MENTOR'S
DRAWINGS
FILM
PRODUCTION DESIGNS
FLASH GORDON
Conceptual Story Boards ~ Conceptual Continuity
Designs
Mentor Huebner (c) 1979
Charcoal on Onion Skin 8.5" x 11"
Mentor
Huebner was Dino De Laurentiis' prized Golden Haired Primary Production
Illustrator and Conceptual Designer for many years. Dino and Mentor
collaborated frequently.
Dino
sent Mentor flying to England on locations, back and forth for
over two years to work on "FLASH". Dino's, "Hey
Mentor, it's an emergency. ''Cupola' weeks ~ ok? " ~ meant
nothing!
At
Shepperton Studios Mentor soon found himself to be the only English
speaking talent in the art department. He had to communicate in
broken Italian as the rest of the artistic crew was from Italy
and no one spoke English. Everyone smiled a lot. They too had
been told "Cupala weeks".
I
was the only wife brought in from the states (or for that matter
from anywhere) and flew to London to keep Mentor company. I posed
for Mentor the production drawings of Flash Gordon's main squeeze,
Dale Arden.
Mentor
did literally hundreds of production drawings during the two year
location in England, conceptual designs and story boards.
However
not all the drawings survived the commute. They are what Mentor
called '"rough and dirty". He had distinctions between
"Fast and Dirty" and "Rough and Dirty". I
guess 'rough' was just a trifle more finished. He and the rest
of the crew were all under serious pressure to meet a deadline
that seemed to fade far into the sunset whenever they approached
it.
The
film was released in 1980. Mentor was the Primary Production Illustrator
on the film. His Conceptual Story Boards are usually large. These
were about 18" X 24".
Here
are just a few of the Conceptual Story Boards that made it back
to the States.
RETURN
TO TOP
Louise
Huebner. (c) 2003
Website
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