What if opening a suspicious email attachment didn’t just mess up your computer; it manipulated reality itself? Such is the premise of the latest Dust short film, Signal Dark.
“Signal Dark is a Dust short film from Silver Edge Studios. Lucas Anderson is an insular It technician whose life is turned upside down when he stumbles across a mysterious email and its reality bending contents.”
Audiences can’t seem to get enough of Zendaya on the big screen, and her performance in Challengers takes her star power to another level.
“[Zendaya] has been executing her own Tashi-esque world domination. So far, she’s moved from kids’ TV star to being a part of some of the biggest movies on the planet… With Challengers, though, she’s about to go supernova, firing up in more ways than one to become the hottest talent in Hollywood. In Luca Guadagnino’s erotically-charged drama,...
“Signal Dark is a Dust short film from Silver Edge Studios. Lucas Anderson is an insular It technician whose life is turned upside down when he stumbles across a mysterious email and its reality bending contents.”
Audiences can’t seem to get enough of Zendaya on the big screen, and her performance in Challengers takes her star power to another level.
“[Zendaya] has been executing her own Tashi-esque world domination. So far, she’s moved from kids’ TV star to being a part of some of the biggest movies on the planet… With Challengers, though, she’s about to go supernova, firing up in more ways than one to become the hottest talent in Hollywood. In Luca Guadagnino’s erotically-charged drama,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Michael Ahr
- Den of Geek
Walton Goggins, in a gruesome starring role in Prime Video’s apocalyptic sci-fi series Fallout, said he knew he knew he was in for “an intense experience” having to transform every day on set into The Ghoul, a post-human character with melting flesh, a cowboy persona and some semblance of his humanity still left.
But at Saturday’s Deadline Contenders Television panel, the perennial character actor — beaming in from overseas, where he is shooting The White Lotus — said the task of transformation proved to be “extremely anxiety provoking” at first. He had to figure out how to express himself under a thin layer of sweat-inducing facial prosthesis designed to make him look almost skeletal and how to be a walking, wisecracking horror show with a retainer in his mouth to simulate the absence of teeth.
“When I put in the retainers, these things that kind of covered these pearly white teeth,...
But at Saturday’s Deadline Contenders Television panel, the perennial character actor — beaming in from overseas, where he is shooting The White Lotus — said the task of transformation proved to be “extremely anxiety provoking” at first. He had to figure out how to express himself under a thin layer of sweat-inducing facial prosthesis designed to make him look almost skeletal and how to be a walking, wisecracking horror show with a retainer in his mouth to simulate the absence of teeth.
“When I put in the retainers, these things that kind of covered these pearly white teeth,...
- 4/13/2024
- by Sean Piccoli
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s a frigid February day on the Brooklyn waterfront, and the world is ending. A dusting of snow powders the makeshift walkway through the rubble stacked high. Underneath, shanties made of scrap flex and creak with each step. Directly ahead, the disembodied nose of a commercial airliner dangles from the roof of a junkyard saloon. All over town, bullet casings pepper the dirt among the ruins of whatever life was once here. This is a place of violence.
Except this is all just an elaborate set. Tucked within the...
Except this is all just an elaborate set. Tucked within the...
- 4/11/2024
- by Christopher Cruz
- Rollingstone.com
The big and small screens are stuffed full of post-apocalyptic adventures, yet despite that cluttered landscape, few shows and films stick out to offer something unique for viewers. However, in “Fallout” for Prime Video, a thrilling adaptation of the beloved video game series, creators Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner present an off-kilter and fascinating look at humanity in the 23rd century.
“Fallout” begins at the end. The eight-episode series opens in picturesque America sometime in the future. It has reverted to the texture of a glossier post-racial 1955. Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), an actor known for starring in Westerns, is the entertainment at a children’s party for an affluent family. As he packs his belongings, his young daughter Janey (Teagan Meredith) points outward toward the Los Angeles skyline just as a nuclear bomb explodes on the horizon. The bombing marks the end of the world we are accustomed to, but...
“Fallout” begins at the end. The eight-episode series opens in picturesque America sometime in the future. It has reverted to the texture of a glossier post-racial 1955. Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins), an actor known for starring in Westerns, is the entertainment at a children’s party for an affluent family. As he packs his belongings, his young daughter Janey (Teagan Meredith) points outward toward the Los Angeles skyline just as a nuclear bomb explodes on the horizon. The bombing marks the end of the world we are accustomed to, but...
- 4/10/2024
- by Aramide Tinubu
- Variety Film + TV
As Prime Video’s Fallout TV series inches closer to its release date, fans of the famous game franchise are excited, yet worried. Excited, for the simple reason that their beloved game would come to life through an eight-episode-long series. At the same time, there is concern about whether the show can do justice to the game.
Prime Video Fallout TV Series
The series director Jonathan Nolan from the start has been adamant that it will have an ‘original story.’ This is further bothering fans who are wondering what the show would look like without the original story. Fallout series production designer Howard Cummings, in an interview, shared how he prepared for the show and how Bethesda was involved with the show.
Fallout Production designer was a non-gamer
In an interview with The Gamer, Cummings surprisingly revealed that he is not a gamer himself. So, he had little or no idea about the game.
Prime Video Fallout TV Series
The series director Jonathan Nolan from the start has been adamant that it will have an ‘original story.’ This is further bothering fans who are wondering what the show would look like without the original story. Fallout series production designer Howard Cummings, in an interview, shared how he prepared for the show and how Bethesda was involved with the show.
Fallout Production designer was a non-gamer
In an interview with The Gamer, Cummings surprisingly revealed that he is not a gamer himself. So, he had little or no idea about the game.
- 4/5/2024
- by Amarylisa Gonsalves
- FandomWire
Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten are ready for the world to see their new Prime Video series Fallout!
The actors hit the red carpet at the UK special screening on Thursday (April 4) at White City Television Centre in London, England.
They were joined by co-stars Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, and Xelia Mendes-Jones.
All eight episodes of Fallout will debut on Prime Video on April 11. The video game adaptation was created by Westworld‘s Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan.
While actors weren’t required to play the video game before filming the series, Ella and Aaron explained why they felt it was important for them to do so.
Keep reading to find out more…
“They told me, us maybe, that we didn’t have to play the games, but we could if we wanted to. I did want to play them because I really wanted to get everything I could out of this moment.
The actors hit the red carpet at the UK special screening on Thursday (April 4) at White City Television Centre in London, England.
They were joined by co-stars Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, and Xelia Mendes-Jones.
All eight episodes of Fallout will debut on Prime Video on April 11. The video game adaptation was created by Westworld‘s Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan.
While actors weren’t required to play the video game before filming the series, Ella and Aaron explained why they felt it was important for them to do so.
Keep reading to find out more…
“They told me, us maybe, that we didn’t have to play the games, but we could if we wanted to. I did want to play them because I really wanted to get everything I could out of this moment.
- 4/5/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
The third, most recent season of Westworld serves as quite a departure for the HBO series, with the dystopian science fiction drama venturing outside the Wild West-themed android-run amusement park where it is centered and into the futuristic world of Los Angeles circa 2058. Executing the ambitious endeavor required a mind-blowing 3,000 special effects carried out by nine different specialty companies! As visual effects supervisor Jay Worth explained to VFX Voice, “Every inch of every frame is designed. You can’t really point the camera anywhere in the [“Westworld”] world without [visual effects], the art department or costume having to touch it.”
