Sunset
Boulevard started
out life as a movie, but in the early nineties it was adapted into a stage
musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber & co., and that's what I've drawn from.
(From the London cast recording, specifically ... it's so much better.)
I'm still not entirely sure why I like this show so much. The songs are
good, but not that good; the story is an intricate piece of superb
craftsmanship but not the type of story I usually like; none of the characters
are particularly pleasant. Despite it all, it was the object of a particular
obsession, and a number of drawings came out of it.
Joe
Gillis - Saying the line "I just love Hollywood."
Joe is one of the few characters who made his way into my sketchbook with
hardly any trouble at all. I discovered a couple years later that I'd
likely subconsciously based him on someone I did a show with back in high
school.
Norma Desmond - She was, and is, very very hard
to pin down, which is why there is only this one drawing of her. I am
not terribly good at glamour, and have little clue on fashionable clothes
and hairstyles from 1950 (must ... do ... research ...) so that may explain
some things.
Betty Schaeffer - Sweet young ingenue –
definitely the anomaly in this story.
At the Watercooler - Joe and Betty celebrate
the completion of the script; Betty expresses misgivings.
Downshot - How I would shoot the line "leave
this luxurious existence?" ... slight drift out.
Joe Thumbnails - I listened to this soundtrack
a lot at work, and every so often Kevin Anderson's superb subtle acting
would create such a vivid impression in my mind that I'd have to jot it
down.
More Thumbnails - This is one of my scrap
pages from work with all the Sunset doodles on it, scanned intact.
Even More Thumbnails - Poses and acting for
the line "Nothing's wong with being fifty ... unless you're acting
twenty." I eventualy animated it, but I need to adjust it a bit before
I put it online. I did this on the bus, and there's the face of a completely
unrelated unsuspecting stranger I jotted down..
An Early Joe - The first step on the path to
the design I'm so happy with.
How's it Hangin'? - a gag sketch
The Car Chase - This show has a car chase in
it. How on earth do you do a car chase on a stage? This
is all I could come up with... For some reason I find this idea hilariously
funny.
American Joe - To illustrate the difference
between the London and L.A. casts, this is what the American Joe sounds
like when saying the line that inspired the first Joe drawing on this
page.
Gagged - Joe and ... Inuyasha?! This was an
inside joke directed at my sister but I was very, very pleased with the
way it turned out. Especially the wrinkles on Joe's shirt.
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