Dennis Gassner is most famous for his career as a production designer. Read more to learn about his productions, awards and nominations, his overall net worth, and more!
Dennis Gassner
Dennis Gassner was born on October 22, 1948, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Even though he was born in Canada, he has spent much of his life in the United States. As a young adult, Gassner attended the University of Oregon. After graduating from this school, he began to focus on his career in the film industry. He is best known for working in both art departments of films, as well as working as a production designer–which is what he is most famous for.
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His Career in the Film Industry
Dennis Gassner’s career in the film industry began around the 1980’s. Since his career began, he has continuously worked on one film to the next, never resting for long. He is most famous for working as a production designer. This means that his duties can involve anything from designing the settings of films, to working on various graphics and design concepts for CGI. He also works on props and costumes in close proximity to both directors and actors.
Working in the Art Department
One of Dennis Gassner’s first jobs in the film industry was working in the art department on the film ‘One from the Heart in 1981. For this film, and all of the other films he’s worked on in the art department, his main duty was to work as a graphic designer. Gassner’s next job was in the art department when he worked on the film, ‘Hammett’ in 1982. His next (and last) job in the art department came in 1983 when he worked on the film ‘Rumble Fish.’
Working as a Production Designer
Dennis Gassner’s career as a production designer began in 1986 when he got a job working on the film ‘The Hitcher.’ He also worked as the title designer for this film and this work, in particular, opened doors for him to continue working as a production designer. Before the end of the 1980’s, Gassner has worked on five other films: ‘Wisdom,’ ‘In the Mood,’ ‘Like Father Like Son,’ ‘Earth Girls are Easy,’ and ‘Field of Dreams.’ He continued to work as a production designer throughout the 1990’s. By this time, he had gained a good reputation within the film industry, which allowed him to work on larger projects. His first project of the decade was ‘The Grifters.’ Overall, Gassner worked on eight movies in the 1990’s. Some of the most popular movies he worked on were ‘Bugsy,’ ‘Hero,’ and ‘The Truman Show.’
As the 2000’s rolled around, Gassner was almost exclusively working on big budget films. His first film of the decade was ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ which starred George Clooney. Some of Gassner’s other famous films from this decade include ‘Road to Perdition,’ ‘Big Fish,’ ‘Jarhead,’ and ‘The Golden Compass.’ In 2008, he also had the opportunity to work on the James Bond series with the film “Quantum of Solace.” All in all, he worked on nine films in this decade. So far in this decade, Gassner has been working on fewer projects than he has done in previous decades. However, he has worked on larger projects than he used to as well. He continued working on the James Bond movies with ‘Skyfall’ in 2012. He then worked on something totally different, a musical called ‘Into the Woods’ in 2014. He has also recently worked on ‘Spectre.’ His most recent film to date is “Blade Runner 2049.” Gassner is also scheduled to continue working on the James Bond series. The next film, ‘Bond 25’ is expected to be completed before the end of the decade.
Awards and Nominations
As a production designer, Gassner has earned almost 20 awards, including one Oscar. He has also been nominated for five other Oscar awards and over 40 award nominations in total.
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Gassner at the Art Directors Guild Awards
Sarah Greenwood (left), Tom Walsh (center), and Dennis Gassner (right) pose at the Art Directors Guild Awards.
Oscar Awards and Nominations
Gassner earned his first Oscar award in 1991 for his work on the film ‘Bugsy.’ Since then, he’s been nominated for five other Oscar awards, including ‘Barton Fink,’ ‘Road to Perdition,’ ‘The Golden Compass,’ and ‘Into the Woods.’ Gassner has most recently been nominated for an Oscar 2018 award for his work on the movie ‘Blade Runner 2049.’ Results will air on March 4, 2018 so be sure to tune in to see if he wins. If all goes well, both he and Alessandra Querzola will share an Oscar 2018 award for their work on this film.
Other Awards and Nominations
Besides his Oscar award, Gassner also has over a dozen other awards and almost forty other award nominations. Some of his films that have won the most awards and nominations include ‘Big Fish,’ ‘Skyfall,’ ‘Quantum of Solace,’ ‘Road to Perdition,’ and ‘Into the Woods.’ For the above films and more, Gassner has won awards from the BAFTA Awards (Best Production Design), the Art Directors Guild (Fansty Film and Contemporary Film), and a Satellite Award (Best Art Direction).
Net Worth
Over several decades as a production designer, Dennis Gassner has accumulated a massive net worth of about $19 million. As he is scheduled to work on more and more movies, it is likely that his net worth will only get higher in the upcoming years.
