Film, TV & Theater Production, LAN-PAR
Before the director can call “Action!” for the first time, there’s a lot that must be done to get a movie, television show, or theatrical production ready for production or rehearsal. Screenwriters, producers, and distributors all come into play before a project moves on to the process of hiring the cast and crew, designing and building sets and costumes, creating storyboards, and more. Cinematographers, animators, and special-effects artists are among those who may be called upon to shape the look and feel of a production, ensuring its maximal success when it hits theaters or screens.
Film, TV & Theater Production Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Lantz, Walter
Walter Lantz was an American motion-picture animator, cartoon producer, and creator of the cartoon character Woody......
Larionov, Mikhail Fyodorovich
Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov was a Russian-born French painter and stage designer, a pioneer of pure abstraction......
Lasseter, John
John Lasseter is an American animator widely credited with engineering the success of Pixar Animation Studios through......
Lattany, Kristin Hunter
Kristin Hunter Lattany was an American novelist who examined black life and race relations in the United States......
Laughton, Charles
Charles Laughton was a British actor and director who defied the Hollywood typecasting system to emerge as one......
Laurencin, Marie
Marie Laurencin was a French painter, printmaker, and stage designer known for her delicate portraits of elegant,......
Lawrence, Martin
Martin Lawrence is a star who was featured in the hit television sitcom Martin from 1992 to 1997. He parlayed his......
Lawson, John Howard
John Howard Lawson was a U.S. playwright, screenwriter, and member of the “Hollywood Ten,” who was jailed (1948–49)......
Lee, Spike
Spike Lee is an American filmmaker known for his uncompromising, provocative approach to controversial subject......
Leigh, Mike
Mike Leigh is a British writer and director of film and theatre, known for his finely honed depictions of quotidian......
Lelouch, Claude
Claude Lelouch is a French director and screenwriter who was noted chiefly for his lush visual style. He achieved......
Lerner, Alan Jay
Alan Jay Lerner was an American librettist and lyricist who collaborated with composer Frederick Loewe on the hit......
Lesser, Sol
Sol Lesser was an American motion-picture producer best known for his Tarzan movies. Lesser entered the world of......
Letts, Tracy
Tracy Letts is an American actor and dramatist who was best known for his award-winning play August: Osage County......
Levin, Meyer
Meyer Levin was an American author of novels and nonfiction about the Jewish people and Israel. Levin first became......
Levinson, Barry
Barry Levinson is an American film director and screenwriter known for his versatility. Levinson worked as a comedy......
Lewis, Jerry
Jerry Lewis was an American comedian, actor, and director whose unrestrained comic style made him one of the most......
limelight
limelight, first theatrical spotlight, also a popular term for the incandescent calcium oxide light invented by......
Linnebach lantern
Linnebach lantern, theatrical lighting device by which silhouettes, colour, and broad outlines can be projected......
Logan, Joshua
Joshua Logan was an American stage and motion-picture director, producer, and writer. Best known as the stage director......
Lonergan, Kenneth
Kenneth Lonergan is an American film director, screenwriter, and playwright who created compelling, closely observed,......
Loos, Anita
Anita Loos was an American novelist and Hollywood screenwriter celebrated for her novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,......
Lorentz, Pare
Pare Lorentz was an American filmmaker whose government-sponsored documentaries focused attention on the waste......
Lorre, Chuck
...
Loutherbourg, Philip James de
Philip James de Loutherbourg was an early Romantic painter, illustrator, printmaker, and scenographer, especially......
Lucas, George
George Lucas is an American motion-picture director, producer, and screenwriter who created several of the most......
Lynch, David
David Lynch was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who is known for his uniquely disturbing and mind-bending......
MacArthur, Charles
Charles MacArthur was an American journalist, dramatist, and screenwriter. He was a colourful personality who is......
MacFarlane, Seth
Seth MacFarlane is an American writer, animator, actor, and producer who was perhaps best known for creating the......
MacKaye, (James Morrison) Steele
Steele MacKaye was a U.S. playwright, actor, theater manager, and inventor who has been called the closest approximation......
