Blade Runner special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull dies aged 79
Douglas Trumbull, a visual effects master who showed movie audiences images of the future and of space in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, has died at the age of 79.
His wife Julia Trumbull said he died on Monday of complications from mesothelioma.
Director Edgar Wright tweeted: âRIP to an actual visionary, Doug TrumbullâŠhe directed a childhood favourite of mine, the sci fi gem Silent Running. Watch it tonight.â
Producer and documentarian Charles de Lauzirika, who worked with Trumbull on Blade Runner: The Final Cut, tweeted that, âhe wasnât just innovating magnificent visuals, but also pursuing the big ideas behind whatever story he was tellingâ.
RIP to an actual visionary, Doug Trumbull, SFX genius behind the effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Blade Runner. Also he directed a childhood favourite of mine, the sci fi gem Silent Running. Watch it tonight. pic.twitter.com/ocS62Kh9i0
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) February 8, 2022
Born in Los Angeles in 1942, Trumbullâs father was visual effects supervisor Donald Trumbull, who worked on The Wizard Of Oz.
He got his start at Graphic Works Films, where a short of his caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick who was beginning work on 2001: A Space Odyssey.
At 23 years old, he not only talked himself into a key job on 2001, but helped innovate the process that would be used to create the memorable star-gate sequence.
âIt was a really unique time because we were at these Borehamwood Studios outside of London and it was a highly unionised studio,â he said in an interview.
âHere I am, this weird, LA, young 23-year-old cowboy kid that they took on as kind of a mascot more than anything. It didnât frighten them that I would crossover between all these different departments and get components built for me to do the things I wanted to do.
âThey were totally supportive and thought it was funny and weird and whatever, and this kidâs going to do it and Kubrick says itâs okay, so weâll do it, and we did some pretty amazing stuff that wouldnât have happened otherwise.â
Over the course of his career, which recently included work on Terrence Malickâs The Tree Of Life, he pushed forward filmmaking techniques like slit-scan photography, which was used for 2001.
He also developed the Showscan film process, in which 70mm film is projected at 60 frames per second to create a sense of heightened reality.
After he made a name for himself on 2001, he worked on Robert Wiseâs adaptation of The Andromeda Strain, Steven Spielbergâs Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Wiseâs Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Sir Ridley Scottâs Blade Runner.
He made his directorial debut with Silent Running, a dystopian sci-fi film starring Bruce Dern in which plant life is becoming extinct on earth.
Roger Ebert, in his review, wrote that Trumbull âis one of the best science-fiction special-effects men. Silent Running, which has deep space effects every bit the equal of those in 2001, also introduces him as an intelligent, if not sensational, directorâ.
He also directed the 1983 sci-fi film Brainstorm, which had the distinction of being Natalie Woodâs last role. Wood died during a break in production after most of her scenes had been completed.
The tragic death and the subsequent fights with MGM soured Trumbull on the business and he said in an interview that he had no interest in doing another Hollywood feature.
Trumbull got three Academy Award nominations for visual effects (for Blade Runner, Star Trek and Close Encounters) and, in 1992, a special scientific and engineering award for his work helping to design the CP-65 Showscan Camera System for motion picture photography.
In 2012, he received the Academyâs Gordon E Sawyer Award, a special technical Oscar for his contributions to the industry. More recently, he was at work on a documentary about 2001 and developing a sci-fi script with John Sayles.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
