18 thoughts on “Another Amazon Historical Pilot: The Last Tycoon

  1. Maybe the lavish Hollywood look is a meta-reference. Everything does look amazingly glamorous, though!

    1. OK, so do you want a movie/series made in the future about common people (like us) but played by actresses looking all like from the Kardashians??? Yes they look glamorous, rich and lavish and very popular, but us… meh :( Making a film about oldies looking like movie stars is just as inappropriate.

  2. Looks good. Is the series based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last but unfinished novel?

  3. Of the photos here, my favourites are the two of Celia’s black and white gown. And thanks for the information. BTW will you do individual blogs/podcasts on Victoria and Season Two of Team Demelza *grins* er Poldark. I’m a redhead too.

  4. Thank you, Trystan, for fulfilling your contractual obligation, because yeah, that 18th century wig is shiiiittttyyyy (but hey, maybe that’s what they were going for!).

  5. I wonder if there’s a contractual obligation to keep Lily C’s eyebrows as is for every gig she does? They seem to be her “thing” …. and a typical faux-pas of lead actors getting modern touches when everyone else is on point. She needs Deanna Durbin ‘brows to go with that 1930’s face.

    1. Funny thing, I was going to note that Lily Collins’ eyebrows are her trademark. And seemingly NEVER plucked. I’ll bet it’s in her contract. She has Audrey Hepburn eyebrows as opposed to “Bette Davis Eyes.” Nice costumes, though.

  6. It was far from unknown for the very rich of Southern California to throw parties in which the male staff would be dressed in 18th C. costume. My grandfather was an English valet and butler at one of the big Montecito estates from1910 to the late 1950s, (w/timeout for WWI). We have photos of him dressed in 18th C. costume for some of these dos’. (And also a photo of my father dressed up as an 18th C. page boy – something he hated). For really beg parties staff would be borrowed from neighboring estates.

    1. They’re a bit vague — it’s between the wars & there’s a Hooverville, so maybe Hoover is still president, which would put it at 1933. But nobody says the date that I remember.

    2. The Roman numerals on the newsreel read 1936 and when Sideshow Bob– er, that is Kelsey Grammer– shoves the copy of Variety across his desk for Matt Bomer to read, the date says August 28th, 1936.

      I’m interested for the show, but those eyebrows, man… I can sort of forgive the over-the-top make-up, since knowing what I do of Old Hollywood, they did tend to make up even secretaries the way they did actresses (although not to the extent they appear here, obviously, but pretty close if numerous witness accounts from books about this era are to be trusted; damn near every employee was angling to get in front of the camera or had been angling to get in front of the camera so they’d try to look the part) but those eyebrows would be distracting in any era, let alone when the pencil ruled all.

  7. Maybe you should do, for Kendra’s BD one on the best 18th century wigs? I expected that the jazz band would be in 18th century dress and ‘shittttty wigs’. I remember watching a movie that did that yoinks ago.
    It has to be before 1932 as they’d have put FDR election or campaign stuff if it was 1932. Eleanor, I believe, campaigned for FD in Hollywood.

  8. I love the costume details! But I keep having my eyes drawn to the lipstick….which is a shame. Perhaps seeing the people in context will help pull my eyes from the in-your-face-lipstick.

  9. i thought the pilot was amazing though, maybe because that particular era fascinates me. hollywood in the thirties!! show me more amazon, show me more!

  10. Hi! Love your site and costume reviews. In all fairness, as the series went on, we got to see the poorer class and some of the leading stars looking not so glamorous. Great show that deserved a 2nd series

  11. There’s a really great article on fashionista.com that interviews the costume designer, makeup department head, and hair department head in which they go in depth with a lot of the design direction. In regards to Celia/Lily’s eyebrows, the makeup department head confirmed that she did in fact have a beauty contract.

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