Mackie, Bob
Bob Mackie was an American costume designer noted for his extravagant and inventive style, characterized by meticulously......
MacLiammóir, Micheál
Micheál MacLiammóir was an English-born actor, scenic designer, and playwright whose nearly 300 productions in......
makeup
makeup, in the performing arts, motion pictures, or television, any of the materials used by actors for cosmetic......
Mamet, David
David Mamet is an American playwright, director, and screenwriter noted for his often desperate working-class characters......
Mankiewicz, Herman
Herman Mankiewicz was an American screenwriter, journalist, playwright, and wit, notable as a member of the Algonquin......
Mankiewicz, Joseph L.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz was an American producer, director, and screenwriter known for his witty, literary, urbane......
Mann, Michael
Michael Mann is an American director and screenwriter working in film and television. He has specialized in crime......
mansion
mansion, scenic device used in medieval theatrical staging. Individual mansions represented different locales in......
Manto, Saadat Hasan
Saadat Hasan Manto was an Indo-Pakistani writer of Urdu fiction and nonfiction whose works presented untempered......
Marion, Frances
Frances Marion was an American motion-picture screenwriter whose 25-year career spanned the silent and sound eras.......
Marshall, Garry
Garry Marshall was an American producer, writer, and director who created several iconic TV sitcoms—notably the......
Martin, Quinn
Quinn Martin was an American television producer who was perhaps best known for a series of popular crime shows.......
Martin, Steve
Steve Martin is an American comedian, writer, and producer who began his career as a stand-up comic and eventually......
Mathis, June
June Mathis was an American scriptwriter, who helped establish the primacy of the script in American silent films.......
Maté, Rudolph
Rudolph Maté was a Polish-born filmmaker who was best known for his work as a cinematographer, though he later......
May, Elaine
Elaine May is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director who is known for her sardonic wit, her caustic......
Mayall, Rik
Rik Mayall was a British comic actor and writer known for playing over-the-top, humorously unlikable characters.......
Mazursky, Paul
Paul Mazursky was an American actor, writer, and director whose films, which often explored relationships, were......
McBride, James
James McBride is an American author and musician known for his acclaimed works of historical fiction and autobiography,......
McCarey, Leo
Leo McCarey was an American director and writer who was perhaps best known for his light comedies, notably the......
McCay, Winsor
Winsor McCay was an American newspaper cartoonist who was also a pioneer of animated films. At age 21, McCay started......
McDonagh, Martin
Martin McDonagh is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker whose work blends vibrant dialogue, exceptionally dark......
McDuffie, Dwayne
Dwayne McDuffie was an American comic book writer and animated-film producer who cofounded Milestone Media, an......
McEwan, Ian
Ian McEwan is a British novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter whose restrained, refined prose style accentuates......
McKay, Adam
Adam McKay is an American writer, director, producer, and occasional performer who forged a career as one of the......
McMillan, Terry
Terry McMillan is a writer who frequently graced the bestseller lists in the 1990s and early 2000s with her massively......
McMurtry, Larry
Larry McMurtry was an award-winning American writer noted for his novels set on the frontier, in contemporary small......
McQueen, Steve
Steve McQueen is a British director, screenwriter, and artist best known to the general public for his feature-length......
Meerson, Lazare
Lazare Meerson was a motion-picture set designer whose work transformed French set design. His studio-built street......
Menzies, William Cameron
William Cameron Menzies was an American set designer, one of the most influential in filmmaking, whose work on......
Mercer, David
David Mercer was a playwright who established his reputation on the London stage in the mid-1960s with plays that......
Merrick, David
David Merrick was a prolific American theatrical producer who staged many of the most successful plays in American......
Messmer, Otto
Otto Messmer was an American animator who created the character Felix the Cat, the world’s most popular cartoon......
Meyers, Nancy
Nancy Meyers is an American writer, director, and producer who was best known for her romantic comedies, several......
