LOS ANGELES — The Visual Effects Society (www.visualeffectssociety.com) has named producer and Marvel Studios executive vice president of physical production, Victoria Alonso, the next recipient of its Visionary Award. The award recognizes her enormous contributions to visual arts and filmed entertainment, and will be presented at the 15th Annual VES Awards on February 7, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The VES Visionary Award, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognizes an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work. VES will honor Alonso for her dedication to the industry and advancement of unforgettable storytelling through visual effects.
Alonso is currently executive producing James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. In her executive role, she oversees post production and visual effects for the studio slate. She executive produced Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange, Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: Civil War, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man, Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World, Shane Black's Iron Man 3, as well as Marvel’s The Avengers for Joss Whedon. She co-produced Iron Man and Iron Man 2 with director Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, and Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger.
Alonso’s career began at the nascency of the visual effects industry, when she served as a commercial VFX producer. From there, she VFX-produced numerous feature films, working with such directors as Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven), Tim Burton (Big Fish) and Andrew Adamson (Shrek), to name a few.
Over the years, Alonso’s dedication to the industry has been admired and her achievements recognized. Alonso was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Visual Effects Society Summit, where she exemplified her role as an advocate for women in the visual effects industry. In 2015, she was an honoree of the New York Women in Film & Television’s Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement. This past January she was presented with the Advanced Imaging Society’s Harold Lloyd Award and was recently named to Variety’s 2016 Power of Women L.A. Impact Report, which spotlights creatives and executives who've ‘rocked’ the industry in the past year.
Previous winners of the VES Visionary Award have been Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee, Alfonso Cuarón, J.J. Abrams and Syd Mead.