Boss Film Studios

Boss Film Studios
Industry	Visual effects, CGI animation
Founded	1983
Defunct	1997
Headquarters	Marina del Rey, California, United States
Key people	Richard Edlund

Boss Film Studios was a prominent American visual effects company, founded by visual effects veteran Richard Edlund after his departure from Industrial Light and Magic, producing visual effects for over thirty films from 1983 to 1997.^[1] Before that period Edlund had worked at ILM on films like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the original Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983).

History

Boss Film Studios (originally Boss Film Corporation) initially undertook two projects, Ghostbusters (1984) and 2010, simultaneously. In an effort to set up the new venture quickly, Edlund acquired Douglas Trumbull's Entertainment Effects Group, taking over their Marina Del Rey facility.

Competition with ILM

Boss Film soon established itself as one of ILM's competitors as it contributed to such projects as Die Hard, Poltergeist II, and Big Trouble in Little China.

Edlund and his team chose to compete with ILM technically, continuing EEG's preference for using 65mm film for the creation of their optical effects work. This provided potentially cleaner effects than ILM's VistaVision format due to its much larger negative area.

Boss Game Studios

Boss Film branched out into video game production in 1994 through sister company Boss Game Studios. Boss Film also operated a commercial production company producing many television spots for companies including Budweiser, Dodge, United Airlines, and DHL.

Closure

Boss Film announced it was closing its doors on August 26, 1997, citing the difficulties of sustaining an independent effects house within the competitive environment at the time.^[2]

Awards

Nominated for the 1993 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Alien 3. The named nominees were Richard Edlund, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., and George Gibbs.
Nominated for the 1989 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Die Hard. The named nominees were Richard Edlund, Al Di Sarro, Brent Boates, and Thaine Morris.
Nominated for the 1987 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Poltergeist II. The named nominees were Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, and Bill Neil.
Boss Film was awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award from the AMPAS in 1987 for the design and development of a Zoom Aerial (ZAP) 65mm Optical Printer. The winners were Richard Edlund, Gene Whiteman, David Grafton, Mark West, Jerry Jeffress, and Robert Wilcox.
Nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for both 2010 (Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson, and Mark Stetson) and Ghostbusters (Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo, and Chuck Gaspar).

Notable Boss Film alumni

Facility location

13335 Maxella Avenue, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

Filmography

1984

Ghostbusters (credited as Effects Entertainment Group)
2010 (credited as Effects Entertainment Group)

1985

Fright Night

1986

1987

1988

1989

Tales from the Crypt series opening

1990

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

Multiplicity

1997

1998

Desperate Measures

References

^ "John A. Bonner Medal | 2006 Scientific and Technical Awards". Oscars.org. 12 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
^ Vaziri, Todd (September 2007). "Boss Calls It Quits: The Industry Reacts". www.vfxhq.com. Archived from the original on 1999-11-16. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
^ Kaufman, Debra (21 October 2004). "Jim Rygiel - Global Creativity". ITConversations. Archived from the original on 16 November 2004.
^ Kaufman, Debra (3 April 2006). "Mark Stetson on Making Superman Fly (And Other Neat Tricks)". www.studiodaily.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

[1] "John A. Bonner Medal | 2006 Scientific and Technical Awards". Oscars.org. 12 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-25. Retrieved 2007-05-09.

[2] Vaziri, Todd (September 2007). "Boss Calls It Quits: The Industry Reacts". www.vfxhq.com. Archived from the original on 1999-11-16. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

[3] Kaufman, Debra (21 October 2004). "Jim Rygiel - Global Creativity". ITConversations. Archived from the original on 16 November 2004.

[4] Kaufman, Debra (3 April 2006). "Mark Stetson on Making Superman Fly (And Other Neat Tricks)". www.studiodaily.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

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