UPDATE ON MICHAEL CORENBLITH FILMOGRAPHY FROM 2004 TO 2018

2005. BE COOL. Director: F. Gary Gray. 2007. WILD HOGS. Director: Walt Becker. THE ALAMO (2004), BY JOHN LEE HANCOCK WHICH CHRONICLES THE BESIEGED TEXIAN REBELS 2008. FROST/NIXON. Director: Ron Howard. 2009. THE BLIND SIDE. Director: John Lee Hancock. RESISTANCE TO THE RELENTLESS ADVANCE OF THE MEXICAN ARMY LED BY THE GENERALISSIMO 2010. DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS. D irector: Jay Roach. ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANA . A FTER THIRTEEN LONG DAYS OF STRENUOUS DEFENCE , THOSE MEN 2011. DOLPHIN TALE. D irector: Charles Martin Smith. DIED IN WHAT IS REMEMBERED IN MERICAN HISTORY AS A HEROIC SACRIFICE NE OF THE WORLD S 2012. THE CAMPAIGN. D irector: Jay Roach. A . O ’ 2013. SAVING MR. BANKS. Director: John Lee Hancock. MOST CREATIVE PRODUCTION DESIGNERS , M ICHAEL CORENBLITH HAS DESIGNED THE MOVIE ’S SETS . 2014. ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, FTER HAVING WORKED ON SEVERAL MOTION PICTURES DIRECTED BY ON OWARD ANSOM D NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Director: Miguel Arteta. A R H (R ; E 2016. THE FINEST HOURS. Director: Craig Gillespie. TV; A POLLO 13 , FOR WHICH HE WON A BAFTA A WARD , AND HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS ), 2017. THE FOUNDER. Director: John Lee Hancock. CORENBLITH HAS ACCURATELY RECREATED THE ENVIRONMENT OF THAT FATEFUL SERIES OF EVENTS 2018. GAME NIGHT. D irectors: John F. Daley, Jonathan Goldstein. LAST PORTRAYED ON THE BIG SCREEN BY THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL 1960 EPIC DIRECTED BY AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION STARRING JOHN WAYNE . I T IS SAID THAT THERE IS AN AURA OF AN EPIC NATURE THAT PERVADES THIS 2005. SURFACE Season 1. Episode 1. FILM AND THAT JOHN LEE HANCOCK INTENDED TO KEEP TO THE HISTORICAL FACTS , GIVEN THAT ALAN 2006. DEXTER. Season 1. Episode 1. 2012. GAME CHANGE. D irector: Jay Roach. HUFFINES AND STEPHEN HARDIN , TWO RESPECTED HISTORIANS AND EXPERTS ON THE TEXAS 2015. THE BRINK. Season 1. Episode 1. REVOLUTION , WERE CONSTANTLY ON SET TO SUPERVISE EVERY SEQUENCE OF THE FILM AFTER HAVING RE -READ THE SCRIPT SEVERAL TIMES AND GIVEN THE DIRECTOR ADVICE ON WHICH PITFALLS TO AVOID .

CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL CORENBLITH THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE IN 2004 DURING THE SHOOTING OF THE ALAMO AND WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SCENOGRAPHER IN 2005. REMEMBER THE ALAMO The first historical reconstruction dates from the nineteenth century, specifically from Napoleon’s desire to celebrate his victory at Marengo, recreating the battle by using a number of Austrian prisoners. From its genesis, cinema has made great use of every possible historical event and has attempted to unshackle time from its imprisonment, breathing life back into entire nations, heroes, battles and passions, shedding light on centuries-old obscurity those places populated by mankind. The faithful reconstruction of events which took place, of how one lived and fought in a distant past has certainly stimulated, and will continue to excite, the curiosity of the spectator in whom school-day memories of half forgotten protagonists from the past will resurface . Mr. Corenblith on what historical documentation did you base the creation of sets and choice of locations?

