John Bruno (special effects)

American director and visual effects artist

John Bruno
John Bruno, visual-effects pilot Ray McCort & Jennifer Andrews on location in New York.
Occupation	Visual effects artist
Years active	1971–present

John Bruno is an American visual effects artist and filmmaker known for his prolific collaborations with director James Cameron on films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic, Avatar, and The Abyss, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.^[1]

He has also contributed to other blockbuster films including Ghostbusters, Batman Returns, Cliffhanger, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. He also directed the 1999 science fiction horror film Virus, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Sutherland.

He currently holds five Oscar nominations and two BAFTA Award nominations.

Filmography

Visual effects

Poltergeist (1982) – Animation supervisor: Industrial Light & Magic
Ghostbusters (1984) – Visual effects art director: Boss Film Studios, Entertainment Effects Group
Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984) – Visual consultant
Fright Night (1985) – Visual effects art director: Entertainment Effects Group
Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) – Visual effects art director: Boss Film Studios
The Abyss (1989) – Visual effects supervisor
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Visual effects designer
Batman Returns (1992) – Visual effects supervisor: Boss Film Studios
Cliffhanger (1993) – Visual effects supervisor
True Lies (1994) – Visual effects supervisor: Digital Domain
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) – Visual effects supervisor
Titanic (1997) – Visual effects consultant
Alien vs. Predator (2004) – Visual effects supervisor
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – Visual effects supervisor
Rush Hour 3 (2007) – Visual effects designer/supervisor
Avatar (2009) – Visual effects supervisor
Season of the Witch (2011) – Visual effects consultant: additional photography
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011) – Visual effects supervisor
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) – Visual effects supervisor
Movie 43 (2013) – Visual effects producer – Segment "Happy Birthday"
Hercules (2014) – Visual effects supervisor
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) – Additional visual effects supervisor

Directing

Heavy Metal (1981) – 1 segment
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) – with James Cameron and Stan Winston
Virus (1999)
Star Trek: Voyager (1999–2000) – 2 episodes
Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014)

Oscar history

All 6 films were in the category of Best Visual Effects

1984 Academy Awards – Nominated for Ghostbusters, nomination shared with Richard Edlund, Chuck Gaspar and Mark Vargo. Lost to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom^[2]
1986 Academy Awards – Nominated for Poltergeist II: The Other Side, nomination shared with Richard Edlund, Bill Neil and Garry Waller. Lost to Aliens.^[3]
1989 Academy Awards – The Abyss. Shared with Dennis Muren, Dennis Skotak and Hoyt Yeatman. Won.^[4]
1992 Academy Awards – Nominated for Batman Returns, nomination shared with Craig Barron, Michael Fink and Dennis Skotak. Lost to Death Becomes Her.^[5]
1993 Academy Awards – Nominated for Cliffhanger, nomination shared with Pamela Easley, Neil Krepela and John Richardson. Lost to Jurassic Park.^[6]
1994 Academy Awards – Nominated for True Lies, nomination shared with Thomas L. Fisher, Patrick McClung and Jacques Stroweis. Lost to Forrest Gump.^[7]

References

^ "Our interview with the visual effects legend behind 'Ghostbusters,' 'Avatar,' and 'Terminator 2'". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
^ "The 57th Academy Awards (1985) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
^ "The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
^ "The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
^ "The 65th Academy Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
^ "The 66th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
^ "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 3, 2014.

External links

John Bruno at IMDb

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

1963–1980

Emil Kosa Jr. – Cleopatra (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, and Hamilton Luske – Mary Poppins (1964)
John Stears – Thunderball (1965)
Art Cruickshank – Fantastic Voyage (1966)
L. B. Abbott – Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Robie Robertson – Marooned (1969)
A. D. Flowers and L. B. Abbott – Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Alan Maley, Eustace Lycett, and Danny Lee – Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers – The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, and Albert Whitlock – Earthquake (1974)
Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson – The Hindenburg (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, and Frank Van der Veer – King Kong (1976)
John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, and Robert Blalack – Star Wars (1977)
Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic – Superman (1978)
H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling – Alien (1979)
Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

1981–2000

Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, and Joe Johnston – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, and Kenneth F. Smith – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson, and George Gibbs – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, and David Berry – Cocoon (1985)
Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson – Aliens (1986)
Dennis Muren, Bill George, Harley Jessup, and Kenneth F. Smith - Innerspace (1987)
Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, and George Gibbs – Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, and Dennis Skotak – The Abyss (1989)
Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, and Alex Funke – Total Recall (1990)
Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Douglas Smythe, and Tom Woodruff Jr. – Death Becomes Her (1992)
Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri – Jurassic Park (1993)
Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, and Allen Hall – Forrest Gump (1994)
Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan, and John Cox – Babe (1995)
Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, and Joe Viskocil – Independence Day (1996)
Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, and Michael Kanfer – Titanic (1997)
Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson, and Kevin Mack – What Dreams May Come (1998)
John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum – The Matrix (1999)
John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey – Gladiator (2000)

2001–2020

Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier – Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, and Richard Taylor – King Kong (2005)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass (2007)
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones – Avatar (2009)
Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb – Inception (2010)
Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning – Hugo (2011)
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott – Life of Pi (2012)
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould – Gravity (2013)
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher – Interstellar (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, and Andrew Whitehurst – Ex Machina (2015)
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon – The Jungle Book (2016)
John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and J. D. Schwalm – First Man (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, and Dominic Tuohy – 1917 (2019)
Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, and Scott R. Fisher – Tenet (2020)

2021–present

Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune (2021)
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett – Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima – Godzilla Minus One (2023)

v t e Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
1970s	Marcel Vercoutere (1972) Joe Dante and Mark Goldblatt (1973) Douglas Knapp, Bill Taylor, John Carpenter, and Dan O'Bannon (1974/75) L. B. Abbott (1976) John Dykstra and John Stears (1977) Colin Chilvers (1978) Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, and Richard Yuricich (1979)
1980s	Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund (1980) Richard Edlund (1981) Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren (1982) Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston (1983) Chris Walas (1984) Kevin Pike (1985) Stan Winston, Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak (1986) Peter Kuran, Phil Tippett, Rob Bottin, and Rocco Gioffre (1987) George Gibbs, Ken Ralston, and Richard Williams (1988) Ken Ralston (1989/90)
1990s	Stan Winston (1991) Ken Ralston, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Alec Gillis (1992) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri (1993) John Bruno (1994) Stan Parks (1995) Volker Engel, Clay Pinney, Douglas Smith, and Joe Viskocil (1996) Phil Tippett, Scott E. Anderson, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., John Richardson (1997) Volker Engel, Patrick Tatopoulos, Karen E. Goulekas, and Clay Pinney (1998) Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and Scott Squires (1999)
2000s	Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk, and Stan Parks (2000) Dennis Muren, Scott Farrar, Stan Winston, Michael Lantieri (2001) Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow (2002) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke (2003) John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier (2004) Joe Letteri, Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers, and Brian Van't Hul (2005) John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall (2006) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, and John Frazier (2007) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, and Paul J. Franklin (2008) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones (2009)
2010s	Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Paul J. Franklin, and Peter Bebb (2010) Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett (2011) Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick (2012) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould (2013) Paul J. Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher (2014) Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, and Chris Corbould (2015) John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel, and Neil Corbould (2016) Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, and Dan Sudick (2017) Dan DeLeeuw, Matt Aitken, Russell Earl, and Dan Sudick (2018/19) Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, and Dominic Tuohy (2019/20)
2020s	John “D.J.” Des Jardin, Bryan Hirota, Kevin Andrew Smith, and Mike Meinardus (2021/22) Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett (2022/23)
Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.