The Greatest Production Designers Ever!
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- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Rick Carter was born in 1952 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a production designer and art director, known for Avatar (2009), Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) and Jurassic Park (1993).Back to the Future Parts II & III, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Cast Away, The Polar Express, Munich, Avatar, Sucker Punch, War Horse, Lincoln- Production Designer
- Director
- Art Director
Bo Welch was born on 24 December 1951 in Yardley, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a production designer and director, known for Edward Scissorhands (1990), Men in Black (1997) and A Little Princess (1995). He has been married to Catherine O'Hara since 25 April 1992. They have two children.Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Men in Black, Wild Wild West, Men in Black II, Land of the Lost, THOR, Men in Black III- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Visual Effects
Rick Heinrichs is known for Sleepy Hollow (1999), Glass Onion (2022) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).The Big Lebowski, Sleepy Hallow, Planet of the Apes, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest & At World's End, The Wolfman, Captain America: The First Avenger, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Jess Gonchor was born on 15 July 1962 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a production designer and art director, known for Hail, Caesar! (2016), No Country for Old Men (2007) and Little Women (2019).Capote, The Devil Wears Parda, No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Moneyball, The Lone Ranger- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Director
J. Michael Riva was born on 28 June 1948 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a production designer and art director, known for Iron Man (2008), The Color Purple (1985) and Django Unchained (2012). He was married to Julia Riva and Wendy Riva. He died on 7 June 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.The Color Purple, Charlie's Angels, Zathura, Spider-Man 3, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, Django Unchained- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
NATHAN CROWLEY (Production Designer) Born in London, grew up in Islington. Attended Brighton School of Art in England. He has received Academy Award nominations for" The Prestige", "The Dark Knight" and " Interstellar", also Bafta Nominations for "Batman Begins", "The Dark Knight" , "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk" his seventh collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. He also received an Emmy nomination for his work on the HBO series "Westworld". Crowley has been the Designer on four of the "Costume institutes" exhibitions at " Metropolitan Museum of Art " that accompany the costume ball in New York every May. "Super Heroes", "American Women", " Impossible Conversations" and "China through the looking glass". He recently collaborated with Sofia Coppola on "La Traviata" at the Teatro del l'Opera di Roma.Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Public Enemies, John Carter, The Dark Knight Rises- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Set Decorator
Dante Ferretti was born on 26 February 1943 in Macerata, Marche, Italy. He is a production designer and set decorator, known for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Shutter Island (2010) and Hugo (2011).Gangs of New York, Cold Mountain, The Aviator, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Shutter Island, HUGO- Visual Effects
- Director
- Producer
Robert Stromberg is known for Avatar (2009), Maleficent (2014) and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003).Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Oz: The Great & Powerful- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
Grant Major was born in 1955 in Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand. He is a production designer and art director, known for King Kong (2005), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, The Green Lantern- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Philip Messina was born on 19 February 1965 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA. He is a production designer and art director, known for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) and Mother! (2017). He is married to Kristen Toscano Messina.Erin Brokovich, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, 8 Mile, The Last Airbender, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Martin Whist is known for The Harder They Fall (2021), Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and The Cabin in the Woods (2011).Smokin' Aces, Cloverfield, Devil, Super 8, The Cabin in the Woods- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
Alex McDowell is an award-winning production designer working at the intersection of design, technology and storytelling. In 2002, after his work as designer of Minority Report, he founded the multi-disciplinary narrative design practice of world building. He is creative director at Experimental Design, building worlds across media for industries and institutions. He is a Professor of Practice at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, where he holds the William Cameron Menzies Chair in Production Design. He is director of the USC World Building Media Lab researching the future of storytelling in art and science using post-cinematic media and mixed reality. He is director of the World Building Institute, which stages narrative workshops around the world, including at the Berlin Film Festival, Sundance New Frontier and the Future of Storytelling. He has delivered keynote addresses at global events for two decades focused on design for change, the power of design practice, and the evolution of production systems across industries. Alex is a production designer of feature films for over 30 years, working with directors David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Zach Snyder and Anthony Minghella among many others. As Visiting Artist to the MIT Media Lab (2005-2010) he designed the robot opera "Death and the Powers." His awards include Royal Designer for Industry for the UK's RSA (2006), the President's Award (UK Designers & Art Directors, 2013), the Future Voice Award (Interaction Awards, 2014), the ADG Excellence in Production Design (2005), and San Diego Film Critics Society (2002); nominations for awards at BAFTA (2006), Saturn (2010), OFTA (2003, 2006), and VES (2003); and the 2013 D&AD President's Award.Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Watchmen, Man of Steel- Production Designer
- Art Director
Born in Los Angeles, California, David received his BA from San Francisco State University and MFA from Yale School of Drama in stage design. Broadway and Off Broadway credits include: The 1940's Radio Hour, Mass Appeal, Lena Horne; The Lady and Her Music, True West and Buried Child. As well he designed the world premier of the Leonard Bernstein opera A Quiet Place, several pieces for The Paul Taylor Dance Company, and for regional theaters across the country.
