Crank grew up in Richmond, Virginia[2] and graduated from William and Mary with a degree in studio art in 1982.[3] He also received a Theatre Design MFA degree from Carnegie-Mellon.[2]
Professional life
Crank first began as a set designer in Richmond's local theaters and then started working in film as a set painter around 1990.[4] He was the Art Director on three of Terrence Malick's films, including The New World (2005) and The Tree of Life (2011). Crank was on the production team that won the 2012 Satellite Award for Best Art Direction and Production Design for Lincoln (and was also nominated that same year for The Master).[5] Crank's production design work on Knives Out was integral to the film's world, including the fact that he turned different locations into the film's main setting, the mansion of mystery author Harlan Thrombey.[6][7]
In 2011, William & Mary’s Muscarelle Museum of Art presented Crank with The Cheek Medal, a national award for outstanding presentation of the arts.[8] In addition to his Oscar and BAFTA Film Award nods, Crank was nominated for an Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for his work on the News of the World (film).
