⭐️ GU Presents ⭐️ The Roses, with graphics lead by
@floda !
“The Roses is a dark comedy remake of The War of the Roses (1989), written by Tony McNamara & directed by Jay Roach. Having worked with Tony on The Great, it was such a joy to reunite. Our art dept was full of laughter and I’m so proud of what we made.
Mark Ricker wanted the graphics rooted in everyday design. One favourite: the “We’ve Got Crabs” sign 🦀. David HR & I tested everything. Cute crabs, corporate crabs, quirky crabs, before landing on something Ivy herself might create.. When the restaurant “goes corporate,” the colours shift from soft pastels to bold saturated hues.
For two weeks in Salcombe, Devon, David and I camped in an eazee-up behind the restaurant, writing chalkboards, putting up vinyl, making bottle labels & merch. Jim joined to hand-paint sea creatures and chalkboards.
Theo’s architect world had sketches & drawings (thank you Keith Slote!) while Ivy’s chef world was filled with handwritten recipe cards. At Ascot Racecourse, Mhari crafted most of the graphics for our Californian “airport.”
I also pushed for the ‘Hal’ home control panel to be a visible feature in the set, so you could see a screen that corresponded to the torture that they were inflicting on each other. Working with the designer Mark we wanted something subtle that would blend seamlessly into his carefully chosen wood tones. With Dan Brookes’ help, we went through the script beats and created Hal.
You often don’t realise how good a job is until it finishes. The pace was very fast on The Roses. Lots of locations and then finally in the studio. But there was a moment when I was hiding behind the scenes helping the home economist Dot with black forest gateau cakes into boxes watching Jay Roach block out the final fight scene that I did have a ‘pinch me’ moment. Crab jokes really do have legs. 🦀”
Photos: Jaap Buitendijk, © Searchlight Pictures 2025.
PD: Mark Ricker
SAD: Kevin Timon-Hill
SD: Jude Farr
Lead:
@floda
GD:
@itsdavidhr
Trainees:
@picturecat &
@aliceamyg
Dailies:
AGD:
@mharikg
Motion Graphics: Dan Brookes
Scenic: Jim Stanes
Illustrator: Keith Slote
