Production Designers Paul Austerberry and Santo Loquasto

Produced By

On this special episode, recorded at the 2017 Produced By: New York conference, production designers Paul Austerberry (The Shape of Water, Len and Company, Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and Santo Loquasto (Wonder Wheel, Blue Jasmine, Bullets Over Broadway) talk about how they do what they do.

About Paul Austerberry

Paul is the production designer on Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed feature film The Shape of Water starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer. The film recently won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Paul studied Architecture at Carleton University in Ottawa. Following graduation, he worked for two years as an architect designing small commercial and residential projects before segueing into design for film. Paul has designed extensively for feature film and television most recently developing the designs for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Fantastic Voyage. Other recent credits include Shut In starring Naomi Watts, Len and Company starring Rhys Ifans, Pompeii starring Kit Harington and Kiefer Sutherland, the international feature Libertador starring Edgar Ramirez, Deadfall starring Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde, The Three Musketeers starring Logan Lerman, Orlando Bloom and Christoph Waltz, Twilight Saga: Eclipse starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, Amelia starring Hilary Swank and Deathrace, starring Jason Statham. His additional credits as production designer include such features as 30 Days of Night, starring Josh Hartnett, Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas, Assault on Precinct 13, starring Ethan Hawke and Lawrence Fishbourne, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, starring Milla Jovovich, Highwaymen, starring James Caviezel, The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt, Exit Wounds, starring Steven Seagal, the Canadian feature Men With Brooms and Mercy with Ellen Barkin and Julian Sands. As art director, Austerberry’s credits include X-Men, Forever Mine, The Corrupter, Half Baked, The Real Blonde, Extreme Measures, Harriet the Spy and Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy.

He was a Canadian Screen Award winner for Achievement in Art Direction / Production design for his work designing Pompeii and for television, he was awarded a Canadian Gemini for his work designing the musical special Inspired by Bach.

As a child Paul travelled extensively with his parents, including three years of living in Uganda. Travel inspires him as film has taken him to numerous locations around the world. Paul is based in Toronto.

About Santo Loquasto

Santo Loquasto a designer for theatre, film, dance and opera. He has received four Tony Awards and has been nominated 21 times. He has collaborated with Woody Allen on 30 films, including costume design for Zelig and production design for Radio Days and Bullets Over Broadway, for which he received Academy Award® nominations. He was nominated for awards for “Excellence in Production Design” from the Art Directors Guild for Café Society and Blue Jasmine.

Loquasto’s recent designs on Broadway include Hello, Dolly!, Shuffle Along, A Delicate Balance, Bullets Over Broadway, Fences, Wit, and The Assembled Parties. He received the Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration in 2002, was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2004, received the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2006 and the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007, and the Gaudium Award in 2013.

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