The Motion Picture Academy recently unveiled its list of 15 visual effects contenders for next year’s Academy Award. Notably missing from the list this year are “Night at the Museum 2” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, both of which are visual effects heavy films and were expected to be in contention.
Heavily represented on the list with five pictures is Lucas Film’s Industrial Light & Magic with “Avatar,” “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” “Star Trek,” “Terminator Salvation” and “Transformers 2.” Digital Domain, who won the coveted prize last year with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” comes in a close second with four films in contention “2012,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Star Trek” and “Transformers.”
Three of the films in contention this year are in stereoscopic 3D. “Avatar,” “Coraline” and “G-Force.” Stereoscopic 3D is a technique that creates an illusion of depth and you need special 3D glasses to be able to view it properly.
Below is the entire list of 15 films in contention:
Angels & Demons
Avatar
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
District 9
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are
The executive branch of the visual effects committee will select seven finalists from the current list of contenders. The winner of the much sought after statue will be announced at the Academy’s Goldwyn Theater on January 21, 2010.