GoldDerby: For Kay Georgiou and Judy Chin, the hair and makeup team on Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” the key to their acclaimed work – which landed on the Academy Awards shortlist in the Best Hair and Makeup category – was to make it look almost invisible. “I think it looks effortless. So it’s hard to see the amount of work that went into it,” Georgiou tells Gold Derby in a new interview.
3 comments:
I watched Steven Spielberg's West Side Story over the winter break, and it was really exciting for me to watch it as my high school did a production of it my sophomore year. I was truly amazed and blown away by the artistic elements, from the lighting design, the choreography, to the costumes. This article really grabbed my attention. I went into the movie not watching any previews or promotion, so seeing Rita Moreno in it was a wonderful surprise for me. It makes me really happy to learn that she got to be a part of the design process for her hair and makeup for her part. Especially since Moreno is from Puerto Rico and was in the original West Side Film, allowing her input really brought the work of the makeup artists into fruition. She is a first hand source of what Puerto Ricans looked and dressed like, what they found trending and more, so they would have been foolish not to take in her word. And looking back at those choices after watching the film, everything does come together and add up.
Hikari Harrison
Finding out how hot it was during filming makes West Side Story even more impressive; having to do high-energy dancing for hours a day in the sweltering heat in heels and costumes sounds like a nightmare but the performers looked like they were having a great time. The makeup team did a great job keeping the makeup look dewy and fresh without looking sweaty. With films set in the 1950s, it can be distracting when the makeup is too intense or when performers are clearly wearing modern false eyelashes or pigments/glitter. However, being too accurate to the point of using lower quality makeup can also be distracting and not enhance the performer’s features as well as they could. I especially liked Rachel Zegler’s makeup throughout the film, as her eye makeup enhanced her eyes without being distracting and her base was flawless yet very natural-looking. The wigs also looked very high quality and natural.
I found this interview interesting as it explains what goes on while preparing for a professional film as well as what happens during the filming process. I am always intrigued by how similar or different professional processes are to productions I have worked on because I am always wanting to learn and prepare myself for any sliver of difference between the two. As a stage manager, I appreciated listening to two people from West Side Story’s hair and makeup team because it brought another perspective to the table. For example, they explained that in between takes they had to account for carrying wipes for actors who were sweating while filming outside, a situation other departments may not think of when focused only on their task. I paid attention to this situation because the concept of anticipating what situations other departments might run into and being aware of how that will change production timing is an important skill for a production manager.
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