Smallscreen News

Encore celebrates ILM: “Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible” Nov. 14

By April MacIntyre Sep 14, 2010, 18:36 GMT

portrait of US film director George Lucas, by Andres Serrano, on display at the \'Americans Now\' exhibition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, USA, 23 August 2010. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

Encore celebrates the achievements of Oscar winning effects house, ILM.

Since its founding 35 years ago, Industrial Light & Magic has been the movie industry’s undisputed leader in groundbreaking visual effects, thrilling audiences and making hits into blockbusters.

On Sunday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m. (et/pt), Encore presents an original documentary celebrating that legacy. “Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible” is directed by Academy Award® and Emmy nominated director Leslie Iwerks and is narrated by Tom Cruise.

MINI MARATHON

Encore will also present five ILM-effects films starting at 2:00 p.m. with Jumanji, followed by Hook, Jurassic Park III, Twister and Starship Troopers.

ILM DOCUMENTARY

The hour-long special has interviews with filmmakers George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard,  J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau, actors Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Williams, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and John Lasseter, the chief  creative officer at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.  Film and television shows featured in the special include The Abyss, Avatar, Forrest Gump, Jumanji, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Robot Chicken, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Transformers, Twister, Young Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds (2005), which starred narrator Cruise.

Leslie Iwerks’ documentary takes audiences behind the scenes at ILM with in depth interviews with some of the company’s top talent and showcases never before seen footage highlighting many of their pioneering milestones. From creating the first ever computer generated character in a feature film to the latest advancements in visual effects for film franchises like Transformers and Iron Man, ILM has created some of the most memorable movie moments in recent history.

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is a division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and was founded by George Lucas in 1975 to create the visual effects for his space epic Star Wars. The studio originated in Van Nuys, California but moved to San Rafael, California to work on The Empire Strikes Back and is now headquartered at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco with a sister studio in Singapore.

ILM has worked on nearly 300 films in its 35 year history and has largely been the driving force behind the evolution of modern visual effects.  From the liquid metal man in Terminator 2: Judgment Day to the lifelike digital dinosaurs in Jurassic park, ILM has created some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history.

ILM has received 15 Best Visual Effects Oscars® and 25 additional nominations. It has also received 23 Scientific and Technical Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of the critical role the company's advances in technology have played in the filmmaking process. ILM is also the only entertainment company to be recognized with the National Medal of Technology.

Leslie Iwerks Productions, Inc., is based in Santa Monica, CA. Leslie comes from a family of film and visual effects pioneers that began with her grandfather, Ub Iwerks, the original designer/co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Academy Award® winning visual effects innovator (The Birds, Mary Poppins, among others). Leslie’s short documentary Recycled Life was nominated for an Academy Award® in 2007, and The Pixar Story a feature documentary about Pixar Animation Studios, was nominated for an Emmy® in 2008.