Michaels, Lorne
Lorne Michaels is a Canadian-born American writer and producer best known for his work on the television program......
Micheaux, Oscar
Oscar Micheaux was a prolific African American producer and director who made films independently of the Hollywood......
Mielziner, Jo
Jo Mielziner was an American stage designer who, in more than 360 Broadway productions from 1924, introduced several......
Miller, Arthur
Arthur Miller was an American playwright, who combined social awareness with a searching concern for his characters’......
Miller, George
George Miller is an Australian director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in a diverse range of genres but......
Milligan, Spike
Spike Milligan was an Irish writer and comedian who led the comic troupe featured on the 1950s British Broadcasting......
Mitchell, David
David Mitchell is an English author whose novels are noted for their lyrical prose style and complex structures.......
Miyazaki Hayao
Miyazaki Hayao is an influential Japanese anime director whose lyrical and allusive works have won both critical......
Mizrahi, Isaac
Isaac Mizrahi is an American fashion designer who is known for provocative clothing designs as well as for his......
Modiano, Patrick
Patrick Modiano is a French writer who in more than 40 books used his fascination with the human experience of......
Moore, Brian
Brian Moore was an Irish novelist who immigrated to Canada and then to the United States. Known as a “writer’s......
Moss, Carlton
Carlton Moss was a filmmaker who inspired later African American filmmakers with the industrial, training, and......
motion capture
motion capture, the process used to translate physical movement in three-dimensional (3D) space into a digitized......
multiple setting
multiple setting, staging technique used in medieval drama, in which all the scenes were simultaneously in view,......
Murphy, Ryan
Ryan Murphy is a producer, director, and writer of television and film who has built a successful and prolific......
Mwangi, Meja
Meja Mwangi was a Kenyan novelist who wrote prolifically on the social conditions and history of Kenya. Mwangi......
Nicholson, Jack
Jack Nicholson is one of the most prominent American motion-picture actors of his generation, especially noted......
Nikolais, Alwin
Alwin Nikolais was an American choreographer, composer, and designer whose abstract dances combine motion with......
Nolan, Christopher
Christopher Nolan is a British film director and writer acclaimed for his noirish visual aesthetic and unconventional,......
Nolan, Sir Sidney
Sir Sidney Nolan was an artist known for his paintings based on Australian folklore. With little formal art training,......
Norton, Edward
Edward Norton is an American actor known for his intense performances and uncompromising approach to his work.......
Nottage, Lynn
Lynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often focuses on marginalized communities, the working class,......
Nykvist, Sven
Sven Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer best known for his subtle, luminous camera work in the films of Ingmar......
Odets, Clifford
Clifford Odets was a leading dramatist of the theatre of social protest in the United States during the 1930s.......
Osborne, John
John Osborne was a British playwright and film producer whose Look Back in Anger (performed 1956) ushered in a......
Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson’s path to Hollywood comedy stardom began with what he once described as a “little idea” that he cooked......
Owen, Alun
Alun Owen was a Welsh dramatist for radio, television, screen, and stage whose work often reflects the cultural......
O’Brien, Conan
Conan O’Brien is an American late-night talk-show personality and comedian best known as the host of Late Night......
O’Brien, Edna
Edna O’Brien was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, and screenwriter whose work is noted for its portrayal......
Pagliero, Marcello
Marcello Pagliero was an Italian motion picture director, screenwriter, and actor who worked primarily outside......
Pakula, Alan J.
Alan J. Pakula was an American motion-picture director, producer, and screenwriter who evoked exceptional performances......
Pal, George
George Pal was a Hungarian-born animator, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the science-fiction......
Panahi, Jafar
Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director and screenwriter whose films are critical depictions of Iranian society. Panahi’s......
panorama
panorama, in the visual arts, continuous narrative scene or landscape painted to conform to a flat or curved background,......
Park, Nick
Nick Park is a British animator and director of stop-motion films that often feature his characters Wallace and......
Parker, Alan
Alan Parker was a British director, writer, and producer who worked in a wide range of genres; his notable films......