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David Rockwell Hits Hollywood (Again)

This year's set, which exudes Hollywood glamour, features a white, three-sided cyclorama with rotating, cast-metal screens.

Edie Cohen -- Interior Design, 2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM

David Rockwell Group 2010 Academy Awards Set Design Kodak Theatre

To anyone who eats, travels, or shops, David Rockwell’s project list is legion: Nobu restaurants, W and Carlton hotels, Miami Beach’s Canyon Ranch, Mauboussin, and the Jet Blue T5 Terminal at JFK airport are but a few. On IMDB, (the Internet Movie Data Base), credits are considerably less, but still packed with star-power prestige: production design for the 2009 Academy Awards, art direction for Team America: World Police, and the stage set for Hairspray. March 7 will show the latest entry, design of this year’s Oscar presentations. We caught up with Rockwell at the Los Angeles Kodak Theatre where he provided a preview for the international press.

Who wouldn’t want to design the Academy Awards set? How did the first commission come about?

I got a call from someone asking if I’d meet with Bill Condon [executive producer of the 81st Academy Awards]. I met with him. It was totally unexpected and out of the blue.

How do you start thinking about the design?

I always want story points on which to base my design. Part of the inspiration comes as a continuation of last year, which was about community and intimacy. So, we’re keeping the reconfigured seating to emphasize community between the performers and audience. The other piece is the crystal curtain, a framing device made from 92,000 Swarovski crystals in platinum, bronze, and smoky topaz.

Tell us about this year’s set.

First, because this year’s presenters, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, are both funny, the producers wanted a fast-paced show with energy and quicker sets. They wanted more physical transformations and multiple locations. The idea is being immersed in movies, so we’re bringing in a new vocabulary integrating light and movement.

David Rockwell Group 2010 Academy Awards Set Design Kodak Theatre

So what will the set look like?

Last year we used a dark palette. This year, it’s all white—the floor and a three-sided cyclorama, which is made of 8-foot by 40-foot columns of stretched fabric.

In the center is a 30-foot turntable, while on each side is one of 16 feet. Screens, which can move around and enclose presenters, are made of cast metal, reminding me of brise soleils. There’s also a video screen of LEDs.

The final element is mirror. We used it on low walls in the front to reflect the audience. Then, there’s a large, five-piece set like vertical Venetian blinds. We can use one, two, or five pieces to reflect the performers. The mirror emphasizes profiles and the fashions.

Compare ephemeral set design with permanent interiors.

I like the variety. In fact, theater was part of my reference for architecture long before I actually did theater. I always strive for a design that brings people together and finds the unique DNA of a project. There’s always a story.

Which movie nominees are your favorites?

I love them all.

What’s on your horizon in the entertainment realm?

A show at the Vivian Beaumont, Free Man of Color by John Guare and directed by George Wolfe, and Catch Me If You Can [as a show] directed by Jack O’ Brien.No movies at current. My Imagination Playground opens in July. I’ve been working on it for almost five years.

Renderings courtesy of the Rockell Group.