John Richardson (special effects designer)

British special effects supervisor

John Richardson

Born|  (1946-06-10) June 10, 1946 (age 79)

Brentford, Middlesex, England

Occupation| Special effects supervisor
Awards|

* Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1987)
* BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects (2011)

John Richardson (born June 10, 1946 in England) is a British special effects supervisor. He is best known for his work on the James Bond film series (Casino Royale, Moonraker, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day), all the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Aliens (1986). For the latter, he won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 1987 ceremony.[1] He won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects for his work on the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award at the 2012 ceremony.[2][3]

Richardson is the son of special effects pioneer Cliff Richardson, who worked on films including The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Casino Royale (1967), the latter alongside his son. On 13 August 1976, while working on A Bridge Too Far (1977), John was involved in a car accident in the Netherlands that resulted in the death of his girlfriend, Liz Moore, a sculptor and special effects creator who worked on the original suit for C-3PO.

In 2019, he published the book Making Movie Magic, which detailed his career in film. In addition to his work in special effects, he also specialized in pyrotechnics and as a second unit director.

## Filmography

[edit]

* 1967: Casino Royale (special effects - uncredited)
* 1968: Duffy (special effects)
* 1969: Battle of Britain (special effects assistant - uncredited)
* 1970: Leo the Last (special effects supervisor)
* 1970: The Railway Children (special effects)
* 1971: The Devils (special effects)
* 1971: Straw Dogs (special effects)
* 1972: Young Winston (special effects)
* 1973: The Day of the Jackal (special effects: England)
* 1974: Mahler (special effects)
* 1974: Callan (special effects)
* 1974: Phase IV (special effects)
* 1974: Juggernaut (special effects)
* 1974: The Little Prince (special effects)
* 1975: Rosebud (special effects)
* 1975: Rollerball (special effects)
* 1975: Hennessy (special effects)
* 1975: Royal Flash (special effects)
* 1975: Lucky Lady (special effects)
* 1976: The Omen (special effects)
* 1977: A Bridge Too Far (special effects supervisor)
* 1977: The People That Time Forgot (special effects supervisor: Spain)
* 1978: Warlords of Atlantis (special effects supervisor)
* 1978: Superman (special effects: Canada and New York)
* 1979: North Sea Hijack (supervisor of special effects and special sequences)
* 1979: Escape to Athena (special effects)
* 1979: Moonraker (special effects)
* 1980: The Watcher in the Woods (special effects)
* 1980: Raise the Titanic (special effects - uncredited)
* 1982: Five Days One Summer (special effects supervisor)
* 1983: Octopussy (special effects supervisor)
* 1983: Slayground (special effects)
* 1985: Ladyhawke (special effects supervisor)
* 1985: A View to a Kill (special effects supervisor)
* 1986: Aliens (special effects supervisor)
* 1987: The Living Daylights (special visual effects)
* 1988: Willow (special effects supervisor)
* 1989: Licence to Kill (special visual effects)
* 1990: Treasure Island (special effects supervisor)
* 1991: Highlander II: The Quickening (special effects designer)
* 1992: Far and Away (special effects supervisor: Ireland)
* 1992: Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (special effects supervisor)
* 1993: Cliffhanger (special effects coordinator)
* 1993: Ghost in the Machine (special effects consultant)
* 1994: Love Affair (special effects supervisor)
* 1995: Bushwhacked (special effects supervisor)
* 1996: Broken Arrow (special effects consultant)

* 1997: Starship Troopers (special effects supervisor)
* 1997: Tomorrow Never Dies (special effects supervisor)
* 1999: Deep Blue Sea (special effects supervisor)
* 1999: The World Is Not Enough (special effects supervisor)
* 2000: The Family Man (special effects coordinator - uncredited)
* 2001: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (special effects supervisor)
* 2002: Men in Black II (creature coordinator)
* 2002: Enough (special effects coordinator)
* 2002: Die Another Day (model effects supervisor)
* 2002: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (special effects supervisor)
* 2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (special effects supervisor)
* 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (special effects supervisor)
* 2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (special effects supervisor)
* 2009: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (special effects supervisor)
* 2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (special effects supervisor)
* 2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (special effects supervisor)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
2. ^ "The 84th Academy Awards (2012) Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
3. ^ Academy Awards 2012 | Road to the Oscars - IMDb

## External links

[edit]

John Richardson at IMDb

Awards for John Richardson

* v
* t
* e

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)
* Robbie 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 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)
* Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two (2024)

* v
* t
* e

BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects

1982–2000|

* Richard Edlund – Poltergeist (1982)
* Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Kit West – Return of the Jedi (1983)
* Dennis Muren, George Gibbs, Michael J. McAlister, and Lorne Peterson – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
* George Gibbs and Richard Conway – Brazil (1985)
* Robert Skotak, Brian Johnson, Suzanne M. Benson, John Richardson, and Stan Winston – Aliens (1986)
* Michael Lantieri, Michael Owens, Edward Jones, and Bruce Walters – The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
* George Gibbs, Richard Williams, Ken Ralston, and Edward Jones – Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
* Ken Ralston, Michael Lantieri, John Bell, and Steve Gawley – Back to the Future Part II (1989)
* The production team of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1990)
* Stan Winston, Dennis Muren, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
* Michael Lantieri, Ken Ralston, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Doug Chiang, and Douglas Smythe – Death Becomes Her (1992)
* Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri – Jurassic Park (1993)
* Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Doug Chiang, and Allen Hall – Forrest Gump (1994)
* Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Matt Sweeney, and Leslie Ekker – Apollo 13 (1995)
* Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Henry LaBounta, and Habib Zargarpour – Twister (1996)
* Mark Stetson, Karen Goulekas, Nick Allder, Neil Corbould, and Nick Dudman – The Fifth Element (1997)
* Stefen Fangmeier, Roger Guyett, and Neil Corbould – Saving Private Ryan (1998)
* John Gaeta, Steve Courtley, Janek Sirrs, and Jon Thum – The Matrix (1999)
* Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Walt Conti, Habib Zargarpour, and Tim Alexander – The Perfect Storm (2000)

2001–2020|

* Jim Rygiel, Richard Taylor, Alex Funke, Randall William Cook, 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)
* Joe Letteri, Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
* Karen Goulekas, Neil Corbould, Greg Strause, and Remo Balcells – The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
* Joe Letteri, Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul, 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, Craig Barron, Nathan McGuinness, and Edson Williams – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
* Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones – Avatar (2009)
* Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb – Inception (2010)
* Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, and David Vickery – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
* Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, and Erik-Jan de Boer – Life of Pi (2012)
* Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould, and Nikki Penny – Gravity (2013)
* Paul Franklin, Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Lockley, and Ian Hunter – Interstellar (2014)
* Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, and Neal Scanlan \- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
* Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones, and Adam Valdez – The Jungle Book (2016)
* Richard R. Hoover, Paul Lambert, Gerd Nefzer, and John Nelson – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
* Geoffrey Baumann, Jesse James Chisholm, Craig Hammack, and Dan Sudick – Black Panther (2018)
* Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, and Dominic Tuohy – 1917 (2019)
* Scott R. Fisher, Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Lockley – Tenet (2020)

2021–present|

* Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune (2021)
* Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, and Eric Saindon – Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
* Simon Hughes – Poor Things (2023)
* Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Gerd Nefzer, and Rhys Salcombe – Dune: Part Two (2024)

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* 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)
* Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer (2023/24)

Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.

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