Inception Wins Four VES Awards

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Press Release from The Visual Effects Society

Los Angeles, February 1, 2011 - The Visual Effects Society announced the winners of the 9th Annual VES Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The annual event recognizes outstanding visual effects in more than twenty categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games.

Filmmakers, producers and guests joined more than a thousand attendees from the visual effects industry for the sold-out gala which honored Christopher Nolan with the inaugural VES Visionary Award and Ray Harryhausen with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Inception’s Tom Hardy was on hand to present the award to Nolan while Harryhausen was feted by video tributes throughout the evening. Randy Cook and Dennis Muren presented from the stage to Harryhausen who appeared via video to thank VES for this honor. The event was hosted by Patton Oswalt.

Inception was the evening’s most honored project with four awards including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture. The animated feature film How to Train Your Dragon was honored with three awards including Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture---both films winning in every nominated category. Television’s big winner was “The Pacific,” also grabbing three honors.

The 9th Annual VES Awards will premiere on REELZCHANNEL Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 10p ET/PT with encore presentations throughout February.

In accepting the first-ever Visionary award, Nolan came clean about the increasing importance of VFX in his films and that he believes in the "harmony" between special effects and visual effects. He also cited the influences of Ray Harryhausen (the life achievement recipient) and Stanley Kubrick.

Meanwhile, in light of TOY STORY 3 getting the BAFTA VFX nod, Jim Morris, general manager and evp of Pixar (as well as the producer of Andrew Stanton's JOHN CARTER OF MARS) told AWN that he's very hopeful about the Academy's VFX branch embracing animation. He said it will take further education and that he's willing to do what he can. "It's just a matter of time. But it has to happen organically."

The following is the complete list of winners of the 9th Annual VES Awards:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture
Inception
Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Mike Chambers, Matthew Plummer

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Hereafter
Michael Owens, Joel Mendias, Bryan Grill, Danielle Plantec

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
How to Train Your Dragon
Simon Otto, Craig Ring, Bonnie Arnold

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or a Special
The Pacific
John Sullivan, David Taritero, William Mesa, Marco Requay

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series
Caprica
Michael Gibson, Gary Hutzel, Davey Morton, Jesse Mesa Toves

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Boardwalk Empire
Robert Stromberg, Dave Taritero, Richard Friedlander, Paul Graff

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short
Day & Night
Teddy Newton, Kevin Reher, Michael Fu, Tom Gately

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Live Action Commercial
Halo: Reach
Dan Glass, Dan Seddon, Matt Dessero, Stephanie Gilgar

Outstanding Animated Commercial
Cadbury's Spots V Stripes
Jake Mengers, Julie Evans, Jorge Montiel Meurer, Michael Gregory

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
King Kong 360 3D
Matt Aitken, Kevin Sherwood, Eric Reynolds, R. Christopher White

Outstanding Real-Time Visual Effects in a Video Game
Halo: Reach
Marcus Lehto, Joseph Tung, Stephen Scott, CJ Cowan

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Video Game Trailer
World of Warcraft
Marc Messenger, Phillip Hillenbrand, Jr.

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Dobby
Mathieu Vig, Ben Lambert, Laurie Brugger, Marine Poirson

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
How to Train Your Dragon – Toothless
Gabe Hordos, Cassidy Curtis, Mariette Marinus, Brent Watkins

Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial
Citron C3 The Spacebox – Citro
Michael Nauzin, Anne Chatelain, Gregory Mougne, Cedric Nicolas

Outstanding Animated Character in a Video Game
StarCraft II - Sarah Kerrigan
Fausto De Martini, Xin Wang, Glenn Ramos, Scott Lange

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
How to Train Your Dragon
Andy Hayes, Laurent Kermel, Jason Mayer, Brett Miller

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Inception - Paris Dreamscape
Bruno Baron, Dan Neal, Graham Page, Per Mork-Jensen

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program
The Pacific - The Battle of Iwo Jima
Marco Recuay, Morgan McDermott, Nick Lund-Ulrich

Outstanding Models & Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
Inception - Hospital Fortress Destruction
Ian Hunter, Scott Beverly, Forest Fischer, Robert Spurlock

Outstanding Models & Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial
Boardwalk Empire - The Ivory Tower
J. John Corbett, Matthew Conner, Brendan Fitzgerald

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
Inception
Astrid Busser-Casas, Scott Pritchard, Jan Maroske, George Zwier

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial
The Pacific - Peleliu landing
Jeremy Nelson, John P. Mesa, Dan Novy, Tyler Cote

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
LOOM
Regina Welker, Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, Csaba Letay

About the VES
The VES is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest uniform standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. The VES is the entertainment industry's only official organization representing the extended community of visual effects practitioners including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators and studio executives. Its over 2,000 global members contribute to all areas of entertainment from film, animation, television and commercials to music videos, games and new media. VES strives to enrich and educate its members and the entertainment community at large through many domestic and international events, screenings and programs. Visual effects professionals constitute a vital creative force in content creation and are literally shaping the future of entertainment. For more information regarding the Visual Effects Society visit: www.visualeffectssociety.com [1].

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