Paul Lasaine
Biography
Paul Lasaine is a British production designer and visual-effects artist whose career spans over three decades in both animation and live-action filmmaking. He initially began in matte painting and visual-effects roles on major films in the early 1990s, contributing as a matte-painting supervisor or artist on titles such as Alien³ (1992), Batman Returns (1992), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), Hocus Pocus (1993), and Dave (1993). He transitioned into higher-profile visual-effects and art-department roles, serving as visual-effects art director on The Lord of the Rings trilogy — The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Lasaine later shifted toward animation and production design. He served as production designer on major animated films including The Road to El Dorado (2000), Surf’s Up (2007), The Boxtrolls (2014), Storks (2016), and the Marvel animated series What If…? (2021–2023). Alongside his design work, he has also contributed to visual development for landmark animated features such as Puss in Boots (2011), The Croods (2013), Turbo (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012), and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Regarding awards, Paul Lasaine has received recognition from the Annie Awards, which celebrate excellence in animation. He won the Annie Award in 2015 for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design in an Animated Feature Production for The Boxtrolls. He was nominated again in 2024 for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design in an Animated Television/Media Production for What If…?. He has a total of one Annie Award win and two nominations.
Known For & Full Filmography3 Titles
Movie - 2003, 2h 15m • as Self
The creation of the film Alien³ (1992) is covered here in this feature-length documentary in exhaustive detail. Many interviews with the cast and crew give us an idea of how hard of a time David Fincher had creating his first feature film, as well as present us with much information about every element that went into making this film, including how the plot and script changed drastically through filming.
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Self
Peter Jackson, members of Weta, and film production personnel are interviewed, telling of the birth of a small company in 1993 (for the making of Heavenly Creatures), which would provide visual effects for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and its various tasks in rendering fictional, fantasy environments and entities. The process behind the making of the Watcher in the Water, the Cave-troll, the giant corridor of Dwarrowdelf, the Balrog and its fire effects, the water-horses of the Bruinen flood, and the Ringwraiths' true appearance are explained by effects specialists of Weta Digital and the American company Digital Domain.
Movie - 2002, 2h 15m • as Self
This documentary introduces Wētā Workshop (and its design crew of sculptors and set-designers), renowned artists Alan Lee and John Howe who were brought on to join them in conceptual design, and costume designer Ngila Dickson. Topics covered include the design of Middle-earth cultures portrayed in the film, the making of props and settings for Hobbiton, Rivendell, the Orthanc interior, and Caras Galadhon, and the complexity of prosthetics.