James Chinlund was born and raised in New York City. He studied Fine Art at CalArts in Los Angeles, where his focus was on sculpture and large-scale installation work. Returning to New York he began working in film as a carpenter before finding his way into production design through music videos and independent films. Collaborators included Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), Todd Solondz (Storytelling), Paul Schrader (Auto Focus), and Spike Lee (25th Hour). These experiences developed an instinct for spatial design grounded in narrative and character.
This sensibility has informed some of the most visually ambitious productions of the past two decades. Credits include The Avengers (Joss Whedon), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves), The Lion King (Jon Favreau) — the first feature film shot entirely in virtual reality — and The Batman (Matt Reeves), which was an early pioneer of LED volume production at scale, and for which his work received a BAFTA nomination and British Film Designer’s Guild Award. His most recent film, The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie), premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2025 and won the Silver Lion for Best Directing. Narnia (Greta Gerwig) is currently in post-production. Alongside his film practice, Chinlund works globally across fashion, print, and commercial production — designing runway sets for Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, print campaigns with Inez & Vinoodh for Chanel, Calvin Klein, Balmain, Miu Miu, and Gucci, and commercials for directors including Spike Jonze, Rupert Sanders, and Lance Acord.
