Curt Beech on Bad Coffee and Good Movies

You may not know the name Curt Beech, MFA ’03, but chances are you’ve seen his work on both big and small screens. And, you’ll be seeing more of it soon. Beech is one of the Art Directors for the next “Star Trek” feature film from Paramount Pictures, to be released in the summer of 2009. On what may be one of this summer’s big movies, “Get Smart,” Beech was Assistant Art Director.

Beech’s hand in art direction can also be seen in “Ocean’s 13;” “Mission: Impossible III;” “War of the Worlds,” and “Collateral,” among others. His take on working on major films? “It’s a bonus when the movies that you do are good,” he said, with a laugh.

True invention is the coolest kind of design

“The best thing about working on any science fiction movie is you get to invent everything. That’s what’s so exciting,” Beech said. “The scenery takes on a new language; you’re defining the materials, starting from scratch. We’re not just making it look real, but fantastic within the real. True invention is the coolest kind of design.”

Calling all “Get Smart” fans

While talking about “Get Smart,”“ Beech started laughing. “It’s very funny,” he managed to say. “We created the entire Control headquarters…complete with all the doors, and the cone of silence. Fans of the TV show will love it.” A fan himself, he added, “I can’t wait to see it.”

Art Director and Production Designer, Curt Beech is a busy guy. Not to mention his work in television, including Art Direction for the pilots of “Brothers and Sisters” and “Miss Guided,” both for ABC Television Studio, formerly Touchstone Television.

Beech’s Big Break

How did he get here? Beech, who graduated from UCLA with an MFA in Scenic and Lighting Design, tells it like this: “In 2004, after one year and three days of making copies, getting lunches, and brewing really awful coffee for really nice people, I got a break: I was hired as Assistant Art Director for ‘The Chumscrubber’ for Dreamworks. That landed me in the Art Director’s Guild, and I’ve been as busy as I’ve wanted to be ever since.”

That big break…it couldn’t have been the coffee?

“I owe UCLA for helping me build my network,” said Beech.

“Theater was my first love. I came to UCLA to study theater design with Professor Neil Peter Jampolis. All his design classes were great, and I was fortunate…he became my mentor.”

While at UCLA, a larger world opened up for Beech. “There’s great cross-pollination between theater and film, especially with the students. The best film students saw that they needed a production designer to make their movies look better, and the theater students were looking to the film students to challenge them in a different medium,” he recalled.

“Then, I took one class in production design, and that’s how I got started in the (film) business,” said Beech.

Networking opportunities at UCLA are a big plus, Beech emphasized. “You’re learning from your peers, you have professors who are working in the industry, and, they brought in fantastic people from all over. Andrew Jackness, a professor from NYU, came to UCLA as a guest lecturer, and he’s the one who got me my first job.”

Disney Imagineering is a Must

Another course that really stood out for Beech, as a student was Disney’s Imagineering. “Definitely a highlight. The best class I took at UCLA,” Beech said without hesitation. He still recommends it to every TFT student today.

Recently, Beech participated in Entertainment Networking Night at UCLA, an annual event that provides students with the opportunity to meet with professionals from all aspects of the entertainment industry. As the only Art Director/Designer present, Beech held court at a table, talking nonstop with students for two hours. “I encouraged everyone to take that Imagineering class,” he emphasized. Why? “This class opens your eyes to going beyond what you thought was possible. Good design is good design— whether it’s animation, a stage set, or a sneaker.”

Beech encourages aspiring Art Directors and Production Designers to “figure out whose work you admire— people who are doing interesting things; get a copy of the Art Directors Guild book, flag them, and hunt them down,” he said with a laugh. “Seriously, nine times out of ten, they will be very generous with their time.”

It worked for Beech with production designer Richard Hoover, whom he admired for his work in “Cradle Will Rock,” a film about theater. Through a friend, Beech was able to schedule a meeting with Hoover on a Saturday, and as a result, began working for him on a theater project two days later.

“I also tell students to choose what to fight for, and to be careful,” Beech cautioned. “You can’t get everything you want. It’s true in the industry. It’s true in life.”

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Beech shares with students the lessons he has learned the hard way. “For ‘Get Smart’ I designed a beautiful Russian country church to be built on the back lot at Universal, with detailed drawings, a façade and an elaborate scale model. And, guess what? It got cut,” he laughs. “I took that model with me (on Entertainment Networking Night at UCLA) as a lesson for the students. Things don’t always work out. You’ve got to balance your artistic vision with budget constraints. Budget drives everything. The key is flexibility— you have to be able to adapt your vision, and change sets on the fly.”

Another life lesson: beware of your own clever ideas. Beech realized he made a “critical mistake” when, as Assistant Art Director for “War of the Worlds,” he suggested creating bionic spread sheets, with a breakdown of animated action scenes on the computer, frame by frame, for each action sequence. “Steven (Spielberg) liked it, and I wound up doing that the entire rest of the time—three or four months of tedious work. It was brutal,” he recalled. “But, hey, Steven liked it, and that’s all that matters.”

Beech and his wife Mary, who works at Disney, have two daughters, ages two and four. Would he like them to go into the film industry?

“They’ll have to decide for themselves, but…sure! It’s fun and rewarding. I’m having a great time,” said Beech. “I love going to work everyday. What’s better than that?”

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