So last week I ventured to the north to visit the LA Film Festival, and to check out the Fashion District. The visit, albeit short, consisted of a lot of walking, Stella Artois, and checking out the downtown sights. I've always had a love of architecture (it was my first major in college), and LA has tons of great examples. Many of the buildings conjure up images of old hollywood, when everything was new and shiny and film noir hadn't been invented yet. When screwball comedies were all the rage and movies cost a nickel.

So, as I wandered through the streets, I found myself stumbling upon several buildings that were erected for the sole purpose of entertaining. Maybe they showed movies (or still do), comedy shows, magic shows, or theater, but they were there to lure people in with twinkling neon lights and exotic decor. Anyway, as I walked through town, I snapped some pictures of the ones I saw, and imagined what they looked like when they were all lit up.

Although I have to say, transforming The State into a church is brilliant. Seriously.

After my jaunt through yesteryear, I trekked on over to the Fashion District, which is an amazing wonderland of possibilities that  is both inspiring and intimidating. Within a two block radius (and I'm sure there's more if you go further), you can find any fabric, any trimming, any rhinestone your little heart could ever desire. It's like a trip to Willy Wonka for people who sew. Or even own a glue gun. 

I was actually looking for some specific things (some of which I forgot to get, because I was so distracted by all the STUFF), one of which was some fake fur for a coat I'm planning to make (another art project, I'll tell you about it another time). Anyway, I found a tiny store that primarily sells fake fur. As in, there is barely enough room to even walk through the store because there are giant rolls of fur everywhere. Anyway, I got what I was looking for, but while I was there, I couldn't help but feel like I was about to be eaten by an army of Sesame Street monsters. Even if I had been, it would have been worth it.

So now I'm moving on to scouting some possible locations for my film. Since our magicians need somewhere to perform, I've been looking for theaters where we can film. Thankfully, San Diego is a great place for theater, and there are a number of companies ranging from quite large and established to small and experimental. This is a great thing. The downside is that because San Diego is such a diverse theater town, many of the theaters are black box theaters, rather than proscenium theaters, which is what I need. 

Most of the proscenium theaters here are actually very beautiful historic theaters, with all the architectural details we love, down to the red velvet curtain. This gives me some options as to where I can shoot, but the end result is most likely going to boil down to what we can afford. Historic places generally have tight restrictions (as well they should), and since they are all still working theaters, we also have to work around their production schedules, which is a little tricky. Still, I have a couple of candidates, and even toured one the other day with my producer, who I'll introduce to you another day.

We visited a place in Encinitas (very cute surfer town) called La Paloma Theater. I love that Paloma is Spanish for ''dove", which is very much a part of the magic world. Here are a few pictures.

There is another theater I plan to visit call the Birch North Park Theater, which is also beautiful. I'll post pictures when I visit.

The last location I'm looking for is a house. Nothing special, just a house. Ideally, I'm looking for something small. A simple house that looks a bit unkempt. And then my locations will be set. How exciting is that?