The night belonged to a robot, a backwards-aging Brad Pitt and the nation’s second president at the 7th annual Visual Effects Society Awards.
WALL’E, the Pixar-Disney animated film, took all the animation awards, including outstanding animated character, outstanding effects animation and outstanding animation in an animated motion picture. The results give the film momentum going into Sunday’s Academy Awards, after being shut out last month at the Annie Awards.
On the visual effects side, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won four awards, including best single visual effect of the year and outstanding visual effects in an effects-driven feature.
The Dark Knight won three awards while Changeling won two. Iron Man, which had the most nominations with five, was shut out.
On the TV side, the HBO miniseries John Adams won three awards, with other top honors going to Battlestar Galactica and Fringe.
The awards were presented during a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. Presenters included Iron Man director Jon Favreau, Watchmen production designer Alex McDowell, comic Jeff Garlin, actress Tia Carrere and actor Andy Serkis.
Special awards were presented to Phil Tippett, who received the George Melies Award for Pioneering and Artistic Excellence, presented by Dennis Muren; and producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who received a lifetime achievement award presented by Button director David Fincher.
A student award was presented for the first time, introduced by a video clip from director Steven Spielberg.
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A VISUAL EFFECTS DRIVEN MOTION PICTURE
The Chronicles of Narnia ‘ Prince Caspian
Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan Mcguinness, Lisa Beroud
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Michael J. Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian De Wet, Eamonn Butler
Cloverfield
Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven
Iron Man
Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Changeling
Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman
Eagle Eye
Jim Rygiel, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith, David Smith
Valkyrie
Richard R. Hoover, Maricel Pagulayan, Peter Nofz, Daniel Eaton
Nim’s Island
Camille Cellucci, Scott Gordon, Fred Pienkos, James Straus
Synecdoche, New York
Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric Robertson, Brett Miller
OUTSTANDING ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE
Bolt – The Chase
Chris Williams, Byron Howard, John Murrah, Doug Bennett
Kung Fu Panda – Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting – The Animation of Kung Fu Panda
Markus Manninen, Dan Wagner, Alex Parkinson, Raymond Zibach
Roadside Romeo ‘ Scene 16 ‘ Chu Le Naa Song
Pankaj Khandpur, Sherry Bharda, Shirirang Sathaye, Suhael Merchant
Waltz with Bashir ‘ War Reporter and Orange Grove
Yoni Goodman, Yael Nahlieli
WINNER: WALL’E
Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, Lindsey Collins, Nigel Hardwidge
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A BROADCAST MINISERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Doctor Who – The Next Doctor – Cyber King
Dave Houghton, Marie Jones, Matt Mckinney, Murray Barber
Generation Kill – Episode 2
Adam Mcinnes, Anthony Bluff, Stephane Paris, David Sewell
WINNER: John Adams – Join Or Die
Steve Kullback, Erik Henry, Robert Stromberg, Jeff Goldman
Knight Rider – PromeTheus
Sam Nicholson, Scott Ramsey, Chris Martin, Mike Enriquez
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A BROADCAST SERIES
WINNER: Battlestar Galactica Season Four – BSG Space Battle
Gary Hutzel, Michael Gibson, Doug Drexler, Kyle Toucher
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – Episode 108
James Lima, Raoul Bolognini, Andrew Orloff, Steve Meyer
Ghost Whisperer ‘ ‘Ghost In The Machine’
Armen Kevorkian, Arthur J. Codron, Matt Scharf, Stefan Brederock
Heroes ‘ ‘The Second Coming’
Eric Grenaudier, Mark Spatny, Diego Galtieri, Michael Cook
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A BROADCAST PROGRAM
WINNER: Fringe – Episode 101 ‘ ‘Pilot’
Kevin Blank, Jay Worth, Andrew Orloff, Barbara Genicoff
