MAJOR, Grant 1955(?)–

PERSONAL

Born c. 1955, in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Education: Auckland Technical Institute (now Auckland University of Technology), graduated.

Addresses: Agent—Peter Franciosa, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Production designer and art director. Television New Zealand, worked as set designer; production designer for Commonwealth Games ceremonies; designer of New Zealand pavilions for World Expo events in Australia and Spain.

Awards, Honors: Film Award (with Bridget Ikin), best film, New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 1990, for An Angel at My Table; Film Award, best design, New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 1995, for Heavenly Creatures; Apex Award nomination, outstanding production design for a fantasy, science fiction, or horror film, 1996, for The Frighteners; Film Awards, best design, New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 1997, for The Ugly, and 1999, for Memory & Desire; National Board of Review Award (with others), best production design or art direction, Fennecus Award nomination, outstanding production design for a fantasy film, and Apex Award nomination, outstanding production design for a fantasy, science fiction, or horror film, all 2001, Academy Award nomination (with Dan Hennah), best art direction or set decoration, Film Award nomination, best production design, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, American Film Institute Award, production designer of the year, Excellence in Production Design Award nomination (with others), outstanding period or fantasy feature film, Art Directors Guild, and Golden Satellite Award nomination (with Hennah), best art direction, International Press Academy, all 2002, all for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Fennecus Award, outstanding production design for a fantasy film, and Apex Award, outstanding production design for a fantasy, science fiction, or horror film, both 2002, Academy Award nomination (with Hennah and Alan Lee), best art direction or set decoration, Film Award nomination, best production design, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and Excellence in Production Design Award (with others), outstanding period or fantasy feature film, Art Directors Guild, all 2003, all for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; San Diego Film Critics Society Award, best production design, Fennecus Award, outstanding production design for a fantasy film, and Apex Award, outstanding production design for a fantasy, science fiction, or horror film, all 2003, Academy Award (with Hennah and Lee), best art direction or set decoration, Film Award nomination, best production design, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Golden Satellite Award (with Hennah and Lee), best art direction, Excellence in Production Design Award (with others), outstanding period or fantasy feature film, Art Directors Guild, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, best production, all 2004, all for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Film Award nomination, best design, New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2003, and Golden Satellite Award nomination, best art direction (with Grace Mok), 2004, both for Whale Rider.

CREDITS

Film Production Designer:

(And producer and art director) An Angel at My Table, Fine Line, 1991.

Jack Be Nimble, Cinevista, 1994.

Heavenly Creatures (also known as Himmlesche kreaturen; also released as Heavenly Creatures: The Uncut Version), Miramax, 1994.

Peach, First Run Features, 1994.

The Frighteners (also known as Robert Zemeckis Presents: "The Frighteners"), MCA/Universal, 1996.

Memory & Desire, Steward, 1997.

The Ugly, Trimark Pictures, 1998.

Aberration, Live Film & Mediaworks/Victor Film, 1997.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (also known as The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—The Motion Picture), New Line Cinema, 2001.

Whale Rider (also known as Te kaieke tohora), Newmarket Films, 2003.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (also known as The Two Towers and Der herr der ringe: die zwei tuerme), New Line Cinema, 2002.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (also known as The Return of the King and Der herr der ringe: die rueckkehr des koenigs), New Line Cinema, 2003.

King Kong, Universal, 2005.

Film Art Director:

Other Halves, 1984.

Kitchen Sink (short film), Hibiscus Films, 1989.

Television Art Director; Movies:

Hercules and the Amazon Women, syndicated, 1994.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys—Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, syndicated, 1994.

Hercules in the Underworld, syndicated, 1994.

Hercules and the Circle of Fire, syndicated, 1994.

Television Art Director; Miniseries:

The Invisible Man, Arts and Entertainment, 1984.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Interviewee, Passage to Middle-Earth: The Making of "The Lord of the Rings," Sci-Fi Channel, 2001.

The 76th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2004.

RECORDINGS

Videos:

The Making of "The Lord of the Rings," 2002.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, May 17, 2004, p. 46.

Electronic:

Film Force, http://www.filmforce.ign.com, October 31, 2003.