Known for Art
Jeannine Oppewall entered the film industry in the late 1970s after a six-year association with the great design innovators, Charles and Ray Eames. She worked as a set designer (Blue Collar, Blow Out, The Rose, Honky Tonk Freeway) before rising to the position of production designer in 1983 with Tender Mercies, the modestly budgeted ‘slice of life’ film, which brought Robert Duvall an Academy Award. For the next several years, Ms Oppewall designed an impressive variety of motion pictures for a diverse list of directors, many with international credentials. These range from the Russian Andrei Konchalovsky (Maria’s Lovers) and the Brazilian Hector Babenco (Ironweed), to include Costa-Gavras (The Music Box) and Luis Mandoki (White Palace). Other credits include Love Letters, The Big Easy, Rooftops, Wonder Boys and Sibling Rivalry. Other films for which she is known are Seabiscuit (starring Jeff Bridges), Catch Me if You Can (Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio), The Sum of All Fears (starring Morgan Freeman), and Robert DeNiro’s The Good Shepherd, released at the end of 2006. Claudia has received 4 Oscar Award nominations for her films and received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Production Design, 1998 for Pleasantville. She also won the Art Directors’ Guild’s award for Excellence in Production Design for Catch Me If You Can, and was nominated for 5 others of her films for the same. She served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for 9 years and is currently the co-chairperson of its Museum Committee.
Born
November 28, 1946 (age 79)
Birthplace
Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA
Filmography
52 films, 1 show


Deep Water
2022 · 1h 56m · US
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.


Wakefield
2017 · 1h 46m · US
A man's nervous breakdown causes him to leave his wife and live in his attic for several months.


Rules Don't Apply
2016 · 2h 7m · US
The unconventional love story of an aspiring actress, her ambitious driver, and their eccentric boss, the legendary billionaire Howard Hughes.


Last Days in the Desert
2016 · 1h 38m · US
On his way out of the wilderness, Jesus struggles with the Devil over the fate of a family in crisis, setting himself up for a dramatic test.


5 to 7
2014 · 1h 38m · US
A young writer begins an affair with an older woman from France whose open marriage to a diplomat dictates that they can meet only between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.


A Perfect Man
2013 · 1h 35m
A philandering husband unknowingly falls back in love with his wife over the phone when she pretends to be another woman.


The Face of Love
2013 · 1h 32m · US
A widow falls for a guy who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband.


How Do You Know
2010 · 2h 1m · US
After being cut from the USA softball team and feeling a bit past her prime, Lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current, baseball-playing beau.


Peacock
2010 · 1h 30m · US
A minor train accident in rural Nebraska gradually unveils a mystery involving the town's reclusive bank clerk.


The Happening
2008 · 1h 30m · US
When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliot Moore and his wife Alma flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon -- or something even more sinister?


The Good Shepherd
2006 · 2h 47m · US
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.


Seabiscuit
2003 · 2h 21m · US
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.


Catch Me If You Can
2002 · 2h 21m · US
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.


Waking Up in Reno
2002 · 1h 31m · US
Candy and Lonnie Earl are just crazy about each other. The problem: she's married to Roy and he's married to Darlene. So far it's been a secret affair. But that's about to change, because this foursome is driving cross-country and headed for some big surprises.


The Sum of All Fears
2002 · 2h 4m · CA
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.


Wonder Boys
2000 · 1h 47m · DE
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.


Snow Falling on Cedars
1999 · 2h 7m · US
In the 1950s, a Japanese-American fisherman is suspected of killing his neighbour at sea. For Ishmael, a local reporter, the trial strikes a deep emotional chord when he finds his ex-lover is linked to the case. As he investigates the killing, he uncovers some startling clues that lead him to a shocking discovery.


Pleasantville
1998 · 2h 4m · US
Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.


L.A. Confidential
1997 · 2h 18m · US
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.


The Rich Man's Wife
1996 · 1h 34m · US
A rich man's wife finds she has a bad prenuptial agreement with an even worse husband. Over drinks with a stranger, she fantasizes about doing her husband in to void the prenup — but much to her surprise, the stranger decides to turn her imagination into reality.


Primal Fear
1996 · 2h 10m · US
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.


The Bridges of Madison County
1995 · 2h 15m · US
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.


Losing Isaiah
1995 · 1h 46m · US
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.


Corrina, Corrina
1994 · 1h 55m · US
When Manny Singer's wife dies, his young daughter Molly becomes mute and withdrawn. To help cope with looking after Molly, he hires sassy housekeeper Corrina Washington, who coaxes Molly out of her shell and shows father and daughter a whole new way of life. Manny and Corrina's friendship delights Molly and enrages the other townspeople.


The Wrong Man
1993 · 1h 44m · US
US merchant sailor Alex Walker is stranded in Mexico, penniless and wanted by the police. He meets and joins up with an unlikely couple - ageing but likeable shit Phillip Mills and young sexy, frustated wife Missy. The three develop a curiously inter-dependent relationship. Meanwhile, Police Captain Diaz and Detective Ortega are closing in and the plot circle is closed at Tapachula rail station amidst a stack of mistakes and wrong decisions.


The Vanishing
1993 · 1h 49m · US
The boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.


School Ties
1992 · 1h 46m · US
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.


Sibling Rivalry
1990 · 1h 27m · US
Marjorie Turner is suffocating in her marriage and day to day life. An extramarital affair with a stranger seems to be the answer until her paramour has a fatal heart attack, and turns out to be less of a stranger than she could have thought...


White Palace
1990 · 1h 43m · US
Max Baron is a Jewish advertising executive in his 20s who's still getting over the death of his wife. Nora Baker is a 40-something diner waitress who enjoys the wilder side of life. Mismatched or not, their attraction is instant and smoldering. With time, however, their class and age differences become an obstacle in their relationship, especially since Max can't keep Nora a secret from his Jewish friends and upper-crust associates forever.


Music Box
1989 · 2h 4m · US
A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.


Animal Behavior
1989 · 1h 25m · US
Biologist Alex Brisco develops a new method to communicate with chimpanzees. Instead of using machines, she teaches the chimps simple sign language. Her research is overlooked by ignorant colleagues, but one man, Mark, a cellist, helps Alex with her research.


Rooftops
1989 · 1h 38m · US
T, as most of his friends, lives in a self-constructed 'house', built on top of an old building in the city. Their one passion is 'combat'. Combat is a dance/streetfight during which the contestants try to push each other out of the arena, while not allowed to actually touch each other. When drugdealers move into the neighbourhood and kill T's best friend he embarks on a mission to eradicate the drug-presence in the neigbourhood. His friends are reluctant to help though, knowing what happened to T's friend when he crossed them.


Ironweed
1987 · 2h 23m · US
An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.


Light of Day
1987 · 1h 47m · US
Cleveland siblings rise with a rock band while coping with personal problems.


The Big Easy
1986 · 1h 42m · US
Remy McSwain is a New Orleans police lieutenant who investigates the murder of a local mobster. His investigation leads him to suspect that fellow members of the police force may be involved.


Desert Hearts
1985 · 1h 31m · US
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.


Maria's Lovers
1984 · 1h 49m · IL
A World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.