Denis Olsen, prolific artist on movies, television, theater and commercials, is set to receive the Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Annual “Excellence in Production Design” Awards on Saturday, February 1, 2020, returning this year to the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown in the Wilshire Grand Ballroom. This is the second of four Lifetime Achievement Awards to be announced by the Art Directors Guild.
“I am very fortunate to have known and worked with Denis for several decades. He is a wonderfully talented and very interesting man,” said Patrick DeGreves, Scenic, Title & Graphic Artists Council chair.
Olsen began his career as an art director at KCOP (Channel 13) in L.A. He worked for various studios and other entertainment companies for more than 40 years including Superior Backings as a scenic and sign painter, The Walt Disney Studios in entertainment development, Warner Bros. Studios in its scenic department and J.C. Backings Corp. as the lead man on backdrops and special artwork for movies, television, theater and commercials. Olsen’s career also included countless productions at 20th Century Fox, MGM Studios, KNXT and CBS-TV.
His numerous film credits include Ghostbusters, Rocky 2 & 3, The Muppet Movie, Romancing the Stone, Mr. Mom, Star Trek 2 & 3, Johnny Dangerously and Poltergeist. His TV credits include All in the Family, Soap, Three’s Company, One Day at a Time, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Fame. In addition to his set work on the Emmys® and the Oscars®, Olsen’s talents have graced several television variety shows including The Carol Burnett Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Smothers Bros. Show, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and Cher. He also worked on projects for Disney World and Disneyland, Epcot, Tokyo Disneyland, Marineland, Universal Studios Tours and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Olsen is credited for creating some of the stunning Las Vegas show sets including the MGM Grand stage, Folies Bergère, David Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy.
Olsen was curator at the ADG’s Gallery 800 in North Hollywood, retiring in 2017. He created over 40 art exhibits highlighting personal artwork of members of the ADG. He also served on the ADG Executive Board for several years.
The ADG Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented to outstanding individuals in each of the guild’s four crafts. As previously announced, Joe Alves will receive the ADG Lifetime Achievement Award from the Production Designers and Art Directors Council. The honorees for the Set Designers and Model Makers, and Illustrators and Matte Artists will be announced shortly.
The producer of this year’s ADG Awards is production designer Scott Moses, ADG. Online nomination voting will be held November 18–December 6, 2019. Nominations will be announced December 9, 2019. Online balloting will be held December 18, 2019–January 30, 2020 and winners will be announced at the dinner ceremony on Saturday, February 1, 2020. ADG Awards are open only to productions when made within the U.S. by producer’s signatory to the IATSE agreement. Foreign entries are acceptable without restrictions.
Additional honorees for Lifetime Achievement, Cinematic Imagery and new inductees into the Guild’s Hall of Fame will be announced at a later date.
AP sues 3 Trump administration officials, citing freedom of speech
The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists.
The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech — in this case refusing to change its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order.
"The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government," the AP said in its lawsuit, which names White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"This targeted attack on the AP's editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment," the news agency said. "This court should remedy it immediately."
In stopping the AP from attending press events at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, or flying on Air Force One in the agency's customary spot, the Trump team directly cited the AP's decision not to fully follow the president's renaming.
"We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America," Trump said Tuesday.
This week, about 40 news organizations signed onto a letter organized by the White House Correspondents Association, urging the White House to reverse its policy against the AP.
Read More