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Check out this below the line interview for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master with Production Designers, Jack Fisk & David Crank; Costume Designer, Mark Bridges and Editor, Leslie Jones.
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Source: The Hot Button DP30 Series
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Source: The Weinstein Company & Film Trailer Zone
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Filed under Costume Design, Design LOVE, Film INDUSTRY, Production DESIGN
After some long and hard deliberations I have pared down what are, in my opinion, the top 10 best production designed/art directed films of 2011. In the end, given the subjectivity of film in general, all this means is these were my design favourites. Going through the many films I had on my list I was awestruck at the diversity, styles and overall quality of so many of the films. 2011 was really a banner year for production design the way I see it. Last year, I found it easy to just do a top 5 but this year I found it impossible not to do a top 10 and I easily could have made it a top 20.
So I just want to say to everyone who worked on these films- Bravo! Sincerely, you all deserve a pat on the back and a bottle of booze on me. I have the utmost respect for you all. Those who work in the art department know how hard it is; we know these sets don’t come together like magic. It’s an intense endurance run to the finish line mustering up every skill you’ve ever learned on a whim. It’s a hard gig but thrilling if you can get it.
To all those past, present and future working in art departments all over the world to make visions come to life- I salute you. You truly make movies better and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Cheers & Enjoy!
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Production Designer: Mark Ricker | Art Director: Curt Beech | Set Decorator: Rena DeAngelo | Director: Tate Taylor | DOP: Stephen Goldblatt | Costume Designer: Sharen Davis
The Help Trailer
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Production Designer: Judy Becker | Art Director: Charles Kulsziski | Set Decorator: Heather Loeffler | Director: Steve McQueen | DOP: Sean Bobbitt | Costume Designer: David C. Robinson
Shame Trailer
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Production Designer: Beth Mickle | Art Director: Christopher Tandon | Set Decorator: Lisa K. Sessions | Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | DOP: Newton Thomas Sigel | Costume Designer: Erin Benach
Drive Trailer
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Production Designer: Jane Ann Stewart | Art Director: T.K. Kirkpatrick | Set Decorator: Matt Callahan | Director: Alexander Payne | DOP: Phedon Papamichael | Costume Designer: Wendy Chuck
The Descendants Trailer
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Production Designer: Laurence Bennett | Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper | Set Decorator: Austin Buchinsky & Robert Gould | Director: Michel Hazanavicius | DOP: Guillaume Schiffman | Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
The Artist Trailer
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Production Designer: Anne Seibel | Art Director: Jean-Yves Rabier | Set Decorator: Hélène Dubreuil | Director: Woody Allen | DOP: Darius Khondji & Johanne Debas | Costume Designer: Sonia Grande
Midnight in Paris Trailer
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Production Designer: Jack Fisk | Art Director: David Crank | Set Decorator: Jeanette Scott | Director: Terrence Malick | DOP: Emmanuel Lubezki | Costume Designer: Jacqueline West
The Tree of Life Trailer
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Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic | Art Director: Tom Brown & Zsuzsa Kismarty-Lechner | Set Decorator: Tatiana MacDonald | Director: Tomas Alfredson | DOP: Hoyte Van Hoytema | Costume Designer: Jacqueline Durran
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Trailer
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Production Designer: Stuart Craig | Art Director: Neil Lamont & Gary Tomkins | Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan | Director: David Yates | DOP: Eduardo Serra | Costume Designer: Jany Temime
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Trailer
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Production Designer: Dante Ferretti | Art Director: David Warren | Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo | Director: Martin Scorsese | DOP: Robert Richardson | Costume Designer: Sandy Powell
Hugo Trailer
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Filed under ART DEPARTMENT, Art Direction, Awards, Design LOVE, Film HAPPINESS, PORN, Production DESIGN
This morning the Emmy nominations were announced and luckily there was some truly stunning television work this past year. Just because it’s on the small screen doesn’t mean it can’t be visually splendorous. The following nominations prove this very point:
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The Big Bang Theory • The Love Car Displacement • The 21-Second Excitation • The Agreement Dissection • CBS • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
John S. Shaffner, Production Designer
Francoise Cherry-Cohen, Art Director
Ann Shea, Set Decorator
Hot In Cleveland • Sisterhood Of The Traveling SPANX© • I Love Lucci: Part Two • LeBron Is Le Gone • TV Land • Hudson Street Productions
Michael Andrew Hynes, Production Designer
Maralee Zediker, Set Decorator
How I Met Your Mother • Subway Wars • Natural History • CBS • Twentieth Century Fox Television
Stephan G. Olson, Production Designer
Susan Eschelbach, Set Decorator
Mike & Molly • Pilot • CBS • Bonanza Productions, Inc. in association with Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. and Warner Bros. Television
John S. Shaffner, Production Designer
Ann Shea, Set Decorator
Rules Of Engagement • Last Of The Red Hat Lovers • Singing And Dancing • The Set Up • CBS • Happy Madison Productions and CBS Television Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television
Bernard Vyzga, Production Designer
Jerie Kelter, Set Decorator
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Boardwalk Empire • Boardwalk Empire (Pilot) • HBO • Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
Bob Shaw, Production Designer
Douglas Huszti, Art Director
Debra Schutt, Set Decorator
The Borgias • Lucrezia’s Wedding • Showtime • Showtime Presents in
association with Take 5 Productions and Octagon Films
Francois Seguin, Production Designer
Jonathan McKinstry, Art Director
Judit Varga, Set Decorator
Mad Men • Public Relations • AMC • Lionsgate Television
Dan Bishop, Production Designer
Christopher L. Brown, Art Director
Claudette Didul, Set Decorator
Modern Family • Halloween • ABC • Twentieth Century Fox Television
Richard Berg, Production Designer
Amber Haley, S.D.S.A., Set Decorator
True Blood • Beautifully Broken • It Hurts Me Too • Trouble • HBO • Your Face Goes Here Entertainment in association with HBO Entertainment
Suzuki Ingerslev, Production Designer
Cat Smith, Art Director
Laura Richarz, S.D.S.A., Set Decorator
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Downton Abbey (Masterpiece) • PBS • A co-production of Carnival and Masterpiece
Donal Woods, Production Designer
Charmian Adams, Art Director
Gina Cromwell, Set Decorator
The Kennedys • ReelzChannel • A Muse Entertainment Production in association with Asylum Entertainment
Rocco Matteo, Production Designer
Mun Ying Kwun, Art Director
Enrico Campana, Set Decorator
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For a list of all the nominations click here.
