HOLLYWOOD—Last week we introduced readers to the upcoming HBO Miniseries “Mildred Pierce,” which stars Kate Winslet in the title role. “Mildred Pierce” brings to life the memorable character introduced in James M. Cain’s classic 1941 novel. The five-part drama offers an intimate portrait of a uniquely independent woman who finds herself newly divorced during the Depression years, as she struggles to carve out a new life for herself and her family. The story explores Mildred’s unreasonable devotion to her insatiable daughter, Veda, as well as the complex relationships she shares with the indolent men in her life.
With Winslet in place as Mildred, Haynes and his producers had to find the right actors to play her leading men. Brian F. O’Byrne was cast as Mildred’s philandering husband, Bert Pierce, and James LeGros was tapped to play Wally Burgan, Bert’s ex-business partner. Says executive producer Vachon, “We were delighted to get these two actors, both at the top of their game, to play these roles.”
“It was, however, a bit tricky finding the right Monty Beragon with the perfect combination of dashing allure and a slight seediness to him,” Kate Winslet tells Canyon News. “Getting Guy Pearce was a real coup and the chemistry between him and Kate is really wonderful.”
Adds Haynes, “Guy Pearce just embodies Monty Beragon. I don’t know how he does it. Watching him become Monty was a thoroughly thrilling thing to behold as he got to the core of that blueblood inherited way of speaking and carrying oneself. It was a beautiful counter-energy to Mildred, who represents middle-class upbringing and all the potential it represents.”
Commenting on his choice for the pivotal role of Veda, Haynes says, “Evan Rachel Wood just blew all of our minds with her ability to make her character seem utterly believable in every capacity. The result is so stunning that it’s almost frightening to think, in retrospect, of the outcome had Evan not been our Veda.”
“Evan worked really hard during the training process needed to make her a believable opera singer,” explains Koffler. “She is naturally incredibly musical ”“ her ability to breathe and phrase and her body language while she was singing was so spot-on, it was almost uncanny.”
Haynes surrounded himself with talented people behind the camera as well. Production designer Mark Friedberg, with whom Haynes had worked on “Far from Heaven,” was given the task of creating the dusty reality of living in 1930s Los Angeles while filming on location in New York State, utilizing city streets in the town of Peekskill, the coast of Long Island and sound stages.
“The story is set in realms,” explains Friedberg. “We wanted to make sure that as Mildred travels from realm to realm, that they are both historically accurate but also distinct from one another. For Mildred, her decision to be a waitress in a diner represents her first foray into life outside of her home. We wanted what goes on outside the diner’s windows on the streets of Hollywood in the ”˜30s to be as interesting as what goes on inside. Quaint Peekskill in northern Westchester County worked particularly well for us.”
Finding period Spanish architecture on the East Coast to duplicate the Los Angeles suburbs proved to be easier than the filmmakers originally thought. Locations scout John Spady found a unique neighborhood on Long Island called The Gables, which was built as a 10-block housing development in the ”˜30s and designed to attract movie people to work in New York. The historical integrity of the bungalows’ construction had been maintained throughout the years and it was the perfect place to shoot the exteriors of Mildred’s neighborhood.
“The big challenge of making this film on the East Coast was that it’s not a tropical part of the world, and Los Angeles is,” explains Friedberg. “The real sense of the desert and the real sense of nature that happens in Los Angeles just does not happen in New York City or its surroundings. We sent trucks and trucks and trucks of succulents and palm trees and orange and avocado trees up from Florida to decorate our various neighborhoods with the right look for that time period in Los Angeles.”
Next week our exclusive interview continues.
Debuting Part One and Part Two on Sunday, March 27 (9-11:05 p.m. ET/PT), the miniseries also stars Guy Pearce, James LeGros, Melissa Leo, BrÃan F. O’Byrne and Evan Rachel Wood. Mare Winningham, Morgan Turner and Hope Davis co-star. Part Three debuts Sunday, April 3 (9-10:15 p.m.); Part Four and Part Five debut Sunday, April 10 (9-11:30 p.m.).
Photograph is Courtesy: Andrew Schwartz/HBO
