‘Poker Face’ Production Designer Judy Rhee On Creating “Authentic” Locations & Working With Phil Tippett’s Creations – Production Value

“To create all these different looks, on an episodic schedule in the Hudson Valley, was a challenge but also the most gratifying,” says Poker Face production designer Judy Rhee. “We created this seamless show in terms following of Charlie’s travels and to have it feel authentic and convincing to the audience I think was successful.”

Poker Face, created by Rian Johnson, follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) as she travels the country on the run from a mob boss. With an unnatural ability to detect when someone is lying, Charlie finds herself in the middle of more than a few murder mysteries. “During my interview with Rian, he had mentioned that a lot of the inspiration was from ’70s and ’80s mystery of the week, like Columbo, The Rockford Files and Murder She Wrote,” says Rhee. “I loved the travel aspect of it, that we don’t ever repeat… that it was going to be individual stories and that we got to see her and follow her through these different scenarios in her travels.”

Rhee is nominated for “The Orpheus Syndrome”, in which Charlie becomes friends with a reclusive special effects artist played by Nick Nolte. “We had to put together 30 plus years of Nick Nolte’s character, who was loosely based on Phil Tippett, so a lot of research came from looking at George Lucas’ company for LAM as well as Phil Tippett’s history and his studio,” she says.

Rhee says the research yielded a “wealth of information” that resulted in a very unique and unexpected look for the episode. “Having worked with Phil Tippet and all of his creations added a whole other layer of interest. It was different from anything else we’ve seen in other shows, as well as in our series.”

The biggest challenge for Rhee was finding a location for the LAM building, which needed a unique structure that fit the story. “[LAM] had to have a kind of presence and uniqueness to any other building that you’re going to find or see in the Hudson Vally,” she says. “When we came across that I.M. Pei building, we all knew that this is it. It was so beautiful and it photographed so well and it represented the grandeur of the company and it’s history.”

Click the video above to watch the full interview.