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.

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Louise Huebner. (c) 2003

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