Читать книгу Close-Up - Len Deighton - Страница 2

When I moved from my London home to Hollywood in 1978 I made a pilgrimage to the famed Hollywood sign. To my great dismay I found that the former real estate sign that later became the iconic landmark of “The Motion Picture Capital of the World” had become derelict.

Thankfully, due to the sterling work of some entertainment luminaries, the sign was later restored to its former glory but I never forgot how it had looked. So when I was asked to create a new design for Close-Up, Len Deighton’s wonderful tale of the glamour and sleaze of the film industry personified in the fictitious Marshall Stone, the sign’s deteriorating characters gave me the idea of dropping the letter “S”, alluding to Stone’s fall from favour.

I have a small collection of postcards of Hollywood movie stars’ homes and so it occurred to me that we should show Marshall’s lavish Beverly Hills residence, a colourful view of life during the star’s heyday, which contrasts sharply with the background of the sign. Marshall himself was added to the card, looking suitably pleased with himself – possibly he is off to an awards ceremony (though more likely to politely applaud a rival’s win than to collect one for himself).

For the book’s spine I went through my rather extensive collection of cigarette cards and found this card of “Continuity girl & Director on set”, one of my favourites from the series.

The back cover shows a part of the 1940s board game, Oscar – The Film Stars Rise to Fame. With triumph and scandal around every corner, and money dictating who would succeed and who would fail, it seemed the perfect metaphor for the highs and lows of Marshall Stone’s life, and the world of Hollywood in Close-Up!

Arnold Schwartzman OBE RDI