A Favor Declined - House On St. Charles: When you are dealing with Hollywood, it seems that many of the ideas they have for scripts are not very original. It is the same thing all of the time. This is not always the case and three decades ago a movie was made which showed the premise of how the government could use people who worked in the movies to make things look real when they weren't. The idea wasn't just a thought plucked out of the air, it was happening. It has been shown in the movies several times since, usually based on real life incidents. This is not about that though. The owners of the House On St. Charles saw a benefit to having someone who had experience in movies, and specifically in production design make things look real or to set things up in a way to make things seem like something they were not. So, with a ton of money in their pocket, they went out and found one of the very best that has been. An offer was made and from time to time this A list production designer would help out with projects. He knew what he was doing, but didn't know what was being done with what he was doing. That was his version anyway. Over the years, he managed to steer a lot of high profile celebrities to the people who owned the house. They, in turn made further introductions. It was a huge network and the owners always were looking for every advantage they could get. At some point, this A+ list mostly movie actor was introduced by our designer to someone involved with ownership. That apparently led to many adventures in the house and elsewhere where the A+ lister was filmed doing things which would cause great damage to his career. In fact, it was at this time that the A+ lister pulled back. The A+ lister discovered the recordings when he was asked for some special favors. Our actor completed those tasks but wanted out. He contacted the designer who had been the source of the introduction and asked for help. The designer agreed to help and had a meeting with some of the decision makers. He got angry and huffed and puffed and said he didn't sign up for the kind of thing that the actor had to do favor wise. Our designer threatened to go public. He was killed that same night.
A list production designer: J. Michael Riva (Filmography)
Three decades ago movie: "F/X" (plot)
A+ list mostly movie actor: Leonardo DiCaprio (Leonardo DiCaprio, the Malaysian Money Scandal and His "Unusual" Foundation)