Cast and crew also had to venture quite a bit outside the “Thirty Mile Zone” to create the heavily stylized real-world-ish backdrop of season three, visiting such far-flung locales as San Diego, Singapore and Spain. The dizzying schedule had production designer Howard Cummings telling Architectural Digest, “This year was really a global endeavor.
Cast and crew also had to venture quite a bit outside the “Thirty Mile Zone” to create the heavily stylized real-world-ish backdrop of season three, visiting such far-flung locales as San Diego, Singapore and Spain. The dizzying schedule had production designer Howard Cummings telling Architectural Digest, “This year was really a global endeavor.
- 5/2/2022
- by Lindsay Blake, Dirt.com
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In Lisa Joy’s “Reminiscence,” “an analog noir” set in a sunken Miami of the future, Hugh Jackman — a navigator of memories with his Reminiscence machine — becomes obsessed with torch singer Rebecca Ferguson, and falls into a web of corruption and murder. It’s like a cross between “Rear Window,” “Vertigo,” and “Chinatown.” And the “Westworld” co-creator needed go-to cinematographer Paul Cameron to create a visual language for moving in and out of the Reminiscence machine.
“It needed a certain [holographic] reality, so the challenge for me was to create this illusion for the memories live on set,” said Cameron, who is currently directing episodes of HBO’s “Westworld” Season 4. “I had done a short film where I experimented with [a projection system utilizing] Halo Gauze material and a curved screen five years ago and it turned out well. I pitched it to Lisa and the production designer Howard Cummings and started testing with a...
“It needed a certain [holographic] reality, so the challenge for me was to create this illusion for the memories live on set,” said Cameron, who is currently directing episodes of HBO’s “Westworld” Season 4. “I had done a short film where I experimented with [a projection system utilizing] Halo Gauze material and a curved screen five years ago and it turned out well. I pitched it to Lisa and the production designer Howard Cummings and started testing with a...
- 8/26/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Reminiscence opens on a striking image of a half-submerged Miami, with buildings rising out of the deepest part of the water like tombstones in a flooded graveyard, while the less inundated areas are filled with people splashing through knee-high water on foot or cruising blithely down streets in boats like they’re vacationing in Venice.
It’s a haunting visual metaphor for the movie’s thematic preoccupation with memory, and how human beings desperately cling to the memories that comfort them even as time works its slow, steady entropy on our lives and places. Both those recollections and those buildings will eventually vanish one day, leaving behind nothing but the waves.
Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) plies his trade in those memories. In this not-too-distant future, where climate change and a war of indeterminate origin have wrecked a large portion of the planet for most of us, a technology has been...
It’s a haunting visual metaphor for the movie’s thematic preoccupation with memory, and how human beings desperately cling to the memories that comfort them even as time works its slow, steady entropy on our lives and places. Both those recollections and those buildings will eventually vanish one day, leaving behind nothing but the waves.
Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) plies his trade in those memories. In this not-too-distant future, where climate change and a war of indeterminate origin have wrecked a large portion of the planet for most of us, a technology has been...
- 8/18/2021
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Proving a book sometimes can be judged by its cover, Matt Ruff’s fantasy-horror novel “Lovecraft Country” left quite an impression on Kalina Ivanov, even before the production designer considered working on showrunner Misha Green’s HBO adaptation.
“I really chased this project,” said Ivanov in an interview with IndieWire. “I had read the book in 2017 and was quite taken with it, [even] the front cover graphics. It’s a really well-thought-out book. When I heard it was coming together for HBO, I pestered my agent and said, ‘We gotta go for this.'”
That pestering paid off, as Ivanov would land the challenging project by showing how it needed to go far beyond designing a single look for the series as whole. Each episode of Green’s adaptation would reveal a new aspect of America’s true horrors, which run far deeper than introducing a new scaly monster, shifting genre and time period,...
“I really chased this project,” said Ivanov in an interview with IndieWire. “I had read the book in 2017 and was quite taken with it, [even] the front cover graphics. It’s a really well-thought-out book. When I heard it was coming together for HBO, I pestered my agent and said, ‘We gotta go for this.'”
That pestering paid off, as Ivanov would land the challenging project by showing how it needed to go far beyond designing a single look for the series as whole. Each episode of Green’s adaptation would reveal a new aspect of America’s true horrors, which run far deeper than introducing a new scaly monster, shifting genre and time period,...
- 6/21/2021
- by Mark London Williams
- Indiewire
Watch The trailer for the upcoming movie Reminiscence.
From writer/director/producer Lisa Joy, Warner Bros. Pictures’ action thriller starS Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandie Newton.
Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?
Alongside Oscar nominee Jackman, Ferguson and Newton, (“Solo: A Star Wars Story”), the film stars Cliff Curtis, Oscar nominee Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria (TV’s “See...
From writer/director/producer Lisa Joy, Warner Bros. Pictures’ action thriller starS Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandie Newton.
Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?
Alongside Oscar nominee Jackman, Ferguson and Newton, (“Solo: A Star Wars Story”), the film stars Cliff Curtis, Oscar nominee Marina de Tavira (“Roma”), Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria (TV’s “See...
- 6/4/2021
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hugh Jackman plays “a private investigator of the mind” in the first trailer for Reminiscence, arriving simultaneously in theaters and HBO Max on August 20th.
In the film — which takes place in a near-future where Miami is largely underwater — Jackman stars as Nick Bannister, who helps his clients access lost memories through some brain-mining technology. Bannister then meets and falls in love with a new client Mae (played by Rebecca Ferguson) who soon vanishes. Having peered inside her mind, Bannister then sets out to solve the mystery of Mae’s disappearance,...
In the film — which takes place in a near-future where Miami is largely underwater — Jackman stars as Nick Bannister, who helps his clients access lost memories through some brain-mining technology. Bannister then meets and falls in love with a new client Mae (played by Rebecca Ferguson) who soon vanishes. Having peered inside her mind, Bannister then sets out to solve the mystery of Mae’s disappearance,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
David Fincher’s “Mank,” Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” and Pete Docter’s “Soul” were the big film winners at the 25th annual Art Directors Guild Awards Saturday evening, taking production design honors for period, fantasy, contemporary, and animated feature, respectively. Additionally, “The Mandalorian,” “Ozark,” and “The Queen’s Gambit” were among the TV winners at the ceremony, which bodes well for “The Mandalorian” and “The Queen’s Gambit’s” Emmy prospects in the craft category.
The annual awards fete the finest production design in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, and animated features in 12 categories.
The monochromatic “Mank” is the only film that took home an Adg award that is competing for Best Picture. Pixar’s “Soul” is the favorite for Best Animated Feature. Other Adg nominees included Oscar hopefuls “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
In terms of the Oscar race,...
The annual awards fete the finest production design in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, and animated features in 12 categories.
The monochromatic “Mank” is the only film that took home an Adg award that is competing for Best Picture. Pixar’s “Soul” is the favorite for Best Animated Feature. Other Adg nominees included Oscar hopefuls “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
In terms of the Oscar race,...
