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Artwork for Masterpieces
Masterpieces · Monday · 39 min

Poor Things (2023) - James Price

Every world in director Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things began on the drawing board of production designer James Price. Adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, the film follows Bella Baxter played by Emma Stone – a young woman brought back to life with the brain of a child by an unconventional scientist – as she runs away with a lawyer to explore the world. Working alongside co-designer Shona Heath, the pair built a series of vivid stylized worlds for Bella to move through as she grows up: from a gothic Victorian London townhouse, to a candy colored fantastical Lisbon, an Art Deco ocean liner, and a dreamlike Paris - each reflecting a new stage in Bella’s awakening. The results swept the 2024 awards season, culminating in an Academy Award for Best Production Design, one of four Oscars the film took home. In this episode of Masterpieces, James reflects on building Poor Things from the ground up with Shona, converting Yorgos Lantimos’s dream into reality and what it takes to make an audience accept a world with its own logic. Hosted and produced by Caitlin Hennessy. Creative direction by Marie-Amélie Sauvé. Editorial direction by Jeremy Olds. Original song and sound engineering by Simon Benesch. Artwork by Image Worldwide. Special thanks to Cartier.

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Every world in director Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things began on the drawing board of production designer James Price. 

Adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, the film follows Bella Baxter played by Emma Stone – a young woman brought back to life with the brain of a child by an unconventional scientist – as she runs away with a lawyer to explore the world. 

Working alongside co-designer Shona Heath, the pair built a series of vivid stylized worlds for Bella to move through as she grows up: from a gothic Victorian London townhouse, to a candy colored fantastical Lisbon, an Art Deco ocean liner, and a dreamlike Paris - each reflecting a new stage in Bella’s awakening. 

The results swept the 2024 awards season, culminating in an Academy Award for Best Production Design, one of four Oscars the film took home. 

In this episode of Masterpieces, James reflects on building Poor Things from the ground up with Shona, converting Yorgos Lantimos’s dream into reality and what it takes to make an audience accept a world with its own logic. 

Hosted and produced by Caitlin Hennessy. Creative direction by Marie-Amélie Sauvé. Editorial direction by Jeremy Olds. Original song and sound engineering by Simon Benesch. Artwork by Image Worldwide. Special thanks to Cartier.

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