Leslie Dilley (born 1941) is a Welsh art director and

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

. During his film career from the 1970s to 2000s, he won the

Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

twice for '' Star Wars'' (1977) and '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981). Dilley received additional Best Art Direction nominations for ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' (1979), ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...

'' (1980), and ''

The Abyss ''The Abyss'' is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery tea ...

'' (1989). Apart from art direction, Dilley was a production designer for ''

The Exorcist III ''The Exorcist III'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is the third installment in the ''Exorcist'' series, an adaptation of Blatty's ''Exorcist'' novel ''Legion'' (1983), and the f ...

'' (1990), ''

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

'' (1995), and ''

Son of the Mask ''Son of the Mask'' is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to ''The Mask'' (1994), it is the second installment in ''The Mask'' franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Da ...

'' (2005).

Early life and education

In 1941, Dilley was born in

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, South Wales. Growing up, Dilley and his family moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and lived in

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

. For his post-secondary education, Dilley studied architecture at

Willesden Technical College The College of North West London (CNWL) is a large further education college in north-west London, England. It was established in 1991 by the merger between Willesden Technical College and Kilburn Polytechnic in the London Borough of Brent. Toda ...

. While working as an apprentice

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been ...

during college, Dilley was encouraged by a classmate to apply for a job at Pinewood Studios. After Pinewood told him there were no open positions available, Dilley completed a five year plastering apprenticeship at the Associated British Picture Corporation.

Career

At the ABPC, Dilley began his career as a

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

throughout the 1960s. While working as an Assistant Art Director during the early 1970s, Dilley became an art director for ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

'' (1973). His art director tenure continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s with films such as '' Superman'' (1978), '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and '' Never Say Never Again'' (1983). Outside of these movies, Dilley won the

for '' Star Wars'' (1977) and '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981). He additionally received Academy Award nominations for his art directorship on ''

'' (1979), ''

'' (1980), and ''

'' (1989). During the 1990s to 2000s, Dilley primarily worked as a

. Some of his production works during these decades include ''

'' (1990), ''

'' (1995), and ''

'' (2005). Dilley has also made cameo appearances in his production designed films, including '' Deep Impact'' (1998) and ''

Pay It Forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor. The concept is old, but the particular phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1 ...

'' (2000).

Selected filmography

Dilley has won two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and has been nominated for three more: ;Won * '' Star Wars'' (1977) * '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) ;Nominated * ''

'' (1979) * ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1989)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilley, Leslie 1941 births Living people Welsh art directors British film designers Best Art Direction Academy Award winners People from Rhondda