- 4/11/2021
- by Bill Desowitz and Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
The 25th Annual Art Director’s Guild Awards took place tonight as a reimagined virtual show, with Mank,, Tenet and Da 5 Bloods taking home top film honors.
Hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, the event celebrates outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos. For all the winners and nominees, see the list at the bottom of this post.
Ryan Murphy received Cinematic Imagery Award honoring his work reflecting the highest quality of production design. The award was presented by Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy’s shows including Boys in the Band.
Other presenters included Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan); Nicco Annan (P-Valley); Tyra Banks; Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Aasif Mandvi (Evil); Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) and Brian Tee (Chicago Med).
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Emmy-winning production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Ad), set designer Martha Johnston (Sdmm...
Hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, the event celebrates outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos. For all the winners and nominees, see the list at the bottom of this post.
Ryan Murphy received Cinematic Imagery Award honoring his work reflecting the highest quality of production design. The award was presented by Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy’s shows including Boys in the Band.
Other presenters included Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan); Nicco Annan (P-Valley); Tyra Banks; Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Aasif Mandvi (Evil); Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) and Brian Tee (Chicago Med).
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Emmy-winning production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Ad), set designer Martha Johnston (Sdmm...
- 4/10/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The Art Directors Guild announced the nominations for the 25th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Thursday, honoring the finest production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and animation features.
Among the nominees for film are Oscar hopefuls “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” with TV accolades including “The Mandalorian,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”
Netflix was the big winner grabbing seven Adg nominations, including three period dramas; one fantasy film (George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky”); and three contemporary films.
Also making the cut were Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion spy thriller, “Tenet” (production designed by five-time Oscar nominee Nathan Crowley), and two surprises: Emerald Fennell’s Oscar buzzy revenge black comedy, “Promising Young Woman,” which scored a contemporary Adg nomination, and Matteo Garron’s period “Pinocchio” Gothic re-imagining, which scored for period.
Also being honored is Ryan Murphy,...
Among the nominees for film are Oscar hopefuls “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” with TV accolades including “The Mandalorian,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”
Netflix was the big winner grabbing seven Adg nominations, including three period dramas; one fantasy film (George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky”); and three contemporary films.
Also making the cut were Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion spy thriller, “Tenet” (production designed by five-time Oscar nominee Nathan Crowley), and two surprises: Emerald Fennell’s Oscar buzzy revenge black comedy, “Promising Young Woman,” which scored a contemporary Adg nomination, and Matteo Garron’s period “Pinocchio” Gothic re-imagining, which scored for period.
Also being honored is Ryan Murphy,...
- 2/25/2021
- by Libby Hill and Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Art Directors Guild has unveiled nominations for its 25th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which celebrate the year’s best achievements in theatrical motion pictures, TV, commercials, music videos and animated features. Winners will be announced April 10 during a virtual ceremony.
Last year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Avengers: Endgame and Parasite were the big film winners in the Period, Fantasy and Contemporary categories, respectively, with Hollywood going on to take the Production Design Oscar. TV winners included The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Cherrnobyl, The Big Bang Theory, Russian Doll, The Umbrella Academy and Drunk History.
As previously announced, Ryan Murphy will receive the group’s Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Lifetime Achievement Awards, annually presented to outstanding individuals in each of the guild’s four crafts, and will be announced shortly.
With today’s nominations out, online balloting will now be held March 11-April 7.
Here’ the list...
Last year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Avengers: Endgame and Parasite were the big film winners in the Period, Fantasy and Contemporary categories, respectively, with Hollywood going on to take the Production Design Oscar. TV winners included The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Cherrnobyl, The Big Bang Theory, Russian Doll, The Umbrella Academy and Drunk History.
As previously announced, Ryan Murphy will receive the group’s Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Lifetime Achievement Awards, annually presented to outstanding individuals in each of the guild’s four crafts, and will be announced shortly.
With today’s nominations out, online balloting will now be held March 11-April 7.
Here’ the list...
- 2/25/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
“Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mulan,” “News of the World” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” have been nominated in the Art Directors Guild Awards’ period-film category, the Adg category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Production Design.
In the Adg’s fantasy-film category, which often supplies one or two Oscar nominees, the guild singled out “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio,” “Tenet,” “The Midnight Sky” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Nominees in the contemporary category, which last year included Oscar nominee “Parasite,” were “Da 5 Bloods,” “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” “Palm Springs,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Prom.”
In the television categories, nominees included episodes of “Lovecraft Country,” “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Utopia” in the one-hour categories; “Emily in Paris,” “Space Force,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “The Neighborhood” and “Will & Grace” in the half-hour categories; and “Fargo,” “Hollywood...
In the Adg’s fantasy-film category, which often supplies one or two Oscar nominees, the guild singled out “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio,” “Tenet,” “The Midnight Sky” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Nominees in the contemporary category, which last year included Oscar nominee “Parasite,” were “Da 5 Bloods,” “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” “Palm Springs,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Prom.”
In the television categories, nominees included episodes of “Lovecraft Country,” “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Utopia” in the one-hour categories; “Emily in Paris,” “Space Force,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “The Neighborhood” and “Will & Grace” in the half-hour categories; and “Fargo,” “Hollywood...
- 2/25/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“Mank, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Tenet” are among the top films recognized for excellence in production design in the 25th annual Art Directors Guild nominations.
On Thursday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will be held April 10 in a virtual ceremony, breaking with tradition in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Mulan” landed nominations in the Period Feature Film category, and “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio” and “Wonder Woman 1984” earned recognition in Fantasy Feature Film.
Missing out were Oscar contenders “Emma,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield” and “One Night in Miami.”
As previously announced, multiple award-winning writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy, whose film and television shows have consistently reflected the highest quality of production design, will receive the esteemed Cinematic Imagery Award.
See the full list of nominations for film and TV below.
Period Feature Film
“Mank” ( Donald Graham Burt...
On Thursday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will be held April 10 in a virtual ceremony, breaking with tradition in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Mulan” landed nominations in the Period Feature Film category, and “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio” and “Wonder Woman 1984” earned recognition in Fantasy Feature Film.
Missing out were Oscar contenders “Emma,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield” and “One Night in Miami.”
As previously announced, multiple award-winning writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy, whose film and television shows have consistently reflected the highest quality of production design, will receive the esteemed Cinematic Imagery Award.
See the full list of nominations for film and TV below.
Period Feature Film
“Mank” ( Donald Graham Burt...
- 2/25/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
At last year’s Golden Globes, “Succession” walked off with the Best Drama Series trophy, making it the fourth such champion to hail from HBO. The paycaster’s other three victories came for “The Sopranos” (1999), “Six Feet Under” (2001) and “Boardwalk Empire” (2010). That’s right, not even Emmy magnet “Game of Thrones” was good enough by the Golden Globes’ standards to make this esteemed list. This year both “Lovecraft Country” and “Perry Mason” are in the running to claim Best Drama Series, per Gold Derby’s predictions. But for one of them to become HBO’s fifth overall winner, they’ll first need to take down odds leader “The Crown.”
