# J. Michael Riva

John Michael Riva (June 28, 1948 – June 7, 2012), better known as J. Michael Riva, was an American production designer.

## Early and personal life

Riva was born in Manhattan, to William Riva, a Broadway set designer, and Maria Elisabeth Sieber, a German-born actress and the daughter of Marlene Dietrich. Riva had three brothers (John Peter, John Paul and John David). Riva attended the prep school Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for six years before attending UCLA. Married to Wendy Mickell, he had four sons, Jean-Paul, Mikey, Daniel, and Adam.

## Career

Riva had a long and prestigious career as an art director and production designer on numerous films, including the 1985 film The Color Purple, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Other credits include The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010).
His final films, The Amazing Spider-Man and Django Unchained, were released posthumously. He was the production designer for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as well as for the 74th and 79th Academy Awards in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the latter.

## Death

Riva suffered a stroke on June 1, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, during production of Django Unchained. He died in a hospital there on June 7, 2012, at age 63. Django director Quentin Tarantino commented, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague."

## Filmography
### Films
#### All as production designer unless stated otherwise

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1976 | Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks | Art director; credited as Mike Riva |
| 1977 | Bad Georgia Road | Art director; credited as Michael Riva |
| 1977 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | Uncredited |
| 1977 | Bare Knuckles | Credited as Michael Riva |
| 1979 | Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider | Art director; credited as Michael Riva |
| 1980 | Brubaker | Also art director |
| 1980 | Ordinary People | Art director |
| 1981 | The Hand | |
| 1981 | Halloween II | Credited as Michael Riva |
| 1983 | Bad Boys | |
| 1983 | Strangers Kiss | Visual consultant; credited as Michael Riva |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | |
| 1985 | The Falcon and the Snowman | |
| 1985 | The Slugger's Wife | Credited as Michael Riva |
| 1985 | The Goonies | |
| 1985 | The Color Purple | |
| 1986 | The Golden Child | |
| 1987 | Lethal Weapon | |
| 1988 | Scrooged | |
| 1989 | Lethal Weapon 2 | |
| 1989 | Tango & Cash | |
| 1992 | Radio Flyer | |
| 1992 | A Few Good Men | |
| 1993 | Dave | |
| 1994 | North | |
| 1995 | Congo | |
| 1998 | Hard Rain | |
| 1998 | Six Days Seven Nights | |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | |
| 1999 | House on Haunted Hill | Visual consultant |
| 2000 | Romeo Must Die | Visual consultant |
| 2000 | Charlie's Angels | |
| 2001 | Evolution | |
| 2003 | Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | |
| 2005 | Stealth | |
| 2005 | Zathura: A Space Adventure | |
| 2006 | The Pursuit of Happyness | |
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | (with Neil Spisak) |
| 2008 | Iron Man | |
| 2008 | Seven Pounds | |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider-Man | Posthumous release |
| 2012 | Django Unchained | Posthumous release |

### Television
#### All as production designer unless stated otherwise

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1981 | Callie & Son | TV film |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | Director; episode 2.12: "The Eternal Mind"; credited as Michael Riva |
| 1990 | Tales from the Crypt | Director; episode 2.18: "The Secret"; credited as Michael Riva |
| 1994 | Lily in Winter | Story; TV film |
| 1996 | 1996 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony | TV special |
| 1999 | Tuesdays with Morrie | TV film |
| 2002 | The 74th Annual Academy Awards | TV special |
| 2007 | The 79th Annual Academy Awards | TV special |