Award Season Shines on ILM & Skywalker Sound

Once again the talent at Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound has been singled out for achievement in the year's slate of movies. Here's a round up of some of the nominations and recognitions recently announced.

81st Academy Awards Nominations
In the category Best Achievement in Visual Effects, ILM's work for Iron Man has been nominated for an Academy Award. Recognized in the nomination are ILM's Ben Snow, along with John Nelson, Dan Sudick and Shane Patrick Mahan.

In the category Achievement in Sound Editing, Matthew Wood from Skywalker Sound shares a nomination with Ben Burtt for their work on Wall-E. Also from Skywalker Sound, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes are nominated for their work on Iron Man.

In the category Achievement in Sound Mixing, Michael Semanick, Ren Kylce and David Parker from Skywalker Sound are nominated alongside Mark Weingarten for their work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Tom Myers Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt are nominated for their work on Wall-E.

BAFTA Award Nominations
In the category recognizing Special Visual Effects, ILM is represented for their work on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with nominations for Pablo Helman, Mashall Krasser and Steve Rawlins. For Iron Man, ILM's Ben Snow and Hal Hickel share the nomination with Shane Patrick Mahan and John Nelson.

7th Annual Visual Effects Society
Iron Man leads the pack with the most nominations this year, with ILM featured in the following categories:

• Outstanding VFX in a VFX-Driven Motion Picture: Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso, John Nelson

• Best Single Visual Effect of the Year: Ben Snow, Wayne Billheimer, Victoria Alonso and John Nelson

• Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture: Hal Hickel, Bruce Holcomb, James Tooley, John Walker

ILM's work for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull received the following nominations:

• Best Single Visual Effect of the Year: Stephanie Hornish, Pablo Helman, Jeff White and Craig Hammack

• Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture: Richard Bluff, Barry Williams, Yanick Dussaeult, and Yusei Uesugi

• Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture: Michael Halsted, David Fogler, Steve Walton and David Weitzberg.

Also, many ILM alumni now currently at Kerner Optical are feature in the Crystal Skull nomination for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture, with recognition given to David Fogler, Craig Hammack, Brian Gernand and Geoff Heron.