Interview: ‘One Battle After Another’ Production Designer Florencia Martin Breaks Down Sensei’s Apartment, Reagan’s Mansion, the Christmas Adventurers’ HQ and More
When I last spoke to production designer Florencia Martin, she had just finished working on Damien Chazelle’s wild 1920s-set Hollywood ride, Babylon. During our conversation, Martin spoke lovingly about her hometown of Los Angeles and its history, citing the importance of capturing the city’s raw imperfections alongside its storied past. Martin’s richly detailed work in Babylon earned her a much-deserved Academy Award nomination, and now, after recreating Los Angeles in the 1920s, the 1950s in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, and the 1970s in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, she finds herself branching out of the city.
Reuniting with Anderson for his sprawling American epic, One Battle After Another, gave Martin a brand new, audacious challenge. The scale and the scope of the film is vast, stretching down through the state of California, through the lush Redwoods of Eureka to the architecture of the Texas Dip in Borrego Springs. Importantly, the film also ventures into El Paso, Texas, a city and community that Martin spoke of warmly throughout our conversation. What’s exciting about Martin’s work in One Battle After Another is that it includes a mix of freshly built sets and details steeped in realism with input from the California and Texas communities. From the labyrinthine tunnels of the Christmas Adventurers’ gathering place to Bob’s underground escape route to the row of apartments above Sensei’s family store, Martin and her team built everything from scratch, incorporating detail that further enriches the film’s unique storytelling. As she detailed her collaborative process with Anderson on their second feature together, it became clear why they’re such a strong pair. Every decision made, from the largest build to the most minuscule hidden detail, always centers the character.
Sophia Ciminello: It’s so nice to see you again, Florencia. Congratulations on One Battle After Another!
Florencia Martin: Thanks, Sophia! It’s great to see you too.
SC: When we last spoke, we talked quite a bit about your love for telling stories in California, including in Paul’s last film, Licorice Pizza. Here, you’re venturing outside of LA. How did you go about scouting and capturing California for this project?
FM: Yeah, we had Paul’s excellent script, and we knew what Bob’s journey was going to be from the start. We knew that he went out of his revolutionary days and had, you know, found protection up in the Redwoods and become somewhat of a hermit with his daughter Willa. And then when she goes on the run, his journey begins. We knew we had to go from Redwoods to an urban city, then into a sanctuary mission where the nuns were, and then ending in the desert. So really our approach was the same as it is on other projects, which is to just get in the car and start scouting, but for this one it was on a much larger scale. So we started in 2022, 2-2 ½ years before filming, and went up to the Redwoods and then worked our way down through California. And then we actually ended up also incorporating El Paso, Texas, as our urban city, because we ended up falling in love with El Paso. So it became part of the character of our story.
SC: And in following Bob’s journey, we have two homes where we see him with Willa. The house that he’s in with Perfidia and baby Charlene is such a contrast to where they live in the Redwoods. How did you design and create those two spaces for them?
FM: Yeah, so in the beginning, when we meet Bob, he’s at the temporary detention center, which we filmed at the border at Otay Mesa. So you get this really open scale of the revolution that they’re embarking on. That took us to Sacramento and Stockton, and Tracy, which gave us the scale of the courthouses and buildings. And then to carve into his story with Perfidia, those scenes are specifically in Inglewood at a woman’s house, who is in the film. She plays the Aunt in the scene at the table, you know, “You’re no good for my daughter.” (Laughs). And the way Paul wanted to approach the film was to really ground it in realism, and I got those cues from scouting and from being in those spaces and saying, “There’s some magic here, let’s not really touch it.” And so that was the case for Mom’s house. It was a bit of neither Perfidia nor Bob’s space, so I think it created some tension and fabulous storytelling just in the layering of that home, which was incredible to find and work with.
