By Jack Egan
Production designer Stuart Craig will be the next recipient of the lifetime achievement award from the Art Directors Guild and the Cinematic Imagery Award will be bestowed on visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen. The honors, along with the induction into the ADG’s Hall of Fame of five more production designers, will take place Feb. 16 at the ADG’s 12th annual awards dinner at the Beverly Hilton.
Known for his obsessive attention to detail, Craig has worked nearly four decades and has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He won the Oscar for art direction three times — for Gandhi (1982), Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The English Patient (1996) — out of a total of eight nominations. And he has been nominated nine times for a BAFTA award, winning for The Elephant Man (1980) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
Past receipients of the the lifetime achievement award include production designers Ken Adam, Robert Boyle, Henry Bumstead, Harold Michelson and Dean Tavoularis.
The Cinematic Imagery Award is bestowed to an individual whose body of visual effects work is judged to have significantly enhanced the movie-going experience. Over his career Harryhausen advanced visual effects techniques in scores of films including Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1957 ) and Clash of the Titans (1981). He received a special lifetime achievement Oscar in 1992.
The five new entrants to the ADG’s Hall of Fame:
• Edward Carfagno worked on over 100 films, and was known especially for designing 1950s epics. The first of his three Oscars for art direction came for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). The other two were for Julius Caesar (1953) and Ben Hur (1959). In all, he was nominated seven times.
• Stephen Grimes (1927-1988) worked repeatedly with director John Huston on films like The Misfits (1961) and The Night of the Iguana (1964), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He also teamed with director Sidney Pollack, winning an Oscar for Out of Africa (1985) and a nomination for Three Days of the Condor (1975).
• Dale Hennesy (1926-1981) was known for his multigenre expertise. He won an Academy Award for Fantastic Voyage (1966). Other credits include In Like Flint (1967), Sleeper (1973), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Dirty Harry (1971). He received an Oscar nomination for Annie (1982), his last film
• James Trittipo (1928-1971) worked in the theater and television. He was the scenic designer for Broadway’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1972) and also worked on such TV variety shows as The Frank Sinatra Show (1957).
• Lyle Wheeler (1905-1990), a production designer who worked for David O. Selznick, was the recipient of 29 art direction Oscar nominations. In all, he won five Academy Awards — for Gone With the Wind (1939), Anna and the King of Siam (1946), The Robe (1953, The King and I (1956) and Diary of Anne Frank (1959). He created sets for more than 350 movies.
Written by Jack Egan
