JR
J. Michael Riva
Director, Additional Credits
Born June 28, 1948Died June 7, 2012 (63 years)
John Michael Riva (June 28, 1948–June 7, 2012), better known as J. Michael Riva, was an American production designer.
Riva was born in Manhattan to William Riva, a Broadway set designer, and Maria Elisabeth Sieber, a German-born actress and the daughter of Marlene Dietrich. Riva had three brothers (John Peter, John Paul, and John David). Riva attended the prep school Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for six years before attending UCLA. Married to Wendy Mickell, he had four sons, Jean-Paul, Mikey, Daniel, and Adam.
Riva had a long and prestigious career as an art director and production designer on numerous films, including the 1985 film The Colour Purple, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Other credits include The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008), and Iron Man 2 (2010).
His final films, The Amazing Spider-Man and Django Unchained, were released posthumously. He was the production designer for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as well as for the 74th and 79th Academy Awards in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the latter.
Riva suffered a stroke on June 1, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, during production of Django Unchained. He died in a hospital there on June 7, 2012, at age 63. Django director Quentin Tarantino commented, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague."
Description above from the Wikipedia article J. Michael Riv, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Riva was born in Manhattan to William Riva, a Broadway set designer, and Maria Elisabeth Sieber, a German-born actress and the daughter of Marlene Dietrich. Riva had three brothers (John Peter, John Paul, and John David). Riva attended the prep school Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for six years before attending UCLA. Married to Wendy Mickell, he had four sons, Jean-Paul, Mikey, Daniel, and Adam.
Riva had a long and prestigious career as an art director and production designer on numerous films, including the 1985 film The Colour Purple, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Other credits include The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008), and Iron Man 2 (2010).
His final films, The Amazing Spider-Man and Django Unchained, were released posthumously. He was the production designer for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as well as for the 74th and 79th Academy Awards in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the latter.
Riva suffered a stroke on June 1, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, during production of Django Unchained. He died in a hospital there on June 7, 2012, at age 63. Django director Quentin Tarantino commented, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague."
Description above from the Wikipedia article J. Michael Riv, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
J. Michael Riva Filmography
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories (1985) (TV Series) |
| 2013 | The Oscars · as Self - Production Designer (in Memoriam) |
| 2008 | I Am 'Iron Man' · as Self |
| 2012 | Django Unchained · as Production Design |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man · as Production Design |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 · as Production Design |
| 2008 | Seven Pounds · as Production Design |
| 2008 | Iron Man · as Production Design |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 · as Production Design |
| 2007 | The 79th Annual Academy Awards · as Production Designer |
| 2006 | The Pursuit of Happyness · as Production Design |
| 2005 | Zathura: A Space Adventure · as Production Design |
| 2005 | Stealth · as Production Design |
| 2003 | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle · as Production Design |
| 2002 | The 74th Annual Academy Awards · as Production Designer |
| 2001 | Evolution · as Production Design |
| 2000 | Charlie's Angels · as Production Design |
| 1999 | Tuesdays with Morrie · as Production Design |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 · as Production Design |
| 1998 | Six Days Seven Nights · as Production Design |
| 1998 | Hard Rain · as Production Design |
| 1996 | Centennial Olympic Games: Torch Relay Opening Ceremonies · as Production Designer |
| 1995 | Congo · as Production Design |
| 1994 | Lily in Winter · as Story |
| 1994 | North · as Production Design |
| 1993 | Dave · as Production Design |
| 1992 | A Few Good Men · as Production Design |
| 1992 | Radio Flyer · as Production Design |
| 1989 | Tango & Cash · as Production Design |
| 1989 | Lethal Weapon 2 · as Production Design |
| 1988 | Scrooged · as Production Design |
| 1988 | Scrooged · as Production Designer |
| 1987 | Lethal Weapon · as Production Design |
| 1986 | The Golden Child · as Production Design |
| 1985 | The Color Purple · as Production Design |
| 1985 | The Goonies · as Production Design |
| 1985 | The Slugger's Wife · as Production Design |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension · as Production Design |
| 1983 | |
| 1981 | Halloween II · as Production Design |
| 1981 | Callie & Son · as Production Design |
| 1981 | The Hand · as Production Design |
| 1980 | Ordinary People · as Art Direction |
| 1980 | Brubaker · as Art Direction |
| 1979 | Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider · as Art Direction |
| 1977 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden · as Production Design |
| 1977 | Bare Knuckles · as Production Design |
| 1977 | Bad Georgia Road · as Art Direction |
| 1976 | Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks · as Production Design |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse (TV Series) · as Art Director |