American special effects artist
Joe Viskocil
Born (1952-12-21 ) December 21, 1952Died August 11, 2014(2014-08-11) (aged 61) Occupation
Visual effects artist Years active 1974–2014
Joseph Viskocil (December 21, 1952 – August 11, 2014) was an American special effects artist who had over 80 film credits from 1974 to 2014. He created special effects for some of the most famous movie franchises and was awarded an Academy Award for his work on
Independence Day (1996).
Career
In 1977, Viskocil assisted
John Dykstra and
George Lucas in creating the pyrotechnics for
Star Wars , including the explosion of the
Death Star at the film's climax.
[1] In 1980, he returned to create pyrotechnics for
The Empire Strikes Back .
[1] For the next three decades, he worked on films from the most famous franchises, including
Ghostbusters ,
Batman and
Star Trek .
[1]
After serving as pyrotechnics supervisor for the 1996 film
Independence Day , Viskocil was awarded the
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects alongside
Volker Engel ,
Douglas Smith and
Clay Pinney at the
69th Academy Awards .
[1] Viskocil and miniature supervisor Mike Joyce were responsible for the creation of a 15-foot-wide, 5-foot-high (4.57 metres by 1.52 metres) miniature of the
White House , built for destruction during the film.
[2]
Style
In the 1990s, Viskocil opposed using
computer-generated imagery in the creation of some special effects:
When it comes to pyro techniques, what was done 50 years ago is still good today. There are a billion chemicals out there now that one can add, subtract or manipulate to create a desired effect.
[3]
Following the
September 11 attacks , Viskocil expressed guilt over making the explosions in Independence Day appear lifelike, saying "I started thinking maybe I did my job too well, and it might have been the nucleus of an idea for someone to say: ‘Hey, let’s crash a plane into the White House.’"
[4]
Personal life
Viskocil died on August 11, 2014, in Los Angeles from complications of liver and heart failure.
[1]
Filmography
Awards
References
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x Barnes, Mike (August 12, 2014).
"Joe Viskocil, Visual Effects Guru on 'Star Wars' Films, Dies at 63" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^ Giardina, Carolyn (June 24, 2016).
" 'Independence Day': How Visual Effects Have Dramatically Escalated Since the Original Film's Release" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^
a
b
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"Pyromania fires up the industry" . Variety . May 8, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^ Barber, Nicholas (June 18, 2016).
"Why are we hooked on films about mass destruction?" . The Guardian . Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^
a
b Horn, John (September 12, 2004).
"Launching a small-scale offensive" . The Los Angeles Times . p. E14. Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^
"Aliens crush cities (at a theater near you)" . The Miami Herald . December 18, 1995. p. 2c. Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
^ Giardina, Carolyn (October 6, 2017).
" 'Blade Runner' Alums Syd Mead, Douglas Trumbull Among Visual Effects Hall of Fame Inductees" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
External links
1963–1980
Emil Kosa Jr. –
Cleopatra (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Hamilton Luske –
Mary Poppins (1964)
John Stears –
Thunderball (1965)
Art Cruickshank –
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
L. B. Abbott –
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Stanley Kubrick –
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Robie Robertson –
Marooned (1969)
A. D. Flowers and
L. B. Abbott –
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Alan Maley ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Danny Lee –
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
L. B. Abbott and
A. D. Flowers –
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Frank Brendel ,
Glen Robinson , and
Albert Whitlock –
Earthquake (1974)
Albert Whitlock and
Glen Robinson –
The Hindenburg (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Glen Robinson , and
Frank Van der Veer –
King Kong (1976)
John Stears ,
John Dykstra ,
Richard Edlund ,
Grant McCune , and
Robert Blalack –
Star Wars (1977)
Les Bowie ,
Colin Chilvers ,
Denys Coop ,
Roy Field ,
Derek Meddings , and
Zoran Perisic –
Superman (1978)
H. R. Giger ,
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Brian Johnson ,
Nick Allder , and
Dennis Ayling –
Alien (1979)
Brian Johnson ,
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren , and
Bruce Nicholson –
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981–2000
Richard Edlund ,
Kit West ,
Bruce Nicholson , and
Joe Johnston –
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Dennis Muren , and
Kenneth F. Smith –
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren ,
Ken Ralston , and
Phil Tippett –
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dennis Muren ,
Michael J. McAlister ,
Lorne Peterson , and
George Gibbs –
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Ken Ralston ,
Ralph McQuarrie ,
Scott Farrar , and
David Berry –
Cocoon (1985)
Robert Skotak ,
Stan Winston ,
John Richardson , and
