Renowned Film Designer Dies In New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Oscar-nominated production designer J. Michael Riva, whose film credits include "The Amazing Spider-Man," ''A Few Good Men" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," has died after suffering a stroke in New Orleans. He was 63.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer says Riva, who lived in Los Angeles, was in New Orleans working on the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained" and was preparing to head to the set when he suffered a stroke on June 1.

According to the statement, Riva passed died on June 7 "surrounded by his family."

Riva earned an Academy Award nomination for his work on 1985's "The Color Purple." His other production design works include three of the "Lethal Weapon" films, "Scrooged," ''The Goonies," ''Dave" and "Ordinary People."