While Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles (but you probably already knew that), is only in Australian cinemas October 6, many who’ve already seen it in the US are calling out one of the best bits about it: the set.
The film takes place in a planned country town called the Victory Project. Set in the middle of the desert, it features identical white houses in mid-century architecture, framed with a bright blue sky and palm trees. As Curbed best describes it, it’s a Slim Aarons photograph come to life.
“We were interested in the fearlessness of the mid-century aesthetic,” Katie Byron, the film’s production designer, told the publication. “We wanted to build a bold world.”
Byron explained that while most of the exterior shots are real locations, the interiors were all built from the ground up.
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To create Victory Project founder Frank’s (played by Chris Pine) captivating “dream world”, Byron used “pastels and idyllic exteriors mixed with dark and dreamy interiors. Smoked glass and mirrors. Bars fully stocked. Record cabinets outfitted with the best-sounding speakers.”
Most of the furniture in the film was custom made, though set decorators Rachael Ferrara and Ashley Bussell visited Palm Springs estate sales and antique stores for some of the smaller items, including a Sylvania television set.
So, what are some of the real locations the movie was filmed on?
Canyon View Estates
Pugh’s character Alice and Styles’ Jack live in a condo in Azul Circus in Canyon View Estates, a community in Palm Springs’ South End.
Built in the 1960s by architects Dan Palmer and William Krisel, these clusters of villas sit around a shared pool, spa and green space. The embodiment of upmarket suburban living, they each have floor-to-ceiling windows, stone fronts, and the geometric-patterned concrete blocks that are a trademark of Palm Springs.
The Kaufmann Desert House
One of the film’s other main locations is Frank’s home, set outside the Kaufmann Desert House, a private residence in Palm Springs. It was built in 1946 by architect Richard Neutra who blended steel, glass and Utah stone to create it for Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., a Pittsburgh department-store magnate and architecture connoisseur.
Many mid-century modern experts rank it among the most important American houses of the 20th century. It’s one of Neutra’s most famous residential works out of the more than 300 homes he designed and a feature stop on any Palm Springs architecture tour. Take a peek by driving by 470 West Vista Chino.
The Volcano House
The Victory Project’s mysterious headquarters uses the exteriors of Volcano House, a 2,200-square-foot house designed in 1968 by architect Harold James Bissner Jr. The saucer-like structure, atop a 150-foot cinder cone, can be found a couple of hours north of Palm Springs to the Mojave Desert community of Newberry Springs.
In the trailer, we see just beyond the eerie dunes that make up the Mojave Desert’s Devils Playground, a glaringly white dome rises up out of the ground. Alice and an army of red-clad Project workers ascend the mountain, as well as the circular road that leads to the home.
La Quinta Resort and Club
Not only did the La Quinta Resort and Club serve as a set for some scenes of Don’t Worry Darling, but it was where the cast and crew stayed, too.
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the rugged Santa Rosa Mountains, the historic property features 617 guest rooms, 161 villas, 41 climate-controlled swimming pools and 53 hot spas, set across its 45 acres. It also has a championship-calibre golf and tennis facilities, award-winning dining, expansive spa and fitness facilities and several boutiques.
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