Los Angeles, Calif. - The 5th Annual VES Awards, presented by the Visual Effects Society (VES,
www.visualeffectssociety.com) will be held on Sunday, February 11, 2007. Eric Roth, executive director of the VES, announced the event date and revealed that Dennis Muren will be the recipient of the VES Award for Lifetime Achievement. For the first time, the VES will hold its annual awards show at the Kodak Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.
VES Awards chairman Jeff Okun, commenting on the selection of Dennis Muren for the VES Award for Lifetime Achievement, says "For me and so many of my colleagues, Dennis's body of work stands alone -- not only because of his ingenuity at solving storytelling points with the use of visual effects but for the amazing and incredible sense of art and taste with which he does it. He is most deserving of this honor."
Muren, who follows George Lucas and Bob Zemeckis as the VES's third honoree for Lifetime Achievement, began his career in 1975 on the first Star Wars movie. He continued with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) when it moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area. Over the next 30 years, he became the most honored visual effects artist in history, winning eight Academy Awards for best achievement in visual effects and a ninth Oscar for technical achievement.
Muren’s Oscar-winning credits include The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, E.T. The Extra-Terrestria l, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Innerspace, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Jurassic Park. He also earned Oscar nominations for Dragonslayer, Young Sherlock Holmes, Willow<, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and most recently, War of the Worlds<. Equinox, Muren's student film, which he directed in 1970, was recently released on DVD and received an enthusiastic welcome from fans of the cult film. In 1999, Muren became the first visual effects artist to be honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This year, the VES will give awards in 21 categories, according to Okun. Information will soon be announced regarding rules and procedures, and the timetable for this year's awards submissions.