Norman Reynolds won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four others for his production design work on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises.
- Died: April 2023
- Details of death: Died at the age of 89.
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Norman Reynolds’ legacy
British production designer Norman Reynolds had a long career, including credits on films like “Mission: Impossible,” “Alien 3,” and “Empire of the Sun.” The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination, but he will always be best known for his work on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises.
Reynolds had his big break on the original 1977 “Star Wars: A New Hope,” for which he served as art director. The work earned him an Academy Award, along with colleagues John Barry, Leslie Dilley, and Roger Christian. His sense for design, creativity, and ability to manage large projects led to him becoming the production designer for 1980’s “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” which earned him another Academy Award nomination, along with Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, and Michael D. Ford. Now-iconic designs such as the carbon freezing chamber where Han Solo was captured, and Yoda’s home planet of Dagobah, sprang from Reynolds’ imagination.
George Lucas recommended him to Steven Spielberg, which led to Reynolds working on “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Among his creations was the giant boulder Indiana Jones runs from in the film’s opening sequence, which won him another Oscar as well as a British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for his work, along with Dilley and Ford. Reynolds eventually earned another Oscar nomination for a Spielberg film with 1987’s “Empire of the Sun,” and worked on films such as “Alive,” “Young Sherlock Holmes,” and others.
Notable quote
“Some people … said they knew (“Star Wars”) was going to be a success all along. Most of us had no idea. Most of us … were just glad to be working.”—Interview with Steve Knibbs for BBC Inside Out West
Tributes to Norman Reynolds
Full obituary: BBC News