Suzanne M. Benson –
Aliens (1986)
Dennis Muren ,
Bill George ,
Harley Jessup , and
Kenneth F. Smith -
Innerspace (1987)
Ken Ralston ,
Richard Williams ,
Edward Jones , and
George Gibbs –
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
John Bruno ,
Dennis Muren ,
Hoyt Yeatman , and
Dennis Skotak –
The Abyss (1989)
Eric Brevig ,
Rob Bottin ,
Tim McGovern , and
Alex Funke –
Total Recall (1990)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Gene Warren Jr. , and
Robert Skotak –
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ken Ralston ,
Doug Chiang ,
Douglas Smythe , and
Tom Woodruff Jr. –
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Phil Tippett , and
Michael Lantieri –
Jurassic Park (1993)
Ken Ralston ,
George Murphy ,
Stephen Rosenbaum , and
Allen Hall –
Forrest Gump (1994)
Scott E. Anderson ,
Charles Gibson ,
Neal Scanlan , and
John Cox –
Babe (1995)
Volker Engel ,
Douglas Smith ,
Clay Pinney , and
Joe Viskocil –
Independence Day (1996)
Robert Legato ,
Mark Lasoff ,
Thomas L. Fisher , and
Michael Kanfer –
Titanic (1997)
Joel Hynek ,
Nicholas Brooks ,
Stuart Robertson , and
Kevin Mack –
What Dreams May Come (1998)
John Gaeta ,
Janek Sirrs ,
Steve Courtley , and
Jon Thum –
The Matrix (1999)
John Nelson ,
Neil Corbould ,
Tim Burke , and
Rob Harvey –
Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020
Jim Rygiel ,
Randall William Cook ,
Richard Taylor , and
Mark Stetson –
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
John Dykstra ,
Scott Stokdyk ,
Anthony LaMolinara , and
John Frazier –
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Joe Letteri ,
Brian Van't Hul ,
Christian Rivers , and
Richard Taylor –
King Kong (2005)
John Knoll ,
Hal Hickel ,
Charles Gibson , and
Allen Hall –
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Michael L. Fink ,
Bill Westenhofer ,
Ben Morris , and
Trevor Wood –
The Golden Compass (2007)
Eric Barba ,
Steve Preeg ,
Burt Dalton , and
Craig Barron –
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Joe Letteri ,
Stephen Rosenbaum ,
Richard Baneham , and
Andrew R. Jones –
Avatar (2009)
Paul Franklin ,
Chris Corbould ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Peter Bebb –
Inception (2010)
Robert Legato ,
Joss Williams ,
Ben Grossmann , and
Alex Henning –
Hugo (2011)
Bill Westenhofer ,
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Erik-Jan de Boer , and
Donald R. Elliott –
Life of Pi (2012)
Tim Webber ,
Chris Lawrence ,
Dave Shirk , and
Neil Corbould –
Gravity (2013)
Paul Franklin ,
Andrew Lockley ,
Ian Hunter , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Interstellar (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington ,
Sara Bennett ,
Paul Norris , and
Andrew Whitehurst –
Ex Machina (2015)
Robert Legato ,
Adam Valdez ,
Andrew R. Jones , and
Dan Lemmon –
The Jungle Book (2016)
John Nelson ,
Gerd Nefzer ,
Paul Lambert , and
Richard R. Hoover –
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Paul Lambert ,
Ian Hunter ,
Tristan Myles , and
J. D. Schwalm –
First Man (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Greg Butler , and
Dominic Tuohy –
1917 (2019)
Andrew Jackson ,
David Lee ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Tenet (2020)
2021–present
1970s 1980s 1990s
Stan Winston (1991)
Ken Ralston , Tom Woodruff Jr., and Alec Gillis (1992)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Phil Tippett , and
Michael Lantieri (1993)
John Bruno (1994)
Stan Parks (1995)
Volker Engel ,
Clay Pinney ,
Douglas Smith , and
Joe Viskocil (1996)
Phil Tippett ,
Scott E. Anderson , Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr.,
John Richardson (1997)
Volker Engel ,
Patrick Tatopoulos ,
Karen E. Goulekas , and
Clay Pinney (1998)
Rob Coleman ,
John Knoll ,
Dennis Muren , and
Scott Squires (1999)
2000s
Scott E. Anderson ,
Craig Hayes ,
Scott Stokdyk , and
Stan Parks (2000)
Dennis Muren ,
Scott Farrar ,
Stan Winston ,
Michael Lantieri (2001)
Rob Coleman ,
Pablo Helman ,
John Knoll , and
Ben Snow (2002)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke (2003)
John Dykstra ,
Scott Stokdyk ,
Anthony LaMolinara , and
John Frazier (2004)
Joe Letteri ,
Richard Taylor ,
Christian Rivers , and
Brian Van't Hul (2005)
John Knoll ,
Hal T. Hickel ,
Charles Gibson , and
Allen Hall (2006)
Scott Farrar ,
Scott Benza ,
Russell Earl , and
John Frazier (2007)
Nick Davis ,
Chris Corbould ,
Timothy Webber , and
Paul J. Franklin (2008)
Joe Letteri ,
Stephen Rosenbaum ,
Richard Baneham , and
Andrew R. Jones (2009)
2010s
Chris Corbould ,
Andrew Lockley ,
Paul J. Franklin , and
Peter Bebb (2010)
Dan Lemmon ,
Joe Letteri ,
R. Christopher White , and
Daniel Barrett (2011)
Janek Sirrs ,
Jeff White ,
Guy Williams , and
Dan Sudick (2012)
Tim Webber ,
Chris Lawrence ,
Dave Shirk , and
Neil Corbould (2013)
Paul J. Franklin ,
Andrew Lockley ,
Ian Hunter , and
Scott R. Fisher (2014)
Roger Guyett ,
Patrick Tubach ,
Neal Scanlan , and
Chris Corbould (2015)
John Knoll ,
Mohen Leo ,
Hal Hickel , and
Neil Corbould (2016)
Christopher Townsend ,
Guy Williams ,
Jonathan Fawkner , and
Dan Sudick (2017)
Dan DeLeeuw ,
Matt Aitken ,
Russell Earl , and
Dan Sudick (2018/19)
Roger Guyett ,
Neal Scanlan ,
Patrick Tubach , and Dominic Tuohy (2019/20)
2020s Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.