Patrizia von Brandenstein
Encyclopedia
Patrizia von Brandenstein (born 15 April, 1943) is an American production designer
. She was the first woman to win an Academy Award for production design and has been nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction
. She has shown versatility in creating sets for both lavish historical films and glossy contemporary fare.
She was born in Arizona to Russian emigrant parents. Her education abroad closed with two years as an apprentice at the famed Comédie Française. She started with the off-Broadway scene of 1960s New York at the Actors Studio
and La MaMa
as a seamstress, prop maker and scene painter. 1966 saw the real start of her career in design with an eight-year stay creating costumes and sets at the American Conservatory Theater
in San Francisco under William Ball. She also met future husband and fellow production designer Stuart Wurtzel
. She has designed movies in a wide range of subjects, styles, and periods: from the low-budget, break-dancing musical Beat Street
to the expensive plutonium-plant melodrama Silkwood
.
Won
Nominated
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
. She was the first woman to win an Academy Award for production design and has been nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
. She has shown versatility in creating sets for both lavish historical films and glossy contemporary fare.
She was born in Arizona to Russian emigrant parents. Her education abroad closed with two years as an apprentice at the famed Comédie Française. She started with the off-Broadway scene of 1960s New York at the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
and La MaMa
La Mama
La Mama may refer to:* La Mama - a German disco group* La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in East Village, Manhattan, New York City, founded 1961* La Mama Theatre in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, founded 1967...
as a seamstress, prop maker and scene painter. 1966 saw the real start of her career in design with an eight-year stay creating costumes and sets at the American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
in San Francisco under William Ball. She also met future husband and fellow production designer Stuart Wurtzel
Stuart Wurtzel
Stuart Wurtzel is an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Hannah and Her Sisters.-External links:...
. She has designed movies in a wide range of subjects, styles, and periods: from the low-budget, break-dancing musical Beat Street
Beat Street
Beat Street is a 1984 drama film, following Wild Style in featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s; breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti.-Plot:...
to the expensive plutonium-plant melodrama Silkwood
Silkwood
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the true-life story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she...
.
Selected filmography
Brandenstein has won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and has been nominated for two more:Won
- AmadeusAmadeus (film)Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
(1984)
Nominated
- RagtimeRagtime (film)Ragtime is a 1981 American film based on the historical novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. The action takes place in and around New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City in the first decade of the 1900s, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film was...
(1981) - The Untouchables (1987)