James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” was a huge winner at the Visual Effects Society’s VES Awards, which took place on Wednesday night at the Beverly Hilton.
“Fire and Ash” won seven awards, including one for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the VES category that most closely corresponds to the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
It was also recognized for Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature (the villainess Varang), Outstanding CG Cinematography, Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature, Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project, Outstanding Effects Simulation in a Photoreal Feature and with the Emerging Technology Award.
The only category in which the film was nominated but did not win was Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature, where it had two of the four nominations but lost to the racing scenes in “F1.”
The win makes “Avatar” the second franchise to win the top VES Award three times, placing it behind only the four wins for the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. (The “Lord of the Rings” movies won twice, and most likely would have three wins if the VES Awards had begun in 2002, when “The Fellowship of the Ring” would have been eligible, rather than 2003, when its sequel, “The Two Towers,” won the first VES Award.)
“KPop Demon Hunters” won three awards in the animation categories while “Zootopia 2” won one. “Sinners” won in the Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature category.
In the TV categories, “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” and “Andor” won two awards each, while “The Residence” and “The Last of Us” won one.
Over the years, the VES Awards have not been a particularly accurate predictor of the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The two awards have matched only twice in the last eight years, three times in the last 10 and 12 times in the 23-year history of the VES Awards. (An additional two Oscar winners first won the VES Award for supporting visual effects.)
The first two installments in the “Avatar” franchise, however, are among the films that have won both awards, and “Fire and Ash” is a strong Oscar favorite.
Also at the ceremony, producer Jerry Bruckheimer received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award from “F1” director Joseph Kosinski, and Wētā Workshop co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Richard Taylor received the VES Visionary Award.
Randy and Jason Sklar hosted the show, with presenters including Oona Chaplin, Haley Joel Osment, Lil Rel Howley and Raphael Saadiq.
The winners:
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” Richard Baneham Peter Litvack Eric Saindon Nicky Muir Steve Ingram
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Sinners” Michael Ralla James Alexander Nick Marshall Espen Nordahl Donnie Dean
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature: “KPop Demon Hunters” Joshua Beveridge Jacky Priddle Benjamin Hendricks Clara Chan
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age,” “The Big Freeze” Russell Dodgson Tracey Gibbons François Dumoulin Gavin McKenzie
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode: “The Residence,” “The Fall of the House of Usher” Seth Hill Tesa Kubicek John Nelson Gabriel Vargas
Outstanding Visual Arts in a Real-Time Project “Ghost of Yōtei” Jason Connell Matt Vainio Joanna Wang Jasmin Patry
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial: BMW, “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus” Tom Raynor Helen Tang Jack Harris Alex Kulikov
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project: “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” Ben Grossmann Tamara Watts Kent Dr. Irfan Essa Matt Dougan Glenn Derry
Outstanding Character in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Varang: Leader of the Ash Clan Stephen Clee Stuart Adcock Keven Norris Joseph Kim
Outstanding Character in an Animated Feature “KPop Demon Hunters,” Rumi Sophia (Seung Hee) Lee Andrea Matamoros Marc Souliere Joshua Beveridge
Outstanding Character in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project: “It: Welcome to Derry”: “The Thing in the Dark,” The Pickle Monster Philip Harris-Genois Pierric Danjou Chloé Ostiguy Jonathan Bourdua
Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Bridgehead Industrial City Gianluca Pizzaia Steve Bevins Dziga Kaiser Zsolt Máté
Outstanding Environment in an Animated Feature: “Zootopia 2,” Marsh Market Limei Z. Hshieh Alexander Nicholas Whang Joshua Fry Ryan DeYoung
Outstanding Environment in an Episodic, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project: “Andor”: “Welcome to the Rebellion,” The Senate District John O’Connell Falk Boje Hasan Ilhan Kevin George
Outstanding CG Cinematography: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” Steve Deane A.J. Briones Zachary Brake Andrew Moffett
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” The Windtraders’ Gondola Michael Smale Sam Sharplin Joe W. Churchill Jacqi Dillon
Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Simulating Pandora Nicholas James Illingworth Sarah C. Farmer James Robinson Ryan Bowden
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature: “KPop Demon Hunters” Filippo Maccari Nikolaos Finizio Daniel La Chapelle Srdjan Milosevic
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, Game Cinematic or Real-Time Project: “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age”: “The Big Freeze” Edward Ferrysienanda Kevin Christensen Guy Schuleman Kevin Tarpinian
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature: “F1: The Movie,” Modern Race and POV Footage Hugo Gauvreau Chris Davies Raushan Raj Amaury Rospars
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in an Episode: “The Last of Us”: “Through the Valley,” A Storm of Ice, Fire and Flesh Tobias Wiesner Mark Julien Owen Longstaff Brendan Naylor
Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial: BMW, “Heart of Joy | Meet Okto the Octopus” Alex Kulikov Jack Harris Adam Chabane Nicola Borsari
Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal Feature: “Andor”: “Who Are You?” Luke Murphy Dean Ford Jody Eltham Darrell Guyon
Emerging Technology Award: “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Kora Fire Toolset Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin John Edholm Murali Ramachari Aleksandr Isakov
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project: “Azimuth” Thomas Teisseire Cassandre Cinier Martin Bluy Mathis Giraudeau
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