News

It’s truly a measure of the pandemic that the 19th annual Ves Awards (to be held virtually on April 6) was dominated by Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” with 13 nominations (topped by photoreal episode). Like the Oscar shortlist, there was an absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films. But, truth be told, Season 2 of Jon Favreau’s engaging “Star Wars” bounty hunter series offered the industry’s most innovative tech (wrapped around Industrial Light & Magic’s improved StageCraft virtual production system).

Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.

Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky...

The nominations for the 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards have been announced with “The Mandalorian” and “Soul” leading.

“The Mandalorian” leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. “Soul” was next with five nominations, followed by “The Witches” and “Project Power.”

The Ves awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and will stream worldwide on April 6.

“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!

The Visual Effects Society today announced the nominees for its 19th annual Ves Awards, which recognize VFX artistry in 25 categories spanning film, TV, animation, commercials and video games. Winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6.

Disney+’s The Mandalorian leads all TV shows and films with 13 noms, and Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul tops the film side with five. Project Power and The Witches tied for second among movies with three noms apiece in a decidedly strange year for VFX-heavy projects.

Vying for the Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature prize are Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Midnight Sky, Project Power, Tenet and The Witches. The films up for

Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature are Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Mank, News of the World and Welcome to Chechnya.

Soul will battle it out for the Visual Effects in an Animated Feature trophy against fellow Pixar pic Onward,...

The Visual Effects Society announced nominees for the organization’s 17th annual awards on Tuesday.

Leading the way in the film and TV fields, respectively, were Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and Netflix’s “Lost in Space.” Each picked up six nominations. Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” received the most nominations among animated feature contenders with five.

“Ready Player One” also landed five nominations, while “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and “Welcome to Marwen” each earned three. “Christopher Robin” and “First Man” picked up a pair apiece, while “Ant Man and the Wasp” landed one. Those films joined “Avengers: Infinity War” on the Academy’s list of 10 semifinalists for the category, each of which displayed their wares at the organization’s annual Visual Effects Bake-Off on Jan. 5.

Notably, Marvel’s “Black Panther” and Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” — the final two films on the Academy’s bake-off...

The Visual Effects Society has revealed nominations for the 17th annual Ves Awards, which will recognize the best VFX artistry and innovation in film, animation, TV, commercials and video games.

Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity Wars and Netflix’s Lost In Space lead the film and TV categories this year with six nominations, respectively. Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 tops the animation field with five noms.

Winners will be announced during a ceremony February 5 at the Beverly Hilton hosted by Patton Oswalt. Also at the gala, the annual Ves Visionary Award will be presented to Westworld‘s Jonathan Nolan, while the Ves Award for Creative Excellence will be presented to Game of Thrones masterminds David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Here are the nominees announced Tuesday in 24 categories:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Avengers: Infinity War

Daniel DeLeeuw

Jen Underdahl

Kelly Port

Matt Aitken

Daniel Sudick

Christopher Robin

Chris Lawrence...

While “Avengers: Infinity War” topped the 17th annual Ves Awards (to be held February 5th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel) with six nominations, “Black Panther,” Marvel’s other Oscar frontrunner, was shut out. And Damien Chazelle’s acclaimed “First Man,” another frontrunner, was included in the supporting category as a result of its invisible VFX. Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” meanwhile, was also snubbed.

However, joining “Infinity War” in the top VFX category were a surprising list: “Ready Player One” (with five nominations), “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” “Christopher Robin” and “Welcome to Marwen.” Joining “First Man” for supporting VFX were “12 Strong,” Bird Box,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Outlaw King”.

In animation, Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” was the big winner with five nominations, followed by Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” with four. They were joined by Illumination’s “The Grinch” and Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs.

John Brascia, the handsome male half of three spectacular Hollywood dance teams in the 1950s and '60s, died Tuesday at a nursing home in Santa Monica following a 20-year battle with Parkinson's disease, his daughter said. He was 80. Tony Bennett, who served as Brascia's best man at his wedding to actress-model Sondra Scott on New Year's Eve in 1970, called his longtime friend days before he died, Brascia's daughter, Christina McNown, told The Hollywood Reporter. Brascia tap-danced with and twirled the slim-waisted Vera-Ellen in the high-octane "Abraham" number in Michael Curtiz's White Christmas

read more...