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Phil Tippett

{{short description|American film director}}

{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Phil Tippett(cropped).jpg

| caption = Tippett at a screening of Jurassic Park 3D in 2013

| name = Phil Tippett

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1951|09|27}}}}

| birth_place = Berkeley, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Director, producer, supervisor}}

Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American film director and visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071012184631/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/114223/Phil-Tippett New York Times]{{cite web|url=http://www.lightsabre.co.uk/Interviews/philtippettbiography.htm|title=Phil Tippett Biography|access-date=October 10, 2005|archive-date=February 26, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060226181829/http://www.lightsabre.co.uk/Interviews/philtippettbiography.htm|url-status=dead}} Over his career, he has assisted ILM and DreamWorks, and in 1984 formed his own company, Tippett Studio.

His work has appeared in movies such as the original Star Wars trilogy, Jurassic Park, and RoboCop. In 2021, he released his long-gestating stop-motion film Mad God, which was funded through Kickstarter and distributed by Shudder.

Early life

Tippett was born in Berkeley, California. When he was seven, he saw Ray Harryhausen's special effects film, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and says his life's direction was set.{{cite web |url=http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/bts/article/f20040602/index.html |title=Phil Tippett: Hands-On Effects |access-date=2013-08-16 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606053055/http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/bts/article/f20040602/index.html |archive-date=June 6, 2008 }}, StarWars.com After completing a bachelor's degree in art at the University of California, Irvine, he went to work at the Cascade Pictures animation studio in nearby Los Angeles.

Career

= Stop motion =

In 1975, while still working at Cascade Pictures, Tippett and Jon Berg were hired by George Lucas at Industrial Light & Magic to create a stop-motion holographic chess scene for the original Star Wars film.[http://www.tippett.com/studio/phil-tippett-bio Phil Tippett bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808063836/http://www.tippett.com/studio/phil-tippett-bio |date=2013-08-08 }}, in the Tippett Studio official website When Star Wars was being released in theatres, in 1977, Joe Dante and Jon Davison approached Tippett to create the fish for Roger Corman's Piranha. It was released in 1978, with a credit.

In 1978, Tippett headed the ILM animation department with Jon Berg for The Empire Strikes Back, released in 1980. For this film, Tippett co-developed the animation technique called go motion to animate the sinister AT-AT Imperial Walkers and the hybrid alien tauntauns. In 1981, he continued using go motion for Dragonslayer, and received his first Academy Award nomination for its dragon animation. By 1983, Tippett led the famed Lucasfilm creature shop for Return of the Jedi, for which he won his first Oscar in 1984.

In 1984, Tippett Studio was born when Tippett left ILM and set up a studio in his garage to create a 10-minute experimental film, Prehistoric Beast. The realism of the dinosaurs it depicted and the film's reflection of contemporary scientific theory led to the 1985 CBS animated documentary Dinosaur!. The next year, in 1986, Dinosaur! earned Tippett Studio its first award, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.{{cite web|title=Outstanding Special Visual Effects|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1986/outstanding-special-visual-effects|website=38th Primetime Emmy Awards – September 21, 1986|publisher=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|access-date=14 September 2016}}

In the 1986 movie Howard the Duck, he modeled the Dark Overlord creatures. The same year, producer Jon Davison hired Tippett to create the animated robot sequences for RoboCop. The ED-209 stop-motion model was animated by Tippett but designed by Craig Hayes{{cite web|url=http://www.cinefex.com/backissues/issue45.html|title=Clash of the Robotitans|last=Duncan|first=Jody|date=February 1991|work=Cinefex|access-date=December 21, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000829034036/http://www.cinefex.com/backissues/issue45.html|archive-date=August 29, 2000}} (also known as Craig Davies[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0370960/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2 Craig Hayes' description page in the IMDB website] (section "Personal Details": Alternate Names: Craig Davies)), who also built the full size models. As one of the setpieces of the movie, the ED-209's look and animated sequences were under the close supervision of director Paul Verhoeven, who sometimes acted out the robot's movements himself. ED-209 was voiced by producer Jon Davison. The project became the start of a long and successful collaboration between Davies and Tippett.

