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    Art Directors Guild to induct production designer Lawrence G. Paull into ADG Hall of Fame

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments957 Views
    Lawrence G. Paull
    LOS ANGELES --

    The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) will bestow its Hall of Fame Honor on legendary production designer Lawrence G. Paull, who passed away in 2019. 

    The announcement was made by award show producers Michael Allen Glover, ADG and Megan Elizabeth Bell, ADG. 

    Paull will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the 28th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which will be held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, Ovation Hollywood on Feb. 10, 2024.

    Nominated for an Academy Award for his production design on the visually groundbreaking film Blade Runner, Paull has been an influence felt in films to this day. He also won the BAFTA award for production design for the film. Paull created beautifully designed spaces for Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone, City Slickers, Harlem Nights and Escape from L.A. 

    Following his retirement, Paull created the curricula for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Production Design for both Chapman University and the American Film Institute.

    “The groundbreaking work of Lawrence Paull continues to be a great inspiration for the many members of the ADG and storytellers throughout the industry,” said ADG president Nelson Coates. 

    “Recognizing his contribution to narrative visual storytelling and his body of work will be a highlight at our annual awards ceremony.”

    The Hall of Fame award will be presented alongside other Excellence in Production Design Awards during the ceremony. 

    Nominees for the ADG Awards will be announced on Jan. 9, 2024.

    Tags:ADG AwardsADG Hall of FameArt Directors GuildLawrence G. Paull



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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