James Chinlund studied Fine Art at CalArts in Los Angeles, with a focus on sculpture and large scale installation art works. After graduating, Chinlund returned to his native New York and started his career in film, initially as a carpenter, before finding opportunities as a production designer on music videos and independent films. During this period he first worked with frequent collaborator Darren Aronofsky on Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain , in addition to designing Todd Solondz’s Storytelling , Paul Schrader’s Autofocus and Spike Lee’s 25th Hour .
After a short break from features to help care for his young daughter, Chinlund returned to the feature world for Marvel’s The Avengers . He was nominated for eight ADG awards, including for his work on the films Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes directed by Matt Reeves, and The Lion King directed by Jon Favreau, which was the first feature film ever shot entirely in Virtual Reality. His latest film The Batman saw his work nominated for a BAFTA. Over the years James has been active in the commercial, fashion and art worlds. Recently James has been designing a series of live events, including runway sets for Nicolas Ghesquière and Louis Vuitton. James recently wrapped production on The Smashing Machine directed by Benny Safdie.
