A Martin County West graduate was a member of the team behind the making of the “Barbie” movie, which received eight nominations for the 96th Academy Awards announced this (Tuesday) morning.
Ashley Swanson was a set decorator for the movie along with Katie Spencer. They collaborated with production designer Sarah Greenwood.
They were one of the five nominees in the Best Production Design category.
Here’s the list:
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
“Barbie” was one of the biggest films of 2023, breaking records by taking in over $1 billion at the box office.
The following is from a review by Valerie Kalfrin on the Alliance of Women Film Journalists website:
The film first establishes Barbie’s world in meticulous detail, complete with the painted backdrops and choreography of classic musicals.
Production designer Sarah Greenwood, set decorators Katie Spencer and Ashley Swanson, and Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran bring the Dreamhouse and coordinated outfits to amusing life as Barbie “showers” without water, drinks from empty cups, and floats from her roof into a cute pink convertible.
Ashley is the daughter of Vern and Mary Swanson of Sherburn.
She attended the University of Minnesota where she received her bachelor’s in art history. During college, she worked at the Walker Art Center Museum of Contemporary Art in Minneapolis.
Among Swanson’s feature credits are:
Party Boat, Sony Crackle
Attraction in Paris, Eminence Pictures
Bethrothed, Red Cardinal Films
Clinical, Netflix
I Am Watching You, Lifetime TV
Television credits:
Into The Dark, Hulu
Bring the Funny, NBC
Tacoma FD, truTV
Gay of Thrones, Funny or Die
James Cameron’s History of Sci Fi. AMC
Throwing Shade, TV Land
The Oscars will air live at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 10 on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.