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Colin Chilvers, a pioneering, Oscar-winning Hollywood visual effects artist who created movie magic for Superman, apocalyptic scenarios and even The Who’s Tommy, died November 19 in Fort Erie, Ontario, where he lived. He was 79.

His death was first reported Wednesday by the news station 101.1 FM in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Among Chilvers’ more memorable feats were the effects that gave Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder the illusion of flying in Richard Donner’s 1978 classic Superman, work that had him share in a team Oscar for Visual Effects.

In 1986, Chilvers created the dazzling trickery that allowed Michael Jackson to defy gravity by leaning forward 45 degrees with no visible means of support in the music video for “Smooth Criminal.” Chilvers directed the video, along with various other Jackson video collections.

Chilvers’ post-Superman credits from the ’80s through the 2000s also included Superman 2 and Superman 3, Bride of Chucky, X-Men and K-19: The Widowmaker.

Hollywood visual effects pioneer Colin Chilvers, who earned a Special Achievement Academy Award in 1979 for making Christopher Reeves as Superman fly, has died. He was 79.

Chilvers died Tuesday in Fort Erie, Ontario, according to his nephew, Chris Corbould, whose own VFX credits include Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and James Bond franchise movies like No Time to Die and Spectre.

“I am forever indebted to Colin as he instigated the start of my own career in special effects when he invited me onto the set of Tommy in 1974 when I was 16 years old and inspired me to make a career in the film industry,” Corbould told The Hollywood Reporter.

Chilvers was a director of special effects for Richard Donner’s 1978 classic Superman, which was shot partly in Niagara Falls and starred Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. Chilvers in a 2019 interview with the 15 Minutes With…...

One man is preparing for a “quite unbelievable” Oscars night, having found himself nominated three times this year in the same category.

Special effects supervisor Neil Corbould is up against himself twice over, after being recognised in the category for his work on three movies – Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, The Creator and Napoleon.

Corbould has two previous Oscars to his name – for Gladiator and Gravity. He told the BBC that this year’s close-to-hand competition could be “the kiss of death,” and said:

“I might have three seats and have to play musical chairs!” The best part? “I get invited to three different after parties.”

Corbould has been working in the film industry for nearly five decades, having followed his uncle into special effects. Colin Chilvers previously won an Oscar himself, for his work on the 1978 movie Superman. He also worked on The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Condorman...

Saturn 3, starring Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett, will be released to Blu-ray/DVD later this year and Scream Factory had provided us with new release details:

“Adam (Kirk Douglas) and Alex (Farrah Fawcett) are two scientists stationed deep beneath the barren surface of Saturn’s third moon, Titan. They live together in idyllic isolation in a space-age Eden, seeking new forms of food for an exhausted planet Earth. Their perfect world is interrupted when Benson (Harvey Keitel) arrives as Saturn goes into eclipse and cuts off communication with the rest of the solar system. Aided by his ‘helper robot’ Hector, James reduces life to one single purpose…survival. The robot becomes violently unmanageable. For Adam and Alex, their only hope is to flee, but the homicidal robot stands in their way. Produced and directed by legendary filmmaker Stanley Donen (Singin’ In The Rain, Charade and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers...

How we love the Scream Factory. They've given us stellar home video packages of some of our favorite films throughout the year and are showing no signs of slowing down at all. Next up... the sci-fi classic Saturn 3.

From the Press Release

Adam (Kirk Douglas) and Alex (Farrah Fawcett) are two scientists stationed deep beneath the barren surface of Saturn's third moon, Titan. They live together in idyllic isolation in a space-age Eden, seeking new forms of food for an exhausted planet Earth. Their perfect world is interrupted when Benson (Harvey Keitel) arrives as Saturn goes into eclipse and cuts off communication with the rest of the solar system. Aided by his 'helper robot' Hector, James reduces life to one single purpose…survival. The robot becomes violently unmanageable. For Adam and Alex, their only hope is to flee, but the homicidal robot stands in their way. Produced and directed...

Yes, he was the punchline of approximately a quarter-million Tonight Show jokes. But Michael Jackson's stop-on-a-dime dance moves and sensual soprano have influenced generations of musicians, dancers and entertainers, and the man was so much more than what the tabloids made him out to be. One of entertainment's greatest icons, he was incredibly gifted, and like most gifted individuals he was an equally troubled genius who kept us captivated at his most dazzling, and at his most appalling moments. The New York Times once described him as one of the six most famous people on the planet. I'd like to up the ante:  he was the most famous person on the planet. He influenced artists ranging from Justin Timberlake to Madonna, and genres from rock to pop to R&B to even rap. No other artist has been as unifying. Jackson also helped elevate the music video, turning it...