He’s an Academy Award winning ILM legend, who’s work has been seen across the original trilogy, Ghostbusters, Dragonslayer and more, and with a career so rich and inspirational, directors and producers Michelle Opitz, Brad Kageno, and Neil McNally are pulling together a documentary about Stuart Ziff and his career. With some incredible interviews already in the can and plans to not only talk to Richard Edlund and Phil Tippett, but also see Stuart return to Lucasfilm for the first time in more than 30 years, the Indiegogo fundraiser now has 45 days to go, with just under $3000 of the required $10,000 raised. With the goal of ensuring these key ILM stories are documented and saved for future generations, this is a project that could really benefit from even a few dollars.
At last, special effects legend and ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) pioneer Stuart Ziff recounts his journey in the golden era of Hollywood FX in a new, feature-length documentary, complete with never-before-seen photos, interviews and exclusive details behind the making of classics like Ghostbusters, Dragonslayer, and, of course, all three original Star Wars films – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.
Known as “The Professor” or “Mr. Fix It,” Stuart had his hand in developing and fixing some of the most challenging technical problems on the biggest film sets in movie history and even won a technical achievement Oscar for his work on Dragonslayer. Over 20 hours of new interviews have been recorded with Stuart and other filmmakers and special effects legends Kirk Thatcher (Return of the Jedi, Muppets Haunted Mansion, Muppet Treasure Island), Mark Bryan Wilson (Slimer in Ghostbusters), Bill Bryan (Stay Puft in Ghostbusters), Rob Burman (The Thing, Super Mario Bros, Star Trek), Teresa Burkett (Dune, Darkman) along with a Ghost Shop reunion 40 years in the making. Future interviews are planned with legendary VFX pioneers Richard Edlund (Star Wars, ILM) and Phil Tippett (Star Wars, Dragonslayer, Jurassic Park).
Fantha Tracks were privileged to speak with Stuart recently, ahead of the latest Propstore auction, a chat you can listen to below.