Boss Film Studios

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Boss Film Studios
Type
Founded 1983
Headquarters Marina Del Rey, California, USA
Key people Richard Edlund
Industry Visual Effects, CGI animation

Boss Film Studios was founded by visual effects veteran Richard Edlund after his departure from Industrial Light and Magic, producing visual effects for over thirty films from 1983 to 1997.[1] Edlund had worked at ILM on such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark and the original Star Wars trilogy.

Contents

[edit] History

Boss Film Studios (originally Boss Film Corporation) initially undertook two projects, Ghostbusters and 2010, simultaneously. In an effort to get the new venture set up quickly, Edlund acquired Douglas Trumbull's Entertainment Effects Group, taking over their Marina Del Rey facility.

[edit] Competition with ILM

Boss Film soon established itself as one of the largest competitors to ILM contributing to such projects as Die Hard, Poltergeist II, and Big Trouble in Little China.

Edlund and his team chose to compete with ILM technically, opting to use 65mm film for the creation of their optical effects work. This provided potentially cleaner effects than ILM's VistaVision format due to its much larger negative area.

[edit] Boss Game Studios

Boss Film branched out into video game production through sister company Boss Game Studios. Boss Film also operated a commercial production company producing many television spots for products including Budweiser, Dodge, United Airlines and DHL.

[edit] Closure

Boss Film announced it was closing its doors on August 26, 1997 citing the difficulties of sustaining an independent effects house within the competitive environment at the time.

[edit] Awards

Nominated for Best Visual Effects Academy Award 1993 for Alien3. The named nominees were Richard Edlund; Alec Gillis; Tom Woodruff Jr.; and George Gibbs.

Nominated for Best Visual Effects Academy Award 1989 for Die Hard. The named nominees were Richard Edlund; Al Di Sarro; Brent Boates; and Thaine Morris.

Nominated for Best Visual Effects Academy Award 1987 for Poltergeist II. The named nominees were Richard Edlund; John Bruno; Garry Waller; and Bill Neil.

Boss Film was awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award from the AMPAS in 1987 for the design and development of a Zoom Aerial (ZAP) 65mm Optical Printer. Winners were Richard Edlund; Gene Whiteman; David Grafton; Mark West; Jerry Jeffress; and Robert Wilcox.

Nominated for Best Visual Effects Academy Award in 1985 for 2010 (Richard Edlund; Neil Krepela; George Jenson; Mark Stetson) and Ghostbusters (Richard Edlund; John Bruno; Mark Vargo; Chuck Gaspar).

[edit] Notable Boss Film alumni

Richard Edlund
Neil Krepela[2]
John Bruno
Garry Waller
David K. Stewart
Bill Neil
Don Fly
Brent Boates
Patrick McClung
Jim Rygiel[3]
Ellen Somers
Mark Stetson [4]
Evan Jacobs
Screaming Mad George
David Hardberger
Thaine Morris
Greg Jein
Steve Johnson
Todd Masters[5]
Terry Windell

[edit] Facility location

13335 Maxella Avenue, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

[edit] Filmography

1984

1985

1986

1987

  • Masters of the Universe
  • The Monster Squad
  • Date with an Angel
  • Leonard, Part 6

1988

  • Switching Channels
  • Die Hard
  • Vibes
  • Twins
  • Big Top Pee Wee

1989

  • Tales from the Crypt series opening

1990

1992

1993

1994

  • True Lies
  • Drop Zone
  • The Scout
  • The Specialist
  • Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

1995

1996

1997

[edit] External links

  1. ^ http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/scitech/bonner.html
  2. ^ No Visible Means of Support: CLIFFHANGER Visual Effects
  3. ^ IT Conversations: Jim Rygiel
  4. ^ Mark Stetson on Making Superman Fly (And Other Neat Tricks) | Film & Video
  5. ^ Cinefex Weekly Update | Issue 28 | 07.27.2004