Making Movie Magic: A Lifetime Creating Special Effects for James Bond, Harry Potter, Superman and More

by John Richardson, Richard Donner (Foreword by)

Overview

JOHN RICHARDSON is an Oscar-winning special effects supervisor and designer, who has been involved in over 100 movies, including nine James Bond adventures, all eight Harry Potter films, Aliens, Superman, A Bridge Too Far, Straw Dogs, The Omen, Cliffhanger, Far and Away, Willow . . . and many, many more. In creating the magic that flows through these films – by creating huge explosions, beheading people, producing futuristic gadgets, making a man fly or breathing life into creatures that amaze and haunt us – Richardson has come to hold a unique place in cinema history.The son of pioneering FX technician Cliff Richardson, he learned his trade at the feet of a master of the craft. With over five decades of adventures under his belt, and a vast photographic collection of unseen pictures, Richardson now lifts the lid on his exciting and fascinating career of making movie magic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750991230
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	10/28/2019
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

John Richardson has enjoyed a fifty-seven-year career in the film business as an acclaimed special effects technician and supervisor, working on well over 100 films and several of cinema's biggest franchises. He has been Oscar-nominated six times and won for Aliens in 1986.

Table of Contents

Foreword Richard Donner 6

Introduction John Richardson 7

Chapter 1 Pioneering Days 9

Chapter 2 A Career Beckons 20

Chapter 3 Up and Running 28

Chapter 4 Into the 1970s 46

Chapter 5 Everyone's (Not) A Winner 58

Chapter 6 The Mark of the Antichrist 72

Chapter 7 You'll Believe a Man Can Fly 85

Chapter 8 Missed Opportunities, and Enter 007 99

Chapter 9 A Titanic Task 109

Chapter 10 The Pink Panther, Bond and Aliens 119

Chapter 11 Further Bonding and Argentina 142

Chapter 12 Columbus, Cliffhanger and a Bit more Bond 162

Chapter 13 Broomsticks and Magic: Part One 198

Chapter 14 Broomsticks and Magic: Part Two 217

Appendix: Filmography 223

Acknowledgements 288