Production Designer: Jean Rabasse
An inherent challenge in designing a film about any historical figure for which extensive visual documentation exists is the inevitable comparison to the actual environments. Production parameters of schedule, location, and budget materially can impact the ability to fulfill the requirements of the story, adding to the complexity of deciding what can be accomplished, and accomplished well. So an eponymous project about Jackie Kennedy, an individual revered as an international style icon, carries an enormous burden. Every detail of the design must rise to the style and finesse of the former first lady herself — or at least successfully allude to the images and memories that have become the fabric of her legacy. The work of Jean Rabasse and the “Jackie” design team not only takes on this challenge, but rises to a beautiful level, never lacking in necessary visual support of the story while at the same time carefully keeping the characters front and center. The ethereal quality of recreated archival footage, alongside elegant period White House environments constructed in France, seamlessly transport the audience to that impactful period, as if to experience the events in real time.
By Nelson Coates (President, Art Directors Guild; “Fifty Shades Darker,” “Flight”)
Production Designer: Charles Wood
Seeing “Doctor Strange” on the Imax 3D screen is everything that I love about immersive cinema. It transports the viewer on an epic journey from Hong Kong to the Sanctum Santorum and into the kaleidoscope of the dark dimensions. You care about the characters because you can connect with their highly nuanced practical environment. Charles Wood and his team of Marvel artists have continued their world-building opus, this time, seamlessly transporting the characters from actual streets in Kathmandu to a soundstage in London in the blink of an eye without missing a design cue. The scope and attention to detail is so beautifully handled that multiple viewings are a must to appreciate all the intricate details and pick up on other Marvel Easter Eggs left for the hardcore fans. The true wizardry of film’s design is demonstrated in how unique it feels compared to the other genre films.
By Dave Blass (“Preacher,” “Justified,” Secrets and Lies,” “Pitch”)
Production Designer: David Wasco
“La La Land,” with production design by David Wasco, is a love letter to the Hollywood musical. The film is considered an Oscar front-runner in many categories. It references such classic films as “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964), “The Young Girls of Rochefort” (1967), “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), “Top Hat” (1935), “Swing Time” (1936), and even Fellini’s “8½” (1963) for the film’s opening traffic number. Wasco and his set decorator Sandy Reynolds-Wasco employ the limited palate of old Technicolor movie musicals not seen in years. “La La Land” uses many iconic Los Angeles locations, such as the Griffith Observatory and several of Hollywood’s old backlots. Wasco and his team, headed by art
director Austin Gorg, find magnificent simplicity in storefront street scenes and twilight cityscapes that create a romantic vision of Los Angeles that only true Angelinos know. The end-of-film story-ballet harks back to the studio production design look of such Hollywood classics as “The Band Wagon” (1953) and “An American in Paris” (1951).
By John Iacovelli (Stage designer for the ADG Awards, “Babylon 5,” “Los Americans”)
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
HBO’s much-talked-about “Westworld” is a meditation on the power of narrative — that is, narrative as immersive reality where the most extreme human impulses are indulged through esthetically perfect control. It is a kind of modern Frankenstein story on steroids with all of the moral issues that this implies. Nathan Crowley’s production design contains both a scope and knowing subtlety that skillfully surrounds this complex and harrowing tale. The park of the title is itself a postcard of the 19th century American West, historically accurate to the last detail but with a patina that archly betrays its theme-park purpose. The laboratories below, a limbo of reflective glass and inky blackness, recede into infinity as a purgatory of narrative creation is filled with tension and menace. Crowley’s design of the physically violent western frontier contrasted with a sterile, synthetic, and psychologically violent underworld is the core of “Westworld’s” terrible and beautiful power.
By Mark Worthington (“American Horror Story,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Ugly Betty,” “Scream Queens,” “Love Bites,” “The Catch”)
Production Designer: Anastasia White
The world of a hacker as created by “Mr. Robot’s” production designer Anastasia White and her design team is dark and introverted, and secretive. The characters associated with hacking tend to be secretive in the way they travel and about the places where they spend time. “Mr. Robot’s” main character, Elliot Alderson, speaks to us as an observer and is a very private person, sharing little with anyone. He knows not only that everyone is under surveillance, but that everything he does is being watched. Season two opens with Elliot isolated and confined as he copes with his bare, ascetic existence in a small bedroom at his Mother’s home — a physical manifestation of the isolating effects of technology. He’s barely holding it together, and for good reason, as the filmmakers skillfully reveal, midseason, that this illusory existence is a fantasy designed to cope with his day-to-day life behind bars.
By Chuck Parker (ADG executive director, “Monk,” “90210”)
Production Designer: Jeffrey Mossa
Jeffrey Mossa, production designer of “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” was tasked with recreating the world of Los Angeles circa 1994-95. Not just any Los Angeles, but the entire world and media circus that was the O.J. Simpson trial. With 133 days of televised testimony, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who hadn’t seen portions the trial or knew of its colorful cast of characters. Mossa and his team, knowing that their subject had received copious news coverage, recreated the period with impeccable detail. The dramatization also took us deeper into the worlds inhabited by O.J., the trial lawyers, and various other personalities. Mossa’s design invited us to share the private worlds of Marcia Clark, Chris Darden, Johnnie Cochran, and Bob Shapiro, among others — worlds we were not privy to in the televised trial. The environments melded beautifully with each other, and each character’s world became a perfect extension of their screen persona.