And then once we got to the Redwoods, we scouted a dozen homes or so and landed on this one-bedroom cabin in the woods, because it really enveloped them in this, you know, protective hug. But we did all of the interior set design and set decoration work. There were a lot of conversations with Leo [DiCaprio] and Paul and Anthony Carlino, our set decorator, as to what had happened in these sixteen years that Bob had found this little place and dug his heels in. We really took a lot of cues from the community, you know, people’s hobbies, and for him specifically, he’s gone through these traumas, so we had self-help books, rocks, and crystals. He’s into music, so he has music memorabilia, and he has his plant project. So, we were just constantly layering. And then we actually built the addition of Willa’s room in a really shanty way, like with a tarp and exposed framing to look like Bob had done it himself. She’s a little tidier and has her trophies. So, I love that set. It’s really like a character study between the two of them. And then it’s this incredible starting point for the cat-and-mouse game with Lockjaw. So, you know, we built that tunnel on stage in the end with the look down and up at Lockjaw as he’s looking down at him. And then when Bob emerges out in the outhouse that’s built in the Redwoods–that was surrounded by miniature cars that were being eaten by the forest.
SC: I love that shot. You really get a sense of how long Bob has hunkered down out there when you see him standing in that outhouse with all of those broken-down cars around him. How did you choose that location?
FM: It’s great. Yeah, we picked that location because, you know, you can start to hear stories of why and how that all ended up there, and that becomes part of the storytelling. So it’s like, maybe Bob sells used car parts, and this is his backyard, or a continuation of his backyard. And it was through scouting that we had seen what the community did with their Redwoods and their stumps, because they’re famously cut down for lumber. So there are a lot of these remains, which is how we procured our Redwood stump that we placed in that location. And so we just worked with a local artist who also helped us transform that. But it was a great, amazing endeavor, just like digging in the tank for Bob to pop out of, and all of the pieces that went into that. And luckily, it was raining, so the forest just started incorporating our stuff. Some people on the film didn’t even realize we had built it, and that’s the biggest reward we can get.
SC: That’s great. You really have created this little hideaway for him and Willa, and then total chaos ensues as he leaves that behind.
FM: Oh my gosh, yeah. And it’s always fun because it’s all about the characters and the story. So, he had to get the backpack, and the backpack had to have that dead phone so that he could try to find his daughter. And so it was just a nice way to engineer a scene when you know what your goals are, but you also have a space to explore as you’re finding locations and builds to say, this is actually a really special sequence, so how do we fold this in?
SC: And you mentioned falling in love with El Paso. That sequence with Sensei really opens up the film as we go from his wife’s store, go upstairs through the hallway, and into his apartment. What were your conversations with Paul like about that space, and how did you go about constructing that?
FM: Yeah, so that was so great too, because it was also very boots-on-the-ground. We went to El Paso because it’s a border city to Mexico, and we were just blown away by what we found, which was essentially like a backlot of buildings, because it’s a city that was built in different time periods. So it had the historic district that leads to the border, which is turn-of-the-century, two-floor buildings, and then another boom where the first concrete highrises were built in the United States. So, it’s an amazing place with 1920s to 1940s buildings. And then there was another boom in the ‘50s and ‘60s, which is where the protest happens. So, you get these ‘50s storefronts there. We found a lot of variety there, which is actually the way you said it, it opened up the locations and the story and the work that we were going to do there. And one of the first locations we walked into was the perfume shop called “Genesis Perfumeria.” The hospitality in El Paso is incredible, so the community there was a huge factor in our success and our joy of working there every day. They led us up the stairs, and Paul said, “this is where Sensei’s apartment needs to be.”
We actually built the entire apartment upstairs because it was a gutted second floor of this forefront block. So, it took an incredible amount of engineering and work with our local scout, Jacob Cena, and an architect, Bill Helm, who taught us a lot about the city and helped us get engineering permits. They both helped open so many doors for us because we had a lot of sets between the rooftops and Sensei’s Dojo, which we built in an empty storefront from the ground up. We were able to infuse so much of his character, which honestly started growing once Benicio Del Toro was boots on the ground with us.
