Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1184216
1 0 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 C O N T R I B U T O R S M A H E R A H M A D received a master of fine arts in theatre, scene and lighting design from Northwestern University and worked as a professional theatre designer in the "first wave" of what has been termed the Chicago Theatre Renaissance, designing over a hundred stage projects. Ahmad credits this early theatre design experience and training as contributing greatly to the skills and craft he now possesses. Ahmad has worked on over 60 film projects, most of them feature films shot all over the country; and has worked on many different genres, including drama, action-adventure, comedy, horror, and period films. Among his favorites are Holes, Dodgeball, Zombieland, Gangster Squad, Goodfellas and Married to the Mob. Along with Noelle, his work can also be seen this fall in Doctor Sleep, the Steven King sequel to The Shining. F R A N Ç O I S A U D O U Y was born in Toulouse, France, and raised in a small town north of Los Angeles, where his passion for movies grew from habitual visits to the local Towne Theater. Over a 25-year career, François has contributed to the designs of dozens of films, as an Art Director on such diverse films as Watchmen, Transformers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Terminal and Spider-Man 1 & 2. He has also worked as Concept Illustrator on Men in Black, Primary Colors, Minority Report, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Zodiac and others. As Production Designer, François designed the films Dracula Untold, The Wolverine and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. He also collaberated with James Mangold to design 2017's blockbuster Logan, which earned him the ADG Award for Best Production Design in the Contemporary Film category. François reteamed with Mangold to design Ford v Ferrari, based on the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles. J E S S G O N C H O R received his first Academy Award nomination and an Art Directors Guild nomination for his work on the Coen brothers' True Grit. He also collaborated with Joel and Ethan Coen on No Country for Old Men (for which he received an Art Directors Guild Award in Excellence in Production Design), A Serious Man (Art Directors Guild nomination), Burn After Reading, Inside Llewyn Davis (the Hamilton Behind the Scenes Award), Hail, Caesar! (his second Academy Award nomination) and the 2018 release The Ballad of Buster Scruggs for which he received a Guild nomination. Jess has completed two films soon be released: Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women and John Krasinski's A Quiet Place 2. He is currently the Production Designer on Joel Coen's Macbeth. Other features include Capote, Moneyball, The Lone Ranger, Foxcatcher, Away We Go, The Devil Wears Prada and Live by Night.