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Filed under ART DEPARTMENT, Art Direction, Awards, Film INDUSTRY, Period, Production DESIGN
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BAFTA’s tribute to Ken Adam took place this past Monday night on the occasion of Ken Adam’s 90th birthday. As one of the most creative and imaginative production designers to ever live, not many people are more deserving of a gala celebrating their work than Sir Ken Adam. Born in Germany in 1921, he relocated with his family to England in 1934, where he studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture. He started his prolific film career in 1948 as a draftsman and eventually went on to production design a whopping 44 movies, some of his most memorable being the seven James Bond films he designed. Every film Ken Adam has designed has not only been gorgeous but also incredibly expansive, giving the directors and cinematographers more to play with in terms of shots, light and composition which is no small feat. For his efforts and contributions to the cinematic landscape the Art Director’s Guild awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and he’s been awarded with 2 BAFTAs (Dr. Strangelove and The Ipcress File) and 2 Academy Awards (Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George). In 2003, he was knighted by the Queen, the only Production Designer to ever receive this high honour. Take a look at some of Sir Ken Adam’s breathtaking creations.
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Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Director: Michael Anderson | Art Director: James W. Sullivan | Set Decorator: Ross Dowd
Dr. No (1962)
Director: Terence Young | Art Director: Syd Cain
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Art Director: Peter Murton
Goldfinger (1964)
Director: Guy Hamilton | Art Director: Peter Murton
The Ipcress File (1965)
Director: Sidney J. Furie | Art Director: Peter Murton
Thunderball (1965)
Director: Terence Young | Art Director: Peter Murton | Set Decorator: Peter Lamont
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Art Director: Harry Pottle
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Director: Ken Hughes | Art Director: Harry Pottle
Diamonds are Forever (1971)
Director: Guy Hamilton | Art Directors: Bill Kenney, Jack Maxsted | Set Decorator: John P. Austin, Peter Lamont
Sleuth (1972)
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Art Director: Peter Lamont | Set Decorator: John Jarvis
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Art Director: Roy Walker
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Art Director: Peter Lamont | Set Decorator: Hugh Scaife
Moonraker (1979)
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Art Directors: Charles Bishop, Max Douy | Set Decorator: Peter Howitt
Addams Family Values (1994)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Art Director: William J.Durrell Jr. | Set Decorator: Marvin March
The Madness of King George (1994)
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Art Directors: Martin Childs, John Fenner | Set Decorator: Carolyn Scott
Taking Sides (2001)
Director: István Szabó | Art Director: Anja Müller | Set Decorator: Bernhard Henrich
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Filed under ART DEPARTMENT, Art Direction, Design LOVE, Film HAPPINESS, Film INDUSTRY, PORN, Production DESIGN
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Over the weekend while updating Art DepartMENTAL’s Youtube Channel I decided to watch these videos below. I’ve seen them around for a while but because of their poor titling I wasn’t sure they’d interest me but boy was I wrong. This panel from 2008′s Comic Con ADG sponsored panel is full of insightful art department and design knowledge from some of the top Production Designers working today. J.Michael Riva and Alex McDowell provide many highlights. I particularly love the conversation about directors frequently having trouble visualizing what the sets will look like and how that is actually okay. It’s the designer’s responsibility to visualize NOT the director’s. I sometimes forget that. It’s really great if a director can easily visualize a film but if not it doesn’t mean in the slightest that they aren’t a great storyteller. The responses were very refreshing and inspiring. Enjoy!
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What makes a Quentin Tarantino movie so great? The soundtracks full of 70s tunes, the stylized gore, and of course the David Wasco production design. Sets like the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs and the the Cinema Le Gamaar in Inglourious Basterds make the films just that much more memorable. Take a look.
