“Gravity,” “Elysium” among 10 films on Oscar visual effects shortlist

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ten films including Gravity, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Pacific Rim, made the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences short list for the visual effects category, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Joining these three films on the list are Elysium, Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Oblivion, Star Trek Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World and World War Z.

The slate includes several Oscar winners, including The Hobbit's senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri from Weta, a four-time Oscar winner (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, King Kong and Avatar); Industrial Light & Magic's John Knoll, VFX supervisor on Pacific Rim, who won an Oscar for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; and Digital Domain's Eric Barba, VFX supervisor on Oblivion, who won an Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Some notable previous nominees include ILM's Roger Guyett, VFX supervisor on Star Trek Into Darkness, who was previously nominated for Star Trek and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; and Gravity's VFX supervisor, Framestore's Tim Webber, was previously nominated for The Dark Knight.

The Hobbit, which opens Dec. 13, is the only one yet to have its theatrical debut. The 10 films will be presented to the VFX branch during a "bake off" in January. That evening, branch members will vote on which five films will receive Oscar nominations in the category.