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LAST FIVE INTERNATIONAL CREDITS

Alien: Covenant; Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales; Gods Of Egypt; The Wolverine; The Great Gatsby.

DESCRIBE YOUR JOB

I’m the right hand of the production designer, his (or her) conscience and confidante. I make their ideas work. I’m solely responsible fiscally for the creations of the art department (despite the fact that I got 9/100 for economics in the HSC but top marks in art). I direct all the elements of the art department, the carpenters, the painters, the plasterers. I’ve got to make it seamless.

TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE MORE MEMORABLE PROJECTS YOU’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN

The Thin Red Line is one of my favourites. It had the whole package – the people were great; the scale of it was fantastic, recreating World War II scenes in Queensland; the travel and locations; my second son was born during the shoot. It was the most enjoyable.

Then there was Star Wars: Episode II. I thought “Jesus, I’ve worked on a Star Wars film” then they asked me back for number three. Until The End of The World – working with Wim Wenders and Robby Muller was an inspiring experience. And you can’t go past Moulin Rouge! It was my first taste of being involved in the Academy and the Oscars as well as my introduction to Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin and I’m still working with them all these years on. Red Dog was the first film I designed. The scale of the film was good, the script was good and there was a window when I could do it.

MOST CHALLENGING REQUEST ON AN INTERNATIONAL FILM SHOOT

Recreating sets out of context. In Tunisia for Stars Wars: Episode II we had to recreate Luke Skywalker’s uncle’s ice house with no drawings, just based on pictures from Episode IV. But recreating 1920s New York in Sydney for The Great Gatsby was the biggest challenge. The accuracy of that 1920s environment had to be perfect. In the end, you didn’t notice the sets. We had the most talented art department, which was as good as anywhere, if not the best in the world. That’s borne out by two Oscars. The best accolade for an art director is having people not knowing that you made the film on a constructed set.

HOW DID YOU MEET THE CHALLENGE?

Preparation time is the key. We couldn’t have done it if we hadn’t had the prep time in Lower Manhattan and Long Island that we had.  Originally it was planned to shoot in New York but it became too  expensive and too difficult. But if we’d had the 16-20 week shoot only in Australia without the initial prep time in the US we couldn’t have done it.

CRAZIEST MOMENT ON SET

I wouldn’t work again if I told you. But there have been so many weird and wonderful things. The moment George Lucas walked on set for Star Wars: Episode II in Tunisia; he was the only person who hadn’t been there yet. I’d been there for six weeks working with the Tunisian crew, Italian painters and here I was standing on one of the most iconic film sets waiting for feedback from the director. I was shitting myself and all he said was “I think we should move that oil can over a little.” My idea of crazy is jaded; what’s crazy for some is normal on a film set and you just do it and get on with it.

FAVOURITE PART OF AUSTRALIA

The Snowy Mountains.

FAVOURITE ACTIVITY IN AUSTRALIA

Dare I say skiing?

IF I WASN’T WORKING IN FILM AND TELEVISION I WOULD BE…

living in Jindabyne (in the Snowy Mountains) and running a ski shop. I represented my country skiing and if I hadn’t fallen into film that’s where I’d be. I was a second-tier professional skier in the US and at 21, I decided to head home. I could have been skiing in Warren Miller films!

I’D LOVE TO WORK WITH…

I would have loved to work with John Ford or David Lean. As contemporaries I love the simplicity of storytelling of Clint Eastwood or the Coen Brothers.

I KNEW I WANTED TO WORK IN FILM AND TELEVISION WHEN…

The first day I stepped on set. I had no interest in film or TV but after I graduated from the National Art School my best friend’s dad was working on The Young Doctors for Grundy and I jokingly asked him for work. I was given one week’s work on Smoky Dawson’s ranch and then didn’t miss a day in six years.

WHAT IS YOUR WORK MOTTO OR PHILOSOPHY?

If your instinct tells you it needs to be done, do it. But do it well.