Ethan Tobman is one of the most sought after production designers in Hollywood. 

He designed the intricate and innovative set for the Academy award winning movie Room (based on this book by Emma Donoghue), and his artistic vision has graced everything from national commercial campaigns for Target and Cadillac, to culture-shaking music videos like Beyonce’s Formation.

In this episode, Ethan explains what exactly a production designer does from start to finish, weaving in his own tales about working with famous directors, actors, and music superstars. 

This is one of the most fun conversations I have ever had with someone in the entertainment industry, and I think you’ll enjoy listening in. 

See more of Ethan Tobman's work on his website.

Ethan talks about just a handful of his credits, including Rob Reiner's 2014 movie And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. 

We also discuss Beyonce's video of the year: Formation

Grammy nominated best video of the year "Formation" from LEMONADE the Visual Album Available Now! iTunes: http://smarturl.it/LEMONADEitunes Amazon.com: http://smarturl.it/LEMONADEcd TIDAL: https://lemonade.tidal.com

And OK Go's The Writing's on the Wall:

Buy Hungry Ghosts on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/HungryGhostsiTunes For dozens of exclusive behind-the-scenes video clips from the set, visit http://okgo.net/wotw/ Buy the EP now on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/OKGOEP LYRICS: Listen, I know it's been hard, you know it's no different for me. We're less than a zero-sum game now, and baby we both know that's not how it's supposed to be.

Two books that made an impact on Ethan:

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and Another Country by James Baldwin

Thanks for listening to Ep. 2 of Smartest Person in the Room with Laura Tremaine!

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