The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) announced that esteemed veteran Location Manager Dow Griffith (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jumanji, And Justice For All,) will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Annual LMGI Awards on Saturday, August 26, 2023, at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Griffith is being honored for his lifetime career of over 65 motion pictures whose locations span the globe. The announcement was made by LMGI Awards Committee Chairs John Rakich, LMGI President, and Robin Citrin, Supervising Location Manager. This year also marks the LMGI’s 20th anniversary.
“We regard Dow to be the quintessential location manager as we have followed his adventures across the globe. Well-traveled and full of tales, Dow can be dropped off anywhere in the world and he will return with stories and must-go places. He is resourceful, personable, and highly adaptable to any situation with a lifetime of rich escapades. He is most deserving to be honored with this year’s LMGI Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Citrin.
Griffith’s enthusiasm and creativity have set the scene for movies sites literally around the world and specializing in unique and foreign locations. His background in cultural anthropology and his adventurous spirit have taken him on planes, buses, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, dugout canoes, and helicopters to explore the world and its wonders in search of the best and most appropriate location settings. He has visited an enviable 500 regions of the planet and 237 World Heritage Sites.
Griffith’s many, varied motion picture credits include Proof of Life, The Fountain, Ghost in the Shell, The Promise, The Bourne Legacy, Tropic Thunder, Carrie, The Chronicles of Riddick, Dinosaur, Mission to Mars, Jungle 2 Jungle, Sleepless in Seattle, Alive, Arachnophobia, Always, Moon Over Parador, The Color of Money, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Jerk, And Justice for All, and The Onion Field, among many others. Dow’s movie credits have taken him across the globe — from the Arctic to the south coast of Australia; from the Amazon to Death Valley; from China to Costa Rica; from Russia to Tenerife; from Samoa to Machu Picchu; India to Iguazu; Ecuador to Anchorage; and to the Philippines, Venezuela, Vietnam, Thailand, Namibia, Guatemala, Macao, Jordan, Brazil, Hong King, Haiti, Honduras, Vladivostok, Nome, Maui, the jungles of Panama, the beaches of Fiji, the snowbound slopes of Mont Blanc, and more.
During his 45-year career, Dow has worked with leading filmmakers Taylor Hackford, Darren Aronofsky, Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathy Kennedy, Richard Vane, Norman Jewison, Brian DePalma, Paul Mazursky, Steven Soderbergh, M. Night Shyamalan, John Hughes, Martin Scorsese, Michael Apted, and Carl Reiner, among many others.
The LMGI Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to a Location Professional whose body of work represents the highest level of achievement and professionalism over an illustrious career in features, TV, or commercials.
The LMGI Awards honor the creative visual contributions by location professionals in film, television, and commercials from around the globe. Outstanding Location Awards are presented in the following categories: Contemporary Film, Period Film, Contemporary TV, Period TV, TV Serial Program/Anthology/Limited Series, Commercials, and Film Commissions.