SEEProduction designer Howard Cummings on the joys of working in the past (‘Lovecraft Country’) and the future (‘Westworld’) [Exclusive Video Interview]
Netflix’s regal drama has already won this prize twice before at the Golden Globes, for its first season in 2016 and its third...
SEEProduction designer Howard Cummings on the joys of working in the past (‘Lovecraft Country’) and the future (‘Westworld’) [Exclusive Video Interview]
Netflix’s regal drama has already won this prize twice before at the Golden Globes, for its first season in 2016 and its third...
- 1/1/2021
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
A picture is worth a thousand words, and for production designers, a couple of words is worth a thousand visuals. Asked during our Meet the Experts: TV Production Design panel how quickly they envision sets and looks when they start a project, all four — Helen Scott (“Small Axe”), David Bomba (“Ozark”), Howard Cummings (“Lovecraft Country” and “Westworld”) and Barry Robison (“Snowpiercer”) agree it’s pretty immediate. Watch each individual chat with these designers by clicking on each name above.
“Whenever you’re reading a book, you visualize it. it’s the same with a script,” Scott says (watch above). “I suppose the trick is to not try to lock yourself into that immediate response, but actually I find that the immediate response is the one that kind of sticks, and the end result is often close to the first response. So it’s worth listening to.”
Cummings believes it’s...
“Whenever you’re reading a book, you visualize it. it’s the same with a script,” Scott says (watch above). “I suppose the trick is to not try to lock yourself into that immediate response, but actually I find that the immediate response is the one that kind of sticks, and the end result is often close to the first response. So it’s worth listening to.”
Cummings believes it’s...
- 12/14/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Howard Cummings really got the best of both worlds. The two-time Emmy winner has been “Westworld’s” production designer since its second season and worked on the pilot of HBO’s period horror drama “Lovecraft Country,” which premiered in August.
“The cool thing about ‘Westworld’ and one of the reasons why I wanted to do it was because it has both — future and past,” Cummings tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: TV Production Design panel (watch above). “To be able to do two projects that are really tonally different as well was great. … To go from ‘Westworld,’ super futuristic stuff, to 1950s Chicago was really a great adventure.”
Cummings, who was able to bring his “Westworld” set decorator Julie Ochipinti onto the “Lovecraft” pilot, worked with Kalina Ivanov, who designed the rest of “Lovecraft’s” first season. The pilot differs from the rest of the season in that...
“The cool thing about ‘Westworld’ and one of the reasons why I wanted to do it was because it has both — future and past,” Cummings tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: TV Production Design panel (watch above). “To be able to do two projects that are really tonally different as well was great. … To go from ‘Westworld,’ super futuristic stuff, to 1950s Chicago was really a great adventure.”
Cummings, who was able to bring his “Westworld” set decorator Julie Ochipinti onto the “Lovecraft” pilot, worked with Kalina Ivanov, who designed the rest of “Lovecraft’s” first season. The pilot differs from the rest of the season in that...
- 12/14/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Four top TV production designers will reveal the secrets behind their crafts when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Btl Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Emmy contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Monday, December 7, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of the designers together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Lovecraft Country” and “Westworld” (HBO): Howard Cummings
Cummings is a two-time Emmy winner for “Behind the Candelabra” and “The Knick.
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This “Meet the Btl Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Emmy contenders:
“Lovecraft Country” and “Westworld” (HBO): Howard Cummings
Cummings is a two-time Emmy winner for “Behind the Candelabra” and “The Knick.
- 12/1/2020
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
“It’s a reboot, really, because we’re in a whole different world,” says Emmy-nominated Westworld production designer Howard Cummings about season 3, which drops us right inside our world –the human one– outside Delos’ robotic theme park.
And to create a near future Los Angeles, and a near-tomorrow for San Francisco where the Delos HQ is located on the show, Cummings respectively synthesized both cities’ skylines with Singapore and Valencia, Spain.
It’s a world that’s geometric, clean, green, sleek, and organized in shape — a perfect place for host bot Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) to stomp on as she squares off to battle a megalomaniac Serac (Vincent Cassel) who wants control over human beings’ behaviors.
Cummings worked with Westworld VFX supervisor Jay Worth and Dutch architect Bjarke Ingels in creating a future where the hosts would wage a revolution. In creating the Los Angeles skyline, Cummings married the current...
And to create a near future Los Angeles, and a near-tomorrow for San Francisco where the Delos HQ is located on the show, Cummings respectively synthesized both cities’ skylines with Singapore and Valencia, Spain.
It’s a world that’s geometric, clean, green, sleek, and organized in shape — a perfect place for host bot Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) to stomp on as she squares off to battle a megalomaniac Serac (Vincent Cassel) who wants control over human beings’ behaviors.
Cummings worked with Westworld VFX supervisor Jay Worth and Dutch architect Bjarke Ingels in creating a future where the hosts would wage a revolution. In creating the Los Angeles skyline, Cummings married the current...
- 8/26/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Production design is not without its challenges, even on the best of days — and between dealing with tight deadlines, small crews and chasing a yacht around the European coast, the Emmy-nominated designers working on HBO shows this year certainly faced their share.
In a panel for TheWrap’s Virtual Screening Series on Wednesday, John Paino (“Big Little Lies”), Stephen Carter (“Succession”), Howard Cummings (“Westworld”), Eric Morrell (“Last Week Tonight”) and Kristian Milsted (“Watchmen”) discussed some of those challenges.
For Paino, who worked on the second season of HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” the difficulty was maintaining the look and feel of what was originally intended to be a limited series. With Andrea Arnold taking over as director from Season 1’s Jean-Marc Vallee, that also meant more significant time split between Los Angeles and Northern California as a stand-in for the show’s Monterey setting.
Also Read: 'Watchmen' Star...
In a panel for TheWrap’s Virtual Screening Series on Wednesday, John Paino (“Big Little Lies”), Stephen Carter (“Succession”), Howard Cummings (“Westworld”), Eric Morrell (“Last Week Tonight”) and Kristian Milsted (“Watchmen”) discussed some of those challenges.
For Paino, who worked on the second season of HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” the difficulty was maintaining the look and feel of what was originally intended to be a limited series. With Andrea Arnold taking over as director from Season 1’s Jean-Marc Vallee, that also meant more significant time split between Los Angeles and Northern California as a stand-in for the show’s Monterey setting.
Also Read: 'Watchmen' Star...
- 8/20/2020
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Production designers build immersive worlds for audiences to vicariously live in, but the fulfilling part of the job may be before any sketches or models.
“What I hope in my design is I get to learn something every time,” “Westworld’s” Howard Cummings said on Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel (watch above). “When you do the research, certainly that is really fun because I know so much random stuff — I know how fishermen store fish and things like that or unfortunately things like mortuaries and prisons. You don’t get jobs like that in the real world that you’re just constantly learning. For me, the thing I love the most about it is the learning of it all.”
“Couples Therapy’s” Nora Mendis concurs: “I just love doing all the research and building the world from scratch. It’s just fun. You just have...
“What I hope in my design is I get to learn something every time,” “Westworld’s” Howard Cummings said on Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel (watch above). “When you do the research, certainly that is really fun because I know so much random stuff — I know how fishermen store fish and things like that or unfortunately things like mortuaries and prisons. You don’t get jobs like that in the real world that you’re just constantly learning. For me, the thing I love the most about it is the learning of it all.”