In 1982 he designed Robert Altman's Broadway directorial debut, Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. When Mr. Altman asked him to design the film version, he began his career as a Production Designer.
In addition to designing three films for Mr. Altman, he has enjoyed numerous collaborations with the directors Lasse Hallström, Robert Benton, Steven Zaillian, Gary Sinise, James Ivory, Ang Lee and John Wells.Chocolat, Casanova, Little Children, Hairspray, Doubt, Taking Woodstock, Old Dogs, Date Night, Life of Pi- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
Born in London and currently residing in Los Angeles, Production Designer Dominic Watkins has designed a dozen movies and hundreds of commercials.
Dominic started his career in New York and began working at the premier clubs in New York City like Danceteria, Palladium and The Tunnel as an Art Director among numerous other positions. Dominic eventually moved to Los Angeles and started to work in Music Videos and Commercials.
Commercially, Dominic has worked with numerous directors, including David Fincher, Rupert Sanders, Henry Hobson, Stacy Wall, Tony Scott, Jonathan Glazer and Guy Ritchie on high-profile campaigns for major brands like Call of Duty, Levi's, Playstation, Adidas, Facebook and Heineken.
In Music Videos, Dominic has collaborated with a variety of Directors like Mark Romanek, Paul Hunter, Gore Verbinski on the biggest and most groundbreaking videos of their time for artists like Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and David Bowie.
Eventually, Dominic began working on films - his first break working on studio movies came from Director Michael Bay on Bad Boys II. From there, Dominic worked with Director Paul Greengrass on the feature films The Bourne Supremacy and United 93, Director Nick Cassavetes on the feature film Alpha Dog, Director Rupert Sanders on the feature film Snow White and Huntsman and Director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan on the feature film The Huntsman: Winter's War. More recently, Dominic has designed the feature film The Mummy for Director Alex Kurtzman and The Voyage of Dr. Doolittle for Director Stephen Gaghan for Universal Pictures.Bad Boys II, The Bourne Supremacy, Alpha Dog, United 93, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Green Zone, Snow White & the Huntsman, Red Dawn- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Set Decorator
Claude Paré is known for It (2017), Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Visual Effects
Guy Hendrix Dyas is a two-time Academy Award Nominated Production Designer and the recipient of a BAFTA Award for Best Production Design. Guy gained recognition in the design field through his collaborations with directors such as Pablo Larraín, Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg.
