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What
would YOU do for $320 million?
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Above: |
Props I brought my husband, Timothy M. Lindsey - a brilliant artist - on board to design the SuperBall logo and the lottery ticket. I gave him a Florida Lottery ticket (not a winner, darn!) as a template for what kinds of things need to be on a ticket, and he made it look like the real thing, front and back. I provided the logo graphics to James Roy, who used it to create the graphics for the news segment, and later, I sent the file to Amp'd's graphics person, Marcelo Nonaco, for use in the opening and closing credits. Tim also designed the ID card for Hitman #1 and created all the junk mail that Penny's going through in the first scene. One of the most difficult props to find was the badge, which Hitman #1 flashes when they first arrive at Jack and Penny's house. I checked out costume shops and toy stores, but all the badges were very small. Then I started visiting Army-Navy surplus stores. I found the great leather holder at one of the stores, but no badges. When I did find a store with badges, guess what? The real police badges are pretty small! I wanted something larger and flashier, so I went with a security guard badge. Unfortunately, I bought it the day before the shoot and I didn't have time to paint over the big black "Security" on the badge, so that's why you don't see a close-up of the badge in the movie. The hitman's gun is a real Ruger 9mm, unloaded, and the actors were well-warned not to pull the trigger. I didn't want any accidents, plus dry-firing a gun can damage it. Fortunately, everyone treated the gun on the set with respect, and we didn't have any problems. |
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The lucky shirt was another prop that needed a lot of work, but I waited until the last minute to buy it. I chose a sports-type jersey, because I wanted something that I could easily make look old and worn. The jerseys I had in high school and college always started losing their letters after a few washings, so I figured it would be easy to snip the threads and have the letters falling off. I went through all the clothing at a local thrift shop and found one jersey. I got it home and started trying to cut the threads holding the letters on. Gee, they make 'em a lot better nowadays. At least, this one was very well made. I managed to get some of the edges cut, frayed the edges of the sleeves and neckline, and cut through some of the seams, like under the arms. Then I washed it, to try to get those cuts and tears to look a little older. After washing it, I took it outside and rubbed it in grass and dirt, and I put a little ketchup on it, for stains. It looks a lot better in the movie than I thought it would! The shovels were ones that Tim and I had around the house. The one with the red handle is fairly new; the other I'd had for years. That's the one that broke during shooting. Tim and James put it back together for the close-ups, and if you look carefully, you can see that Maria is just poking around with the handle in some of the wider shots. |
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Costumes
Except for the lucky shirt, which is as much a prop
as a costume, the cast all provided their own clothing. I told Paula
that I wanted her to appear drab in the first scene and to wear red
in her last scene. Likewise, I told Penny that I wanted her in red in
the first scene and something quieter in her final scene. It's a subtle
cue to the audience that the two characters' situations have reversed.
I asked the Hitmen to wear dark suits, and when Geoff showed up with
the black leather jacket, I thought it worked great! Jack was asked
to wear professional business attire for the coming home scene, and
the lucky shirt the rest of the time. |