Crazy peoples' lairs

(Noise, red room final uncorrected, in production, 2006)

At the end of our film, Ben has gone off the deep end and the climactic exposition takes place in his den wallpapered with the ephemera he's been collecting: the typical movie crazy person's room. You may be able to see the Christmas Tree air fresheners hanging from the ceiling. This is a direct steal from Seven. At last they had a sense of humor: they were in the scene with the rotting away half dead guy. We also have a lightbulb (right side of the frame) since it's mandatory for this kind of production design. Also notice the tiny spots of light at the right of the frame. That's a Lowell Omni with a barndoor. Sloppy, sloppy. Problem is with all the junk on the viewfinder, it's hard to tell exactly what's in frame.



(Dark City, 1998)

I've always liked the crazy person's room in Dark City, but never believed it. It's too self-conscious like an Art Center Illustration BFA student's version of "outsider art." I also don't like the fact that it looks too aboriginal. I know Alex Proyas is from Australia, but the Pacific aesthetic doesn't jibe with the European, noir sensibility of the film.


(The Cell, 2000)

Here's the crazy guy's room from The Cell. This room isn't an important part of the film so it's more minimal than the other examples I've posted here. Notice the way they were able to make it look dark despite the fact that this scene takes place during the day.




(Seven, 1995)

Seven has a lot of nice ideas for crazy rooms, but like Dark City, they are a bit unbelievable as if the crazy guy studied interior design. Perhaps this wouldn't be so much of a problem if the movie didn't want you to take it so seriously. The hanging things are very photogenic. The lightbox is a nice idea for lighting. And of course, lightbulbs: pretty red ones.



(Manchurian Candidate, 2004)

David always did have good taste. He suggested that I see the Manchurian Candidate, and indeed, its crazy man's room is the best of the bunch. The drawings are both believable and artistic and the overall design is not so tasteful as to exclude lightbulbs.



(The Omen, 1976)

I saw the original The Omen at a theater. I would never have thought that it would turn into a cultural icon. One of the few scenes I recall was the crazy priest's room papered in bible pages for spiritual protection. Apparently I remembered it all wrong. In my mind, the priest is cowering in the room in a high angle shot as scary things happen around him. As it turns out, the room shows up after the fact as Gregory Peck and cohort investigate. This room breaks the rule that crazy people's lairs should be lit by lightbulbs or flashlights (see David's post below). However, there is the requisite crazy writing this time in Latin!

My niece's boyfriend said that my preliminary designs for one of the walls reminded him of a scene in A Beautiful Mind so I also checked that out. It's a pretty minimal affair with about 20 pieces of paper scattered on the floor. Not so much crazy as a bit eccentric maybe.