Tippett also did stop motion work for the 2024 TV-show Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.[https://screenrant.com/star-wars-skeleton-crew-phil-tippett-return/ Star Wars Brings Back A Legendary Original Trilogy VFX Artist For Upcoming TV Show, Skeleton Crew]

=Computer-generated effects=

In 1991, Tippett was hired to create the dinosaur effects for the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jurassic Park using his go motion technique made famous in the film Dragonslayer. However, animator Steve “Spaz” Williams - part of the CGI team at Industrial Light & Magic - created animated test footage of a T. rex that Spielberg loved.

When Tippett was told that Jurassic Park dinosaurs would be computer-generated, he was shocked, exclaiming "I've just become extinct", a line Spielberg borrows and uses in the movie.2Shay, Don and Duncan, Jody. Ballantine Books 1993 "The Making of Jurassic Park" Softcover page 53, first paragraph Far from being extinct, Tippett evolved as stop-motion animation gave way to computer-generated imagery or CGI. Because of Tippett's background and understanding of animal movement and behavior, Spielberg kept Tippett on to supervise the animation on 50 dinosaur shots for Jurassic Park. Tippett supervised both the Tippett Studio and ILM animators, resulting in realistic digital dinosaurs that breathe, flex, twitch and react. His effort earned him a second Oscar.{{cite web|author=By Matt Robertson2014-04-30 16:00:27 UTC |url=http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/jurassic-park-dinosaur-supervisor/ |title=Jurassic Park's 'Dinosaur Supervisor' Responds to Meme |publisher=Mashable.com |date=2014-04-30 |access-date=2016-12-21}}

Work done on Jurassic Park resulted in the development by Tippett Studio's Craig Hayes of the DID (Dinosaur Input Device - as described by ILM in Disney+ documentary Light & Magic, S1 episode 6) which was pivotal in the transition from stop motion to computer generated animation in bringing creatures to life. Tippett is also the subject of a humorous internet meme regarding his credit in the film ("Dinosaur Supervisor"), which is displayed with the tagline "One job, Phil! You had one job!", implying that because he didn't supervise the dinosaurs properly, he was responsible for the on-screen deaths. Mashable interviewed Tippett in April 2014 about this meme, which he called "beyond silly" and "such a waste of time".{{cite web|author=By Matt Robertson2014-04-30 16:00:27 UTC |url=http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/jurassic-park-dinosaur-supervisor/ |title=Jurassic Park's 'Dinosaur Supervisor' Responds to Meme |publisher=Mashable.com |date=2014-04-30 |access-date=2016-12-21}}

In June 2015, after media attention due to his new credit of "Dinosaur Consultant" in Jurassic World and the ensuing deaths in the film, Tippett tweeted: "to be fair, there were a lot of dinosaurs. It was a large job."{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/the-dinosaur-supervisor-on-jurassic-park-has-the-perfect-res|title=The Dinosaur Supervisor In "Jurassic Park" Has The Sassiest Response To His Critics|publisher=Buzzfeed|date=10 June 2015|access-date=2 February 2019}}

In 1995, Tippett Studio was hired to create the giant, hostile alien arachnids in Paul Verhoeven's adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's classic science fiction novel Starship Troopers. Tippett marshaled a team of 100 animators, model makers, computer artists and technicians and expanded his all-CGI facility. Because of the intensity of his involvement, and his ability to pre-visualize the hordes of teeming arachnids, Verhoeven has credited Tippett with co-directing the large-scale battle sequences for the film. The excellence of this work resulted in Tippett's sixth nomination in 1997 for an Academy Award.

During 1997–98, Tippett supervised animation and effects for Universal's Virus and Disney's My Favorite Martian. In 1998–99 he and Craig Hayes co-supervised the visual effects on Jan De Bont's The Haunting, for DreamWorks. Under Tippett and Hayes' lead, Tippett Studio created over 100 complex effects shots that expressed the horrific character of the house and the spirits that live there.