By Denny Dugally (“Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” “Star Trek Beyond,” “Brothers and Sisters”)
Production Designer: Cat Smith
“Science fiction is the literature of the human species encountering change, whether it arrives via scientific discoveries, technological innovations, natural events, or societal shifts,” writes Chris McKitterick, director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. Therefore, “Transparent” qualifies as science fiction. This is something I learned when I set up their panel for Eagle-Con 2016. As with all science fiction, it’s tricky to design environments for the “social aliens” in “Transparent,” whom we in the audience appreciate as authentic. That’s exactly what Catherine Smith and her team have devoted themselves to on “Transparent.” Like the actors, the writers, and creator Jill Soloway, we believe that these lives and these environments are real representations in their world, nothing clichéd or stereotyped. I’m proud of Catherine Smith, with whom I share a mentor, albeit 20 years apart, from UC Berkeley. It’s “Omnibus” production designer Henry May. Congratulations to you, Cat and to your whole team!
By Mimi Gramatky (Past-president, ADG; “V.I.P.,” “Emily’s Reasons Why Not”)
Production Designer: John Shaffner
Outstanding production design creates spaces that reveal the inner lives of the characters. The script is what characters say to each other or to themselves but, spaces, when in the hands of a talented team of designers, can reveal a great deal about who an individual is, especially when it comes to their quirks and their obsessions. The sets on “The Big Bang Theory,” which is now in its tenth season, are no exception. Every week, John Shaffner’s living rooms reach millions of viewers in their own living rooms. The show’s popularity makes it as iconic as “Friends” was to previous generations. Just as Monica’s living room set the tone and the stage for much of the interaction between characters, such is the case with the masterful environments created by Shaffner, along with set decorator Ann Shea and art director Francois Cherry Cohen. The attention to detail exhibited in the apartments of each of the characters (from action figures to comics to science memorabilia) allows fans to really connect with Sheldon, Penny, Howard, Bernadette, Leonard, and Raj. It makes them truly relatable and authentic. This is a team deserving of acknowledgement for their expertise in creating rich, textured worlds that deepen the audience’s understanding of the characters each time they watch the show.
By James Pearse Connelly (“The Apprentice,” “The Voice,” “Top Chef,” “The Biggest Loser,” “24 Hours of Reality and Live Earth: The World Is Watching”)
Production Designer: Derek McLane
Imagine designing multiple sets, including an exterior 1960s Baltimore street, for a production that is shot live! Quite a daunting task for some, but Derek McLane is becoming the master of this bold challenge. “Hairspray Live!” is the fourth live television musical event both designed by Derek and produced by NBC. The show broadened its horizons by including exterior scenes, shot day and night, along with interior sets on stage. NBC accomplished this by building soundstages right next to the Universal backlot, which provided the period-appropriate exterior facades. The stage sets, which evoke the era, include a record store, a living room, and a 1960s dance stage. The Baltimore street designs embraced a nod to the show’s progenitor and to Derek’s late great muse, with street signage reading “Waters Plumbing” and “Divine Pet Food,” flanked by a neon pink flamingo.
By Dawn Snyder (“Arrested Development,” “Fast & Furious 6,” “Goosebumps”)
Production Designer: Jason Hougaard
In “Hold Up,” chapter two of Beyoncé’s record-breaking visual album “Lemonade,” production designer Jason Hougaard brings to life a woman’s glorious journey from denial to righteous anger. We first find Beyoncé floating in a bedroom submerged underwater, symbolic of the sacrifices she drowned in for an unfaithful spouse. She makes her escape soon enough, stepping out into the streets of New Orleans with a baseball bat branded “Hot Sauce,” intent on transforming the bitter lemons of her pain into a lemonade of sweet destruction. The cool tones of the urban environment dressed with vintage cars, graffiti, and old-fashioned signage contrast with the rich saturation of her golden swirling dress as she crushes car windows, fire hydrants, and security cameras with equal parts glee and grace. The cheeriness of the reggae- tinged song also makes for dissonant juxtaposition with the ensuing chaos and venom of her lyrics. Rage never looked so exuberant.
By Raf Lydon (“Baby Daddy,” “The Biggest Loser”)
Production Designer: Schuyler Telleen
Multi-talented designer Schuyler Telleen takes us on many journeys in this episode of “Portlandia.” He has set up a visual feast by introducing the “BWOW” Band, bringing us to the beach with the “Weirdos,” and by setting the stage for the adventures of a deaf employee and his lost iCharger. My favorite part is the beach encounter with Radu, the Romanian. Why? Because I am actually Romanian and my brother is named Radu! Schuyler art-directed two previous seasons of “Portlandia” and has moved up to production designer for season six. I say multi-talented because in addition to production design, graphic design, and art direction, he is also a successful actor, puppeteer, and voiceover artist. This is Schuyler’s second ADG Awards nomination, and he has three previous Emmy wins for the series. I look forward to seeing what Schuyler has up his sleeve next. I’m sure the best is yet to come!
By Oana Bogdan (“Total Recall,” “Underground,” “Silicon Valley”)
