Hancock Park Remodel

MOST people crave homes that have character, but filmmaker John August wanted a house to be a character. Four years ago, the screenwriter of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Big Fish" and Doug Liman's "Go" attended a Hancock Park open house and found not only a new residence, but also the inspiration and the principal setting for "The Nines," his feature-length directorial debut opening Friday.

"I immediately thought about shooting a film here," says August, 37, sitting in a shaft of afternoon sun that filters through a stained-glass window and onto the wrought-iron staircase of his 1924 Spanish Mediterranean manse.
"The house is a character in the movie, a guy who is brawny, forthright and friendly but not effusive. He'll offer you a drink but doesn't want you to stay past 11."

Few directors would surrender their personal living space to a crew of 40, let alone reveal it to the general public exactly as it is in real life, not one room disguised with props or other fakery. But it is August's unaltered interior design -- finishes, furnishings and all -- that lends intimacy and emotional veracity to the story. He wouldn't have it any other way, especially when scenes were conceived with particular rooms in mind. Read the LA Times Story.