Grant Major (born 1955) is a

production designer In film and television, a 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. Work ...

from New Zealand who is most famous for his work on ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' films. 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 fr ...

for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. Major's early exposure to production design began when he joined art school in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

after completing his graduation, following which he got a job in the local television station as an assistant set designer.

Oscar nominations

All of these are in Best Art Direction (renamed to Best Production Design in 2012). * 2002 Academy Awards: Nominated for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. Nomination shared with Dan Hennah. Lost to '' Moulin Rouge!''. * 2003 Academy Awards: Nominated for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''. Nomination shared with Dan Hennah and Alan Lee. Lost to ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

''. * 2004 Academy Awards: Won for '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. Award shared with Dan Hennah and Alan Lee. * 2006 Academy Awards: Nominated for ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

''. Nomination shared with Dan Hennah and Simon Bright. Lost to '' Memoirs of a Geisha''. *

2022 Academy Awards 2022 Academy Awards may refer to: * 94th Academy Awards, the Academy Awards ceremony that took place in 2022, honoring the best in film for March 2021 through December 2021 * 95th Academy Awards, the Academy Awards ceremony that took place in ...

: Nominated for '' The Power of the Dog''. Nomination shared with Amber Richards. Lost to ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

''.

Selected filmography

As production designer * ''

The Frighteners ''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey an ...

'' (1996) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002) * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' The Green Lantern'' (2011) * '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny'' (2016) * '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016) * ''

The Meg ''The Meg'' is a 2018 science fiction action film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, loosely based on the 1997 novel '' Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror'' by Steve Alten. The film stars Jas ...

'' (2018) * ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'' (2020) * '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021) * '' A Minecraft Movie'' (2025)

References

External links

* Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Living people 1955 births New Zealand artists New Zealand designers New Zealand production designers New Zealand art directors People from Palmerston North {{NewZealand-film-bio-stub