A Martin County West graduate is being mentioned in lofty terms within the movie industry for her work on the current number one movie in the U.S.
Ashley Swanson was Set Decorator for the “Barbie” movie, which has been the box office leader in each of the four weeks since its release. She is the daughter of Vern and Mary Swanson of Sherburn.
The sets in the Barbie movie have caught the attention of industry insiders.
Swanson and Katie Spencer were set decorators for the movie, collaborating with production designer Sarah Greenwood.
According to Jacob Sarkisian of Gold Derby, “It’s masterful stuff and Greenwood, Spencer, and Swanson could all be swapping pink for Oscar gold next year.”
It would be Swanson’s first Oscar bid.
Longtime collaborators Greenwood and Spencer have both been nominated for six Oscars together: “Pride & Prejudice” in 2006, “Atonement” in 2008, “Sherlock Holmes” in 2010, “Anna Karenina” in 2013, and “Beauty and the Beast” and “Darkest Hour” in 2018.
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
Swanson attended the University of Minnesota where she received her bachelor's degree in art history. During college, she worked at the Walker Art Center Museum of Contemporary Art in Minneapolis.
If you haven’t seen Barbie (or you want to see it again), there are three more showings at the Sherburn Theatre this weekend. Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday.