From ‘Conclave’ to ‘The Brutalist,’ Art Directors Guild President Breaks Down Her Favorite Sets

As recently as 2020, only 27.5% of production designers in the Art Directors Guild were women.

What a difference five years makes. That number has increased, according to the guild’s president Dina Lipton. “I feel seeing more women nominated each year is exciting,” Lipton says. “We also have lots of young people coming out of school, specifically studying production design, and most of them are women.” Furthermore, for the first time, the guild has an all-female executive board.

This year, two women are nominated at the Oscars for production design: Suzie Davies for “Conclave” and Judy Becker for “The Brutalist.”

With the Art Directors Guild set to hand out their top prizes on Feb. 15, Lipton takes a look at the artistry and vision behind the five Art Directors Guild nominees who overlap with Oscar.

“The Brutalist” – Judy Becker

“Judy’s got this big job ahead of her with very little money, and she’s doing a film about an architect.  What I thought was super brilliant about this project was her use of the scale model of the actual Institute, and how they did that seamlessly. Shooting that miniature to make us feel like we were in that giant space was pretty phenomenal.

“Her use of the locations in Budapest nailed it. She brought us back to 1950s Philadelphia. It’s old-school movie magic.

“The library set was the piece de resistance.”

“Conclave” – Suzie Davies

“It’s funny that ‘Conclave’ is in the contemporary category. It is contemporary, but you feel like you’re in this sacred historical place. What I loved about the design and the cinematography of this film was all of those long hallways that felt endless. I love the use of red, mainly in the costumes, but I felt it was in every single frame of the film and it was perfect.

“Suzie built the Sistine Chapel in 10 weeks, and it’s crazy. I did a TV show in 10 weeks, so it’s crazy.”

“Dune: Part Two” – Patrice Vermette

“Talk about a monumental task of production design. The number of sets on this were twice as many as the first one.

“They were so huge, and it was mind-blowing. They wanted to make the sets so big, but the different worlds and sets. 

“The Cave of Birds set when Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) arrives on Arrakis is a personal favorite. They were live fingerprints and very symmetrical.

“When you go into the War room, you feel the weight of everything. The wind traps were so great too – they look like spiders.”

“Nosferatu” – Craig Lathrop

“The design of that film is extraordinary because it was almost too real. It was so real that it was frightening.  Every single detail in that film is great, right down to the sagging buildings – they’re leaning.

“Craig built everything on a backlot and you really believe you’re in this historic town. It was really hard to hear out of my head.

“The decay with the castle and the frescos in the monastery were extraordinary. There were so many great sets, and there isn’t just one thing. I also loved the candlelight and having to design knowing it’s going to be in low light. The colors of the walls had to be bright enough so that under that low light, they didn’t just disappear. It was stunningly beautiful.”

“Wicked” – Nathan Crowley

“This is the year of libraries.

“I’m a fan of musicals, but it must be nerve-wracking to take on a film like that. We all know these iconic images, and we have to make this world that has to feel like Oz. I love the color, the whimsy and the architectural style that Nathan put together. It looked seamless, but how he combined architectural styles from all different parts of the world was beautiful.

“He created Shiz and that sequence is unbelievable. Also, they didn’t use a lot of visual effects on this film and so much of it was practical, so that’s a production designer’s dream. I don’t have many words for “Wicked” it’s just beautiful.”