The Production Designers behind the 23 James Bond films will be honored with the prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award from the Art Directors Guild Excellence In Production Design Awards Presented by BMW, it was announced today by John Shaffner, ADG Council Chair, Producers Greg Grande and Raf Lydon. Set for February 2, 2013, the ceremony will honor 50 years of the longest running franchise in film history for its visionary and innovative design.
The Cinematic Imagery Award will go to production designers Sir Ken Adam, Peter Lamont, Allan Cameron and Dennis Gassner.
“For 50 years the Bond films have entertained and inspired us with their audacious sense of style, imagination and sophistication. Their visual mastery of detail are to design what “shaken not stirred” is to the creation of the perfect dry Martini!” Shaffner stated.
The ADG’s Cinematic Imagery Award is given to those whose body of work in the film industry has richly enhanced the visual aspects of the movie-going experience. Previous recipients have been the principal team behind the Harry Potter films, Bill Taylor, Syd Dutton, Warren Beatty, Allen Daviau, Clint Eastwood, Blake Edwards, Terry Gilliam, Ray Harryhausen, Norman Jewison, John Lasseter, George Lucas, Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg, Robert S. Wise and Zhang Yimou.
About Honored Bond Production Designers:
SIR KEN ADAM
Production Designer, Sir Ken Adam, set the standard for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s. Adam made his name with his innovative, semi-futuristic sets for the James Bond films such as “Dr. No” (1962), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965), “You Only Live Twice” (1967), “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), and “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), whose supertanker set required the building of the largest sound stage in the world. His last Bond film was “Moonraker” (1979). In 1964, Adam won the British Film Academy Award® for “Dr. Strangelove.” In 1975, he won the Academy Award® for Best Art Direction for his re-creation of 18th century England in the non-Bond film “Barry Lyndon.” In 1994, he won the Academy Award® for Best Art Direction for the second time with “The Madness of King George.”
PETER LAMONT
Production Designer, Peter Lamont, is most famous for working on eighteen James Bond films. Throughout his nearly 60-year career, he has worked as an Art Director, Set Designer, as well as Set Decorator. Lamont has been nominated for three Academy Awards® for his work on “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971), “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), and “Aliens” (1986). He was nominated a fourth time and won for “Titanic” (1997). The Bond films he has worked on include “Goldfinger” (1964) – uncredited draftsman; “Thunderball” (1965), “You Only Live Twice” (1967) as Assistant Art Director; “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969) and “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971) as the Set Decorator; “Live and Let Die” (1973), “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974) as Co-Art Director; “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979) as Visual Effects and Art Director; “For Your Eyes Only” (1981),”Octopussy” (1983), “A View to a Kill” (1985), “The Living Daylights” (1987), “Licence To Kill” (1989), “Golden Eye” (1995), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999), “Die Another Day” (2002), and “Casino Royale” (2006) as the Production Designer.
ALLAN CAMERON
Production Designer, Allan Cameron, designed the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), which was the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Cameron’s credits include “The Mummy” (1999), “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), “Van Helsing” (2004), and “Angels & Demons” (2009). He was nominated for the Art Directors Guild Award in 2007 for “The Da Vinci Code” and again in 2010 for “Angels & Demons.” He was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for his work as the Production Designer for the film “1984.”
DENNIS GASSNER
Dennis Gassner is one of cinema’s foremost Production Designers boasting a career spanning over 25 years. Gassner started his career working in the art department on Apocalypse Now (1979), he was fortunate enough to work closely with Francis Ford Coppola and Production Designer Dean Tavoularis at Zoetrope Studios.
Today, Gassner’s creative abilities are consistently applauded by both the American Academy® and the British Association of Film and Television Arts. In 1991, he won the Oscar® for ‘Best Production Design’ on “Bugsy” starring Warren Beatty and Annette Bening and was nominated the same year for his work on the Coen brothers’ “Barton Fink.” He also won BAFTA awards for Sam Mendes’ “Road To Perdition” (2002) and Peter Weir’s “The Truman Show” (1998) and was BAFTA nominated for Production Design on Tim Burton’s “Big Fish” (2003). His work on the fantasy thriller “The Golden Compass” (2007) earned him an Oscar® nomination. Gassner returns to the Bond team after having worked on “Quantum Of Solace” in 2008.
Nominations for this year’s ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards Presented by BMW will be announced on January 3, 2013. The ADG will present winners in nine competitive categories for theatrical films, television productions, commercials and music videos on February 2, 2013. Jonathan Frakes will be awarding Herman Zimmerman with the Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by BMW. Hall of Fame inductees are Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald and Edward S. Stephenson. Paula Poundstone will host this year’s ADG Awards for the fourth consecutive year.
ADG Awards are open only to productions, when made within the U.S., by producers signatory to the IATSE agreement. Foreign entries are acceptable without restrictions.
Presentation and Lifetime Achievement sponsor is BMW. The gold sponsor is Fox Studios Productions Services and silver sponsors are Astek Inc./On Air Design, HBO, The Golden Oak Ranch, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities and WME. Media sponsors are The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, and SHOOT.
Fifty years of images from James Bond films can be found in a recently published story in Architectural Digest.
About the Art Directors Guild
The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents nearly 2,000 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, and Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; and Set Designers and Model Makers. Established in 1937, ADG’s ongoing activities include a Film Society; an annual Awards Banquet, a creative/technology community (5D: The Future of Immersive Design) and Membership Directory; a bimonthly craft magazine (Perspective); and extensive technology-training programs, creative workshops and craft and art exhibitions. The Guild’s Online Directory/Website Resource is at www.adg.org. Follow ADG on Twitter.
EON PRODUCTIONS
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with MGM, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company, which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-three films produced since 1962. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.
About the BMW Group
The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI, Husqvarna Motorcycles and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 29 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2011, the BMW Group sold about 1.67 million cars and more than 113,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2011 was euro 7.38 billion on revenues amounting to euro 68.82 billion. At 31 December 2011, the BMW Group had a workforce of approximately 100,000 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years. www.bmwgroup.com
