Twin Peaks Publicity – Joan Chen and Michael Ontkean at Blue Pine Lodge

For the second season of Twin Peaks, ABC Television commissioned additional publicity photos such as these images of Joan Chen and Michael Ontkean. Based on research, it appears the image was captured on the Blue Pine Lodge set in Van Nuys, California around the time episode 2.004 was shot in August 1990.

JOAN CHEN AND MICHAEL ONTKEAN AT BLUE PINE LODGE

I acquired a small collection of color transparencies via an online auction which contained this stunning shot of Chen and Ontkean. The image above is from the original high resolution scan via my Epson V600 scanner. I scanned the image in halves since this Epson scanner doesn’t contain a large transparency scanning window. I then combined the parts via Adobe Lightroom’s photo merge feature.

With the scan complete, I cleaned up the dust and scratches, yet the image felt unnaturally red. This could be a result of the transparency’s age or perhaps this is what the original photographer intended.

I adjusted the overall color for a second option to provide more natural skin tones for Chen and Ontkean. I’m torn as I like both versions, but I’m assuming the latter is closer to what was originally shared with media based on a second image I found from this shoot.

The color transparency contained a small paper blurb about the photo and noted Twin Peaks would air on Saturdays from 10:00 – 11:00 pm, ET:

Michael Ontkean stars as Sheriff Harry S. Truman and Joan Chen as Jocelyn Packard, the beautiful and imperious owner of a sawmill in a seemingly typical small town in the Pacific Northwest, on “TWIN PEAKS,” an hour-long dramatic series airing on the ABC Television Network. 

The second image from this shoot shows the actors’ profiles. This is a low-resolution image from eBay as the original 8-inch by 10-inch hasn’t arrived in the mail (I’ll have an updated image once received).

WHERE WAS THE JOAN CHEN AND MICHAEL ONTKEAN IMAGE TAKEN?

I figured these photos were taken on the Blue Pine Lodge set similar to this iconic image from the first season. Since the paper blurb mentioned Twin Peaks airing on Saturdays, I the new Chen and Ontkean shots were captured during second season production. Josie’s red outfit, however, didn’t seem familiar so I searched scenes where Sheriff Truman and Josie Packard were together at the Blue Pine Lodge.

In episode 2.004, Josie models her latest acquisitions from a shopping trip to Seattle for her lover Truman. Look carefully at the bottom right side of the image and you’ll spot Josie’s red dress draped over the chair used in the publicity shot.

Perhaps there was additional footage captured with her in the red dress, yet the script written by Jerry Stahl, Mark Frost, Harley Peyton and Robert Engels makes no mention of additional scenes.

Unfortunately, the publicity photos also are not properly credited but I’m assuming it was an ABC Television photographer like Craig Sjodin who could have captured the couple.

JOAN CHEN AND MICHAEL ONTKEAN PUBLICITY PHOTOS IN PRESS

I found a handful of newspapers that carried these publicity photos including this article from Associated Press reporter Jay Sharbutt. It was published in The Statesman Journal around Nov. 15, 1990, which would have been after episode 2.007 aired.

A second appearance of the Chen and Ontkean chair photo appeared in the television program listings published in Tulsa World on April 9, 1995. By this time, Bravo TV was airing David Lynch and Mark Frost’s show weeknights at 10:00 p.m.

Walter Belcher from The Tampa Tribune used the second photo of Ontkean and Chen in his commentary on Feb. 22, 1991. Belcher was a big fan of the series and even held a Look-A-Like contest for the Florida paper in summer 1990.

You can find more high-resolution scans of these and other publicity images on my Flickr account – https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/albums/72177720325607231