Lawrence G. Paull

Lawrence G. Paull was one of the most prolific and celebrated production designers in film. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1938 and enrolled at the University of Arizona with the intention of studying architecture. However, after viewing the film "Doctor Zhivago" (1965) Paull became inspired to change his course of study and pursue film instead. He began his professional career in 1970 as the art director for the motorcycle movie "Little Fauss and Big Halsy" (1970). Paull's career took off almost immediately as he moved on to work as a production designer on movies like the Western "The Hired Hand" (1971) and the comedy "The Naked Ape" (1973). As Paull's experience and reputation grew, he graduated to more prominent projects like the radio-themed comedy "FM" (1978). Then in 1982, Paull production designed Ridley Scott's landmark science fiction noir "Blade Runner" (1982). The aesthetic distinctiveness Paull achieved on the film proved to be career-making, and his name grew in popularity as the movie moved from underground favorite to art house hit. His next major project was the blockbuster hit "Romancing the Stone" (1984), a film that included numerous exotic themes and locales, followed by the mega-hit "Back to the Future" (1985), which required many distinctive elements including extensive 1950s period design. Paull proved extremely adept with historical design elements, production designing Eddie Murphy's directorial debut, the 1930s-set gangster comedy "Harlem Nights" (1989). He went on to do production design on several popular films over the coming years including the comedy "City Slickers" (1991), the remake of the classic film "Born Yesterday" (1993), and the sequel "Escape from L.A." (1996). Paull's final feature film was the thriller "Light it Up" (1999). He became a professor at Chapman University, where he created and taught the school's production design MFA curriculum, which is still taught there today. Paull passed away in 2019. He was 81 years old.