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Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Production Designer: David Wasco | Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Production Designer: David Wasco | Art Director: Charles Collum | Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Jackie Brown (1997)
Production Designer: David Wasco | Art Director: Daniel Bradford | Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Production Designer: Yohei Taneda, David Wasco | Art Directors: Daniel Bradford, Hidefumi Hanatani, Minoru Nishida | Set Decorators: Yoshihito Akatsuka, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Production Designer: David Wasco | Art Director: Daniel Bradford | Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Death Proof (2007)
Production Designer: Steve Joyner | Art Director: Caylah Eddleblute | Set Decorator: Jeanette Scott
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Production Designer: David Wasco | Art Director: Marco Bittner Rosser, Stephan O. Gessler, Sebastian T. Krawinkel, David Scheunemann | Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
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Filed under Art Direction, Design LOVE, Film HAPPINESS, PORN, Production DESIGN
Stanley Kubrick in his younger years
Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) is one of the most beloved filmmakers of all time, with a whopping 6 titles on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies list despite only winning one Oscar for Best Visual Effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey. This quote from a 1968 Playboy interview with Kubrick accurately captures his World view but also the themes that made his films so interesting:
“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death — however mutable man may be able to make them — our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”
In addition to phenomenal themes and stories, the cinematography and production design always complimented each other beautifully in every one of his films and truly encapsulate the spirit of “Production Design Porn”. Sets and mise-en-scène that create a world inside the film that is so beautiful you just want to hit the rewind button and analyze the moving pictures again and again.
The Killing (1956)
Art Director: Ruth Sobotka | Set Decorator: Herry Reif
Paths of Glory (1957)
Art Director: Ludwig Reiber
Spartacus (1960)
Production Designer: Alexander Golitzen | Art Director: Eric Orbom | Set Decorators: Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
Lolita (1962)
Art Director: William C. Andrews
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Production Designer: Ken Adam | Art Director: Peter Murton
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Production Designers: Ernest Archer, Harry Lange, Anthony Masters | Art Director: John Hoesli | Set Decorator: Robert Cartwright
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Production Designer: John Barry | Art Director: Russell Hagg, Peter Sheilds
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Production Designer: Ken Adam | Art Director: Roy Walker
The Shining (1980)
Production Designer: Roy Walker | Art Director: Leslie Tomkins
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Production Designer: Anton Furst | Art Director: Keith Pain, Rod Stratfold, Leslie Tomkins | Set Decorator: Barbara Drake
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Production Designer: Leslie Tomkins, Roy Walker | Art Director: John Fenner, Kevin Phipps | Set Decorator: Lisa Leone, Terry Wells
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Filed under Art Direction, PORN, Production DESIGN
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It’s time for our bi-weekly Links & Stuff post. If you want to stay in the loop before the weekend rolls around follow ADM on Twitter (@artdepartmental) and on our brand new Facebook page where we post all the latest and greatest Film, Art, Architecture and Production Design news. You can find the last Links & Stuff post here.
Robert Stromberg turns his Art Direction Oscar into the Mad Hatter.
Hold on… gag reflex kicking in… can’t write… *barf*
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Interview with Joe Alves, Production Designer, of Spielberg’s Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Found this while updating our Art DepartMENTAL YouTube channel. Enjoy!
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Filed under Links & STUFF, Recommendations
It’s that time again. Time for our bi-weekly Links & Stuff post. If you want to stay in the loop before the weekend rolls around follow ADM on Twitter (@artdepartmental) and on our brand new Facebook page where I post all the latest and greatest Film, Art, and Production Design news. You can find the last Links & Stuff post here.
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Presenter, Yvette Brown with Contemporary Film winner,
Therese DePrez at the ADG Awards (via @adg800)
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Filed under Links & STUFF
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The Art Director’s Guild Awards taking place tomorrow have nominated the best in production design/art direction. Every year I always forget that they include a category for commercials and music videos. I found it interesting this year no music videos received a nomination; all five nominations are commercials. I myself stopped doing commercials because I generally found them uncreative and soul-sucking but I found these commercials (while I’m sure soul-sucking) at the very least extremely creative and thoughtful. While commercials can afford to spend thousands on the perfect commercial to hawk their products, music video budgets are dwindling on par with record sales. Music videos used to be the place you could let your art direction freak flag fly but it’s great to see, as there becomes less opportunity in music videos, commercials are letting loose and becoming more creative than ever. Check out these nominations and watch the videos. It’s just about the only category you can watch all the nominations and make a decision in less than ten minutes!
Full list of Art Director’s Guild nominations: click here.
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Got Milk? Commercial | The Dentist | Production Designer: Jeffrey Beecroft
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Farmers Insurance Commercial | Frozen Pipes | Production Designer: Ken Averill
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Capital One Commercial | Rapunzel | Production Designer: Jeremy Reed
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Ford Fiesta Commercial | Launch | Production Designer: Floyd Albee
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Dos Equis Commercial | Ice Fishing | Production Designer: Jesse Benson
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My answer is below. Just want to make clear I have zero affiliation with any of these companies. Thanks for reading!
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Filed under Art Direction, Awards, Design LOVE, Production DESIGN