When I first began my research on the architecture and geography of The Alamo and San Antonio de Bexar in 1836, I pursued several avenues of research. The Archives of the State of Texas, and the Map Collection of the University of Texas at Austin provided a variety of archival maps from the period, the most important being the "La Bastida" map of Bexar and The Alamo, prepared by a military engineer in Santa Ana's army for the purpose of planning the assault. I was able to study the actual map, which was on display at a special exhibit at the Bob Bullock State History Museum in Austin, which was devoted to the Life of David Crockett. This map not only provided valuable information as to the arrangement of the particular buildings within the Alamo compound, but also delineated the arrangement and size of the important buildings within the town of San Antonio de Bexar. Because this was a map created for the purpose of planning a military assault, it also provided a wealth of information regarding the placement and fields of fire of each of the eighteen cannons that protected the walls of The Alamo. I went to San Antonio on repeated occasions, and met with the Curator of The Alamo, Dr. Bruce Winders, who also provided access to a number of important documents and oral accounts of the battle. Next, I visited the set from the 1960 John Wayne film, in Brackettville, where I met the docent there, Rich Curilla. Rich generously shared much of his collection, and introduced me to the work of Theodore Gentlitz, an artist who had done several paintings of life in San Antonio around the time of the Texas Revolution. Rich also introduced me to the book "The Alamo, An Illustrated History," by George Nelson, which provided much of the factual information that I based my set design on, as well as several other sources of historical data which were then pursued. Rich also provided me with book, "The Blood of Noble Men," by Alan Huffines, which was a highly detailed chronology of the events from a military perspective, taken entirely from first hand accounts of these events, from both the Texian and Mexican sides. As my research continued, I attended a symposium in Houston, Texas devoted to the events surrounding the Battle of San Jacinto, The John Wayne film from 1960 was as much about the Cold War as it was about The Texas Revolution. Jason Patric, who plays where I met Dr. Stephen Hardin, author of "Texian Iliad," which is a scholarly work which deals not only in the specifics, but in Jim Bowie in the film, calls Texas in 1836 a microcosm of what the United States would become. In today's multicultural society the broader questions and issues surrounding the Texas Revolution. It was in Houston that I met with Dr. James Crisp, from The we are a long way from the America of 1960, and this film is representative of our current social and political climate. This is why University of North Carolina, who translated the De La Pena diaries, which were a highly detailed account of these events written it was important to me to give the same attention to the accuracy in my depiction of life in San Antonio de Bexar, and the by a common "soldado" in Santa Ana's Army. community of Tejanos there, as it was to the Texian defenders inside the walls of the Alamo. The Art Department for The Alamo amassed a collection of over 200 books devoted to or related to the subject, and included all Do you think that this could be the movie that will re-launch the genre and its subsequent spin-offs, thanks in part to known paintings and drawings done of San Antonio from the time. The first photograph of the Alamo wasn't taken till 1856, so new technology? these works of art were the only primary sources that exist. In the architecture and design of the film there are no building forms, I think that the examination of our past, and the lessons that it may contain is one of the benefits of any period film. As the colors or details that do not have a specific reference in the research that was amassed. Western is a uniquely American genre, there is always that aspect of it being a prism that our current situation can be seen through. In March, 2003 I was given the Ruben Marmaduke Potter Award, by the Alamo Battlefield Association, which is bestowed for Filmgoers have been blessed with a number of top quality, period epics this year, not because of new technologies, but rather significant advancement in the field of Alamo scholarship. I was to first non-author to ever receive this prestigious recognition because of the challenges and introspection that our times demand. from the Alamo Community. Within the fort, was the physical composition of each battle site characterized in such a way as to reveal to the audience Tourists visit both sites, often preferring the movie set in Brackettville to the original site. Were the battlefields also the difficulties faced during the various stages of the battle. faithfully reproduced? In designing the layout of the Alamo compound, many of my decisions to deviate from the actual conditions were based on the I feel that tourists' preference for seeing the movie set to visiting the actual Alamo is based entirely on the question of context. fact that unlike the John Wayne version, our final assault would be depicted at night, when it actually occurred. This meant that The Alamo in present day San Antonio is in the center of a modern city, with only two of the original