Burbank resident set for success

Molly Shore

Toby Corbett is not a magician, but the Burbank resident certainly

acts like one. Corbett, a production designer, creates interior and

exterior sets for Hollywood films and television shows.

“Even though you’re not physically building things, you’re moving

and manipulating the existing world to create the images you want the

camera to see,” Corbett said.

As a production designer, Corbett works closely with the director,

establishes the look of a film and even scouts shooting locations.

Corbett is excited about his latest work. “The Cooler,” a movie he

worked on starring Alec Baldwin and William H. Macy. The film will

open the third annual Los Angeles Film Festival on June 11 at the Arc

Light Theater in Hollywood. The festival runs through June 21 with

screenings at various Hollywood theaters. Although “The Cooler” is

set in Las Vegas, Corbett created a gambling casino with bars, a

stage show and gaming areas inside the old Flamingo Casino in Reno,

Nev., which had closed for renovations.

“I’m very excited about what I did on the movie, and how great it

looks,” he said. “The acting is great, and when everything works

together it’s quite rare.”

Corbett, a member of the Art Director’s Guild, Local 876, said the

art department is the “best job in the business, other than being the

producer and getting paid tons of money.”

“You really get to go out into the world and see how people live

-- doctors, lawyers, mechanics, gunslingers,” he said. “You’re able

to develop the world they live in.”

Corbett has also worked in television, and was nominated three

times for Emmys in art direction for the Tracey Ullman HBO series,

“Tracey Takes On.”

When his two children -- son Dylan and daughter Zoe -- were

younger, television work suited Corbett better than feature films

because he was able to come home every evening, instead of going on

location.

Corbett said he’s been a very involved dad, and it was hard for

him to be away from his children.

“Now they’re teenagers, and they could care less what I do,” he

said.