In 2000, Tippett joined director Ivan Reitman as the visual effects supervisor on the DreamWorks science fiction comedy Evolution. In just under a year, Tippett Studio designed, realized and animated over 17 extraterrestrial creatures in 175 shots.

Throughout 2001 and into 2002, Tippett changed direction to focus on developing and directing his own film. Tippett achieved this with Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, by partnering with his longtime associates, writer Ed Neumeier and producer Jon Davison, with whom he worked on the original Starship Troopers and Robocop.

= ''Mad God'' =

In 1990, Tippett began work on an independent animated film, Mad God; but as he became involved in establishing his own studio, he set the project aside. He returned to the project in 2010, but did not have the budget to complete it, so he started a Kickstarter with a goal of $40,000. On June 16, 2012, the project was successfully funded, exceeding the goal and obtaining $124,156.{{cite web|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/madgod/phil-tippetts-mad-god?ref=live |title=Phil Tippett's "MAD GOD" by Mad God Productions — Kickstarter |publisher=Kickstarter.com |date=2012-05-18 |access-date=2016-12-21}}

The film was first screened December 11, 2021 and continued screening through mid-2022.{{cite web|url=http://www.madgodmovie.com/ |title=Phil Tippett's MAD GOD |publisher=Madgodmovie.com |access-date=2017-08-15}} It took 30 years to complete. A year before it was finished, Tippett had a mental breakdown, causing him to be admitted to a psychiatric ward.{{cite news|url=https://fabulistmagazine.com/24-frames-per-second-the-phil-tippett-interview/ |title=Phil Tippett: 24 Frames Per Second

|newspaper=The Fabulist Words & Art

|date=5 November 2021

|publisher=The Fabulist |access-date=2021-11-05

|last1=Wilson

|first1=Josh}}

Awards

class="wikitable sortable"
style="background:#B0C4DE" | Year

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Organisation

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Work

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Category/award

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Notes

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Result

! style="background:#B0C4DE" | Ref.

|

2022

| The Ray Harryhausen Awards

| Phil Tippett

| Harryhausen Hall of Fame 2022

|

| {{won}}

|{{cite web |title=Harryhausen Award Winners 2022 |url=https://www.harryhausenawards.com/awards |website=harryhausenawards.com |access-date=25 January 2023}}

|

1998

| 70th Academy Awards

| Starship Troopers

| rowspan=3 | Best Visual Effects

| with Scott E. Anderson, Alec Gillis and John Richardson

| {{nom}}

|

1997

| 69th Academy Awards

| Dragonheart

| with Scott Squires, James Straus and Kit West

| {{nom}}

|

rowspan=2 | 1993

| 66th Academy Awards

| rowspan=2 | Jurassic Park

| rowspan=2 | with Dennis Muren, Stan Winston and Michael Lantieri

| {{won}}

| {{cite web |url=https://www.vfxvoice.com/phil-tippett-following-his-imagination-to-the-stars-and-beyond/ |title=Phil Tippett: Following His Imagination to the Stars and Beyond |date=December 13, 2018 |work=VFX Voice | author=Chris McGowan | accessdate=2022-01-15}}

47th BAFTAs

| Best Special Visual Effects

| {{won}}

| {{cite web | url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1994/film/achievement-in-special-effects | work=BAFTA Awards | title=Film - Achievement in Special Visual Effects in 1994 | accessdate=2022-01-15}}

rowspan=3 | 1988

| 61st Academy Awards

| Willow

| Best Visual Effects

| with Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren and Ken Ralston

| {{nom}}

|

42nd BAFTAs

| rowspan=2 | RoboCop

| Best Special Visual Effects

| rowspan=2 | with Rob Bottin, Peter Kuran, and Rocco Gioffre

| {{nom}}

|

15th Saturn Awards

| Best Special Effects

| {{won}}

|

1986

| 38th Primetime Emmy Awards

| Dinosaur!

