The Neil Spisak papers span the years 1979 to 2016 and encompass five linear feet of papers. The collection consists of Production files, Television files, and an equal amount of material in the Additions series, which is comprised of Production files, produced and unproduced, and more television files. The material documents Spisak’s career as a production and costume designer for film and television. Unfortunately, there is nothing detailing his early work designing sets and costumes for Broadway productions, nor is there any material documenting his time assisting costume designer Ann Roth on many of her early 1980s film credits.

The production files consist mainly of script material for over a dozen films for which Spisak worked as a production designer, costume designer, or assistant costume designer. The best represented title in the collection is FACE/OFF (1997), with script notes between John Woo and screenwriters Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, budgets, set construction plans and set breakdowns, and numerous photocopies of storyboards. The material for HEAT (1995) includes production notes, breakdowns for vehicles, special effects, and props, and several location scout and production design meeting notes. Spisak’s work with Peter Masterson is represented by scripts and a small amount of production material for FULL MOON IN BLUE WATER (1988) and NIGHT GAME (1989). For THE JANUARY MAN (1989) and Q&A (1990), the only two films for which he is credited as a costume designer, there are scripts and many wardrobe reference Polaroids of the casts. Also included are scripts for DYING YOUNG (1991) and SWOON (1992), for which he is credited as a visual consultant and creative consultant, respectively. The television series consists entirely of an unproduced screenplay adaptation of Edith Wharton’s “Summer,” written by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming.

The bulk of the Additions series is comprised of more production files, which likewise primarily consists of script material. This series contains material for Spisak’s many collaborations with Sam Raimi, including budgets and costs for THE GIFT (2000) as well as material for the SPIDER-MAN (2002-2007) trilogy, most notably set plans, storyboards, graphics, and location and set piece photos for the first SPIDER-MAN film. There is more design documentation for FACE/OFF and Q&A, as well as a script for THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL (1985), Spisak’s first film as a production designer and his first collaboration with Peter Masterson. Other notable titles in the series include DISCLOSURE (1994), HANCOCK (2008), and TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015), with a small amount of design material for the latter two. The subseries Production Files, Unproduced is comprised of a script by Rita Hsaio and a location report for a planned remake of THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET. The television files subseries consists of material for the television movie TIGER TOWN (1983), Spisak’s first credit as a production designer, and includes correspondence, director’s notes, and location and prop documentation.

Neil Spisak was born in 1956 and grew up in Parma, Ohio. He attended Carnegie Mellon University where he studied scenic and costume design. After graduating in 1978, he moved to New York City and found work as an assistant to costume designer Ann Roth. Roth, who designed the costumes for the Broadway opening of THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, delegated Spisak to oversee the wardrobe for the touring and London productions of the show, where he became acquainted with the show’s writer and director, Peter Masterson. He continued to assist Roth with much of her stage work, including productions of CRUCIBLE OF BLOOD and THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, and assisted William Ivey Long with the costumes for the original Broadway production of NINE. Through Roth, he also gained experience in film costume design, assisting her on such films as DRESSED TO KILL (1980), SILKWOOD (1983), THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1982), and PLACES IN THE HEART (1984). He had his first credited film work as an assistant costume designer on BERRY GORDY’S THE LAST DRAGON (1985), and assisted Roth on the films MAXIE (1985), THE MORNING AFTER (1986), and STARS AND BARS (1988).

Around this time, Peter Masterson provided Spisak the opportunity to segue into production design when he hired Spisak for his directorial debut, THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL (1985). He later reunited with Masterson for FULL MOON IN BLUE WATER (1988) and NIGHT GAME (1989). Spisak continued to work as a costume designer as well, and in 1986 he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special, shared with Ann Roth and Richard Schissler, for “Roanoke: Part I,” an episode of AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE. He also designed the costumes for the Broadway run of STEPPING OUT and for the films THE JANUARY MAN (1989) and Q&A (1990). Additionally, he served as a visual consultant on DYING YOUNG (1991) and a creative consultant on SWOON (1992). However, all of Spisak’s subsequent work has been in production design. His credits include the television movie ANDRE’S MOTHER (1990), DISCLOSURE (1994), HEAT (1995), FACE/OFF (1997), HANCOCK (2008), and WIND RIVER (2017), among many others. He has frequently collaborated with Sam Raimi, most notably on Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN Trilogy (2002-2007). He has remained active in television as well, designing all eight episodes of the series DOPESICK (2021).