J. C. Backings Corporation is a scenic backdrop rental company based in Culver City, California. It was established in 1962 by John Harold Coakley and his son, John Gary Coakley, who realized there was a need for custom painted backings and backdrop rentals for American film and television companies.[1][2] In 1970, the company purchased over 2,000 backdrops from the storage facility of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[3]
 | |
| Industry | Film scenery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | John Harold Coakley John Gary Coakley |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Lynne Coakley (president) |
| Website | https://www.jcbackings.com/ |
Backings were expanded via photographic alternatives (known as translites) and digital print vinyl backings with the company's third generation, headed by Gary Coakley's children Lynne and Tod.[1] As of 2020, painted backdrops made up around one-third of the company's rentals.[4]
Tod Coakley died in 2006, aged 44.[5] Pierre Steele, Lynne's husband, joined the company at that point.[1]
After 46 years at Sony Pictures Studios, in 2017 the company relocated its digital print and photograph backing facility to another section of Culver City, while custom paints and touch-ups to painted backings take place in Gardena.[6] During the move, over 250 backings were donated to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as to schools and colleges and the Art Directors Guild Backdrop Recovery Project.[7] Some of these backings were used on films such as Ben-Hur, The Sound of Music,[8] North by Northwest (including the Mount Rushmore backdrop)[4][9] and Meet Me in Las Vegas.[1][10]
Lynne Coakley is the company's president.[11]
Backing examples
editTwo backings from the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997):
-
The Comer House (right), where John Cusack's character John Kelso stayed -
A view of Jones Street, as it would have been from Kelso's window
References
edit- ^ a b c d "J.C. Backings - Our Heritage". www.jcbackings.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "The Story". Hollywood Backdrop Collection. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "Art of the Hollywood Backdrop" – Boca Raton Museum of Art
- ^ a b "Backdrops, front and center: These massive paintings by unheralded movie studio artists, which provided magical settings during Hollywood's Golden Age, are finding a new life - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2020-02-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "John Tod Coakley Obituary". www.jcbackings.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "J.C. Backings - Locations". www.jcbackings.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ McNamara, Mary (2019-12-20). "How 200 historic Hollywood backdrops were saved from the dumpster". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "These Painted Backdrops Brought Life to Classic Hollywood Scenes". TIME. 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ Faires, Robert. ""The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop" Provides a Close-up on Cinema's Scenic Paintings". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ Media Alert – Art Directors Guild
- ^ JCBackings (2020-02-12). CBS Interview of the President of JC Backings. Retrieved 2024-05-17 – via YouTube.