| Outstanding Special Visual Effects

|

| {{won}}

| {{cite web|title=Outstanding Special Visual Effects|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1986/outstanding-special-visual-effects|website=38th Primetime Emmy Awards|date=September 21, 1986|publisher=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|accessdate=2022-01-15}}

1984

| 56th Academy Awards

| Return of the Jedi

| Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects

| with Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren and Ken Ralston

| {{won}}

|

1982

| 54th Academy Awards

| Dragonslayer

| Best Visual Effects

| with Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Brian Johnson

| {{nom}}

|

Selected filmography

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Animation

! Visual effects

! Consultant

! Director

! class="unsortable" | Notes

rowspan=2 | 1977

| The Crater Lake Monster

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Miniatures building {{small|(uncredited)}}

Star Wars

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Stop-motion

1978

| Piranha

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Creature design
Creature animation
Model construction {{small|(uncredited)}}

1980

| The Empire Strikes Back

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| rowspan=2 | Go-motion

1981

| Dragonslayer

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

1983

| Return of the Jedi

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Makeup design

rowspan=2 | 1984

| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Effects creative consultant

Prehistoric Beast

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Short film, go-motion

1985

| Dinosaur!

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Documentary film, go-motion

1986

| Howard the Duck

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Go-motion supervisor: ILM visual effects unit

1987

| RoboCop

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| ED-209 go-motion shots

1988

| Willow

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Two-headed dragon go-motion sequence

1989

| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Creature design

1990

| RoboCop 2

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Go-motion animation

rowspan=2 | 1993

| Jurassic Park

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Dinosaur supervisor

Coneheads

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Creature animation

1996

| Dragonheart

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Dragon design

1997

| Starship Troopers

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Creature visuals

2001

| Evolution

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Visual effects supervisor

2004

| Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| Television film for Encore Action

2008

| The Spiderwick Chronicles

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Animation supervisor

2009

| The Twilight Saga: New Moon

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| rowspan=2 | Visual effects supervisor

2010

| The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

rowspan=2 | 2011

| MutantLand[http://www.tippett.com/studio/phil-tippetts-mutantland-release-aint-it-cool-news MutantLand's official public release: Friday, December 16th, 2011] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006134515/http://www.tippett.com/studio/phil-tippetts-mutantland-release-aint-it-cool-news|date=2014-10-06}}, on the website Ain't It Cool News

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| Short film, also writer

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| rowspan=2 | Visual effects supervisor

2012

| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

rowspan=2 | 2015

| Jurassic World

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Dinosaur consultant

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Millennium Falcon chess scene supervisor

2018

| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| Dinosaur consultant

2020

| Prop Culture

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Disney+, guest star as himself, episode "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"

2021

| Mad God

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

2024

| Alien: Romulus

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Stop motion rat.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-05 |title=BUILDING NIGHTMARES: SHANE MAHAN GIVES A BEHIND-THE-SCENES DIVE INTO THE SPECIAL EFFECTS OF 'ALIEN: ROMULUS' |url= https://www.laweekly.com/building-nightmares-shane-mahan-gives-a-behind-the-scenes-dive-into-the-special-effects-of-alien-romulus/?utm_campaign=linkinbio&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=later-linkinbio |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=LA Weekly}}

TBA

| Sentinel

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{IMDb name|0864138}}
  • [http://www.tippett.com Tippett Studio]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20040604072916/http://www.starwars.com/bio/philtippett.html StarWars.com Phil Tippett bio]

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Phil Tippett

|list =

{{Academy Award Best Visual Effects}}

{{Special Achievement Academy Award}}

{{BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects}}

{{Saturn Award for Best Make-up}}

{{Saturn Award for Best Special Effects}}

{{Winsor McCay Award 2010s}}}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tippett, Phil}}

Category:Film producers from California

Category:Film directors from California

Category:American animated film directors

Category:American animated film producers

Category:1951 births

Category:Living people

Category:University of California, Irvine alumni

Category:Special Achievement Academy Award winners

Category:American special effects people

Category:Visual effects supervisors

Category:Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners

Category:Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners

Category:American stop motion animators

Category:Industrial Light & Magic people

Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners