2020s

In a near-future society, “The Running Man” is the top-rated show on television, a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall.

The Running Man was ILM’s first opportunity to work with director Edgar Wright, who led a production featuring location shoots in the United Kingdom and backlot work in Bulgaria. ILM contributed a multitude of building and environment extensions, from finite details like vehicles and signage to expansive structural augmentations. Digital doubles and facial replacements were utilized in a number of sequences, as were CG explosions. Multiple digital rover cameras were accurately placed to match their corresponding points of view on television monitors.

ILM embraced Wright’s mandate for incorporating seamless, invisible effects that were often out of focus or not depicted as the focal point of a given shot. At times entire set piece environments were digital creations, such as an oil rig, surrounding water, and weather elements. All told the work amounted to more than 1,700 visual effects shots.

Led by ILM’s own Andrew Whitehurst as production visual effects supervisor, the company’s work on The Running Man was spearheaded out of the London studio with ILM visual effects supervisor David Zaretti. Additional work was completed by ILM’s Mumbai studio and various partner companies.

The Running Man is now available to watch on Paramount+.

And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend…

Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good. Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.

One of the most extensive sequences involved “The Girl in the Bubble” sequence, which the team started on during the first week of filming on Part 1. The four-minute, continuous shot took the team two years to complete, involving collaboration with fellow crew like cinematographer Alice Brooks. They had to complete previs and techvis work to add large amounts of computer graphics detail, including the railing on the staircase, everything seen behind Glinda, and half of the closet that she approaches, and to manage a total of six pass-throughs of the mirror that were mapped out with the techvis without using motion control.

Another large part of the ILM team’s work revolved around the creatures, specifically the flying monkeys we see return from the first film. Hair and feather simulations were boosted for the second film, especially for Chistery, who has an increased performance as he gains the ability to speak. Until he does so verbally, a lot of his “speaking” is presented through his facial expressions, which ILM’s animation team, led by animation supervisors David Shirk and Mathieu Walsh, designed, sometimes using performance reference footage from Mathieu himself.

The Wicked team was led by overall visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman in collaboration with ILM visual effects supervisors Anthony Smith and Robert Weaver, ILM visual effects executive producers Jill Brooks and Kacy McDonald, and ILM visual effects producer Sandra Beerenbrock. ILM’s visual effects work was led by our Sydney studio with additional support from the San Francisco studio. Their work received numerous nominations, including an Astra Film & Creative Arts Award nomination, a VES nomination, and a Saturn Award nomination.

Wicked: For Good is now available to watch on Peacock.

Read more about Wicked: For Good here on ILM.com:

“Preparation is the key to success”: Pablo Helman on the complexity of making ‘Wicked: For Good’

Mirrors on the Walls: Reflecting on ‘Wicked: For Good’s’ ‘The Girl in the Bubble’

Inside the ILM Art Department: ‘Wicked: For Good’

Director Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein combined mythic storytelling with exquisite production design. In the timeless story, Victor and Elizabeth Frankenstein bring to life a fully grown creature with the mind of a baby, but when they try to destroy him, he fights back.

One of two primary visual effects vendors on Frankenstein, ILM was responsible for some 200 shots across the film, including the icescape sequence that served as the film’s bookends, as well as extensive creature work involving a number of animals – wolves, mice, and deer – as well as the fabled Creature himself. For a scene when the Creature takes shelter in a rural millhouse, the director made the decision to add a number of CG mice after the live action shoot was already complete, requiring ILM to incorporate the animals into the shots and interact directly with the live action character in a seamless, natural way.

Throughout the film, ILM had to dial its visual effects to a very precise design philosophy prescribed by the director and production designer Tamara Deverell. Every shot included substantial practical creations on set, with which ILM had to delicately blend its own CG elements. A full-size ship was constructed for the icescape sequences, around which ILM had to integrate ice, snow, background extensions, and additional CG objects. To match the appropriate aesthetic, the subsequent breakup of the ice was primarily achieved through key-frame animation rather than created with a typical simulation.

The work in Frankenstein was created by ILM’s Vancouver studio with additional support from the San Francisco and Mumbai studios in conjunction with various partner companies. ILM visual effects supervisor Ivan Busquets worked closely with production visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi.  

ILM’s work on Frankenstein received nominations at the BAFTA Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Astra Film & Creative Arts Awards, and Satellite Awards.

Frankenstein is now available to watch on Netflix.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

Read more about Fantastic Four: First Steps on ILM.com:

A Fantastic Feat: ILM’s Daniele Bigi on the Visual Effects of ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’

Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition—and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

Read more about Thunderbolts* on ILM.com:

Tackling Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ with ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Chad Wiebe

Rife with political intrigue, danger, tension, and high stakes, Andor is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which portrayed a heroic band of rebels who steal the plans to the Empire’s weapon of mass destruction: The Death Star, setting the stage for the events of the original 1977 film. Andor sets the clock back five years from the events of Rogue One to tell the story of the film’s hero, Cassian Andor, and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.

Andor Season 2 will see the characters and their relationships intensify as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.

Read more about Andor Season 2 on ILM.com:

“Like Eating an Elephant One Bite at a Time”: TJ Falls and Mohen Leo on the Visual Effects of ‘Andor’ Season 2

“Let the Experts Be the Experts”: TJ Falls and Mohen Leo on the Visual Effects of ‘Andor’ Season 2

Assembling a Starfighter: Exploring ILM’s Role in Creating the TIE Avenger from ‘Andor’