Jeannine Oppewall
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
A former curator and researcher, Jeannine Oppewall (sometimes credited as Jeannine Claudia Oppewall) has been working as a production designer since the early 1980s. Born in Massachusetts, she studied medieval studies at Bryn Mawr. After graduating, Oppewall worked for famed American designer Charles Eames, eventually handling post-production and distribution work on the over 100 films Eames and his wife Ray produced between 1950 and 1982. Additionally, she assisted in the creation and organization of museum exhibits and in the actual designs for architecture and furniture.
Oppewall entered the film industry in the late 1970s as a visual consultant to production designer Paul Sylbert on two Paul Schrader films, "Blue Collar" (1978) and "Hardcore" (1979). With "My Bodyguard" (1980), she began to work on set designs rising to production designer on "Tender Mercies" (1982), which recreated contemporary Texas. Oppewall went on to create designs for a number of fine films, notably the ranch settings for "Desert Hearts" (1985), Depression-era Albany in "Ironweed" (1987) and the contemporary middle-class milieu of "White Palace" (1990). For "School Ties" (1992), she re-created the rarefied world of a prep school in the 50s while "The Bridges of Madison County" (1995) required her to design an Iowa farmhouse and the famed bridges of the title. "L.A. Confidential" (1997) marked her most auspicious assignment to date. The meticulous design of 50s Hollywood, from its soundstages to a police station, from the mansion of a wealthy businessman to the poorhouses of minorities, earned her a richly deserved Oscar nomination. The following year, she received another Academy Award nod for her stellar work creating a 1950s TV sitcom world that gradually moves from black-and-white to color in "Pleasantville."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Art Director (Feature Film)
Art Department (Feature Film)
Production Designer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1980
First credit as set designer "My Bodyguard"
1982
Served as production designer on "Tender Mercies"
1987
Created the production design for "Ironweed"
1993
Designed the Showtime movie "The Wrong Man"
1995
Worked as Production Designer on "The Bridges of Madison County," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood and Meryl Streep
1997
Earned Academy Award nomination for her work on "L.A. Confidential"
1998
Earned praise for her 1950s period work in "Pleasantville"; earned Academy Award nomination
1999
Production Designer for the film "Snow Falling on Cedars"
2000
Served as Production Designer for "Wonder Boys"
2002
Worked as Production Designer on the set of "The Sum of All Fears" and "Catch Me If You Can"
2003
Earned an Academy Award nomination for her work as an Art Director for the film "Seabiscuit"
2006
Earned an Oscar nomination for her work as an Art Director on "The Good Shepherd"
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