Douglas Trumbull, a visual effects master who showed movie audiences indelible images of the future and of space in films like 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey,鈥� 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind鈥� and 鈥淏lade Runner,鈥� has died. He was 79.
His wife Julia Trumbull said he died Monday of complications from mesothelioma.
Director Edgar Wright tweeted, 鈥淩IP to an actual visionary, Doug Trumbull…he directed a childhood favourite of mine, the sci fi gem 鈥楽ilent Running.鈥� Watch it tonight.鈥�
Producer and documentarian Charles de Lauzirika, who worked with Trumbull on 鈥淏lade Runner: The Final Cut,鈥� tweeted that, 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 just innovating magnificent visuals, but also pursuing the big ideas behind whatever story he was telling.鈥�
Born in Los Angeles in 1942, Trumbull鈥檚 father was visual effects supervisor Donald Trumbull, who worked on 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz.鈥� He got his start at Graphic Works Films, where a short of his caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick who was beginning work on 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey.鈥� At 23 years old, he not only talked himself into a key job on 鈥�2001″ but helped innovate the process that would be used to create the iconic star-gate sequence.
“It was a really unique time because we were at these Borehamwood Studios outside of London and it was a highly unionized studio,” he said in an interview. 鈥淗ere I am, this weird, L.A., young 23-year-old cowboy kid that they took on as kind of a mascot more than anything. It didn鈥檛 frighten them that I would crossover between all these different departments and get components built for me to do the things I wanted to do. They were totally supportive and thought it was funny and weird and whatever, and this kid鈥檚 going to do it and Kubrick says it鈥檚 okay, so we鈥檒l do it, and we did some pretty amazing stuff that wouldn鈥檛 have happened otherwise.鈥�
Over the course of his career, which recently included work on Terrence Malick鈥檚 鈥淭he Tree of Life,鈥� he pushed forward filmmaking techniques like slit-scan photography, which was used for 鈥�2001.” He also developed the Showscan film process, in which 70mm film is projected at 60 frames per second to create a sense of heightened reality.
After he made a name for himself on 鈥�2001,鈥� he worked on Robert Wise’s adaptation of 鈥淭he Andromeda Strain,鈥� Steven Spielberg’s 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind,鈥� Wise’s 鈥淪tar Trek: The Motion Picture,鈥� and Ridley Scott’s 鈥淏lade Runner.鈥�
He made his directorial debut with 鈥淪ilent Running,鈥� a dystopian sci-fi film starring Bruce Dern in which plant life is becoming extinct on earth. Roger Ebert, in his review, wrote that Trumbull 鈥渋s one of the best science-fiction special-effects men. 鈥楽ilent Running,鈥� which has deep space effects every bit the equal of those in 鈥�2001,鈥� also introduces him as an intelligent, if not sensational, director.鈥�
He also directed the 1983 sci-fi film 鈥淏rainstorm,鈥� which had the distinction of being Natalie Wood鈥檚 last role. Wood died during a break in production after most of her scenes had been completed. The tragic death and the subsequent fights with MGM soured Trumbull on the business and he said in an interview that he had no interest in doing another Hollywood feature.
鈥淚 just had to stop,鈥� he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013. 鈥淚 had been a writer-director all my life, and I decided it wasn鈥檛 for me because I was put through a really challenging personal experience. I do not think the story has ever been told. I don鈥檛 know the story myself, but I know what my experience was. I decided to leave the movie business.鈥�
He didn’t exactly retire though 鈥� he developed the 鈥淏ack to the Future鈥� ride at Universal Studios in Orlando and Los Angeles from his new home in the Berkshires. And Trumbull would eventually return to Hollywood films after some 30 years with work on 鈥淭ree of Life,” where he consulted on the beginning of the universe sequence, and an experimental sci-fi short 鈥淯FOTOG” among other projects.
Trumbull got three Academy Award nominations for visual effects (for 鈥淏lade Runner,鈥� 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� and 鈥淐lose Encounters鈥�) and, in 1992, a special scientific and engineering award for his work helping to design the CP-65 Showscan Camera System for motion picture photography.
In 2012, he received the Academy鈥檚 Gordon E. Sawyer Award, a special technical Oscar for his contributions to the industry. More recently, he was at work on a documentary about 鈥�2001鈥� and developing a sci-fi script with John Sayles.
The family said in a statement that, 鈥淚n Trumbull鈥檚 memory and his love of the giant screen, we hope that you will support your local theaters.鈥�
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