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The Finca Vigía, Cuba
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Justice explained that at least one scene in the episode will be set in the interior of the Finca Vigía, where Hemingway began work on For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1939; The West Wing art department is transforming a private residence in California for the shoot. Holcomb had read that the home was falling apart, “which it is,” Justice admits. “Some of the artifacts are literally held together with toothpicks and paste.” Holcomb contacted Justice in order to ensure the accuracy The West Wing is known for. Justice provided information about Finca Vigía, including placement, costume, and gender of security personnel, as well as a sense of the “feel” of the home, which she describes as “a pervasive aura of quiet decay. It should be interesting to see how that translates onto film.”
“The museum staff is doing its best with limited resources, and the curators have been able to pull off several minor miracles,” Justice explained. “Still, it’s a tropical environment, and the windows are open. This doesn’t bode well for fabric or paper, especially.”
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Hemingway at the Finca Vigía
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Justice’s experience and reputation as a Hemingway scholar grabbed the attention of Hollywood. Last year, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Hemingway Foundation and Society—the organization charged with overseeing domestic copyrights and the Hemingway Society, editing and publishing The Hemingway Review and The Hemingway Newsletter, organizing biennial International conferences, and sponsoring numerous awards for writers; she currently serves as MLA and ALA Liaison Officer, MLA/ALA Committee member, Permissions Committee member, and Advisor on Copyright and Fair Use. For the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park she has served on the Advisory Board, Board of Directors, and the Scholar-Advisory Board for the Ernest Hemingway Centennial. She was the Scholar-Liaison for the Press Office at the University of Chicago for the Hemingway Centennial.
This is not the first time Hollywood has sought Justice’s expertise. She is also consulting on Adrian Noble’s film Papa, starring Anthony Hopkins and Meg Ryan. “They didn’t ask me about the title,” she noted, “and I have no influence whatsoever on the script. Hemingway once told Fitzgerald that the best way to deal with Hollywood was to take your work to the Rockies and throw it over. The storyline, as I understand it, is pure fiction. But the sets should be accurate!”
The West Wing photo from http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,273|3139|1|,00.html
The Finca Vigía façade from http://www.hemingwaysociety.org/justice/Default.htm
Hemingway photo from http://www.pbs.org/hemingwayadventure/finca.html