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I’ve Been Making Dioramas For Over 17 Years, Here Are 25 Dioramas Of Films I Love
Somehow I've ended up making dioramas—miniature worlds in boxes—for a living. Over the last 17 years, I have made (and sold) several thousand. The scale is a classic model railway—1:87, so figures are less than an inch high.
"Cinerama," which I ended up exhibiting in Telluride during the 2019 Telluride Film Festival, is a collection of over 25 dioramas of films I love.
Some highlights in the making of Cinerama: Brad Pitt and Ed Norton getting bloody in Fight Club; kitting out the kids running away in the Moonrise Kingdom; the gravity-defying bamboo-jungle sword fight in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Taika Waititi as Hitler leaping through a Bavarian forest in Jojo Rabbit; painting the whites of Daniel Kaluuya’s eyes in Get Out; and gluing Steve Buscemi’s 3 mm leg into a miniature wood chipper for Fargo.
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The Truman Show, Dir. Peter Weir (1998)
Starring in miniature: Jim Carrey.
Each diorama in this collection captures an iconic scene from the big screen, frozen in time and place. Starring movie legends in MINIATURE: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Kristen Scott Thomas, Audrey Tatou and SO many more...
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, Dir. Chris Columbus (2001)
Starring in miniature: Daniel Radcliffe and Hedwig.
whoa that looks beautiful I wish I could mold beautiful artwork out of clay(and other materials)
Bohemian Rhapsody, Dir. Bryan Singer (2018)
Starring in miniature: Rami Malek.
In addition to the paid work, every year, I make a "labor-of-love" collection. If I get to show them in an exhibition, it's a bonus, but I'm mainly making them for myself.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dir. Ang Lee (2003)
Starring in miniature: Yun-Fat Chow and Ziyi Zhang.
Fargo, Dir. The Coen Brothers (1996)
Starring in miniature Peter Stormare and Steve Buschemi's foot.
I was born in Cape Town and moved to London when I was 14. I studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University followed by Art at Central St. Martins in London. After that, I got a job as a graphic designer and eventually, I started a small art licensing company with Ralph Lazar, my husband.
To Kill A Mockingbird, Dir. Robert Mulligan (1962)
Starring in miniature Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford and Brock Peters.
I have read the book, but I have never watched the movie. I suppose I should add it to my list!
Fight Club, Dir. David Fincher (1999)
Starring in miniature: Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.
One day in 2004, I received a figurine of a man in a victory pose, but with amputated arms above the elbow as a gift. I felt sorry for him and kept him. A year or two after that, I put it in an ordinary wooden box out of pure peace. At that moment, he transformed, as if he no longer needed regret. Something magical happened – life was breathed into that little guy and the space in the box seemed to open up to infinity. I had created an entire parallel universe. Godlike! And that's how Glass Cathedrals were born!
I could never have imagined all those years ago, that I would spend the next twenty or so years traveling with my bags of glitter, wooden boxes and suitcases of tiny figures, making hundreds (thousands!) of Glass Cathedrals, appreciated by people all over this very small big world.
Out Of Africa, Dir. Sydney Pollack (1985)
Starring in miniature Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.
Life Of Pi, Dir. Ang Lee (2012)
Starring in miniature Suraj Sharma.
Vertigo, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Amelie, Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2002)
Starring in miniature Audrey Tautou.
2001: A Space Odyssey, Dir. Stanley Kubrick (1968)
Starring in miniature Keir Dullea.
Man On A Wire, Dir. James Marsh (2008)
Starring in miniature Philippe Petit.
if this is the film im thinking off. It is brilliant. a man stuck on a wire because the police are waiting for him on the both buildings connecting the wire. He even lays down to rest.
Jojo Rabbit, Dir. Taika Waititi (2019)
Starring in miniature: Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis.
Blade Runner, Dir. Ridley Scott (1982)
Starring in miniature: Rutger Hauer.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Dir. George Roy Hill (1969)
Starring in miniature Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
i love westerns. My favorite has to be young guns. sad i know but i can recite every sentence in that film.
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Dir. Céline Sciamma (2019)
Starring in miniature: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel.
Get Out, Dir. Jordan Peele (2017)
Starring in miniature: Daniel Kaluuya.
Captain Fantastic, Dir. Matt Ross (2016)
Starring in miniature: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso, Nicholas Hamilton, Shree Crooks, Charlie Shotwell.
Moonrise Kingdom, Dir. Wes Anderson (2012)
Starring in miniature Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.
This has prompted me to read reviews of the film and watch the trailer on YouTube
Free Solo, Dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin (2018)
Starring in miniature Alex Honnold.
The English Patient, Dir. Anthony Minghella (1996)
Starring in miniature Ralph Fiennes and Kirsten Scott Thomas.
Marianne And Leonard: Words Of Love, Dir. Nick Broomfield (2019)
Starring in miniature Marianne Ihlen and Leonard Cohen.
i loved some of these but i couldn't see the big deal about them. To me it was like a box with a picture back ground and some Plasticine. Sorry to criticize but it does say "what do you think"?
I kinda agree. The figures are well done, and they have certainly developed their own minimalist style. But they are hardly "worlds in miniature," as mostly they are distinctly lacking in details. Still cool, though.
Load More Replies...The Lord Of The Rings with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Would love to see more.
Cute, but not very detailed. Going by the copious amount of glitter, his house must be really sparkly. LOL
I like the ones that are more detailed with grass and trees etc. in the foreground. But I'm not sure that a framed photo with a single miniature in it can be considered a diorama. I think several of them are too minimalistic to the point of being boring to look at. When it's mostly a framed photo, with the characters being so tiny, the photo/background would need to be more interesting to draw the eye to them. I'm also curious about why all of them are sprinkled with glitter, it doesn't fit every single one of the scenes.
I haven't seen all of these movies, but based on the ones I have, you have good taste.
i loved some of these but i couldn't see the big deal about them. To me it was like a box with a picture back ground and some Plasticine. Sorry to criticize but it does say "what do you think"?
I kinda agree. The figures are well done, and they have certainly developed their own minimalist style. But they are hardly "worlds in miniature," as mostly they are distinctly lacking in details. Still cool, though.
Load More Replies...The Lord Of The Rings with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Would love to see more.
Cute, but not very detailed. Going by the copious amount of glitter, his house must be really sparkly. LOL
I like the ones that are more detailed with grass and trees etc. in the foreground. But I'm not sure that a framed photo with a single miniature in it can be considered a diorama. I think several of them are too minimalistic to the point of being boring to look at. When it's mostly a framed photo, with the characters being so tiny, the photo/background would need to be more interesting to draw the eye to them. I'm also curious about why all of them are sprinkled with glitter, it doesn't fit every single one of the scenes.
I haven't seen all of these movies, but based on the ones I have, you have good taste.