“Couples Therapy’s” Nora Mendis concurs: “I just love doing all the research and building the world from scratch. It’s just fun. You just have...
- 6/26/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
You might have been shocked by the destruction of the theme park and the reveal of the real world at the end of Season 2 of “Westworld,” but not production designer Howard Cummings.
“It’s one of the reasons I signed on to ‘Westworld.’ It was that I knew this was coming, so we had been talking about it for a couple of years, so it wasn’t a surprise,” Cummings said during Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel (watch above). “I knew eventually the robots would get crazy and get out. The question is: What do they encounter? That kept evolving. I think the big challenge for that show is they were going into not a spaceship — the future was actually the real world and they were going in all different places. The challenge of that is: How do I take these normal locations and amp...
“It’s one of the reasons I signed on to ‘Westworld.’ It was that I knew this was coming, so we had been talking about it for a couple of years, so it wasn’t a surprise,” Cummings said during Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel (watch above). “I knew eventually the robots would get crazy and get out. The question is: What do they encounter? That kept evolving. I think the big challenge for that show is they were going into not a spaceship — the future was actually the real world and they were going in all different places. The challenge of that is: How do I take these normal locations and amp...
- 6/26/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
When Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan first introduced their version of “Westworld” on HBO in 2016, they brought to life a world that was inherently more technologically advanced than the real world. At first, that was depicted through the theme parks in the show, populated by actors playing robotic hosts perfectly designed to reflect a real human’s face, body, movements and personality. The implication was always that the larger world outside of the parks had come a long way. But in the third season premiere, the scope of that world was finally shown in earnest.
After the destruction of the theme park at the end of the second season, the characters who survived are now scattered in places including Los Angeles; London; and Beihai, China. Production was equally expansive, taking place in Valencia, Spain, as well as Los Angeles and San Diego.
The show’s outlook for the new world is somewhat hopeful,...
After the destruction of the theme park at the end of the second season, the characters who survived are now scattered in places including Los Angeles; London; and Beihai, China. Production was equally expansive, taking place in Valencia, Spain, as well as Los Angeles and San Diego.
The show’s outlook for the new world is somewhat hopeful,...
- 3/18/2020
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
“Roma,” “Black Panther,” “A Quiet Place,” and Golden Globe winner “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” lead the nominees for the 23rd Annual Adg production design awards in the categories of period, fantasy, contemporary, and animated films. The awards will be held February 2 at the InterContinental.
“A Star Is Born” (Karen Murphy), “Crazy Rich Asians” (Nelson Coates), and “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” (Peter Wenham) made the cut for contemporary. Other period nominees included “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Jess Gonchor), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Aaron Haye), “First Man” (Nathan Crowley), and “The Favourite” (Fiona Crombie). “Green Book” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” were snubbed.
For fantasy, “Mary Poppins Returns” (John Myhre) joined “Ready Player One” (Adam Stockhausen), and Stockhausen was also a nominee for Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated “Isle of Dogs,” sharing with co-production designer Paul Harrod.
Nominees For Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film:
1. Period Film
“The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs...
“A Star Is Born” (Karen Murphy), “Crazy Rich Asians” (Nelson Coates), and “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” (Peter Wenham) made the cut for contemporary. Other period nominees included “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Jess Gonchor), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Aaron Haye), “First Man” (Nathan Crowley), and “The Favourite” (Fiona Crombie). “Green Book” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” were snubbed.
For fantasy, “Mary Poppins Returns” (John Myhre) joined “Ready Player One” (Adam Stockhausen), and Stockhausen was also a nominee for Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated “Isle of Dogs,” sharing with co-production designer Paul Harrod.
Nominees For Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film:
1. Period Film
“The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs...
- 1/7/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Art Directors Guild has announced nominations for the 23rd Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards in film, TV, commercials, videos and animation features. Among the candidates: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Favourite and Roma, and, on the TV side, Sharp Objects and Glow.
Winners will be honored Saturday, February 2 in Los Angeles. The nominees were announced today by Adg President Nelson Coates, Adg, and Awards Producer Scott Moses, Adg. A tie in the Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial category resulted in six nominees this year.
As previously announced, the Adg Cinematic Imagery Award will be handed out to director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) and both Anthony Masters (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Benjamin Carré will be inducted into the Adg Hall of Fame. Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Jeannine Oppewall,...
Winners will be honored Saturday, February 2 in Los Angeles. The nominees were announced today by Adg President Nelson Coates, Adg, and Awards Producer Scott Moses, Adg. A tie in the Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial category resulted in six nominees this year.
As previously announced, the Adg Cinematic Imagery Award will be handed out to director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) and both Anthony Masters (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Benjamin Carré will be inducted into the Adg Hall of Fame. Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Jeannine Oppewall,...
- 1/7/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Buster Scruggs,’ ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Haunting of Hill House’ Nominated for Art Directors Guild Awards
The Art Directors Guild has announced nominees for excellence in production design in feature film and television for 2018.
Among the film nominees in three categories — period, fantasy, and contemporary — were the Coen brothers’ Western anthology “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” hit Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther,” and Tom Cruise spectacle “Mission: Impossible — Fallout.”
On the television side, nominees included Netflix’s latter-year smash “The Haunting of Hill House,” Hulu’s Stephen King-inspired “Castle Rock,” HBO’s “Sharp Objects” with Amy Adams, and FX’s acclaimed episode of “Atlanta,” “Teddy Perkins.”
Previously announced, “Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall will receive the Adg’s cinematic imagery award. Slated for Hall of Fame inductions are British production designer and set decorator Anthony Masters (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) and Benjamin Carre. Lifetime achievement awards will also be presented to production designer Jeannine Oppewall, senior illustrator and production designer Ed Verreaux,...
Among the film nominees in three categories — period, fantasy, and contemporary — were the Coen brothers’ Western anthology “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” hit Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther,” and Tom Cruise spectacle “Mission: Impossible — Fallout.”
On the television side, nominees included Netflix’s latter-year smash “The Haunting of Hill House,” Hulu’s Stephen King-inspired “Castle Rock,” HBO’s “Sharp Objects” with Amy Adams, and FX’s acclaimed episode of “Atlanta,” “Teddy Perkins.”
Previously announced, “Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall will receive the Adg’s cinematic imagery award. Slated for Hall of Fame inductions are British production designer and set decorator Anthony Masters (“2001: A Space Odyssey”) and Benjamin Carre. Lifetime achievement awards will also be presented to production designer Jeannine Oppewall, senior illustrator and production designer Ed Verreaux,...
- 1/7/2019
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
“The Favourite,” “Roma,” “First Man,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” on Monday all nabbed nominations for the Art Directors Guild Awards’ period-film category, the Adg category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Production Design.
In the Adg fantasy-film category, which typically supplies one or two Oscar nominees, the guild singled out “Black Panther,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “The House With a Clock in its Walls,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Ready Player One.”
Nominees in the contemporary-film category are “A Quiet Place,” “A Star Is Born,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and “Welcome to Marwen.”
