered through a damaged mind: His wife, as her younger self (Tamara Tunie), appears to him, acting as a kind of Greek chorus to question his motives and challenge his actions.
Production designer Robin Standefer and cinematographer Amelia Vincent beautifully capture the fragmented, often frightening world of schizophrenia. Caveman is obsessed with "angels": Standefer and Vincent render these visions as images of brown male bodies turning into moths in a vaguely Moorish interior.
The balancing act between the movie's genre trappings and its stylized portrait of mental disintegration is dazzling to behold even when it doesn't quite work. In the movie's third act, it collapses completely when Romulus morphs into a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason. But Lemmons' filmmaking has pulled us too far into Romulus' fascinating world for this to do the movie much harm.
THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE
Universal Pictures
Universal Focus and Franchise Pictures present a Jersey Shore production in association with Arroyo Prods.
Producers: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Scott Frank, Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Screenwriter: George Dawes Green
Based on the novel by: George Dawes Green
Executive producers: Samuel L. Jackson, Eli Selden, Julie Yorn, Nicholas Clermont
Director of photography: Amelia Vincent
Production designer: Robin Standefer
Music: Terence Blanchard
Co-producers: Michael Bennett, James Holt, Jonathan Weisgal
Costume designer: Denise Cronenberg
Editor: Terilyn Shropshire
Color/stereo
Cast:
Romulus Ledbetter: Samuel L. Jackson
David Leppenraub: Colm Feore
Moira Leppenraub: Ann Magnuson
Arnold: Damir Andrei
Lulu: Aunjanue Ellis
Sheila: Tamara Tunie
Cork: Peter MacNeill
Bob: Anthony Michael Hall
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The actor has developed enough of a following to attract moviegoers when "Valentine" opens next month. So with careful nurturing by Universal Focus and word-of-mouth reaching serious moviegoers and mystery fans, the film should far surpass "Bayou" at the boxoffice.
The film is based on a 1994 Edgar Award-winning novel by George Dawes Green, who adapted to the screen his tale of a paranoid schizophrenic in Manhattan who finds himself playing detective to solve a murder. The film is somewhat reminiscent of "The Fisher King" and George C. Chesbro's 1989 mystery novel "Bone", in which a homeless, mute man in Manhattan holds the key to a string of vicious killings.
Jackson plays Romulus Ledbetter, once a promising, Juilliard-trained musician and composer -- only his mind has deteriorated so badly he lives in a park cave and believes a powerful foe he calls Stuyvesant monitors his every move from the Chrysler building. When Romulus, known to everyone on the street as Caveman, discovers the corpse of a young man apparently frozen to death in a tree outside his cave on Valentine's Day, he grows convinced the man was murdered.
Police dismiss his ranting. So he must fight his mental illness to pull together a convincing enough case against the man he believes is the killer, a prominent art photographer named David Leppenraub (Colm Feore in a eerily quiet, forceful performance).
To be sure, the entire story is an exercise in suspended disbelief. An audience is asked to buy, among other things, that Romulus' daughter (Aunjanue Ellis) just happens to be a cop, that Romulus' musicianship and contacts from his previous "sane" life enable him to gain entry to penthouse suites and upstate art gatherings, that a yuppie lawyer Anthony Michael Hall) would befriend a filthy street person and that Leppenraub's own sister (Ann Magnuson) would go to bed with him.
But we do buy all these things, thanks largely to Jackson's multidimensional, charismatic acting. With his hair in dreadlocks and bulky winter clothes hanging from his body, he shuffles through city streets as if expecting an attack from his nemesis at any moment. While Romulus' illness has the upper hand, he understands he is ill. He understands he must fight with all his mental strength to hold onto what little clarity he possesses to sort out clues and interview witnesses.
Lemmons has created a visually arresting landscape to depict Romulus' "brain typhoons." Flashing colored lights that emanate from the Chrysler building roll over Romulus in waves. Scenes from his past pop up as visions filtered through a damaged mind: His wife, as her younger self (Tamara Tunie), appears to him, acting as a kind of Greek chorus to question his motives and challenge his actions.
Production designer Robin Standefer and cinematographer Amelia Vincent beautifully capture the fragmented, often frightening world of schizophrenia. Caveman is obsessed with "angels": Standefer and Vincent render these visions as images of brown male bodies turning into moths in a vaguely Moorish interior.
The balancing act between the movie's genre trappings and its stylized portrait of mental disintegration is dazzling to behold even when it doesn't quite work. In the movie's third act, it collapses completely when Romulus morphs into a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason. But Lemmons' filmmaking has pulled us too far into Romulus' fascinating world for this to do the movie much harm.
THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE
Universal Pictures
Universal Focus and Franchise Pictures present a Jersey Shore production in association with Arroyo Prods.
Producers: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Scott Frank, Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Screenwriter: George Dawes Green
Based on the novel by: George Dawes Green
Executive producers: Samuel L. Jackson, Eli Selden, Julie Yorn, Nicholas Clermont
Director of photography: Amelia Vincent
Production designer: Robin Standefer
Music: Terence Blanchard
Co-producers: Michael Bennett, James Holt, Jonathan Weisgal
Costume designer: Denise Cronenberg
Editor: Terilyn Shropshire
Color/stereo
Cast:
Romulus Ledbetter: Samuel L. Jackson
David Leppenraub: Colm Feore
Moira Leppenraub: Ann Magnuson
Arnold: Damir Andrei
Lulu: Aunjanue Ellis
Sheila: Tamara Tunie
Cork: Peter MacNeill
Bob: Anthony Michael Hall
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 1/19/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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