Jericho – Episode 7 ‘ ‘Patriots And Tyrants’
Andrew Orloff, Blyth Dalton, Chris Jones, Michael Cliett
Life ‘ ‘Frozen Solid’
Max Ivins, Jenny Foster, Danny Kim, Shawn Lipowski
Pushing Daisies ‘ ‘The Legend of Merle McQuoddy’
William Powloski, Elizabeth Castro, Melanie Tucker, Eric Chauvin
BEST SINGLE VISUAL EFFECT OF THE YEAR
Cloverfield – Statue of Liberty Crash And Woolworth Tower Collapse
Michael Ellis, Chantal Feghali, David Vickery, Ben Taylor
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin’s Secret
Eric Barba, Lisa Beroud, Steve Preeg, Jonathan Litt
The Day The Earth Stood Still – Newborn Klaatu
Jeffrey A. Okun, R. Christopher White, Thomas M. Boland, Ben Thompson
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull – Valley Destruction
Stephanie Hornish, Pablo Helman, Jeff White, Craig Hammack
Iron Man
Ben Snow, Wayne Billheimer, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
WINNER: Bacardi ‘ Sundance
Alex Thiesen, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Jay Barton, Zsolt Kalaitzidis
Coke – It’s Mine
Angus Kneale, Asher Edwards, Ben Smith, Dan Williams
FedEx – Pigeon
Satoko Iinuma, Murray Butler, David Hulin, Spencer Lueders
Monster ‘Stork‘ – Stork
William Bartlett, Helen Stanley, Dan Seddon, David Mellor
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
Grand Canyon Adventure – River At Risk – Main Title Sequence
Mark Freund, Alan Markowitz, Lee Nelson, Josh Mossotti
WINNER: U2 3D – Selected Shots
Peter Anderson, Jon Shapiro, David Franks, Jeremy Nicolaides
OUTSTANDING REAL TIME VISUALS IN A VIDEO GAME
WINNER: Crysis Warhead
Zoltan Pocza, Gabor Mogyorosi, Tamas Schlagl
Dead Space
Ian Milham, Ben Wanat, Christopher Stone
Need For Speed Undercover – Xbox 360
Henry Labounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Carl Jarrett
OUTSTANDING PRE-RENDERED VISUALS IN A VIDEO GAME
Command And Conquer – Red Alert 3 – Chrono-Lab, Empire And Allied Scenes
Richard Taylor, Benjamin Hopkins, Katai Tang, Mical Pedriana
Need For Speed Undercover – Cinematics
Henry Labounta, Steve Barcia, Dave Taylor, Mark Raham
WINNER: World of Warcraft – Wrath of The Lich King – Intro Cinematic
Jeff Chamberlain, Phillip Hillenbrand
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A LIVE ACTION MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin Button
Steve Preeg, Matthias Wittmann, Tom St. Amand, David McLean
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Elemental Sequence
Colin Mcevoy, Christoph Ammann
Iron Man
Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker
The Spiderwick Chronicles – Hogsqueal
Todd Labonte, Michael Brunet, Nathan Fredenburg, Aharon Bourland
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE
Bolt – Various Sequences – Bolt
Becky Bresee, Bob Davies, Renato Dos Anjos, Wayne Unten Jr.
Bolt – Various Sequences – Rhino
Adam Dykstra, Dave Gottlieb, Clay Kaytis, Hyrum Osmond
Kung Fu Panda – This Kung Fu Stuff Is Hard Work – The Animation of Po
Jack Black, Dan Wagner, Nico Marlet, Peter Farson
WINNER: WALL’E ‘ WALL’E And EVE Truck Sequence
Ben Burtt, Victor Navone, Austin Lee, Jay Shuster
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A LIVE ACTION BROADCAST PROGRAM OR COMMERCIAL
Bacardi – Sundance
James Atkinson, John Cooper, Phillip Prahl, Charles Felix Chabert
WINNER: Brains Dance
James Sindle, Jesus Parra, Josh Fourtwells
Coke – Stewie
Ben Smith, Andrew Proctor, Jong Jim Choi, Keith Kim
Who’s Gonna Save My Soul
Thomas Tannenberger, Olcun Tan
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS ANIMATION IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE MOTION PICTURE
Bolt – Various Sequences
John Murrah, Michael Kaschalk, Dale Mayeda, Adolph Lusinsky
Kung Fu Panda – The Secret Ingredient – Visual Effects of Kung Fu Panda
Markus Manninen, Alex Parkinson, Amaury Aubel, Lawrence Lee
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – Effects In Africa
Scott Peterson, Laurent Kermel, Andrew Wheeler, Greg Gladstone
WINNER: WALL’E – Effects In WALL’E
Jason Johnston, Keith Daniel Klohn, Enrique Vila, Bill Watral
OUTSTANDING MATTE PAINTINGS IN A FEATURE MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Changeling – 1928 Downtown L.A.
