CLAY A. GRIFFITH (production designer) has enjoyed a long-standing association with filmmaker Cameron Crowe, which began almost three decades ago on the romantic comedy “Say Anything” (as Crowe’s assistant on the filmmaker’s directorial debut), and most recently included Crowe’s new romantic comedy, “Aloha,” on which he served as production designer.

These titles have bookended Griffith’s work with Crowe, first as a set decorator (“Singles,” “Jerry McGuire”), then as production designer on Crowe’s Oscar®-winning, semi-autobiographical music extravaganza, “Almost Famous,” for which Griffith himself earned an Art Directors Guild nomination (Contemporary Film category). Since that 2000 project, Griffith has designed Crowe’s “We Bought A Zoo” and “Elizabethtown” and the TV pilot/series “Roadies.”

While initially interested in a directing career, Griffith gravitated to art direction after serving as an art department assistant on Jonathan Demme’s acclaimed 1986 film, “Something Wild.” He soon jumped up to set decorator on such memorable and influential films as “Dirty Dancing,” “Mystic Pizza,” David Fincher’s “Se7en,” John Schlesinger’s thriller “Pacific Heights,” Nora Ephron’s “Sleepless in Seattle” and James L. Brooks’ 1997 Oscar®-nominated Best Picture, “As Good As It Gets” (coincidentally, he began his professional career as a script reader at Brooks’ Gracie Films).

Following his debut as production designer on “Almost Famous,” Griffith has gone on to design such motion pictures as “Radio,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Domestic Disturbance,” “Lucky You,” “Meet Dave,” “A Thousand Words,” and Ed Zwick’s latest films “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” and biopic “Trial By Fire. ” Griffith recently finished the much- anticipated Craig Brewer period biopic “Dolemite is my Name” premiering at TIFF.” In addition, he just completed work on the cataclysmic thriller “Greenland”.

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