A year after an Oscars that was marred by outrage over the decision to present eight categories in advance of the live telecast, the 95th Academy Awards received high marks from members.
Co-production designers Alana Billingsley and Misty Buckley said that both their work and the presentation itself were about “celebrat[ing] film,” including “bringing life to the crafts.”
Billingsley (an Emmy winner for the production design of the Academy Awards in 2020 and 2021) and Buckley talked with The Hollywood Reporter about their approach to production designing the Dolby Theatre for the Oscars in March.
What was the brief when you started to plan the 2023 ceremony?
MISTY BUCKLEY The brief that we were given was to design a set that really celebrates film — both the experience of cinema and the talent that makes cinema what it is. And there were several films made last year that celebrated cinema and the craft of filmmaking, so we really brought our attention to the experience and the art of cinema. We were inspired by classic movie houses and theaters and created a sort of vibrant gathering space with classic motifs, but we had modern canvases. It was essentially a love letter to cinema.
ALANA BILLINGSLEY We looked for architectural inspiration in social salons and gathering spaces, but also very much in classic movie houses. The architecture of some of the great movie houses — internationally, but also right here at home in Los Angeles — were purpose-built gathering rooms to transport you out of everyday life and take you on a journey just by entering the room.
Those grand movie palaces were a key source of inspiration for us. We tried to speak to that and honor that in some slightly obvious ways — like by having those marquees on both sides [of the stage] that gave us an opportunity to showcase exactly what award we were giving or who the winner might be — but also in subtler ways: by incorporating some architectural elements that you might see in one of those grand movie theaters, like some carved relief sunburst patterns and some classic art deco references.
It was important to Misty and me to make the Dolby itself into one of those palaces, and not forget where we are and that this is the traditional home of the Oscars. So rather than trying to re-create any one theater, it was about taking those inspirations and making the Dolby feel as if it were conceived in almost a different time, or with that same idea.
How would you describe the production design for the RRR musical number featuring the Oscar-winning song “Naatu Naatu”?
BILLINGSLEY It gave us so much to work with; it was a feast. But I think the set’s job was to stand back and let the dance take center stage. It was directly inspired by the movie. We weren’t trying to tell a different story, we were really trying to get out of the way and let that moment from the movie truly come to life in person on the stage. What you see behind [the performers] is the palace that the movie was filmed in front of — it was a virtual set, supported by some mid-stage elements, some hedges and benches that just gave some landing points for the choreography.
After the 2022 ceremony, I assume part of your discussions surrounded the way in which the crafts categories were handled this year.
BUCKLEY We wanted to really give them their moment and [highlight] their importance in the whole filmmaking experience. That was a really joyful thing to do because we created these little vignettes where you could get an insight into the world of the different crafts.
Many members told me they liked the way in which those categories were presented. For instance, in the editing segment, you had an actor featured with a Moviola and Taylor Joy Mason, who is an editor, seated at an Avid.
BILLINGSLEY That was part of the brief from a show-conception level: celebrating all of the different awards equally and bringing life to the crafts. We really had some fun diving in and coming up with those ideas. Things like costume design lend themselves maybe a little more naturally to being presented onstage. We solicited each nominated costume designer and invited them to showcase their work. Each nominated show had two costumes.
In editing, the fun that we had, and the challenge, was: How do we represent the concept without trying to explain exactly what editing is? The question we asked ourselves is: When was the first time this award was given out? And what piece of equipment might have been relevant to the craft at that time, versus what piece of equipment is relevant to the craft now? We were in some discussions with the [Academy] Museum, just getting their take on the historic accuracy, and we debated, like, should we bring in a flatbed also? How many different pieces of equipment do we need to tell the story effectively? We ended up with a past system — a Moviola from a prop shop in town that specializes in historically accurate prop rentals — and a current [tool, a Media Composer editing system provided by Avid].
Interview edited for length and clarity.
This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Source: Hollywood