Romain Bayle, Abel Milanes, Allan Lee, Debor Dunphy
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dusseault, Yusei Uesugi
Synecdoche, New York – Matte Paintings
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, MatThew Conner
Speed Racer – Overall Matte Painting Presentation
Lubo Hristov, Dennis Martin, Ron Crabb
OUTSTANDING MATTE PAINTINGS IN A BROADCAST PROGRAM OR COMMERCIAL
WINNER: Doctor Who – Series 4 – Silence In The Library
Simon Wickers, Charlie Bennett, Tim Barter, Arianna Lago
Generation Kill – Episode 2
Christian Irles, Yannick Bourgie
Merlin The Mark of Nimueh Series 1 – The Mark of Nimueh
Dave Early, Simon Wickers, Bryan Bartlett, Sara Bennet
OUTSTANDING MODELS AND MINIATURES IN A FEATURE MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: The Dark Knight – Garbage Truck Crash Models And Miniatures
Ian Hunter, Forest Fischer, Branden Seifert, Adam Gelbart
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand, Geoff Heron
Iron Man – Suit Up Machine
Aaron Mcbride, Russell Paul, Gerald Gutschmidt, Keiji Yamaguchi
My Darling of the Mountains – Hot Springs
Taro Kiba, Kenji Nagatani, Yuki Minagawa, Hideo Udo
OUTSTANDING MODELS AND MINIATURES IN A BROADCAST PROGRAM OR COMMERCIAL
New Balance – Anthem
Ian Hunter, Jon Warren, Matt Burlingame, Raymond Moore
WINNER: Ghost Whisperer – Episode 404 – Claridon Ship Shots
Eric Hance
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A FEATURE MOTION PICTURE
Cloverfield – Brooklyn Bridge Sequence
David Vickery, Phil Johnson, Victor Wade, Sean Stranks
WINNER: The Dark Knight – Imax Gotham City Scapes
Peter Bebb, David Vickery, Philippe Leprince, Andrew Lockley
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull – Temple Heart
Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton, David Weitzberg
The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor – Avalanche Sequence
Mike Meaker, Rich Mahon, Jason Iverson, Sho Hasegawa
Synecdoche, New York – Created Environment
Brett Miller, Garrett Eaton, Matthew Conner
OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A BROADCAST PROGRAM OR COMMERCIAL
Audi – Living Room – Living Room
Jack Zaloga, Jake Montgomery, Andy Boyd, Sean Durnan
Heroes – Tokyo
Meliza Fermin, Michael Cook, Daniel Kumiega, Anthony Ocampo
WINNER: John Adams ‘ ‘Join Or Die’ – Episode 1 – The Boston Harbor
Paul Graff, Robert Stromberg, Adam Watkins
Wrigley’s 5 – Fruit Shredder
Ludo Fealy, Dean Robinson, Adam Leary, Michael Gregory
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING IN A FEATURE MOTION PICTURE
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Stuart Lashley, Arundi Asregadoo, Mark Curtis, Richard Baker
WINNER: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Benjamin Comes Together
Janelle Croshaw, Paul Lambert, Sonja Burchard, Sarahjane Javelo
Iron Man ‘ Head Under Display – Hud Compositing
Jonathan Rothbart, Dav Rauch, Kyle Mcculloch, Kent Seki
Quantum of Solace – Sienna Chase And Fight Sequence
Anthony Smith, Christian Kaestner, Adrian Metzelaar, Jon Thum
OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING IN A BROADCAST PROGRAM OR COMMERCIAL
Coke – It’s Mine – Balloons
Angus Kneale, Dan Williams, Andrew Proctor
FedEx – Pigeon– Pigeon
Andy Walker, Spencer Lueders, Maryanne Butler, Murray Butler
WINNER: John Adams ‘ ‘Join Or Die’ – Episode 1 – The Boston Harbor
Paul Graff, Joshua Lacross, Matt Collorafice
Time Sculpture
Richard De Carteret, Paul Downes, Oliver Dadswell, John Price
OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: The Dark Knight
Chris Corbould, Peter Notley, Ian Lowe
Defiance – Special Effects
Neil Corbould, Steve Warner, Anne Maria Walters, Alan Young
OUTSTANDING EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT
Hangar Number Five – Robot Attack
Nathan Matsuda
La Main Des Maitres – Revolution
Adrien Cayus Toupet, Clement Delatre, Vivien Looky Chauvet
Our Wonderful Nature
Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski, Tomer Eshed, Dennis Rettkowski
WINNER: Plastic – Transformation Sequence
Sandy Widyanata, Courtney Wise