structures remaining. In there was a premium placed on the schematic function of my designs in making sure that the audience could remain oriented Brackettville it is far easier to feel what the site was like in 1836. In designing the set for the John Lee Hancock film, I wanted to during this climactic battle sequence. Since each of our primary characters, Crockett, Bowie, Travis, and Bonham were assigned create a new physical manifestation of The Alamo and San Antonio de Bexar that would encompass all of the advances in both to defend a particular position within the fort, I wanted to make sure that each of these positions could be seen from the others, our knowledge of history and the sophistication of the moviegoing audience. and that the visual heart and anchor of our story, the Alamo church itself, could be composed into the shots from each of these Unlike Brackettville, the relationship of The Alamo to the town of San Antonio on the 2003 set is highly accurate. I looked at positions. This resulted in the most controversial decision that I made, which was to move the placement of the Church, which over 80 locations in 13 States, before selecting the site in Dripping Springs, Texas. One of the primary features that I was seeking is the icon that is known worldwide as "The Alamo," forward toward central parade ground. This ensured that the icon was no was a representation of the San Antonio River, which separated the Alamo from the town, and is the location of the present-day longer masked by any other building, most notably the "Long Barracks," which is the other of the two remaining structures in San Riverwalk. The State of Texas is divided into seven geographic regions, and unlike Brackettville, the Dripping Springs site is part Antonio today. From careful study of both the John Wayne film and the set in Brackettville, I concluded that in the confusion of of the same region as San Antonio, and contains the same flora as was found in the San Antonio River Valley. Because the town battle, through the smoke, and in the dark, the audience needed to have this touchstone. If they were secure in knowing where of Bexar was over 100 years old at the time of the battle, and part of an established agricultural community, I also planted over they were, then they could more fully experience the emotion of the story and the heroism of the defenders. There are certain six and one half acres of period-correct crops. I engaged the services of Mick Vann, a Horticulturist with the University of Texas times when my responsibilities as a filmmaker will overshadow my accountability to the historians, and I made this decision based to research and provide examples of the types and strains of crops that would have been in the fields at the time, and we planted on the greater need. and cultivated thriteen varieties of heirloom-seed crops, so that the fields would appear as they did in 1836. Because the Battle of San Jacinto was fought almost 200 miles from the Alamo, our location for that set was located as far from the Dripping Springs site as production logistics would allow. I found a site that was located on a large land preserve known as "Jim Small's Big Thicket." I was able to replicate the look of the "Piney Woods" of East Texas, while traveling less than 50 miles from our Alamo. The bbattlefield itself was a very high fedelity reproduction of the San Jacinto Battlefield, including the orientation to the sun, which played a part in Sam Houston's strategy of attacking in the late afternoon, when the sun would be in the eyes of the Mexican defenders. To what extent have you and the film crew been aided by computer design and digital technology? The approach that I advocated, and that was adopted, was one that relied on the same impulses that inspired the look of the John Ford westerns from an earlier era. After my experience with digital set extensions in the designs for The Grinch , I was intent on focusing on the sense of verisimilitude that comes only with actually being there. My desire was to create a seamless environment for the production, with everything being built on location. All of the interior sets were integrated into the exteriors, and there was no work done on sound stages in this film. I wanted the cast to feel what the environment was like, from the moment they arrived to work, for better or worse. We endured the same weather and climate as the men who defended the Alamo, and were filming the final assault on March 6th, the day that the Alamo fell in 1836. While shooting this film, our cast and crew experienced temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 115 degrees. Having the great Dean Semler as the Cinematographer only made my choices bolder, and John Lee Hancock embraced the idea of completely integrating the interior and exterior shooting, often going from outside to inside in a single shot. The set was conceived and built as a single unified event, and although it encompassed over 80 buildings and 51 acres, it was designed to be shot as one integrated object. I am pleased to say that John Lee Hancock's previous film "The Rookie" has more digital effects shots than The Alamo. In your version, was the opposing view of the Mexicans and their General Santa Ana taken into account? There is an adage that "period films always wind up revealing more about the period in which they were made than they reveal about the period which they depict."