I was deeply involved in how The Holdovers was put to film, but also in how it was presented to the audience in the form of Titles, an alternate Movie Poster and a full 4 Panel Album Jacket for the soundtrack.
THE HOLDOVERS TITLE SEQUENCE
I was asked to create the opening Title Sequence and design the format for the End Credits. I wanted to capture the nostalgia of 1970's cinema by recreating the Rating Screen, which took special permission by the MPA to utilize the vintage logo, as well as reimagining the MIRAMAX logo to be period accurate. I also fabricated a Focus Features animated splash to start the sequence off right. Neither studio existed at this time, so I had fun with it and Miramax especially liked what I did, choosing to use the animation for their projects moving forward. I did an updated version as well that was used on several films, but the new head of the studio preferred the old school vibe.
THE HOLDOVERS POSTER
The tale of this poster begins with a long, arduous journey through months of unsuccessful poster design with the team at Focus. Alexander looked at dozens of poster options before he came to me with an idea. He wanted to do a double album vinyl soundtrack with his style of cover. I of course, jumped on the opportunity. More on that project if you take a look at the feature for the album cover... So after we came up with some great album art, AP proposed that art as the poster art. The idea was a tough sell. Time and money had been invested into the path Focus was on for the branding of the film. While initially dismissed, some tweaks helped perk up the attention of the powers that be. The introduction of my design into the mix eventually got Focus to a poster they liked and AP could live with. My poster would become a limited addition piece that would be distributed to Alamo Drafthouse and art house theaters. It is also the poster that Alexander prefers to sign at events. He says it reminds him of a hand painted Italian movie poster. Several autographed versions were prizes at advanced screenings across the country.
THE HOLDOVERS ALBUM JACKET
When Alexander first came to me with the idea of doing a period accurate soundtrack package for The Holdovers, I said yes in less time than it took him to ask. I love old albums and I love this film. When he said, let's make it a double, my mind began to race. We needed the hand painted look for the cover. We had just completed the trailer for the movie and the freeze frame image of Giamatti was seared into my memory. I digitally painted his terror soaked face in the technique I developed designing romance novel covers for The Lost City. I added half tones and textures, eventually finding the right combination. I wanted to use Tully's childlike chapel pose to lean against the wonky Christmas tree, two strong visuals in the film. The broken ornament by Tully became the main focus of the studio poster art. I introduced Mary into the mix and applied the collage technique seen on so many movie posters and album jackets of the time. Then came the type and interior of the jacket. I used fonts I had created for the film for the title and headlines. The photos and captions flowed and all came together nicely. The long song titles and medleys were a challenge to deal with, particularly on the vinyl labels. I received great insight and encouragement from AP as well as Richard Ford, the music producer, and composer Mark Orton. The studio, Backlot Music, asked me to design them a retro style logo to match the vibe. Overall I loved this project and am so pleased how it turned out. It would become the model for my poster. Click the image for a magnified view.