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November 1985 |
This issue is out of print
and available only as
black-and-white photocopies
of individual articles.
Without benefit of unbridled
violence, gross-out humor or food fights - apparent prerequisites for contemporary
boxoffice success - Cocoon seemed a decidedly tame entry into the
summer filmgoing sweepstakes. Not to mention the fact that in these times
of youth-oriented fare, its principal cast consisted largely of veteran
performers well into their Social Security years. But in director Ron Howards'
hands, the Zanuck/Brown production - with its predominant emphasis on character
and heart - finished a strong third among the season's boxoffice attractions.
Helping to create the magic behind what Howard jokingly dubbed 'Close Encounters
on Golden Pond' were the diversely-talented cinemagicians of
Industrial
Light & Magic, Cannom
Creature Effects and Robert Short Productions who - separately and
collectively - produced everything from lifelike mechanical dolphins to
glowing extraterrestrials to flying saucers from distant worlds.
Article by Jody Duncan Shay |
When Steven
Spielberg's Amblin Productions first approached Industrial
Light & Magic with a request to purvey the few, minimal effects
shots needed for
The Goonies and Back to the Future, the
proposal seemed innocent enough. The premier facility was well-accustomed
to orchestrating visual effects by the hundreds for Lucasfilm's intergalactic
space epics. But the fast-paced, tandem production scheduling of
Amblin's earthbound adventures called for some decidedly different approaches
- and compelled the already well-occupied ILM staff into a whirlwind of
productivity. And although neither Goonies nor
Back to the Future
is considered a 'major effects film', each features several well-placed
'major effects'. Seasoned veterans of illusion Micheal
McAlister, Ken
Ralston and other members of Industrial Light & Magic - along
with the films' special makeup experts - discuss life in the special effects
fast lane and the ensuing challenges thereof.
Article by Janine Pourroy |
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