San Francisco - The Academy has announced the three nominated films for visual effects: Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Poseidon. The Orphanage contributed artistry to the Superman and Pirates films (and Night at the Museum, which appeared on the short list for nomination this year).
At last Wednesday's Bake-Off in Los Angeles, supervisors from all seven short-listed films presented the work of the various houses; with a strong showing of The Orphanage's work. One of the most memorable shots in Superman Returns -- The Orphanage's bullet-to-the eyeball shot in the Bank Job sequence -- elicited appreciative 'oohs' from the voting members in the audience.
Visual Effects Supervisors on both films for The Orphanage are as follows: Superman -- Orphanage co-founder Jonathan Rothbart and Pirates -- Ryan Tudhope (incidentally, one of the first employees of the company). Superman Returns and Pirates are both also nominated for Achievement in Special Visual Effects at the BAFTAs.
2006 was a busy year for The Orphanage, with more than 150 shots for Superman, about 20 for Pirates and about the same number for Museum; as well being the lead house on Bob Shaye's The Last Mimzy (world premiering today at the Sundance Film Festival), the Korean blockbuster The Host (to open in the US on March 9th), and the upcoming Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino film Grindhouse among other features and tens of commercials for a wide variety of products. This year promises even more from the studio -- work has already begun on Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Die Hard 4, and Fantastic Four 2 as well as a number of other soon to be announced features and commercials.