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
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