J. Michael Riva
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
It was inevitable that J Michael Riva would end up in show business. The grandson of actress Marlene Dietrich and film editor Rudolph Sieber and the son of actress-author Maria Riva and art director William Riva, he was raised in NYC where he observed his famous relatives at work in theater, film and TV. After a European education, Riva returned to the USA and enrolled at UCLA. Dropping out to pursue a career in production design, he apprenticed with Jackson DeGoiva in the 1970s. By mid-decade, Riva had risen from assistant to art director on the silly sequel "Ilse, Harem Keeper of the Oil Shieks" (1975). He worked with Toby Rafelson on the tasteful production design for "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" (1977). Through this association, he was hired to design the prison setting for "Brubaker" (1980), starring Robert Redford. Redford, in turn, tapped Riva to create the tony, emotionally sterile world of "Ordinary People" (also 1980).
Oliver Stone hired Riva to create the world depicted in his schlocky horror film "The Hand" (1981). He fared better creating the quirky, subterranean world of "The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai: Across the 8th Dimension" (1984), the nightclubs and baseball fields of Hal Ashby's "The Slugger's Wife" (1985) and the dual suburban and cavernous worlds of Richard Donner's "The Goonies" (also 1985). For Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" (1985), Riva created the detailed Southern period settings that spanned forty-years and shared in an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction-Set Design. Subsequently, he designed the contemporary Los Angeles of Donner's "Lethal Weapon" (1987) and its first sequel "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989) as well as the past, present and future world inhabited by a NYC TV executive (Bill Murray) in "Scrooged" (1988), a contemporary version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Riva has collaborated with Rob Reiner on the military courtroom drama "A Few Good Men" (1992) and "North" (1994). For Ivan Reitman's "Dave" (1993), he recreated the Oval Office and other rooms within the White House while "Congo" (1995) required not only a jungle setting but also a legendary lost city. More recently, Riva created the design for "Hard Rain", "Six Days/Seven Nights" and "Lethal Weapon 4" (all 1998).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Art Director (Feature Film)
Production Designer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Production Designer (Special)
Life Events
1975
First film credit, as art director on "Ilse, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks"
1977
First film credit as production designer, "Bare Knuckles"
1980
Served as art director on Robert Redford's "Ordinary People"
1981
Was production designer on Oliver Stone's first feature "The Hand"
1981
First TV-movie credit, as production designer on "Callie & Son" (CBS)
1985
First screen collaboration with Richrd Donner, "The Goonies"
1985
Worked with Steven Spielberg on "The Color Purple"; earned Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration
1986
Made TV directorial debut with "Amazing Stories" episode "The Eternal Mind" (NBC)
1987
Was production designer on Richard Donner's "Lethal Weapon"
1989
Reteamed with Donner for the sequel "Lethal Weapon 2"
1992
Was production designer on Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men"
1994
Worked again with Reiner on "North"
1994
TV-movie producing debut, "Lily in Winter" (USA Network), also received story credit; garnered Writers Guild of America nomination
1995
Served as production designer on "Congo"
1998
Worked on high profile features "Hard Rain", "Six Days, Seven Nights," and "Lethal Weapon IV" as production designer
2000
Credited as visual consultant on "Romeo Must Die"
2000
Served as production designer of "Charlie's Angels"
2002
Was the production designer for the telecast of the Academy Awards
2003
Re-teamed with director McG for the sequel "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"
2007
Worked with Sam Raimi as production designer on "Spider-Man 3"
2008
Was production designer on the blockbuster "Iron Man" (2008) and its 2010 sequel
2012
Completed work on "The Amazing Spider-Man"; was in the middle of production for Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" at time of death