Wired Magazine has debuted an extensive oral history of visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic featuring interviews with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Guillermo del Toro, Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and more. With it comes an expansive cover photo showcasing the legacy of the company and their countless creations, ranging from Davy Jones to Yoda and Bumblebee to Ant-Man. You can check that out above and click on the image to see a bigger version!
Within the feature there are some updates on upcoming blockbusters as well, including Warcraft, which just revealed its first official image.
“There were three times in my 20 years here that I’ve almost soiled myself looking at a challenge we were going to take on,” says Cary Phillips, Research and Development Supervisor for ILM. “The first was the concept art for Star Wars: Episode I. The second time was Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The third time I almost soiled myself was seeing the concept art for the film we’re working on now, Warcraft; it’s the most amazing work we’ve done in the 20 years I’ve been here.”
“I think we recently rang the bell on having less than a thousand shots to go,” director Duncan Jones said. “That was a good thing to hear.”
Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow also opened up about the work ILM is doing for the sequel.
“Harsh top light has often not flattered the dinosaurs, but in Jurassic World they’re very naked and out in the open—it took that encouragement from Dennis for us to be willing to let these dinosaurs have sunlight hit their skin and not add any additional effects to mask them. It helps the movie feel intensely real.”
“Breaking Bad” and Star Wars: Episode VIII director Rian Johnson also offered a fun anecdote about his history with ILM.
“When I was in high school, somebody gave me a copy of this ILM coffee table book called The Art of Special Effects. I almost burned my house down because of that book…My friends were doing a Back to the Future parody, and I decided I was going to re-create the tire trails behind the DeLorean. Genius that I am, I soaked strips of paper towel in gasoline and laid them out in a line behind this big model car of the DeLorean that I’d built in my parents’ garage. I don’t remember how I got the fire out, but I almost destroyed my family’s house. And now I’m doing Star Wars. That’s how you do it.”
You can check out the full article by clicking here and watch a video celebrating their 40 years of creating the impossible below.
