Promotional Information

"Dick Sylbert was arguably the most gifted production designer of his generation. When he died, he left the kernel of a memoir, which has been used as the basis for this riveting account of his life in the movies." -- Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N'Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments Sylvia Townsend 1. Thoughts on Production Design Richard Sylbert 2. Introduction to Richard Sylbert Sylvia Townsend 3. New York in the 1950s and William Cameron Menzies Richard Sylbert 4. A Chance to Design a Feature Film in Town Richard Sylbert 5. Baby Doll Richard Sylbert 6. The Fugitive Kind Richard Sylbert 7. A Face in the Crowd Richard Sylbert 8. Long Day's Journey into Night Richard Sylbert 9. The Manchurian Candidate Richard Sylbert 10. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Richard Sylbert 11. The Graduate Richard Sylbert 12. Rosemary's Baby Sylvia Townsend 13. Catch-22 Sylvia Townsend 14. The World of the 1970s Richard Sylbert 15. Carnal Knowledge Richard Sylbert 16. Chinatown Richard Sylbert 17. Shampoo Sylvia Townsend 18. Reds Sylvia Townsend 19. The Cotton Club Sylvia Townsend 20. Tequila Sunrise Sylvia Townsend 21. Dick Tracy Sylvia Townsend 22. Carlito's Way Sylvia Townsend 23. My Best Friend's Wedding Sylvia Townsend Afterword Sharmagne Leland-St. John-Sylbert Notes Index Photo essay follows

About the Author

Richard Sylbert was an Academy Award-winning production designer. His credits include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Reds, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, The Cotton Club, and Dick Tracy. Sylvia Townsend is an editor and writer whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times. She developed an interest the film industry in the late 1970s, when she worked as an intern for The Hollywood Reporter. Sharmagne Leland-St. John-Sylbert is a poet, concert performer, lyricist, artist, and filmmaker. She has worked as an actress, production designer, and screenwriter, and is Editor-in-Chief of the poetry e-zine Quill and Parchment.com. She is author of Unsung Songs and Silver Tears and Time.

Reviews

This intimate portrait is composed of Sylbert's unfinished memoirs augmented by interviews with collaborators and leading directors including Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols, Roman Polanski, and Warren Beatty. Aficionados will enjoy the candid observations about this talented, intellectual, often tempestuous designer and the off-camera stories of the making of these films. The book is at its best when Sylbert discusses his designs in terms of metaphor, stylistic structure, restricted color palettes, and authenticity of details….Extensive collections serving upper-division undergraduates and above.
*Choice*

Sylbert was the late (d. 2002) Academy Award-winning production designer for such films as Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, The Graduate, Rosemary's Baby, and Chinatown. At his wife's request, Hollywood writer/editor Townsend edited his unfinished memoir in the third person. Included are his thoughts on production design and art direction, and her assessment of his contributions which went beyond design, and quirks. The book includes photos and drawings of his film sets, and some character- revealing anecdotes by his wife, Sharmagne Leland-St. John- Sylbert.
*Reference & Research Book News*

When director Roman Polanski was looking for the perfect location for Rosemary's Baby, production-designer extraordinaire Richard Sylbert immediately suggested The Dakota, a classy Upper West Side apartment building. In Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist (Praeger), Oscar-winner Sylbert (posthumously co-authored by Sylvia Townsend, who expanded his memoir) neatly answers the question, What does a production designer do? Townsend also interviewed some of his famous collaborators, such as Francis Ford Coppola and Warren Beatty, to garner a behind-the-scenes portrait of a cinematic visionary. Considering the films Sylbert worked on, such as The Graduate, Reds, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the exceptional Chinatown, there isn't a better candidate to explain why design is so critical to a films success.
*Encore: The Performing Arts Magazine*

[A] finely written history and an elegant tribute to a great man….[a] fascinating ride through the Hollywood glory days of the ''60s, '70s and early '80s--a candid, pungent, wonderfully detailed tour.
*Hollywood Elsewhere*