Post by ehmalo01 on Oct 20, 2009 4:42:29 GMT -10
This is from last night's CBS Producers' Blog. I really love this article.
em
www.cbs.com/primetime/csi_miami/community/blogs/blog.php?key=0
Shades of Caine
By: Greg B.
Iconic and inimitable. They are the polarized punctuation mark of all justice served in Miami-Dade -- Horatio Caine’s sunglasses. For those curious about their true-to-life origins, here the myths are dispelled and truths revealed about the world’s most famous pair of shades.
First things first. They are, in fact, polarized. And, 100% UV resistant, according to the sticker affixed to a spanking new set. They’re unbelievably light, thin, and have a pliable frame. No hinges. That’s right, they just flex to fit your head. Put them on, and the world suddenly shifts into a light shade of green.
Brand? Silhouette. Manufactured at their headquarters in Austria. Model 8568/65 6062. But, slow down if you want to fire up Silhouette.com to order a pair-- they stopped fabricating this model over three years ago. The last batch was kindly donated to CSI: Miami by Silhouette. There are only around 130 pairs that still roam in the wild today, and they all nest inside a black-steel cabinet, stashed and padlocked in the props office on the studio lot.
“There are always around ten pairs on set,” says Assistant Props Master Katy Mau. They are given to Horatio at the beginning of the day and he returns them once he is finished with his scenes. And no, he never wears them while not in character. Well…almost never. CBS promotional appearances don’t count.
Damaged pairs are also held by the props department. During the many rigors of television production, they do occasionally become dirty, scratched, or more rarely, completely broken. Pairs declared K.I.A are simply swapped out with a fresh set, and the departed set to rest in the cabinet with the other optic casualties.
“We still get emails from fans about where they can find them,” says Mau. “I’d say you’re best chance would be to search eBay.”
If they did still exist, “They’d run you about 175 dollars a pair,” says CSI: Miami Property Master Bob Good. Included with the glasses would be a black hard-plastic case, grey micro-fiber lens cleaner, and of course, multi-lingual user guide. It’s translated into 26 different languages, just in case.
True fans know they’ve been sported by Horatio since the airing of “Cross Jurisdictions”, the CSI/CSI: Miami pilot spin-off in 2002. Do a quick search on youtube.com, and you’ll find thousands of imitations of Horatio donning his shades, most famously done, of course, by Jim Carrey on Late Night with David Letterman. Carey’s performance solidified their pop-culture status around the globe.
As for how they actually came to be chosen as “the pair”? “He picked them out himself,” confirms Good. He being, the show’s lead star, David Caruso. “It was two days before we were shooting the first episode, Cross Jurisdictions, in Miami,” notes Good. “The first time we met. He told me he had gone to a store, picked out a certain style, and reserved three pairs.” The next day, Bob found the store and bought all of them.
The rest, my friends, (dramatic pause) is called television history -- YEAAAAAAHHH!
Greg B. is the assistant to CSI:Miami Co-Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer Ann Donahue.
em
www.cbs.com/primetime/csi_miami/community/blogs/blog.php?key=0
Shades of Caine
By: Greg B.
Iconic and inimitable. They are the polarized punctuation mark of all justice served in Miami-Dade -- Horatio Caine’s sunglasses. For those curious about their true-to-life origins, here the myths are dispelled and truths revealed about the world’s most famous pair of shades.
First things first. They are, in fact, polarized. And, 100% UV resistant, according to the sticker affixed to a spanking new set. They’re unbelievably light, thin, and have a pliable frame. No hinges. That’s right, they just flex to fit your head. Put them on, and the world suddenly shifts into a light shade of green.
Brand? Silhouette. Manufactured at their headquarters in Austria. Model 8568/65 6062. But, slow down if you want to fire up Silhouette.com to order a pair-- they stopped fabricating this model over three years ago. The last batch was kindly donated to CSI: Miami by Silhouette. There are only around 130 pairs that still roam in the wild today, and they all nest inside a black-steel cabinet, stashed and padlocked in the props office on the studio lot.
“There are always around ten pairs on set,” says Assistant Props Master Katy Mau. They are given to Horatio at the beginning of the day and he returns them once he is finished with his scenes. And no, he never wears them while not in character. Well…almost never. CBS promotional appearances don’t count.
Damaged pairs are also held by the props department. During the many rigors of television production, they do occasionally become dirty, scratched, or more rarely, completely broken. Pairs declared K.I.A are simply swapped out with a fresh set, and the departed set to rest in the cabinet with the other optic casualties.
“We still get emails from fans about where they can find them,” says Mau. “I’d say you’re best chance would be to search eBay.”
If they did still exist, “They’d run you about 175 dollars a pair,” says CSI: Miami Property Master Bob Good. Included with the glasses would be a black hard-plastic case, grey micro-fiber lens cleaner, and of course, multi-lingual user guide. It’s translated into 26 different languages, just in case.
True fans know they’ve been sported by Horatio since the airing of “Cross Jurisdictions”, the CSI/CSI: Miami pilot spin-off in 2002. Do a quick search on youtube.com, and you’ll find thousands of imitations of Horatio donning his shades, most famously done, of course, by Jim Carrey on Late Night with David Letterman. Carey’s performance solidified their pop-culture status around the globe.
As for how they actually came to be chosen as “the pair”? “He picked them out himself,” confirms Good. He being, the show’s lead star, David Caruso. “It was two days before we were shooting the first episode, Cross Jurisdictions, in Miami,” notes Good. “The first time we met. He told me he had gone to a store, picked out a certain style, and reserved three pairs.” The next day, Bob found the store and bought all of them.
The rest, my friends, (dramatic pause) is called television history -- YEAAAAAAHHH!
Greg B. is the assistant to CSI:Miami Co-Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer Ann Donahue.
