Joe Viskocil
Born (1952-12-21 ) December 21, 1952Died August 11, 2014(2014-08-11) (aged 61)Los Angeles, California
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 .
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-feet wide and 5-feet high 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 [ ]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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 c "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. (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw , Eustace Lycett and Hamilton Luske (1964)
John Stears (1965)
Art Cruickshank (1966)
L. B. Abbott (1967)
Stanley Kubrick (1968)
Robbie Robertson (1969)
L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers (1970)
Alan Maley , Eustace Lycett and Danny Lee (1971)
L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers (1972)
No Award (1973)
Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock (1974)
Glen Robinson and Albert Whitlock (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi , Glen Robinson and Frank Van der Veer (1976)
John Stears , John Dykstra , Richard Edlund , Grant McCune and Robert Blalack (1977)
Les Bowie , Colin Chilvers , Denys Coop , Roy Field , Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic (1978)
H. R. Giger , Carlo Rambaldi , Brian Johnson , Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling (1979)
Brian Johnson , Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren and Bruce Nicholson (1980)
1981-2000
Richard Edlund , Kit West , Bruce Nicholson and Joe Johnston (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi , Dennis Muren and Kenneth F. Smith (1982)
Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett (1983)
Dennis Muren , Michael J. McAlister , Lorne Peterson and George Gibbs (1984)
Ken Ralston , Ralph McQuarrie , Scott Farrar and David Berry (1985)
Robert Skotak , Stan Winston , John Richardson and Suzanne Benson (1986)
Dennis Muren , William George , Harley Jessup and Kenneth F. Smith (1987)
Ken Ralston , Richard Williams , Edward Jones and George Gibbs (1988)
John Bruno , Dennis Muren , Hoyt Yeatman and Dennis Skotak (1989)
Eric Brevig , Rob Bottin , Tim McGovern and Alex Funke (1990)
Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Gene Warren Jr. and Robert Skotak (1991)
Ken Ralston , Doug Chiang , Douglas Smythe and Tom Woodruff Jr. (1992)
Dennis Muren , Stan Winston , Phil Tippett and Michael Lantieri (1993)
Ken Ralston , George Murphy , Stephen Rosenbaum and Allen Hall (1994)
Scott E. Anderson , Charles Gibson , Neal Scanlan and John Cox (1995)
Volker Engel , Douglas Smith , Clay Pinney and Joe Viskocil (1996)
Robert Legato , Mark Lasoff , Thomas L. Fisher and Michael Kanfer (1997)
Joel Hynek , Nicholas Brooks , Stuart Robertson and Kevin Mack (1998)
John Gaeta , Janek Sirrs , Steve Courtley , and Jon Thum (1999)
John Nelson , Neil Corbould , Tim Burke and Rob Harvey (2000)
2001-present
Jim Rygiel , Randall William Cook , Richard Taylor and Mark Stetson (2001)
Jim Rygiel , Joe Letteri , Randall William Cook and Alex Funke (2002)
Jim Rygiel , Joe Letteri , Randall William Cook and Alex Funke (2003)
John Dykstra , Scott Stokdyk , Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier (2004)
Joe Letteri , Brian Van't Hul , Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor (2005)
John Knoll , Hal Hickel , Charles Gibson and Allen Hall (2006)
Michael L. Fink , Bill Westenhofer , Ben Morris and Trevor Wood (2007)
Eric Barba , Steve Preeg , Burt Dalton and Craig Barron (2008)
Joe Letteri , Stephen Rosenbaum , Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones (2009)
Paul Franklin , Chris Corbould , Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb (2010)
Robert Legato , Joss Williams , Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning (2011)
Bill Westenhofer , Guillaume Rocheron , Erik-Jan de Boer and Donald R. Elliott (2012)
Tim Webber , Chris Lawrence , Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould (2013)
Paul Franklin , Andrew Lockley , Ian Hunter and Scott R. Fisher (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington , Sara Bennett , Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst (2015)
Robert Legato , Adam Valdez , Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon (2016)
John Nelson , Gerd Nefzer , Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover (2017)
Paul Lambert , Ian Hunter , Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron , Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy (2019)
Scott R. Fisher , Andrew Jackson , David Lee and Andrew Lockley (2020)
Marcel Vercoutere (1972)
Joe Dante and Mark Goldblatt (1973)
Douglas Knapp , Bill Taylor, John Carpenter , and Dan O'Bannon (1974/75)
L. B. Abbott (1976)
John Dykstra and John Stears (1977)
Colin Chilvers (1978)
Douglas Trumbull , John Dykstra , and Richard Yuricich (1979)
Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund (1980)
Richard Edlund (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren (1982)
Richard Edlund , Dennis Muren , and Ken Ralston (1983)
Chris Walas (1984)
Kevin Pike (1985)
Stan Winston , Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak (1986)
Peter Kuran, Phil Tippett , Rob Bottin , and Rocco Gioffre (1987)
George Gibbs , Ken Ralston , and Richard Williams (1988)
Ken Ralston (1989/90)
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)
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)
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 (2018/2019)
Roger Guyett , Neal Scanlan , Patrick Tubach , and Dominic Tuohy (2019/2020)
Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.