Originally from Devon, South England, Guy obtained a Masters Degree in design from The Royal College of Art in London. Guy's professional journey started in Japan, working for several years as an Industrial Designer for the Sony Corporation in Tokyo.X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns, Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Inception- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
John Myhre was born in 1959. A film buff from an incredibly early age he began watching the TV coverage of the Oscars aged five and received a Super-8 camera for his seventh birthday. After graduating from Nathan Hale High School he studied film at the Bellevue Community College in the 1970s, subsidizing himself by working at a local cinema. He went to work designing film posters, in the process meeting several film-makers and in 1984 left his native Seattle for Hollywood, to be an assistant art director on horror comedy, 'Night of the Comet'. Since then he has designed several high profile movies and had three collaborations to date with Rob Marshall, gaining Oscars for two of them.Elizabeth, X-Men, Ali, Chicago, The Haunted Mansion, Memoirs of a Geisha, Dreamgirls, Wanted, Nine, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, X-Men: Days of Future Past- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
John Barry was a British production designer. Started his career in the art department of the movie Cleopatra (1963). He is known chiefly for his imaginative design work on "Star Wars" and "Superman: The Movie". Barry got the opportunity to direct the sci-fi movie "Saturn 3" but was replaced during filming. However, he returned to the Star Wars universe on "The Empire Strikes Back" as a second unit director. On May 31st 1979, (two weeks into filming) he collapsed on-set and was hospitalized as his temperature rose to 104 degrees. He died at 2am on June 1st, a victim of meningitis.Star Wars, Superman- Production Designer
- Art Director
- Art Department
Oscar-winning British art director and production designer, most famous for being the creative genius behind the look of the original Star Wars trilogy. Reynolds also worked on many other blockbusters like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Superman (1978), Empire of the Sun (1987) and Bicentennial Man (1999). While brilliantly inventive in his chosen field, he remained consistently self-effacing in private life. Many a famous prop had a modest beginning. The golden idol used in the opening scene of 'Raiders', for example, began life as a 'fertility figure', originally purchased by Reynolds at a Mexican airport as a "tacky tourist souvenir". His creations for Star Wars have included Yoda's swamp planet of Dagobah, Han Solo's carbon freezing chamber, Jabba the Hutt's sail barge and the Ewok village (respectively, for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)). The look of most subsequent entries in the Star Wars franchise continues to remain greatly influenced by the earlier conceptual work of Reynolds.
Reynolds began his career in advertising, among other things creating illuminated signs. During a trip to Shepperton Studios in the early 60s, he was able visit multiple sets, including one for the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope classic The Road to Hong Kong (1962). From that moment on, Reynolds was hooked on the film industry and determined to become a part of it. He began his career by serving a two year long apprenticeship in production design at the old Elstree studios in Borehamwood, near London, plying his trade on episodes of The Saint (1962). He was to later revisit this location to create such iconic sets as Jabba's Palace for Star Wars, or set pieces like the opening scene of the rolling boulder for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Norman Reynolds died on April 6 2023 at the age of 89.The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Return to Oz, Young Sherlock Holmes, Empire of the Sun, Alien 3, Mission Impossible- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Actor
A Manhattan born New Yorker, Arthur worked as a Stage Lighting Designer in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the music industry, and then, after studying architecture in England and Italy, went on to do several architectural design projects in London. He entered British film as an assistant to several British Production Designers in the mid-1980s. First for Stuart Craig on Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, and Cal (both 1984) and then for Ashetton Gorton on Revolution (1985). His Production Design career began with TV commercials during the years1985-1995 for many different Directors, including Ridley Scott and David Fincher, with whom he would go on to collaborate on feature films.Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Panic Room, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood, Prometheus- Production Designer
- Set Decorator
Sarah Greenwood was born in March 1960. She is a production designer and set decorator, known for Anna Karenina (2012), Atonement (2007) and Barbie (2023).Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, The Soloist, Sherlock Holmes, Hanna, Anna Karenina- Production Designer
- Art Department
Donald Graham Burt is known for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Mank (2020) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).Because of Winn-Dixie, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Additional Crew
- Production Designer
- Art Director
Jim Bissell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BFA in Theater. After working in New York and L.A. on commercials and low budget features, he won an Emmy Award in 1980 for his work on Palmerstown, U.S.A. followed by a BAFTA nomination for production design on Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He was the original chair for the Art Directors Guild Awards as well as a former Vice President of the Guild. He has taught at AFI, USC, UCLA extension and the NC School of the Arts and is a member of the DGA, ADG, and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Good Night and Good Luck, 300, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,- Production Designer
- Costume Designer
- Producer
Roger Ford is known for Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) and Peter Rabbit (2018).Babe, Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Raven- Producer
- Costume Designer
- Production Designer
Catherine Martin was born on 26 January 1965 in Lindfield, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is a producer and costume designer, known for Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Great Gatsby (2013) and Australia (2008). She has been married to Baz Luhrmann since 26 January 1997. They have two children.Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Australia, The Great Gatsby