Per a study compiled by the international streaming guide JustWatch, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings,” Wonder Woman 1984” and “Citizen Kane” topped the list of HBO Max’s ten most-watched films since the streamer’s debut last May. Focus Features’ “The High Note” may not have made the cut, but the flick struck a nerve with audiences nonetheless. I can’t turn around these days, it seems, without seeing or hearing a mention of it. The allure is understandable.
Feelgood through and through, screenwriter Flora Greeson says of the film, “I hope that it’s an hour and 40 minutes during which you don’t have to think about the insanity of our world right now. You get to enjoy it and it makes you feel safe. My favorite movies are like comfort blankets. It would be so great if this movie could do that for someone else.” By all accounts, it has.
Initially slated for a theatrical release on May 8, 2020, “The High Note” wound up debuting via video-on-demand later that month at the height of the pandemic. Though The New York Times deemed it “a little pitchy,” considering the cheerful tone running throughout, the timing of the launch couldn’t have been more appropriate. As star Tracee Ellis Ross told Reuters, “If there’s any opportunity to give a little bit of joy or escapism or entertainment in this time, then I’m happy to do that.”
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, of “Late Night” fame, the movie tells the story of Grace Davis (Ross), a superstar singer/songwriter facing middle age and the show business career pitfalls that come with it, and her highly optimistic personal assistant Maggie Sherwoode (Dakota Johnson), who wants nothing more than to become Grace’s music producer.
With Ross singing her own vocals, “The High Note” is worth watching for the soundtrack alone – not to mention the locations! Set and filmed in Los Angeles, the flick showcases some of the city’s best sites. It is at Laurel Canyon staple the Canyon Country Store that Maggie first meets her love interest, singer David Cliff (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and trades barbs with him about the Phantom Planet song “California.” Grace’s ill-fated album release party is held at Hollywood’s landmark Yamashiro restaurant. Maggie works on remixing Grace’s songs at the famed Capitol Records Building. (Fun fact – the light on the spire on top of the structure spells out “Hollywood” in old morse code at night. It doesn’t get any more iconic than that!) And the stunning house where David lives is a John Lautner-designed marvel located at 10160 Maude Ave. in Shadow Hills, a pastoral community situated at the eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the grounds in any way.)
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Image Credit: Wikimapia Known as the Hatherall House, the singular property was constructed in 1958 for retired chemist George Hatherall, who lived on the premises until at least 1983. Of choosing the renowned Lautner to design the place, a thread on the Wright Chat message board quotes him as saying, “We had gone to a couple of architects and had thrown away everything they’d come up with. Then a friend recommended John Lautner. John visited the site, made a sketch, and we spent six weeks trying to understand what he had in mind. It grew on us. The only change I remember is that we asked that the support columns be moved outside. I was the owner-builder over the year it took to complete, after John found us one hell of a good foreman in Rudi Lemich. Now, after more than 25 years of living in this house, the only word we can use to describe it is ‘Great!’”
Featuring four bedrooms and three baths spread throughout a spacious 3,634 square feet, the unique home is centered around a massive circular great room dressed with Terrazzo flooring and capped by an umbrella-like ceiling supported with steel trusses. Branching off from the central room are two wings, each of which is largely open to the great room, but can be closed off via moving walls.
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Image Credit: Redfin As originally built, the great room was split down the middle by a glass wall, with half of the space serving as the terrace, as evidenced in this photo. The residence has been remodeled several times throughout its 63-year history, though, including in 1995 to repair damage following the Northridge Earthquake and in 1997 when a 400-square-foot addition was installed. At some point, the glass wall in the great room was also moved outward to enlarge the interior living space.
Lautner was sure to embrace indoor-outdoor living with his creation, as well, by incorporating a transportable bed in the design which could be moved from the owners’ suite to the patio for al fresco sleeping, a feature that Hatherall apparently made good use of. Wright Chat quotes him as saying, ”It still remains a pleasure to be able to pull the bed outside onto the deck, and to sleep beside the pool.”
Perhaps the home’s most appealing amenity, though? The fact that, as noted on the WrightChat website, “The Hatheralls could clean the entire house using a five-foot wide squeegee in only nine minutes.” Now that’s something to celebrate!
Today, the main wing boasts two ensuite bedrooms, one with an alcove that can be utilized as an office. The two remaining bedrooms can be found in the opposite wing, along with a bathroom and a laundry room.
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Image Credit: Wikimapia The property’s gated hilltop lot, which measures an impressive 3.36 acres, offers the utmost in privacy, not to mention striking views of the surrounding San Fernando Valley. The central courtyard, walled on three sides, is anchored by a heated fan-shaped pool, the perimeter of which mimics the round lines of the home.
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Image Credit: Wikimapia The Hatherall House last changed hands in November 2009 for $1.35 million. The sellers, who purchased it a decade prior, spent a year and a half restoring the interior before moving in, modernizing the bathrooms and outfitting the rounded kitchen with granite counters and oak cabinets. The result is an updated relic that offers the best in both modern and retro living.
With its dynamic angling, stellar views and dramatic concrete and brick façade, the pad seems tailor-made for the silver screen, as is the case with so many Lautner-designed properties. I’m looking at you, Chemosphere, Sheats Goldstein House and Garcia Residence! All Lautner dwellings are just begging to be captured by a camera lens!
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Image Credit: Redfin The Hatherall House appears a couple of times in “The High Note,” initially in the scene in which Maggie and her roommate, Katie (Zoe Chao), attend a mid-week party on the premises and are shocked to discover the luxe state of David’s digs. While there, Katie tells Maggie, “I’m gonna see how much cheese I can fit into my bag and then I’m gonna look his house up on Zillow.” I had the exact same sentiment upon laying eyes on the place!
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Image Credit: Wikimapia Maggie and David later hang out in the home’s den, complete with rock-walled fireplace, to work on his song “Track 8.” Though the scenes lensed at the property were fairly tightly shot, its rounded angles, trussed ceiling and retro rock, brick and glass walls were fabulously showcased, providing a highly cinematic backdrop against which the couple’s romance ignites.