Wedged each year among the smorgasbord of critical darlings, art house films and prestige dramas that fill the various Oscar categories sits what is quietly the most relevant one to casual moviegoers: best visual effects.
The below-the-line, insider category is generally the one place on awards night where box-office successes and nominees match up, as the films competing for the trophy are the few blockbuster movies that people actually pay to go see.
Just look at the numbers: The nine movies nominated for best picture this year collectively made roughly $2 billion worldwide. The five up for best visual effects made $5.7 billion. While the best picture category has long been where Hollywood presents the best version of itself, visual effects is where we see what Hollywood really is — and increasingly, what it might become in the near future.
This year's candidates for Visual Effects are
- 1917
- Avengers: Endgame
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- The Irishman
- The Lion King
Indiewire describes some of the tech in The Rise of Skywalker
Industrial Light & Magic (under the supervision of Roger Guyett) was innovative in its use of both digital and practical creature effects for the Skywalker finale, including Babu Frik, the tiny droidsmith puppet that’s become an instant fan favorite. And the Battle of Exegol required enormous animation and simulation work, with more than 1,000 Star Destroyers and 16,000 Galaxy ships locked in combat.
Here is the trailer for that movie
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