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Before Matt Damon was The Talented Mr. Ripley, there was Alain Delon #book2movies

Beauty and the Beast was nominated for a Production Design Academy Award: Here's why #book2movies

There are five films nominated for their production design, all quite gorgeous and intriguing looking as you can see below: Beauty and the Beast, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, Blade Runner and Darkest Hour.

For today, let’s zero in on Sarah Greenwood’s work on Beauty and the Beast. I looked at the Production Design when I first saw Beauty and the Beast last March, and was dazzled by the inventive sets that caught the fantastical elements of the story. 
In my review of Beauty and the Beast I shared that I wanted to take a little closer look at the stunning sets. I appreciate that 'stunning' is one of those words very much in overuse right now. [You won't believe just how stunning ‘celebrity de jour’ looks today.] But in this case, it’s not hyperbole. I would be shocked (really, you won’t believe how jaw-droppingly shocked I would be) if production designer Sarah Greenwood and her art director partner in crime, Katie Spencer didn’t receive a nom, and quite possibly a win. Here, with a nod to Architectural Digest, who had a chat with Sarah Greenwood, that closer look at those phenomenal Beauty & the Beasts dead-drop gorgeous sets. I’ve added photos of the real world inspiration when possible.


 “A crew of over 1,000 artisans, workers, and builders, wanted to keep the sets as realistic and highly detailed as possible. “The goal isn’t to have the audience think, ‘That looks just like the castle in the animated film,’” Greenwood says in the production notes. “Instead, you want the audience to feel that this is, in fact, the Beast’s castle, because every detail faithfully supports the story they know and love.” 

“The opulent ballroom was designed with the famous waltz scene in mind. The floor’s artwork is based on a ceiling motif at a Benedictine abbey in the Czech Republic.’’

“The room’s ten glass chandeliers were based on versions found at the Palace of Versailles.’’

Have you got a favorite in this race? I’m all ears.