You know, we have to do we
have to redefine the form.
Look up.
I'm not alone.
How about that?
Yeah, you just saw some of the
trailer for the film Babylon.
This Oscar and BAFTA nominated
film recently won a Critics Choice
Award for Production Design.
The winner of that award,
San Diego, did that nomination.
Anthony Carlino joining us now
to tell us about his career as a
set director and set decorator.
You're from Carlsbad,
you live in Carlsbad now,
so we're proud to have you as a San Diego.
This is some oppressive nominations you've
got here and awards racking up the awards.
Here.
So congratulations to you.
Take us back grew up here
in where was it lakeside?
Yeah, I grew up in Lakeside and went
to El Capitan. OK school and then
San Diego states phone program.
OK and then in the film program where do you,
where did you decide look set design.
I really am into this and I'm pretty
good at it. How did, how did you merge
that? It wasn't I I wanted direct.
OK. When I moved to LA,
I thought I would direct and then
I got into the art department
and then became a set dresser.
Worked that did that for a long time
and then became a set decorator.
Wow. So what tell us about the
skills needed to really have
an eye to make those sets pop.
Like what is it that goes into?
What do you feel like you bring
to to a set to make it stand out?
Well, it kind of starts with
the script, OK, you know?
And the character what? The what?
What the character does, you know?
What does he do for a living, you know?
And a bits of his personality
that we try to get into the set,
tell a story of who this character is,
you know so. I know.
I kind of like, you know,
you go shopping, you go find things,
you find cool things and and
you just fill the cell with it.
You know,
I would imagine you do a lot
of running around, right? Yeah.
To find these things. And you have
a whole team of buyers that go out
shopping and and then I go out shopping
and, yeah, you just go shop for
cool things. Put it all together.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Everything from the, the, the furniture,
the lighting, to the window treatments,
everything that you see in the frame.
Of the set, whether it be a location
or a or a stage build we put in there
that is. I mean that's a big responsibility.
I mean there's a lot that goes into that.
Tell us about Babylon when you found
out what was kind of going through.
Well, when I when I got the movie,
I was, it was exciting because,
you know, you read the script and
the script was so good. Yeah.
It was like the best script I ever read.
Cool. I mean, I read really slow
and that script I read in one night.
Is that right? And.
And then period, 1920s.
Danish Chazelle directing Brad Pitt,
Margot Robbie.
And you just knew that you got like,
this was the dream job.
Yeah, the dream job.
I wanted to walk through a couple
of the other productions working,
be working on Blade right now. Yeah.
Out in Atlanta, that's a marvel.
Licorice Pizza 2021.
You've done Space Jam,
Spiderman, Captain Marvel.
I mean, these are so many different genres.
It's not like you're decorating
the same type of set, right?
How do you go into that
with an open mind? What
makes it fun?
Because each movie is different. Yeah.
And. And then you just do research,
a lot of research. You know, I mean,
we have shot out at Edwards Air Force Base.
So you gotta go and see the cool plane coming
out with the military and then on Sully.
Sully got him, you know,
and we did his house. It's like,
you know, you talked to him like what?
What was in your house?
You know, like, yeah.
So you try to do that with
with with every movie.
And that's what makes makes it fun.
Is that no movie,
every movie.
Different.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. OK.
So Oscars are coming up not
too far away here. Yeah.
First it's the Baftas. Yeah.
Dennis. The Oscars. Yeah.
What do you think how you feeling
about the competition how you
think about the chances here?
Well I mean it's,
it's I mean you know, I'm,
I'm nominated with some of the
decorators that I've I've worked with.
You know, that that were my mentors.
What an honor. And so now it's.
I mean, it's cool just being nominated.
I mean even when I just think about
it like it's not until you like,
I read something where it says
Oscar nominated set decorator.
Like I can't, I still can't believe.
Yeah, like sure.
To me it just seems like
growing up watching the Oscars.
Like that that was unattainable.
Like there's no way, no way I would
ever be nominated for an Oscar.
So it's still,
I still can't believe it.
You know it's just wild.
Imagine when I get there and you
know you put on the tuxedo and you
go to the awards show then it's
then it's probably really gonna hit.
But right now it's like I don't feel any.
I don't feel any different than
I did yesterday.
You know, it's just kind of,
it's kind of surreal in a way.
Incredible.
Was there a set that you looking
back or a design that you did that
you really really proud of that
that stands out as their one.
I mean I know you've done a lot.
But is there, I mean in, in,
in Babylon, it was probably Jack
Conrads, which is Brad Pitt's home.
OK, yeah. OK what all was the intricacy?
It was Spanish revival. OK.
So some research there. Yeah,
a lot of research and. And it was,
you know, you tried to Jack Connor,
his character, you know, worldly.
So you bring in all these, you know,
fine antiques and fine art and
cool objects that you find. Yeah.
And and it was, it was one of those
sets that when I got done with it,
just looking at it going,
it looks pretty good.
And no one was.
Brad Pitt was kind of a big deal.
Critics agreed.
Yeah, yeah, Anthony wishing
you the best of luck, is there?
Is there a place people can learn
more about you, your background,
everything that you've been
up to and everything you're
doing and cheer you on?
I mean, you can
go on IMDb, it'll list all the movies
I've done, and then it's awesome.
Watch the Baptist and watch the Oscars.
By the way, we weren't sure you were local,
but your sister sure let us know.
She messaged us and said, hey,
that's a local San Diego and doing
great things. So we're so glad.
We did that. So yeah. Cool.
Glad we got the cross paths here Anthony.
Awesome. Alright, best of luck to you.