News

There has never been a better time to be a VFX vendor. With so much content coming from streaming, high-quality television, feature films and commercials, the demand for visual effects and VFX

artists continues to grow.

Santa Monica-based visual effects studio Luma Pictures, which celebrates its 20-year anniversary this month, has seen an increase in everything from creature effects to animation to set extensions to full sequences.

To keep up with all the additional work, Luma expanded to Vancouver in January, after establishing an office in Melbourne in 2012 to take advantage of the emerging market there. A staff of more than 200 works for the company across all three locations, providing effects for a client list that includes Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Disney and Warner Bros., and films such as “Elvis,” “Dr. Strange 2” and “Once

Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Vincent Cirelli, VP and head of digital production, notes that one way...

Exclusive: Luma Pictures, a visual effects company, has picked up Salt of Joy, a romantic drama written by The Beauty Inside’s Rich Greenberg, to develop and produce as part of its original film slate. The pic, which is in early development, is a love story set in the afterlife where themes of selfless love and redemption are explored.

Greenberg’s recent film Zoe, starring Ewan McGregor and produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and is available on Amazon Prime. His other writing credits include Desert Saints, which also served as his directorial debut feature, and the drama One Fall.

Vincent Cirelli and Luma founder Payam Shohadai will serve as executive producers on Salt of Joy.

“Rich excels at storytelling with a captivating narrative that beautifully bridges characters and plot and a certain complexity that makes audiences think, said Jill Gilbert,...

Visual Effects (VFX) artists are spectacular. Their intense discipline for creating seamless digital worlds tricks viewers into believing that what they’re seeing is real. Last night at the 89th Academy Awards, the Oscar for Best Visual Effects went to Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon the VFX team behind “The Jungle Book.”

Read More: 2017 Oscars: Full Winners List

Funny or Die, always with great wit and swift action, wanted to pay “tribute” to a film that got snubbed for a VFX nomination. This year, Funny or Die recognized Kenneth Lonergan’s Best Original Screenplay– and Best Actor–winning “Manchester By the Sea” for its fantastical visual effects. The team was able to craft the world of Manchester so beautifully, it actually looks as if Casey Affleck is there. If you really think about it, the VFX are so good, it’s like there aren’t any at all.

Update:

Winners are now indicated. I correctly guessed 11 out of the 24 categories, which is slightly better than last year, when I guessed 10 out of 24.

Previous 02.26.17:

I’ve now seen as many of the nominated films as I will be able to before tonight’s ceremony, and here finally are my educated guesses about who will take home each award — projected winners are Xed at the lefthand side. Keep in mind: those Xes don’t represent whom I think should win Oscars but whom I think will win, based on what little I can grasp about how the Academy thinks. I’ve also noted which nominees I think should win. Kindly note that this is not necessarily my take on who did the best performance/writing/FX/whatever of the year, but whom I think is best among the nominees.

I have not noted a “should win” for the feature documentary category,...

Tonight is Hollywood's big night, with the 89th Oscars being broadcast live on ABC tonight, starting at 8 Pm Et/5 Pm Pt. We'll be watching the awards being handed out live and updating this full list of winners as the telecast goes on. Jimmy Kimmel hosts this year's Oscar telecast, with La La Land currently the front runner to take home many of the major awards.

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories - actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees. Active members of the Academy are eligible to vote for the winners in all 24 categories beginning Monday, February 13 through Tuesday, February 21.

Leading the way for this year's awards...

Moonlight claimed the top prize at Sunday’s 89th Academy Awards in a dramatic finale.Full list of winnersBEST Motion Picture Of The YEARArrivalFencesHacksaw RidgeHell Or High WaterHidden FiguresLionLa La LandManchester By The SeaMoonlightPERFORMANCE By An Actress In A Leading ROLEIsabelle Huppert, ElleRuth Negga, LovingNatalie Portman, JackieEmma Stone, La La LandMeryl Streep, Florence Foster JenkinsPERFORMANCE By An Actor In A Leading ROLECasey Affleck, Manchester By The SeaDenzel Washington, FencesRyan Gosling, La La LandAndrew Garfield, Hacksaw RidgeViggo Mortensen, Captain FantasticBEST DIRECTORDamien Chazelle, La La LandBarry Jenkins, MoonlightKenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The SeaDenis Villeneuve, ArrivalMel Gibson, Hacksaw RidgeADAPTED SCREENPLAYArrival, Eric HeissererFences, August WilsonHidden Figures, Allison Schroeder and Theodore MelfiLion, Luke DaviesMoonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraneyORIGINAL SCREENPLAYHell Or High Water, Taylor SheridanLa La Land, Damien ChazelleThe Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis FilippouManchester By The Sea, Kenneth Lonergan20th Century Women, Mike MillsACHIEVEMENT In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Song)‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream)’ from...

