Conversations with Dean Tavoularis

The illustrious filmography of Dean Tavoularis includes a number of masterpieces from the 1960s and ‘70s, and collaborations with such major filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Michelangelo Antonioni, Arthur Penn, Warren Beatty, William Friedkin and Roman Polanski. Beginning his career as an animator on Lady and the Tramp, where he was supervised by Walt Disney himself, Tavoularis spent several years as an assistant art director in the Hollywood studio system, working on such films as Inside Daisy Clover and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. His first credit as a production designer was on Bonnie and Clyde, a film that would herald the dawn of the New Hollywood. But it was alongside Francis Ford Coppola that Dean Tavoularis spent the bulk of his career, starting with the first Godfather film and continuing on in a creative collaboration that lasted for three decades.

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Entire chapters of the book are dedicated to The Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now, whose legendary production is recounted in detail. Dean Tavoularis also discusses several unrealized Coppola projects, such as Pinocchio, for which he prepared dozens of conceptual drawings and a breathtaking visual timeline that is featured exclusively in the book.

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While revisiting his experiences on several movies that are now considered classics, Dean Tavoularis delves into his vision of the production designer’s craft, broaching such subjects as preparatory research, location scouting, set design drawings and models, working with the art department, creating and maintaining a budget, and finally the building and demolishing of ambitious sets. He emphasizes how much a film’s production design is meant to embody its story, as well as its main themes and ideas, establishing a complete universe in which directors and actors can freely create.

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Easily accessible and filled with anecdotes about such personalities as Jean-Luc Godard, Marlon Brando, Gene Kelly and Tom Waits, the book is illustrated with hundreds of visuals, many of them previously unpublished, including set photographs, set design drawings, blueprints, archives, conceptual drawings, storyboards, budgets, memos and internal notes.

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A large-format book prefaced by Wes Anderson and written by Jordan Mintzer, author of the award-winning Conversations with James Gray and Conversations with Darius Khondji.

Graphic design by Dune Lunel

ISBN 979-10-90172-02-9

CONVERSATIONS WITH

DEAN TAVOULARIS / PRODUCTION DESIGNER

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA / DIRECTOR

WARREN BEATTY / ACTOR

VITTORIO STORARO  / CINEMATOGRAPHER

MILENA CANONERO / COSTUME DESIGNER

ROMAN COPPOLA / DIRECTOR

KATIA WYSZKOP / PRODUCTION DESIGNER

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jordan Mintzer is a film critic for The Hollywood Reporter. Prior to that he worked for Variety. He was born in Queens, New York, and currently lives in Paris. 

“The work is beautiful and roaring with passion, aesthetically polished in a way that’s almost unheard of today. It is neither snobbish nor cold, and has sheer beauty and a huge heart.” THOMAS AÏDAN, 7E OBSESSION

“This is a brilliant book, a must for every film buff. The illustrations – set photos, sketches, paintings – are sumptuous. An important contribution to the history of the 7th art.” FRANCOIS FORRESTIER, L’OBS

“Conversations with Dean Tavoularis is a richly illustrated book of interviews that’s destined to become a landmark. It provides comprehensive insight into the unique profession of the production designer, and Dean Tavoularis’ special place in the panorama of American cinema.” SAMUEL BLUMENFELD, LE MONDE

“A beautiful interview book, revisiting the incredible career of a man whose name appears in the credits of some of the greatest films of the twentieth century.” JULIEN BORDIER, THE ART NEWSPAPER