Person
J. Michael Riva
Art · 1948–2012 · Manhattan, New York, USA
Biography
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.
Known for
The Amazing Spider-Man
Production Design
Spider-Man 3
Production Design
Iron Man
Production Design
Iron Man 2
Production Design
Django Unchained
Production Design
Tales from the Crypt
Director
The Pursuit of Happyness
Production Design
Amazing Stories
Director
The Goonies
Production Design
Lethal Weapon 2
Production Design
Filmography
- 2012Django UnchainedProduction Design
- 2012The Amazing Spider-ManProduction Design
- 2010Iron Man 2Production Design
- 2008Seven PoundsProduction Design
- 2008I Am 'Iron Man'Self
- 2008Iron ManProduction Design
- 2007Spider-Man 3Production Design
- 2006The Pursuit of HappynessProduction Design
- 2005Zathura: A Space AdventureProduction Design
- 2005StealthProduction Design
- 2003Charlie's Angels: Full ThrottleProduction Design
- 2003The Making of 'The Color Purple'Self
- 2001EvolutionProduction Design
- 2001Charlie’s Angels: Getting G’d UpSelf
- 2001Charlie’s Angels: Welcome to Angel WorldSelf
- 2000Charlie's AngelsProduction Design
- 1999Tuesdays with MorrieProduction Design
- 1998Lethal Weapon 4Production Design
- 1998Six Days Seven NightsProduction Design
- 1998Hard RainProduction Design
- 1995CongoProduction Design
- 1994NorthProduction Design
- 1993DaveProduction Design
- 1992A Few Good MenProduction Design
- 1992Radio FlyerProduction Design
- 1989Tango & CashProduction Design
- 1989Lethal Weapon 2Production Design
- 1989Tales from the CryptDirector
- 1988ScroogedProduction Designer
- 1987Lethal WeaponProduction Design
- 1986The Golden ChildProduction Design
- 1985The Color PurpleProduction Design
- 1985Amazing StoriesDirector
- 1985The GooniesProduction Design
- 1985The Slugger's WifeProduction Design
- 1984The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionProduction Design
- 1983Bad BoysProduction Design
- 1981Halloween IIProduction Design
- 1981The HandProduction Design
- 1981Callie & SonProduction Design
- 1980Ordinary PeopleArt Direction
- 1980BrubakerArt Direction
- 1979Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam RiderArt Direction
- 1977Bare KnucklesProduction Design
- 1977I Never Promised You a Rose GardenProduction Design
- 1977Bad Georgia RoadArt Direction
- 1976Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil SheiksProduction Design
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