Sunday’s 89th Academy Awards are underway at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in a popular adapted screenplay win for Moonlight as the drama earned its second win of the night.

Moments earlier Kenneth Lonergan accepted the original screenplay award for Manchester By The Sea in the film’s first prize. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon – winners of this award for Good Will Hunting 19 years ago – presented the honour to Lonergan. Damon was a producer on the film.

Meryl Streep used her Oscar show platform to pay subtle homage to the unifying power of film when she joined Javier Bardem on stage at the Dolby Theatre to present the cinematography award.

“Truth is hard to reveal,” Streep said, “but when it happens on the movie screen filmgoers no matter where they are from, feel their hearts soar.”

Sweden’s [link...

The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards are in and La La Land leads the pack with 14 nominations! I knew La La Land was going to explode at this event, and it's probably going to end up taking home many of the awards is was nominated for. The 14 nominations ties the record with 1997's Titanic and 1950's All About Eve.

Arrival ended up with eight nominations as did Moonlight, while Hacksaw Ridge, Lion, and Manchester by the Sea all got six. Deadpool ended up with zero nominations. I was hoping to see it somewhere on the list, but it looks like all that hype didn't work.

Every film and actor who was nominated for their work deserves to be on this list, so congratulations to them all! There are so many great films and actors to root for, but there can be only one winner in each category.

Jimmy Kimmel...

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, joined by Oscar-winning and nominated Academy members Demian Bichir, Dustin Lance Black, Glenn Close, Guillermo del Toro, Marcia Gay Harden, Terrence Howard, Jennifer Hudson, Brie Larson, Jason Reitman, Gabourey Sidibe and Ken Watanabe, announced the 89th Academy Awards nominations today. This year's nominations were announced in a pre-taped video package at 5:18 a.m. Pt via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org and the Academy's digital platforms, a satellite feed and broadcast media. In keeping with tradition, PwC delivered the Oscars nominations list to the Academy on the evening of January 23.

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories - actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible...

La La Land scores a record-equalling 14 nominations.

The nominations for the 89th annual Academy Awards have been revealed.

The 2017 Academy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on Sunday, February 26.

Read: Oscars 2017: ‘La La Land’ equals record with 14 nominations

Best Motion Picture of the yearArrivalFencesHacksaw RidgeHell Or High WaterHidden FiguresLionLa La LandManchester By The SeaMoonlightBest DirectorDamien Chazelle, La La LandBarry Jenkins, MoonlightKenneth Lonergan, Manchester By The SeaDenis Villeneuve, ArrivalMel Gibson, Hacksaw RidgePerformance by an actress in a leading roleIsabelle Huppert, ElleRuth Negga, LovingNatalie Portman, JackieEmma Stone, La La LandMeryl Streep, Florence Foster JenkinsPerformance by an actor in a leading roleCasey Affleck, Manchester By The SeaDenzel Washington, FencesRyan Gosling, La La LandAndrew Garfield, Hacksaw RidgeViggo Mortensen, Captain FantasticPerformance by an actress in a supporting roleViola Davis, FencesMichelle Williams, Manchester By the SeaNaomie Harris, MoonlightNicole Kidman, LionOctavia Spencer, Hidden FiguresPerformance by an actor in a supporting roleMahershala Ali, MoonlightJeff Bridges, Hell Or High WaterDev Patel, LionLucas Hedges...

The Visual Effects Society announced the nominees for the 15th Annual Ves Awards this morning and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Games Of Thrones” dominated the field. The winners will be announced Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.

Read More: The 25 Best Films Of 2016

The nominees are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

“Doctor Strange”

Stephane Ceretti

Susan Pickett

Richard Bluff

Vincent Cirelli

Paul Corbould

“Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them”

Christian Manz

Olly Young

Tim Burke

Pablo Grillo

David Watkins

“Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children”

Frazer Churchill

Hal Couzens

Andrew Lockley

Jelmer Boskma

Hayley Williams

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

John Knoll

Erin Dusseault

Hal Hickel

Nigel Sumner

Neil Corbould

“The Jungle Book”

Robert Legato

Joyce Cox

Andrew R.

Continue reading ‘Rogue One’ And ‘Game of Thrones’ Dominate The 2017 Ves Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

Sorry these came late. Here they are. Arrival is shut out, weirdly. But so was Ex Machina, which won the Oscar last year. The nominees for the 15th Annual Ves...