But that’s a big if in this wide open race that also includes Christopher Nolan’s time-inverted “Tenet” (which is finally available on the Academy’s online voting portal) and dark horse “Love and Monsters,” with its terrific array of Ray Harryhausen-like creatures. In the last four years, the VES has only aligned with the Academy once (for “The Jungle Book”). Then again, the VES nod could be enough to put “The Midnight Sky” over the top in this unorthodox awards season.
Netflix also swept the supporting photoreal feature and episodic awards with “Mank,” David Fincher’s meticulous recreation of Hollywood’s Golden Age in black-and-white, and “The Crown” (“Gold Stick”), and racked up two additional wins with the “Project Power” superhero feature (for effects simulations and compositing). However, Disney was the biggest studio winner, with Pixar’s Black-led, innovative “Soul” grabbing five awards (including the animated feature prize), and “The Mandalorian” garnering three (including the top episodic award). Plus, “Mulan” won the photoreal environment award for Weta Digital’s Imperial City, and “The One and Only Ivan” earned the outstanding animated character prize for MPC Film’s titular gorilla. Disney+ Cate Blanchett presented the VES Lifetime Achievement Award to multiple Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson (“The Beatles: Get Back” documentary), founder of the powerhouse Weta Digital VFX studio in Wellington, New Zealand. Jackson was honored with a star-studded tribute from Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cameron, and Gollum, the gamechanging creature from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies (performance-captured by Serkis). In addition, Sacha Baron Cohen presented the VES Award for Creative Excellence to three-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Rob Legato (“The Jungle Book, “Hugo,” “Titanic”) — a visionary in translating virtual production into a live-action methodology for Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jon Favreau. Winners of the 19th Annual VES Awards are as follows: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature “The Midnight Sky” Matt Kasmir Greg Baxter Chris Lawrence Max Solomon David Watkins
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature “Mank” Wei Zheng Peter Mavromates Simon Carr James Pastorius Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature “Soul” Pete Docter Dana Murray Michael Fong Bill Watral Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode “The Mandalorian”; “The Marshal” Joe Bauer Abbigail Keller Hal Hickel Richard Bluff Roy Cancino Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode “The Crown”; “Gold Stick” Ben Turner Reece Ewing Andrew Scrase Jonathan Wood Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project “Ghost of Tsushima” Jason Connell Matt Vainio Jasmin Patry Joanna Wang Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial Walmart; “Famous Visitors” Chris “Badger” Knight Lori Talley Yarin Manes Matt Fuller Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project “The Bourne Stuntacular” Salvador Zalvidea Tracey Gibbons George Allan Matthías Bjarnason Scott Smith Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature “The One and Only Ivan”; Ivan Valentina Rosselli Thomas Huizer Andrea De Martis William Bell Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature “Soul”; Terry Jonathan Hoffman Jonathan Page Peter Tieryas Ron Zorman Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project “The Mandalorian”; “The Jedi”; The Child John Rosengrant Peter Clarke Scott Patton Hal Hickel Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial Arm & Hammer; “Once Upon a Time”; Tuxedo Tom Shiny Rajan Silvia Bartoli Matías Heker Tiago Dias Mota Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature “Mulan”: Imperial City Jeremy Fort Matt Fitzgerald Ben Walker Adrian Vercoe Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature “Soul”; You Seminar Hosuk Chang Sungyeon Joh Peter Roe Frank Tai Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project “The Mandalorian”; “The Believer”; Morak Jungle Enrico Damm Johanes Kurnia Phi Tran Tong Tran Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project “Soul” Matt Aspbury Ian Megibben Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project “The Midnight Sky”; Aether Michael Balthazart Jonathan Opgenhaffen John-Peter Li Simon Aluze Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature “Project Power” Yin Lai Jimmy Leung Jonathan Edward Lyddon-Towl Pierpaolo Navarini Michelle Lee Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature “Soul” Alexis Angelidis Keith Daniel Klohn Aimei Kutt Melissa Tseng Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project “Lovecraft Country”; “Strange Case”; Chrysalis Federica Foresti Johan Gabrielsson Hugo Medda Andreas Krieg Outstanding Compositing in a Feature “Project Power” Russell Horth Matthew Patience Julien Rousseau
Outstanding Compositing in an Episode “Lovecraft Country”; “Strange Case”; Chrysalis Viktor Andersson Linus Lindblom Mattias Sandelius Crawford Reilly Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial Burberry; “Festive” Alex Lovejoy Mithun Alex David Filipe Amresh Kumar Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project “Fear the Walking Dead”; “Bury Her Next to Jasper’s Leg” Frank Iudica Scott Roark Daniel J. Yates Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project “Migrants” Antoine Dupriez Hugo Caby Lucas Lermytte Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
