Designing Film

Here’s his interview with the Original Prop Blog: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5b...

According to Cantwell, he asked if there was a waiting list and Wright replied, “Not for you.” However, after Wright’s death in 1959, Cantwell made the decision not to attend. Cantwell went on to work for NASA and on 2001: A Space Odyssey before designing for Star Wars…

One of Cantwell’s conceptual architectural models.

Cantwell’s first dream was to study architecture with Wright so personally presented his work at Taliesin. Wright was impressed enough with his work to invite him to join the Taliesin Fellowship. Pictured here is one of Cantwell’s architectural conceptual models…

Cantwell discusses his prototype Y-Wing design with George Lucas

Colin Cantwell, concept designer of so many iconic Star Wars vehicles initially wanted to be an architect. He was accepted to study at Taliesin and Taliesin West by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright…

Production Designer Rick Carter on using collage; “It's all just about the process of visualizing. It's not so much a recreation, but a meditation on how I'm feeling at that moment and then what does that lead to…”

Some of his early work for Back to the Future Part II (1989).

Article from @AmericanCine: https://theasc.com/articles/baraka-a-world-beyond-words

Fricke says, "I look at the theater as a temple. The audience sits in the dark with their senses alert and their defenses down. It is the perfect opportunity to bypass the viewers' personalities and address a life-affirming message to their inner beings."

Review by @ebertchicago: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-baraka-1993

Baraka (1992). Directed/Cinematography by Ron Fricke. Roger Ebert wrote, “If man sends another Voyager to the distant stars and it can carry only one film on board, that film might be Baraka."

Matte paintings by Rocco Gioffre for Gremlins (1984).

This was something I’d been thinking about recently- I think it’s Williams using the two note call children universally use to sing out to their parents (Mom-my). There was a documentary on this I saw years ago- trying to find it.

Ralph McQuarrie's 1994 Lucasfilm Christmas Card of Jawas enjoying some holiday gift giving.

Early Babu Frik concept art by Luke Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

Krypto the Superdog’s first appearance in March, 1955.

Pre-production resin prototype Jetsam Fix-It model by the Industrial Light & Magic workshop for Batteries Not Included (1987).

Happy Birthday, Steven Spielberg!

Episode 3 of Skeleton Crew.

It was wild to recognize Jupiter’s cloud patterns in Andor.

Layout design of a view of Yubaba’s Bathhouse for Spirited Away [千と千尋の神隠し] (2001).

Here’s a John Neill illustration from 1907 for reference.

Tik-Tok from Return to Oz (1985). Three versions were built of the rotund, wind-up robot for the film by Lyle Conway. Production designer Norman Reynolds based the design on John Neill’s original illustrations for Ozma of Oz (1907) by L. Frank Baum.

Le Château des Pyrénées (1959) by René Magritte and 天空の城ラピュタ [Laputa: Castle in the Sky] (1986) by Hayao Miyazaki.

A panel from The Repairmen (1996) by Mœbius.

Set development by Rodolfo Damaggio for Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017).

It’s relatively recent- from around 2021. Gary Whitta was very close to rebooting the film.

Cinematographer Dean Cundey chats with the @ilmvfx.bsky.social Lighter Darker Podcast: youtu.be/BZP4NVdfzo4?...

Concept art by Matt Allsopp for an unmade reboot of The Last Starfighter (1984).

This amazing thread on The RPF has much more detailed information and images about the models including further comments from Duncan himself:
www.therpf.com/forums/threa...

"Once the drawings were approved by George, they were handed off to me to do a quick, rough, small model in foam and cardboard. After the rough models were approved, I would make the finished model. But even then the design might keep evolving.”

"George would talk about what it wanted to generally look like, what it did and how it should "feel". Then Doug and/or other artists would draw sketches to flesh out the design. Mostly the drawings were simple sketches, sometimes with close-up sketches of critical detail areas."

Lucas meeting with Chiang in early 1997: