I loved every minute of this Disney+ miniseries on Lucasfilm's groundbreaking special effects company Industrial Light and Magic. When I was first getting into the art of filmmaking when I was around 11 or 12, I would constantly read coffee table books about how ILM did the visual effects for Star Wars, and constantly be inspired by the ways they created these incredible scenes with practical effects in the 70s and 80s. It's miraculous how they were funded really just to get George Lucas' film off the ground, and went on to become by far the biggest FX company in the industry. Everybody who worked there at the time were young, passionate people with dreams of filmmaking and having this weird sci-fi movie with something called a Wookie as their first break in the industry, which obviously paid off. I loved not just learning about the matte paintings in Empire or how they put potatoes in the asteroid fields, but also the lives and struggles and dreams of these FX artists as they look back on their time at this iconic company. Hearing Phil Tippett discuss how creating creatures and animation helped him cope with mental health issues is some of the most moving stuff in the documentary.
As much as I don't always agree with their creative decisions, I applaud Lucasfilm and Disney for giving this series the green light, and letting Lawrence Kasdan (the writer behind Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Force Awakens; and easily the best screenwriter attached to the series) direct it. I'm very biased as someone who grew up watching this company's work on some of my all-time favorite films, but this is an inspiring watch from start to finish.
I loved every minute of this Disney+ miniseries on Lucasfilm's groundbreaking special effects company Industrial Light and Magic. When I was first getting into the art of filmmaking when I was around 11 or 12, I would constantly read coffee table books about how ILM did the visual effects for Star Wars, and constantly be inspired by the ways they created these incredible scenes with practical effects in the 70s and 80s. It's miraculous how they were funded really just to get George Lucas' film off the ground, and went on to become by far the biggest FX company in the industry. Everybody who worked there at the time were young, passionate people with dreams of filmmaking and having this weird sci-fi movie with something called a Wookie as their first break in the industry, which obviously paid off. I loved not just learning about the matte paintings in Empire or how they put potatoes in the asteroid fields, but also the lives and struggles and dreams of these FX artists as they look back on their time at this iconic company. Hearing Phil Tippett discuss how creating creatures and animation helped him cope with mental health issues is some of the most moving stuff in the documentary.
As much as I don't always agree with their creative decisions, I applaud Lucasfilm and Disney for giving this series the green light, and letting Lawrence Kasdan (the writer behind Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Force Awakens; and easily the best screenwriter attached to the series) direct it. I'm very biased as someone who grew up watching this company's work on some of my all-time favorite films, but this is an inspiring watch from start to finish.
