Richard Edlund

Richard Edlund
Richard Edlund
	Edlund at an exhibition of his photographs
Born	December 6, 1940 (age 83); Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Alma mater	USC School of Cinematic Arts
Occupation	Visual effects artist
Organization	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; American Society of Cinematographers; Visual Effects Society; ;
Known for	Co-founding ILM and Boss Film Studios; pioneering opticals & motion control photography
Notable work	Star Wars series; Poltergeist series; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Ghostbusters; ;
Spouse	Rita Kogan (m. 1993; died 2019)
Awards	See awards
Website	www.richardedlund.com

Richard Edlund, ASC (born December 6, 1940) is an American visual effects artist and inventor. He was a founding member of Industrial Light & Magic, having already founded Pignose amplifiers, and later co-founded Boss Film Studios and DuMonde VFX. He has won four Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (1978, Star Wars; 1982, Raiders of the Lost Ark), as well as two Special Achievement Awards, two Scientific and Technical Awards, and the Medal of Commendation. He is also a BAFTA and Emmy Award recipient.

Life and career

Edlund was born in Fargo, North Dakota and raised in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. After first joining the United States Navy, he developed an interest in experimental film and attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts in the late 1960s. On the strength of a couple of short films, he was picked by John Dykstra to work as first cameraman at the embryonic Industrial Light & Magic on the production on Star Wars for which he shared an Academy Award.

Edlund continued to work with Dykstra on Battlestar Galactica but was invited back by George Lucas to work on The Empire Strikes Back. Edlund's considerable technical challenge on this film was to optically composite miniatures against a white background resulting in a second Academy Award. Edlund also did distinguished work for Lucas and ILM on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Poltergeist.

In 1983, following the completion of Return of the Jedi, Edlund set up his own effects company, Boss Films, whose credits include Ghostbusters, Big Trouble in Little China, Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Cliffhanger, Outbreak and Air Force One. Boss Film Studios was one of the first traditional effects houses that successfully transitioned from "tangible world" visual effects, to computer generated imagery, with many notable CGI artists beginning their careers at Boss.

Aside from film-work, Edlund also developed and manufactured the Pignose portable-style guitar amplifier (co-designed by Wayne Kimball).^[1] He is a Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a founder of the Academy's visual effects branch and is chair of the Branch Executive Committee, also chairman of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council. He also serves as board member of the Visual Effects Society and on the board of directors of the American Society of Cinematographers.^[2]

Edlund was married to Rita Kogan, the only daughter of entrepreneur Michael Kogan,^[3] before her death in 2019.^[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Contribution	Director	Notes
1964	The Creeping Terror	Opening & closing titles designer	Vic Savage	Uncredited
1977	Star Wars	Director of photography: VFX unit	George Lucas	Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1979	The China Syndrome	VFX supervisor	James Bridges
1980	The Empire Strikes Back		Irvin Kershner	Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark		Steven Spielberg	Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1982	Poltergeist		Tobe Hooper	BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1983	Return of the Jedi		Richard Marquand	BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
1984	Ghostbusters		Ivan Reitman	Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
1984	2010: The Year We Make Contact		Peter Hyams	Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1985	Fright Night	VFX producer	Tom Holland (filmmaker)
1986	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	VFX supervisor	Brian Gibson	Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
	Legal Eagles	VFX supervisor	Ivan Reitman
	Big Trouble in Little China	VFX producer	John Carpenter
	Solarbabies	VFX producer	Alan Johnson
	The Boy Who Could Fly	VFX supervisor	Nick Castle
1987	Masters of the Universe		Gary Goddard
	The Monster Squad		Fred Dekker
	Date with an Angel	VFX producer	Tom McLoughlin
	Leonard Part 6		Paul Weiland
1988	Die Hard		John McTiernan	Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
	Big Top Pee-wee		Randal Kleiser
	Vibes		Ken Kwapis
1989	Farewell to the King	Director of photography: VFX unit	John Milius
1990	Ghost	VFX supervisor	Jerry Zucker
1990	Solar Crisis	Producer	Richard C. Sarafian
1992	Alien 3	VFX producer	David Fincher	Nominated- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects
1995	Species	VFX supervisor	Roger Donaldson
1996	Multiplicity		Harold Ramis
1997	Turbulence		Robert Butler
1997	Air Force One		Wolfgang Petersen
1998	Desperate Measures		Barbet Schroeder
2000	Bedazzled	VFX supervisor/2nd unit director	Harold Ramis
2004	The Stepford Wives	VFX consultant	Frank Oz
2007	Anamorph	VFX supervisor	Henry S. Miller
2007	Charlie Wilson's War		Mike Nichols
2012	21 Jump Street		Phil Lord Christopher Miller
2012	Bullet to the Head		Walter Hill
2015	Barely Lethal		Kyle Newman

Television

Year	Title	Contribution	Notes
1967	Star Trek	'The Companion' design	Episode: "Metamorphosis"
1978	Battlestar Galactica	Director of photography: VFX unit	Episodes: "Saga of a Star World Parts 1, 2, 3" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts
1988	The Magical World of Disney	VFX producer	Episode: "Earth Star Voyager: Part 1"
1989-95	Tales from the Crypt	Producer	5 episodes: "The Man Who Was Death" "What's Cookin'" "The Pit" "The Assassin" "You Murderer"
2003	Angels in America	VFX supervisor	Miniseries; 4 episodes Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Awards and honors

Institution	Category	Year	Work	Result
Academy Award	Best Visual Effects	1978	Star Wars	Won
	Special Achievement Award	1981	The Empire Strikes Back	Won
	Scientific and Technical Award	1982	The Empire Strikes Back^[a]	Won
	Best Visual Effects	1982	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Won
	Best Visual Effects	1983	Poltergeist	Nominated
	Special Achievement Award	1984	Return of the Jedi	Won
	Best Visual Effects	1985	Ghostbusters	Nominated
		1985	2010: The Year We Make Contact	Nominated
		1987	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	Nominated
	Scientific and Technical Award	1987	Poltergeist II: The Other Side^[b]	Won
	Best Visual Effects	1989	Die Hard	Nominated
	Best Visual Effects	1993	Alien 3	Nominated
	Medal of Commendation	2007	—	Won
American Society of Cinematographers	President's Award	2008	—	Won
BAFTA Award	Best Special Visual Effects	1983	Poltergeist	Won
		1984	Return of the Jedi	Won
		1985	Ghostbusters	Nominated
		1993	Alien 3	Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts	1979	Battlestar Galactica ("Saga of a Star World")	Won
Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	2004	Angels in America	Nominated
Saturn Award	Best Special Effects	1981	The Empire Strikes Back	Won
		1982	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Won
		1984	Return of the Jedi	Won
		1985	2010: The Year We Make Contact	Nominated
		1986	Fright Night	Nominated
		1987	Poltergeist II: The Other Side	Nominated
		1988	Masters of the Universe	Nominated
		1991	Ghost	Nominated
		1993	Alien 3	Nominated
		1994	Solar Crisis	Nominated
		1996	Species	Nominated
Sitges Film Festival	Best Special Effects	1995	Species	Won
Visual Effects Society	VES Fellowship	2012	—	Won
Visual Effects Society	Lifetime Achievement Award	2013	—	Won

Notes

^ for "the Empire Motion Picture Camera System" and "the concept and engineering of a beam-splitter optical composite motion picture printer."
^ for "the Zoom Aerial (ZAP) 65mm Optical Printer"