Biography
Indeed, Richard Edlund described himself to VARIETY in 1986 as "the architect" of ILM. He made his feature debut as an FX photographer of miniatures and opticals on a genre landmark, George Lucas' "Star Wars" (1977). Though now rather quaint (Lucas released a version with updated FX in January 1997), the "Star Wars" visual effects were deemed state-of-the-art in their day. Working under special effects supervisor John Dykstra, Edlund and …
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Career Milestones
2000 | Served as visual effects supervior on the remake of "Bedazzled" | |
1997 | In August, announced closing of Boss Film Studios | |
1997 | Supervised the special effects on "Air Force One" | |
1995 | Credited as producer of the opening sequence of "Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight" | |
1990 | Debut as a producer, also provided special effects, "Solar Crisis", a Japanese sci-fi thriller | |
1990 | Credited as visual effects supervisor on "Ghost", first film for Boss Film Studios | |
1988 | Gave a series of technical lectures in China and Japan under the sponsorship of Eastman Kodak | |
| Worked on the HBO series "Tales From the Crypt" in varying capacities including visual effects, segment producer (opening sequence) and production designer (opening sequence) | ||
1989 | Debut as director of photography (special water unit), "Farewell to the King" | |
1983 | Founded special FX company, Boss Films Studios; in addition to being president and CEO, served as producer and designer | |
1983 | Worked as a designer with Entertainment Effects | |
1983 | Left Industrial Light and Magic | |
1981 | Served as visual effects supervisor, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" | |
1980 | Credit for special visual effects, "The Empire Strikes Back" | |
1978 | First credit for special effects photography, "Battlestar Galactica" | |
1977 | Feature debut, credited with miniature photography and optical effects, "Star Wars", also first association with George Lucas | |
1975 | Recruited by George Lucas and special effects supervisor John Dykstra as first cameraman on the special FX unit of "Star Wars"; became a founder of Industrial Light and Magic | |
1973 | Returned to Hollywood to work for Bob Abel who was then pioneering visual effects for commercials | |
| Invented and sold a portable amplifier called "Pignose" that was used by many guitarists | ||
| Made small experimental films | ||
| Took still photos of rock bands (including many album covers) | ||
1968 | Dropped out of Hollywood | |
| After film school, referred by the Hollywood unemployment office to a job with a small optical effects firm run by Joe Westheimer, ASC; met many of the great cinematographers | ||
| Steered to attend the USC School of Cinema by a marine staff sergeant he knew in the Fleet Air Photo Lab | ||
| Produced training films in the Navy | ||
| Became interested in film during the two years he served in Japan | ||
| Joined the US Navy after graduating high school | ||
| Took high school sports photos; had some printed in the Los Angeles Examiner at age 15 | ||
| Developed an interest in photography | ||
| Relocated from Fargo, North Dakota, to Los Angeles where he was raised | ||
Awards
1992 | BAFTA Award for Achievements In Special Effects in Alien3 |
1992 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Alien3 |
1988 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Die Hard |
1986 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Poltergeist II: the Other Side |
1984 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in 2010 |
1984 | BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects in Ghostbusters |
1984 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Ghostbusters |
1983 | Academy Award for Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects) in Return of the Jedi |
1983 | BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects in Return of the Jedi |
1982 | BAFTA Award for Special Visual Effects in Poltergeist |
1982 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Poltergeist |
1981 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Raiders of the Lost Ark |
1980 | Academy Award for Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects) in The Empire Strikes Back |
1977 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Star Wars |