Also Read: Producers Guild Awards Nominations Include 'Roma,' 'Black Panther,' 'A Star Is Born' - and Also 'Crazy Rich Asians'
Animated-film nominees are “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” “The Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
In the Adg fantasy-film category, which typically supplies one or two Oscar nominees, the guild singled out “Black Panther,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “The House With a Clock in its Walls,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Ready Player One.”
Nominees in the contemporary-film category are “A Quiet Place,” “A Star Is Born,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and “Welcome to Marwen.”
Also Read: Producers Guild Awards Nominations Include 'Roma,' 'Black Panther,' 'A Star Is Born' - and Also 'Crazy Rich Asians'
Animated-film nominees are “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” “The Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- 1/7/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In its sophomore season, “Westworld” got philosophical about free will and immortality, and the Emmy-nominated VFX got trippy in the finale (“The Passenger”) with some strange environments. The consciousness of all guests got stored in a server center called The Forge, where they were uploaded to host bodies before entering a virtual Eden called The Sublime.
“It’s definitely the biggest thing that I’ve ever done, with 580 plus shots,” said visual effects supervisor Jay Worth. “Aside from shot complexity and pipeline refinements, the volume of shots were so challenging that we used 11 companies [including CoSA Important Looking Pirates, Double Negative, and Pixomondo].”
The first challenge was seamlessly tying together the amusement park’s final destination before entering The Sublime. This was handled by CoSA along with the gateway, which looked like a vertical tear in the horizon.
“We initially were going to have these large stone and metal pieces that were going to live practically and extend to the sky,...
“It’s definitely the biggest thing that I’ve ever done, with 580 plus shots,” said visual effects supervisor Jay Worth. “Aside from shot complexity and pipeline refinements, the volume of shots were so challenging that we used 11 companies [including CoSA Important Looking Pirates, Double Negative, and Pixomondo].”
The first challenge was seamlessly tying together the amusement park’s final destination before entering The Sublime. This was handled by CoSA along with the gateway, which looked like a vertical tear in the horizon.
“We initially were going to have these large stone and metal pieces that were going to live practically and extend to the sky,...
- 8/20/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
For “Westworld” newbies Howard Cummings and Sharen Davis, coming into Season Two to design the production and costumes turned out to be an advantage for their Emmy-nominated episode about Shogun World (“Akane No Mai”). Coming in fresh, yet knowing the sci-fi series inside out, allowed them to hone in on the Western sets and costumes for Sweetwater so they could create a mirror image for Edo feudal Japan.
“My impression of Sweetwater was as a viewer, not as a builder, in the first season,” said two-time Emmy winner Cummings. “And when I got to read the script, it truly was a mirror image of Sweetwater. But Shogun World seemed like a natural because the films of Kurosawa and Westerns are very similar and tied together.”
The creation of Shogun World as a mirror image of Sweetwater even extended to some of the Japanese hosts, who paralleled their Western counterparts. Bandit...
“My impression of Sweetwater was as a viewer, not as a builder, in the first season,” said two-time Emmy winner Cummings. “And when I got to read the script, it truly was a mirror image of Sweetwater. But Shogun World seemed like a natural because the films of Kurosawa and Westerns are very similar and tied together.”
The creation of Shogun World as a mirror image of Sweetwater even extended to some of the Japanese hosts, who paralleled their Western counterparts. Bandit...
- 7/27/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Passenger,” the second season finale of “Westworld.”
When “Westworld” introduced the idea of a “door” to another world for the hosts in the alternate reality theme park, it left a lot of questions dangling about just where that door would lead, what the hosts’ place would be in the world on the other side, and who might be able to escape. The second season finale answered all of those questions definitively — but as series co-creator and co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan points out, the seeds for those answers had been planted from the beginning.
“As Ford and Dolores and Arnold have all observed at various moments in both seasons, humans don’t take very well to rivals,” he tells Variety. “Ford said in the first season that if there were any competitive species to us we f—ed or ate them out of existence.
When “Westworld” introduced the idea of a “door” to another world for the hosts in the alternate reality theme park, it left a lot of questions dangling about just where that door would lead, what the hosts’ place would be in the world on the other side, and who might be able to escape. The second season finale answered all of those questions definitively — but as series co-creator and co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan points out, the seeds for those answers had been planted from the beginning.
“As Ford and Dolores and Arnold have all observed at various moments in both seasons, humans don’t take very well to rivals,” he tells Variety. “Ford said in the first season that if there were any competitive species to us we f—ed or ate them out of existence.
- 6/25/2018
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
Nancy Steiner, costume designer for Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” reboot, had a serious problem: She wasn’t able to do Naomi Watts’ first fitting until 5 a.m. on her first day of shooting. The original plan had been to put the actress in 1950s-style dresses, but when showrunner David Lynch happened to see Watts in a blouse, jeans and a cardigan, he changed his mind about her whole look.
“You have to go with the flow, because things change on a dime,” says Steiner. “When David figures it out, that’s the right thing.”
Not every workflow process between showrunners and artisans, or between artisans and other artisans, rides on such last-minute changes or tilts on an auteur’s whims. But every production, particularly those in non-contemporary settings or fantastical or alternate worlds, must have below-the-line creatives who can be fluid and meticulous about lining up their visions to create a unified look and feel.
“You have to go with the flow, because things change on a dime,” says Steiner. “When David figures it out, that’s the right thing.”
Not every workflow process between showrunners and artisans, or between artisans and other artisans, rides on such last-minute changes or tilts on an auteur’s whims. But every production, particularly those in non-contemporary settings or fantastical or alternate worlds, must have below-the-line creatives who can be fluid and meticulous about lining up their visions to create a unified look and feel.
- 6/1/2018
- by Randee Dawn
- Variety Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: This story contains broad details of the second season of Westworld, which premieres tonight on HBO.
Regardless of its actual merits, there’s always been a bit of a Joe Biden quality to Westworld but heading into its Season 2 debut tonight the HBO drama is increasingly displaying it’s ready for the top job.
Obviously birthed as an eventual successor to Game of Thrones by the premium cabler when the Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan created drama based on Michael Crichton’s novel and 1973 movie premiered in October 2016, the now buoyant and streamlined Westworld 2.0 finds itself off the training wheels and standing as the first defining drama of the #MeToo and Time’s Up era. No spoilers, but by the time “Men have lost their hands for touching a Geisha without permission” is uttered several episodes into Season 2, the unrelenting ethos of sexual violence that stained Season 1 and...
Regardless of its actual merits, there’s always been a bit of a Joe Biden quality to Westworld but heading into its Season 2 debut tonight the HBO drama is increasingly displaying it’s ready for the top job.
Obviously birthed as an eventual successor to Game of Thrones by the premium cabler when the Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan created drama based on Michael Crichton’s novel and 1973 movie premiered in October 2016, the now buoyant and streamlined Westworld 2.0 finds itself off the training wheels and standing as the first defining drama of the #MeToo and Time’s Up era. No spoilers, but by the time “Men have lost their hands for touching a Geisha without permission” is uttered several episodes into Season 2, the unrelenting ethos of sexual violence that stained Season 1 and...
- 4/22/2018
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
For the first time, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be split into two parts this weekend, demonstrating the growing importance of the below-the-line TV crafts. Even so, don’t expect too many surprises, with “Game of Thrones” dominating for its bravura “Battle of the Bastards” sequence in several categories and “The People v. O.J. Simpson” doing the same for its zeitgeist-grabbing historical relevance.
