By Jack EganAt the 10th annual Art Directors Guild Awards for Excellence in Production Design, the winners for feature films were John Myhre for Memoirs of a Geisha and David J. Bomba for Walk the Line.Myhre won for best work in the period or fantasy feature film category for his sumptuously grand recreation of the Japanese floating world of the geisha. His team included supervising art director Tomas Voth, art director Patrick Sullivan and assistant art director Greg Berry.Bomba was honored in the contemporary category for his depiction of the hardscrabble and high-voltage ’50s and ’60s music scene that gave rise to country superstar Johnny Cash. His art directors were Rob Simons and John Jensen.The award for best production design on an episode of a multiple camera television series went to Mad TV production designer John Sabato. For a single-camera series the winner was Joseph Bennett for Rome “Episode 1”. Stuart Wurtzel was honored for his work on Empire Falls in the television movie or miniseries category. And production designer Roy Christopher got the nod in the awards show, variety or musical special category for his production design for The 77th Annual Academy Awards. Jeremy Reed was awarded in the commercial/promotional film category for his production design for Bud Light’s “Headless Horseman” ad.Long on ceremony, perhaps because it was the ADG’s 10th anniversary, the gala held at the Beverly Hilton on February 11 honored a number of the profession’s pioneers and patrons. A special award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery was given to director Steven Spielberg. A Lifetime Achievement Award went to production designer John B. Mansbridge. Ronald V. Strang won a Career Achievement Award for Scenic Arts. And nonagenarian art director Robert Boyle elegantly introduced the five new entrants to the ADG Hall of Fame: John Box, Hans Dreier, Cedric Gibbons, Jan Scott, and Alexander Trauner—all of whom he had known personally. Scott is the first female inductee.
Written by Jack Egan
