FROM HOLLYWOOD WITH LOVE....AND STYLE: BEHIND THE SCENES WITH MELINDA RITZ -- Talk about a true Hollywood success story! Interior designer Melinda Ritz (whose offices are actually located on a movie lot) is one of those rare people in the design industry who, by sheer will and determination, worked her way up through "the system" to find herself on top -- by doing it her way. Having won three (count 'em, three!) Emmy Awards for her set designs of the international hit television show Will & Grace which ran for eight successful seasons, Ritz has long since moved into the interior design arena full time and has brought with her many clients from the entertainment industry. Recently, her work has been featured in Architectural Digest (Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi!) and Elle Decor (Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick!) and there are many more projects on the boards -- but why are we not surprised when you consider that show business runs in Ritz' blood: her father was one of the famed Ritz Brothers comedy trio from the golden era of Hollywood. When you stop to think just how influential the work of Melinda Ritz is simply based on her sets for Will & Grace alone (not to mention a whole host of other TV show sets as well), one can easily see why she is always in demand for her distinctive style and lovable nature. And she is always on the go! Which is why we at Studio of Style were happy to have caught up with Ritz for a couple of moments to ask what makes this talented lady tick!
Studio of Style: How did your first job in the entertainment industry doing wardrobe lead you to the greater world of design?
Ritz: Actually, my first job in the industry was as a personal assistant on a super-low-budget pic called Sour Grapes with Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H – and the person who was
supposed to be doing the costumes was always hiding in a corner somewhere reading a
novel while everyone on the set was screaming about their wardrobes. So, I was
immediately hired to take her place and almost had a nervous breakdown in doing so – I remember running to
the nearest Sears store looking for white shirts for the men to wear and the
clerk mentioned how stressed I looked – which means if you are stressed out,
then you are the perfect person to be working in show business! Luckily the
shoot lasted only six weeks and that’s when I knew I could never be a wardrobe
person, but I did want to be in the entertainment industry in some capacity. So I needed to find another position that better suited my talents.
Studio of Style: Later, you found
yourself designing set decorations for a science fiction film -- your first
real job as a set decorator. How did you bring your touch to this film?
Ritz: After my failure working in wardrobe, I met
the renowned set decorator Anne Kuljian – but I didn’t know what a “set
decorator” was at the time because I thought that sets were actually everyday
locations that were shot as they were found
and not produced and dressed by professionals. Kuljian and I met in 1985 on
the now-cult film Cherry 2000 in Las Vegas and, for almost a
year, I learned everything about pulling together sets, making something out of
nothing, running about Vegas searching through decrepit neighborhoods for old,
run-down trailers and thrift stores looking for junk props – and it was the
most humbling job I ever had. But, while sitting alone in my car in the middle
of the Nevada salt flats watching the teamsters bringing the trailers that I found, I remember
seeing the movie set that I envisioned in my mind starting to take form and I eventually
received major praise for it – even though I still thought at the time that set dressing
was a truly questionable job and that I probably would never want to do it
again!
Studio of Style: Your
award-winning work on Will & Grace
allowed you to explore your craft as a true set decorator, which led you to
another level in your career.
Ritz: Some of the earlier films I worked on – like
the one I mentioned before – were either low-budget or required period-looking
sets, with the exception being Basic
Instinct which was the one project where the sets I created were considered
‘high end.’ I realized that I really loved the high-end look and began teaching
myself how to really design and
decorate so that by the time that I began working on Will & Grace, I was ready to create elegant, high-end
contemporary looks for the show that I believe viewers had never seen before on
network television. I think these sets became an aspirational look for the
viewer and, since the show was broadcast internationally for years, the show
overall revolutionized the high-end look for other television shows. With the immense
success of Will & Grace, the
show’s actors and producers began buying homes and many of them turned to me to
help with designing the interiors which, in turn, helped me launch my design
business in 1995 with clients from both the show and the NBC network. But it
was a wild time for me because I was working 14 hours a day on the set of the
show and wedging in my new jobs doing interior design for homes whenever I could.
In other words, I barely slept for at least 10 years!
Studio of Style: What
have you learned from your set design experience?
Ritz: Working on location or in a Hollywood studio teaches you
how to make decisions in a snap, under the gun and in a really short time
period overall. Many of my interior design clients are amazed to see how
quickly I can finish a project – but that comes from all the training I’ve had
in films and television. Sometimes I’ve had to furnish homes in three days…or
two weeks! The vendors that I use from the shows at the studios where I worked understand
this and they’re adept at building pieces for me at a moment’s notice…and there
is never a delay, as there is in the ‘real world’ because being in the studio
system means that you can accomplish the unimaginable in virtually no time at
all.
Studio of Style: Understandably,
many of your clients live a “Hollywood” lifestyle. Is that translated into the interiors you
design for them?
Ritz: A ‘Hollywood’ lifestyle has
nothing to do with the style of the house – it’s really about how these people
move about in their homes, how they entertain and, ultimately, how secure they
feel. And it’s not about glitz – that is actually for amateurs! Many people in
the entertainment industry in Hollywood are a bit more
conservative about their home interiors than one would think. Therefore I
choose not to follow trends or use major style themes – because another thing I
learned from the movie business is to create a story for the actors, or in this case, for my clients. And that train of
thought often goes against what motivates other conventional designers, which
is to be motivated by trends or style themes. My motivation is the style of the
house and the way my clients live within it.
Studio of Style: If
someone were to look at one of your interiors in search of "Melinda
Ritz," what would you want them to find?
Ritz: A timeless feel.