However, two of the toughest races will be for production and costume design. Howard Cummings, last year’s Emmy-winning production designer for “The Knick,” goes up against sentimental favorite Donal Woods for the final season of “Downton Abbey,” while last year’s costume design winners Marie Schley (“Transparent”) and Lou Eyrich (“American Horror Story: Hotel”) square off this time in the contemporary category: a further transgender exploration vs. Lady Gaga as the Countess.
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Emmys 2016: How Score and Sound Explore Elliot’s...
However, two of the toughest races will be for production and costume design. Howard Cummings, last year’s Emmy-winning production designer for “The Knick,” goes up against sentimental favorite Donal Woods for the final season of “Downton Abbey,” while last year’s costume design winners Marie Schley (“Transparent”) and Lou Eyrich (“American Horror Story: Hotel”) square off this time in the contemporary category: a further transgender exploration vs. Lady Gaga as the Countess.
Read More: ‘Mr. Robot’ Emmys 2016: How Score and Sound Explore Elliot’s...
- 9/9/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“The Times They Are a Changin'” pretty well sums up this year’s Emmy craft contenders for production and costume design. The series all deal with social, political and cultural upheaval, which provided creative opportunities in designing and dressing characters on the cusp of change.
Production Design
In the race for production design (fantasy or contemporary), Amazon’s adaptation of Philip K.Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” is building buzz for its retro-future vision, in which the Nazis and Japanese won World War II.
For production designer Drew Boughton, that meant three distinct looks for New York City (run by the Nazis), San Francisco (occupied by the Japanese) and Canon City, Colorado (the neutral zone). New York offered an austere, concrete, gray vibe reminiscent of the Eastern block, San Francisco went more wood and aqua blue and Canon City was rural, like a Western.
“What are the...
Production Design
In the race for production design (fantasy or contemporary), Amazon’s adaptation of Philip K.Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” is building buzz for its retro-future vision, in which the Nazis and Japanese won World War II.
For production designer Drew Boughton, that meant three distinct looks for New York City (run by the Nazis), San Francisco (occupied by the Japanese) and Canon City, Colorado (the neutral zone). New York offered an austere, concrete, gray vibe reminiscent of the Eastern block, San Francisco went more wood and aqua blue and Canon City was rural, like a Western.
“What are the...
- 8/12/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
In season two of “The Knick,” while pioneering surgeon John Thackery (Clive Owen) continues battling personal demons, there’s an expansion into the higher echelon of New York affluence in both production and costume design. This helps broaden the tension between social progress and class disparity in 1901.
This gave production designer Howard Cummings greater opportunities to explore high society in real New York locations. He ventured from Yonkers to Staten Island and everywhere else in between, and even crept into Long Island.
“In season two, we shot in every borough, including a burning building in Yonkers as the new Knick hospital under construction,” explained Cummings. “Location found a Victorian-looking insurance records warehouse built in 1901 and was never completed. But the interior was all brick and fire proof, and they actually set fire to it and shot that at the very end of the schedule.”
Cummings also benefited by the light...
This gave production designer Howard Cummings greater opportunities to explore high society in real New York locations. He ventured from Yonkers to Staten Island and everywhere else in between, and even crept into Long Island.
“In season two, we shot in every borough, including a burning building in Yonkers as the new Knick hospital under construction,” explained Cummings. “Location found a Victorian-looking insurance records warehouse built in 1901 and was never completed. But the interior was all brick and fire proof, and they actually set fire to it and shot that at the very end of the schedule.”
Cummings also benefited by the light...
- 6/29/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Art Directors Guild has unveiled the nominees of its 20th anual Excellence in Production Design Awards and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is one of the contenders in the Contemporary Feature Film category. But it may be hard for the force to beat the magical "Cinderella!"
And as a big Madonna fan, yup I'm a Rebel Heart, it's heartwarming to see the icon as one of the nominees in the Short Format category for her "Ghosttown" music video! The only music video nominated!
Winners will be announced on January 31. Here's the full list of nominees of the Art Directors Guild Awards:
Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film In 2015
Period Film
Bridge Of Spies
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
Crimson Peak
Production Designer: Thomas E. Sanders
The Danish Girl
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
The Revenant
Production Designer: Jack Fisk
Trumbo
Production Designer: Mark Ricker
Fantasy Film
Cinderella
Production Designer:...
And as a big Madonna fan, yup I'm a Rebel Heart, it's heartwarming to see the icon as one of the nominees in the Short Format category for her "Ghosttown" music video! The only music video nominated!
Winners will be announced on January 31. Here's the full list of nominees of the Art Directors Guild Awards:
Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film In 2015
Period Film
Bridge Of Spies
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
Crimson Peak
Production Designer: Thomas E. Sanders
The Danish Girl
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
The Revenant
Production Designer: Jack Fisk
Trumbo
Production Designer: Mark Ricker
Fantasy Film
Cinderella
Production Designer:...
- 1/5/2016
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Magic Mike Xxl is not directed by Steven Soderbergh, who has retired from feature filmmaking. But what’s in a name? Magic Mike Xxl is directed by Gregory Jacobs, Soderbergh’s regular 1st Ad since 1993’s King of the Hill, is crewed by Soderbergh regulars (production designer Howard Cummings and set director Eric R. Johnson have been onhand since Contagion), and was shot and edited by the man himself. The trailer’s color palette — muted and dark, with strong golds and shadows — is accordingly exactly what you’d get from a Soderbergh film, and it even opens with the same ’70s WB Saul Bass-designed logo that […]...
- 2/4/2015
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Magic Mike Xxl is not directed by Steven Soderbergh, who has retired from feature filmmaking. But what’s in a name? Magic Mike Xxl is directed by Gregory Jacobs, Soderbergh’s regular 1st Ad since 1993’s King of the Hill, is crewed by Soderbergh regulars (production designer Howard Cummings and set director Eric R. Johnson have been onhand since Contagion), and was shot and edited by the man himself. The trailer’s color palette — muted and dark, with strong golds and shadows — is accordingly exactly what you’d get from a Soderbergh film, and it even opens with the same ’70s WB Saul Bass-designed logo that […]...
- 2/4/2015
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Period, fantasy, and contemporary films each received their own category for the Art Directors Guild awards! Take a look at the full nomination list below. Winners of the Adg Awards will be revealed on Saturday, January 31 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Feature Film
Period Film
Inherent Vice
Production Designer: David Crank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
The Imitation Game
Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
The Theory Of Everything
Production Designer: John Paul Kelly
Unbroken
Production Designer: Jon Hutman
Fantasy Film
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Production Designer: Peter Wenham
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Production Designer: James Chinlund
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Production Designer: Charles Wood
Interstellar
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
Into The Woods
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
Contemporary Film
American Sniper
Production Designers: James J. Murakami, Charisse Cardenas
Birdman
Production Designer: Kevin Thompson
Foxcatcher
Production Designer: Jess Gonchor
Gone Girl
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt...
