Graphic Design Genius
A film legend hits H-Town, talks Dr. Strangelove & a grumpy Keith Richards,falls in love with the Menil
Renowned movie title designer Pablo Ferro filled the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Brown Auditorium to capacity for a recent talk sponsored by the Rice Design Alliance.
While not exactly a household name, Ferro has created some of the most memorable film titles of the last half-century — from Dr. Strangelove and Bullitt to Beetlejuice, Philadelphia, and Good Will Hunting. The audience was packed with graphic designers and erupted into applause after every film clip of his trademark jump-cuts and animated letters.
Ferro spoke with CultureMap to discuss his work and share stories about friends like Stanley, Keith, and David — as in Stanley Kubrick, Keith Richards, and David Byrne.
Stepping into the restaurant at Hotel ZaZa, the 76-year-old designer was instantly recognizable with his signature red knit scarf. As we took a seat near the bar, he placed three small cards on the table showcasing his new endeavor into book illustrations.
Stepping into the restaurant at Hotel ZaZa, the 76-year-old designer was instantly recognizable with his signature red knit scarf.
“An actress friend of mine [Samantha Harper] contacted me to draw images for her book The Two Sisters Cafe,” he said of the series of intricate pen and ink drawings, which feature characters swirling across the page like his busy title credits move across the screen.
For the book, co-written by Elena Yates Eulo, Ferro also create a brief video promo executed in the style of his groundbreaking A Clockwork Orange trailer from the early 1970s.
After starting his own advertising design firm, by the early 1960s Ferro had built a reputation for creating wild staccato television commercials — a number of which caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick.
“Stanley was a very charming man,” Ferro said of his first phone conversation with the acclaimed filmmaker, who was starting production on Dr. Strangelove.
“He offered to fly me and my family to London and put us up in an apartment near Harrods department store. When he said we’d have a 24-hour car service, I was sold.”
The designer and director worked together to create the now-infamous opening sequence for Dr. Strangelove, featuring Ferro’s white handwritten credits over images of military jets refueling, all in time to a comically romantic musical soundtrack. During his talk, Ferro even revealed a typo — see if you can spot it (hint: it's at 1:24).
After more than a decade of film title design — which included sequences in Woman of Straw, Jesus Christ Superstar and 1968’s Thomas Crown Affair — Ferro was asked by his good friend, director Hal Ashby, to co-direct the Rolling Stones tour film Let’s Spend the Night Together.
“Keith never really wanted us around,” Ferro said, “even though that’s what we were getting paid to do. He even threw us out of the green room one night, but luckily we got it on film.”
When asked about his work for the Talking Heads tour film Stop Making Sense, Ferro explained his brief but memorable collaboration with David Byrne.
“Keith Richards never really wanted us around,” Ferro said, “even though that’s what we were getting paid to do. He even threw us out of the green room one night, but luckily we got it on film.”
“He brought me all these photos he’d taken of different fonts he liked walking down the streets of New York,” Ferro said. “We went through them for ages, trying to find the right one for the credits, until I showed him the Dr. Strangelove letters. He picked them almost instantly.”
Ferro’s son, Allen, a film editor and producer, walked into the cafe at the end of the interview, excited to tell his father about The Menil Collection.
“They have a few Magritte paintings there, Dad,” he said, pulling out the museum brochure.
“I love René Magritte,” the designer said, noting the artist’s work as one of his influences. “That man does on canvas what I do on film; it’s incredible.”
A documentary entitled Pablo about Ferro's life and work is slated for release later this year. Ferro is also designing artwork for an upcoming film titled Black Spring, based on the violent crackdown on Cuban dissents in 2003.
