In Goodrich, Michael Keaton’s Character Required the Perfect Midcentury House

Writer-director Hallie Meyers-Shyer knew she had to find the capital-P perfect house in which to set her movie, Goodrich. Consider: This is a touching dramedy (in theaters October 18) in which a set-in-his-ways art gallery owner Andy Goodrich—played by Michael Keaton—wakes up to the startling news that his wife has left him and he must domesticate with his twin kids. “Homes reflect the people who live in them,” Meyers-Shyer tells AD. In Goodrich’s case, he’s a man with “very curated taste” who, after his first marriage ended, thought he’d live alone in a midcentury-style home exuding masculine energy. “Then he meets a younger woman and she moves in and they have these kids. He moved the kids into his world, which was really important to us [to convey]. Goodrich was never going to move to a house with a white picket fence.”

Her mom, the legendary Nancy Meyers, usually relies on custom-built sets to convey the celebrated warm and inviting homes in her films, but Meyers-Shyer used the real deal. After a “far and wide” search throughout Los Angeles, she landed on a midcentury stunner in Baldwin Hills, designed by modernist architect Miller Yee Fong in the late 1960s. Fong’s Chinese-immigrant parents, Danny Ho and Muey Fong, moved in circa 1970, and as of press time, the unique residence is on the market. “It’s in pristine condition with these black-tile floors and wood ceilings and a rock garden and lots of glass with sweeping views of Los Angeles. It just felt so masculine. I knew it would shoot really well,” production designer Richard Bloom tells AD.

Though many of the house’s standout furnishings remain onscreen—including the elevated fireplace and red sofa in the living room—the production team spruced up its interiors. (“We had to be very delicate working in there!” he says.) For visual inspiration, Meyers-Shyer consulted a Pinterest board that she first created five years earlier. “I had a very specific look and did a storyboard before I even saw it,” she says of her vision. “I wanted to keep the color palettes of a mustard yellow and burnt reds and oranges and dark greens. You will not see a pastel!”

The kitchen serves as both a narrative and aesthetic centerpiece. The original built-in decor in the space really shines, such as the chef’s island, wood countertops, and black cabinetry with rattan coverings—as seen in a scene in which Goodrich vents to his older daughter, Grace (Mila Kunis). Set decorator Linette McCown reupholstered the kitchen chairs, added smoked glass to the table (where the kids eat breakfast), and brought in small embellishments, like napkins from the Heather Taylor Home collection and yellow plates from Billy Cotton.

Goodrich’s passion for the art world is on full display on the gallery-like white walls. “We had a whole renaissance of artists that we liked and contacted,” Bloom says. “Their work is featured throughout the house.” The list includes Oregon-based painter Benjamin Ewing, who personally shipped two of his paintings featured in the dining room. A piece from Amsterdam-based Peggy Kuiper hangs in Goodrich’s bedroom, and California-native Marcel Rozek donated work from his Mono series in the TV room.

If audiences come away from Goodrich with both a full heart and a pleased eye for the production-design details, Meyers-Shyer knows she has done her job. “Some directors care about a plate more than others—I know my mother and David Fincher and Luca Guadagnino have excellent taste and it’s reflected in their films,” she says. “So, in my opinion, caring about what’s in the frame is part of my responsibility. You’re building a world and you want to make it feel cohesive and beautiful to fit the story.”