Feature Film
Period Film
Inherent Vice
Production Designer: David Crank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
The Imitation Game
Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
The Theory Of Everything
Production Designer: John Paul Kelly
Unbroken
Production Designer: Jon Hutman
Fantasy Film
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Production Designer: Peter Wenham
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Production Designer: James Chinlund
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Production Designer: Charles Wood
Interstellar
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
Into The Woods
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
Contemporary Film
American Sniper
Production Designers: James J. Murakami, Charisse Cardenas
Birdman
Production Designer: Kevin Thompson
Foxcatcher
Production Designer: Jess Gonchor
Gone Girl
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt...
- 1/14/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Birdman, Gone Girl, Nightcrawler, The Theory Of Everything among Art Directors Guild nominees.
As previously announced, Christopher Nolan will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award and production designer Jim Bissell, senior illustrator Camille Abbott, senior set designer John P Bruce and scenic artist Will Ferrell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Hall Of Fame inductees are John Gabriel Beckman, Charles Lisanby and Walter Tyler.
The 19th Adg Awards are set to take place on January 31 in Los Angeles.
The 2014 production design nominees are:
Motion Pictures
Period Film
Inherent Vice
Production Designer: David Crank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
The Imitation Game
Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
The Theory Of Everything
Production Designer: John Paul Kelly
Unbroken
Production Designer: Jon Hutman
Fantasy Film
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Production Designer: Peter Wenham
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Production Designer: James Chinlund
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Production...
As previously announced, Christopher Nolan will receive the Guild’s Cinematic Imagery Award and production designer Jim Bissell, senior illustrator Camille Abbott, senior set designer John P Bruce and scenic artist Will Ferrell will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Hall Of Fame inductees are John Gabriel Beckman, Charles Lisanby and Walter Tyler.
The 19th Adg Awards are set to take place on January 31 in Los Angeles.
The 2014 production design nominees are:
Motion Pictures
Period Film
Inherent Vice
Production Designer: David Crank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
The Imitation Game
Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic
The Theory Of Everything
Production Designer: John Paul Kelly
Unbroken
Production Designer: Jon Hutman
Fantasy Film
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Production Designer: Peter Wenham
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Production Designer: James Chinlund
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Production...
- 1/5/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Art Directors Guild today announced nominations in 11 categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Art Directors Guild’s 19th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The nominations were announced by Adg Council Chair Marcia Hinds and Awards co-producers Dave Blass and James Pearse Connelly.
The black-tie ceremony revealing winners will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2015, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with comedian Owen Benjamin serving as host.
As previously announced, the recipient of the Guild’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award will be Academy Award winner Christopher Nolan, whose film Interstellar is in current release.
Production Designer Jim Bissell, Senior Illustrator Camille Abbott, Senior Set Designer John P. Bruce and Scenic Artist Will Ferrell will be awarded the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. Hall of Fame inductees are John Gabriel Beckman, Charles Lisanby and Walter Tyler.
The black-tie ceremony revealing winners will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2015, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with comedian Owen Benjamin serving as host.
As previously announced, the recipient of the Guild’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award will be Academy Award winner Christopher Nolan, whose film Interstellar is in current release.
Production Designer Jim Bissell, Senior Illustrator Camille Abbott, Senior Set Designer John P. Bruce and Scenic Artist Will Ferrell will be awarded the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. Hall of Fame inductees are John Gabriel Beckman, Charles Lisanby and Walter Tyler.
- 1/5/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Art Directors Guild (Adg, Iatse Local 800) today announced nominations in 11 categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Art Directors Guild’s 19th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards. The nominations were announced by Adg Council Chair Marcia Hinds and Awards co-producers Dave Blass and James Pearse Connelly. The black-tie ceremony revealing winners will take place on Saturday, January 31, 2015, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with comedian Owen Benjamin serving as host. As previously announced, the recipient of the Guild’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award will be Academy Award® winner Christopher Nolan, whose film Interstellar is in current release. Production Designer Jim Bissell, Senior Illustrator Camille Abbott, Senior Set Designer John P. Bruce and Scenic Artist Will Ferrell will be awarded the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Awards. Hall of Fame inductees are John Gabriel Beckman,...
- 1/5/2015
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Art Directors Guild has announced nominees for the group's 19th annual awards, and films that have come on strong as of late like "American Sniper" and "Nightcrawler" were in the mix along notable extravagant displays in the period and fantasy categories. However, there were a few missing pieces. In the fantasy arena, both "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" and "Maleficent" came up short, while "Exodus: Gods and Kings" missed in the period department. The most shocking snub might be "Mr. Turner's" in that field, however. (And it would have been great to see "Snowpiercer" get some love here, but, alas.) As a reminder, the Guild implemented a new rule this season. Period films must now have the majority of sets and locations designed to portray a time period at least 20 years prior to the present awards year. Contemporary films, therefore, must have the majority of...
- 1/5/2015
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
The lavish, ornate designs of “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” the druggy 70s’ SoCal beach-city look of “Inherent Vice” and the fairy-tale landscape of “Into the Woods” are among the work nominated by the members of the Art Directors Guild for the Adg’s 19th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards.
In nominations announced on Monday, the Adg singled out 15 feature films and a number of television programs for its awards, which will be handed out on Jan. 31 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Because the Adg separates its feature-film nominations into separate categories for period films, fantasy films and contemporary films,...
In nominations announced on Monday, the Adg singled out 15 feature films and a number of television programs for its awards, which will be handed out on Jan. 31 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Because the Adg separates its feature-film nominations into separate categories for period films, fantasy films and contemporary films,...
- 1/5/2015
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
"Scandal" appears to have moved past its dependence on cliffhangers “Scandal” was written around cliffhangers in its first three seasons, but the cliffhangers have now passed on to “How To Get Away with Murder.” As Joshua Alston says of “Scandal,” "It’s no longer a political thriller with heavy-to-a-fault spy genre flourishes, it’s 'Grey’s Anatomy' in the White House. And if that’s indeed what the writers are going for, the absence of a central, hashtag-friendly mystery makes perfect sense. I’ve been suspiciously anticipating this direction, but I’m far less worried than I was. If 'Like Father, Like Daughter' is any indication, that version of Scandal would be well-worth watching, if perhaps not the Twitter fuel it once was.” Plus: “Scandal” Secret Service agent talks about his big role. Leah Remini will sub for Erin Andrews as “Dancing with the Stars' co-host Andrews is...
- 10/18/2014
- by Norman Weiss
- Hitfix
When they worked together on the thriller Contagion, director Steven Soderbergh gave production designer Howard Cummings a mantra to live by: “The real thing is scarier than anything anyone could make up.” No matter how technical, no matter how dry, for Soderbergh, verisimilitude was the key to hooking an audience. When Cummings joined The Knick, the same rules applied. “Steven was interested in the surgical practices and that they be as realistic as possible,” Cummings says of the element that attracted his collaborator to do ten episodes of cable TV, the last of which airs tonight. To best emulate operations as they would have been performed in 1900 New York City, the production hired both historical advisers and modern surgeons, who instructed Clive Owen and his co-stars in the way of the scalpel. Cummings’s task was to apply that same primary-source-driven approach to the rest of the show. The production...
- 10/17/2014
- by Matt Patches
- Vulture
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