Jeffrey A.Okun: Last News

Karen Idelson The Visual Effects Society is celebrating the awards season with an evening that features an unprecedented number of nominations for one film, a significant new awards category and a changing of the guard at the top of the organization. “Avatar: The Way of Water” (pictured) received a whopping 14 nominations, breaking the record of 13 noms for “The Mandalorian” in 2021. The film was nommed for a diverse array of work, including outstanding animated character in a photoreal feature and outstanding created environment in a photoreal feature. The first “Avatar” earned 11 nominations in 2010. “The thing about ‘Avatar 2’ that strikes a chord is that Jim [Cameron, the director] knows how to tell a story; the technology he uses to tell that story is beside the point,” says Jeffrey A. Okun, VES fellow and VFX supervisor. “So, when visual effects people are looking at the work, the first thing that comes to them is whether it is elevating the story in an invisible way. [Jim] doesn’t settle for less than what he has in his mind.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the 21st Annual VES Awards with nine wins, including for photoreal feature. Meanwhile, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” was named best animated feature and took home three awards total. On the TV side, Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” won three awards and was named best photoreal episode. Rian Johnson, Domee Shi, Tig Notaro, Jay Pharoah, Tyler Posey and Randall Park were among the presenters for the night. James Cameron presented the VES Lifetime Achievement award to acclaimed producer Gale Anne Hurd. Former VES executive director Eric Roth received the Board of Directors Award from the current board, which includes Lisa Cooke, current VES Chair; Jim Morris, VES, president of Pixar Animation and founding VES Chair; and former Chairs Jeffrey A. Okun, VES; Mike Chambers, VES; Carl Rosendahl, VES; and Jeff Barnes.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic“We’re not inventing a story where we need the most extreme version of what it is that meets our fears,” Cosmos: Possible Worlds host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said of the vital role VFX plays in the National Geographic series. “We are just trying to portray actual known things that happen in the actual known universe.”Tyson joined Possible Worlds executive producer Ann Druyan and visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A.