SC: I keep hearing just how thoughtful and involved Benicio was in working with the crew.
FM: Yeah, we started to rehearse and show him these locations, and it was an incredible way to work. We’d walk into the Sensei perfumeria, and it was like, this is his family store, but the family that owns the store actually became his family. So they’re cast in the movie. It was just a very joyful experience. And then, as far as Sensei’s apartment, I knew that Paul was interested in a hallway with multiple doors and a chain of apartments that had been opened up. So you really got a sense that Sensei was living communally with his family. We hadn’t quite developed the Harriet Tubman storyline yet until Benicio had gotten there. But building it on location and tying it to the perfume shop allowed for this labyrinth to naturally happen. So I aligned the door, the hallway with a trap door that led to the next storefront downstairs, which was a bag store, “Bolsa Coketa.” Then the last doorway on the left led through a water closet to the back room of the flower shop, which was a block south of us. So it was incredibly satisfying work to stitch all of those storylines together. And then I have to say, it was a very emotional and beautiful experience to carve out the stories of each of the apartments because I didn’t want it to feel arbitrary. And we had scouted this area called Segundo Barrio in El Paso, which is where a lot of immigrant families live today. And there was an apartment similar to this, where one unit was a bachelor, another one was a single mom with three kids, an abuelita, and they all had very specific details.
I just thought, what would happen if we take these photos and collage them to the angles that were visually interesting? And also, Paul’s storytelling gives you a really great way to work because then we actually ended up reaching out to those communities through our set dec team and renting a lot of those items from them. The plastic tablecloths and the used cleaning products–I mean, it was just layers and layers of things, and everything was practical. And even the refrigerator, when Sensei gets a beer, everything worked, and then it stayed in the scene. So it becomes like a really satisfying way of working when you’re looking out the window and everything is as the actors are seeing it. I think it just created a really fun playground for all of us.
SC: It’s great that you were able to incorporate so many different communities across these locations. And like you said, that really grounds everything in realism too.
FM: Exactly, and it’s interesting because you have to embrace the idea of things not being aesthetically pleasing and trusting within your own team to say, at times, like with Perfidia’s mother’s house, “Don’t touch anything. It’s perfect.” Because the instinct, a lot of the time, for the designer is to impose your vision and impose an idea. And here it was just an instinct in saying, we’re going to weave this tapestry of California and ground all of these characters in real time and realism with real people. So, it’s a very satisfying way to work.
SC: It sounds so rewarding too. You mentioned the labyrinth that you created upstairs with those apartments. Those kinds of hallways and tunnels are a motif that pops up a few times in the movie. I have to ask you about the underground Christmas Adventurers’ Headquarters. The surprise of seeing where that painted door leads, and that tunnel is such a dark, funny PTA touch.
FM: (Laughs) It really is.
SC: How did you go about designing that meeting place?
FM: Yeah, you really have to lean into it. I think that’s the best way to probably describe that because there’s an example of the polar opposite of what we were just talking about with Sergio. This is a moment that’s not grounded in reality. This is a bit of a fantasy of what would happen if there was this underground network of tunnels between people’s houses where there were early meetings for these plans. So, how do you begin? We had found a house in Sacramento that had stairs that led through a mural and then cut to a serpentine corridor that we were going to initially build, but it was such a spectacular location that we wanted to use that specifically.
And then once you get to this underground room, I started looking at Midwest American companies that refurbish basements and how they incorporate this wild molding and artificial lighting. That’s all real. So there is a realism. It’s crazy. It’s like, what is happening? And also a cue that you’re hopefully understanding that you’re underground. And then the mural, which was hand-painted by the scenic company Trio, was based on the ideal, the West, the perfect preservation and conservation. And we also just thought it was hysterically funny to have taxidermy and pheasants. This is what they decided they wanted to look at while they were hosting these meetings. And we of course had a bar. I’m sure, like these men get together and drink. And then in the back corner, we had a coat rack with all the hangers to show that, you know, this space is used for meetings. We were also really inspired by train cars, to see the size and shape of them. And Anthony Carlino found a Pullman train car chair that he reproduced to have that, you know, eerie kind of feeling of competitive form. Just thinking, what goes on in the space? And just let the viewer tell the story that they want to tell about what’s happening there. And of course, those Christmas cups.
SC: Specifically, though, the choice of Spode Christmas china was absolute perfection (laughs).
FM: Yes! That’s exactly right. And if you look closely, we carved St. Nick into the archway. Try to find it when you see it again.
SC: That’s amazing. I’ll look when I see it again this weekend. And this is in Ronald Reagan’s mansion, right?
FM: (Laughs) Yes, it is, but we didn’t go there because of that. It was really that we were filming in Sacramento and we needed to shoot that scene there and it was one of the houses in that incredible neighborhood. It’s just a classic home and we really wanted that staircase. And it was also funny that it happened to be Ronald Reagan’s home.
SC: The exterior of the house really does fit that classic Americana feel, especially as that vintage Mustang pulls up too. The cars that you pick for these characters are also just spot-on.
FM: That was a lot of fun.
SC: Well, and following them at the end of the movie is thrilling as we go over those hills. How did you find that location and think about the architecture? And how did you choose those cars for the characters?
FM: Yeah, we knew we were culminating in the desert and we had just left the recreational camp next to the river that Michael Glaser found, luckily. We wanted something really arid and odd and it had so much of its own storytelling of who the 1776 are. So we were taking a loop back to Borrego Springs and suddenly the highway started to shift into these mounds and dips. So, Paul took his phone out and started recording and I started recording in the back and you could feel the energy in the car. We thought, oh, this is really special. And honestly, I don’t remember what came first or last, but he ended up folding that location into the script and writing out that sequence after we scouted. We had been scouting the Ocotillo Wells and Borrego Springs area for a long time and we were able to patchwork and collage those pieces together. So, I felt like the Texas Dip was a great punctuation point for all of the hills that we had just come out of. And then, there was also the Ocotillo Wells Reef where the handoff happens between Lockjaw and Avanti.
SC: That moment feels like it’s out of a classic western.
FM: Doesn’t it? And the desert just provided a lot of grace because it’s such a vast open land. So just studying the way the roads turned and what became Lockjaw’s Road, which is the road from Ocotillo Wells into Borrego Springs, and merging that into a bank that was a half hour away, that allowed the car to float there. And then we could have the Texas Dip punctuation.
And to talk about the cars, we knew we were modern-day. We never wanted to say, we’re not making a contemporary film. There’s a blend of cars that you find on the road today and we felt like these are the cars that the characters would pick for themselves. So for Avanti, being that he’s a hired guy, he would have a vehicle that doesn’t stand out but that has a lot of power, which is why we went with the Charger. And Lockjaw takes one of the cars of the fleet. And then the blue Mustang is really a continuation of that character.
SC: It made me laugh when I realized that he has his vintage blue Mustang and then a newer model later on.
FM: (Laughs) Yes, like he gets to the city and he’s going to rent a version of the same car he has at home. That’s his blue Mustang. So then Bob’s car was super fun and based on a car we had seen on the road. Paul really wanted a purple car, so we painted the car purple and added this old school kind of hippie jade necklace that swings back and forth. We added that at the last minute and it’s an incredible kinetic addition that I didn’t even realize. So we had a lot of fun customizing that car and the rims and even the steering wheel holder. That’s what we tried to do throughout the film is really to add so much character and worldbuilding to each of these sections. It’s really told in chapters and so each section had a lot of love and storytelling, whether you’re in the Redwoods or with the sisters at the Mission, the cars, the way that the city was overlaid with immigration and the Hispanic community there. It was really about carving out those spaces.
SC: Thank you so much, Florencia. It was great to speak with you again. It made me even more excited to revisit the movie.
FM: Oh, thank you. It was great to talk to you again, Sophia.
One Battle After Another is currently in theaters from Warner Bros.
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