Colin Chilvers

Colin Chilvers
Colin Chilvers
Born	1945; London, England
Died	19 November 2024 (aged 79); Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
Occupations	Television and music video director, special effects coordinator

Colin Chilvers (1945 – 19 November 2024) was an English television and music video director and special effects coordinator. He is known for his work on The Rocky Horror Picture Show^[1] (1975), Superman (1978), Condorman (1981), and X-Men^[2] (2000).

Chilvers directed the "Smooth Criminal" segment from Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.^[3] When working with Michael Jackson, Chilvers told Rolling Stone, "I showed Michael a movie that I felt would fit the theme of the piece, The Third Man. He loved the look of it, that sort of film-noir look, so we used that to get the camera man to light it in a similar way."^[4]

Chilvers won a Special Achievement Academy Award in 1979 for Superman.^[5]

Chilvers died at his home in Fort Erie, Ontario, on 19 November 2024, at the age of 79.^[6]^[7]^[8]

At the 97th Academy Awards, his name was mentioned in the In Memoriam section.^[9]

Awards

Winner of Special Achievement Academy Award 1979 for Superman
Winner of BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award 1979 for Superman ^[10]
Nominated for Grammy Award 1989 for "Moonwalker" ^[11]

References

^ "America's Film Legacy". google.com.
^ "Special effects magician Colin Chilvers". CHCH - Your Superstation.
^ Variety Staff. "Moonwalker". Variety.
^ "5. "Smooth Criminal" (1988)". Rolling Stone.
^ "Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, Zoran Perisic Academy Awards Acceptance Speech". oscars.org. Margaret Herrick Library - Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
^ Culic, James (19 November 2024). "Fort Erie loses a legend, Colin Chilvers dies at 79". Fort Erie Radio. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ Vlessing, Etan (22 November 2024). "Colin Chilvers, Visual Effects Veteran and Oscar Winner for 'Superman,' Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
^ Evans, Greg (22 November 2024). "Colin Chilvers Dies: Oscar-Winning VFX Director Who Helped Christopher Reeve Fly and Michael Jackson Lean Into 'Smooth Criminal' Was 79". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
^ "In Memoriam". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
^ "1979 Film Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema - BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
^ "Colin Chilvers". GRAMMY.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

External links

Official website
Colin Chilvers at IMDb
Colin Chilvers technician videography - Music Video DataBase
‹See Tfd›Colin Chilvers discography at Discogs

[1] "America's Film Legacy". google.com.

[2] "Special effects magician Colin Chilvers". CHCH - Your Superstation.

[3] Variety Staff. "Moonwalker". Variety.

[4] "5. "Smooth Criminal" (1988)". Rolling Stone.

[5] "Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, Zoran Perisic Academy Awards Acceptance Speech". oscars.org. Margaret Herrick Library - Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

[6] Culic, James (19 November 2024). "Fort Erie loses a legend, Colin Chilvers dies at 79". Fort Erie Radio. Retrieved 21 November 2024.

[7] Vlessing, Etan (22 November 2024). "Colin Chilvers, Visual Effects Veteran and Oscar Winner for 'Superman,' Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 November 2024.

[8] Evans, Greg (22 November 2024). "Colin Chilvers Dies: Oscar-Winning VFX Director Who Helped Christopher Reeve Fly and Michael Jackson Lean Into 'Smooth Criminal' Was 79". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 November 2024.

[9] "In Memoriam". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2 March 2025.

[10] "1979 Film Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema - BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

[11] "Colin Chilvers". GRAMMY.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

v t e Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
1963–1980	Emil Kosa Jr. – Cleopatra (1963) Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, and Hamilton Luske – Mary Poppins (1964) John Stears – Thunderball (1965) Art Cruickshank – Fantastic Voyage (1966) L. B. Abbott – Doctor Dolittle (1967) Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Robbie Robertson – Marooned (1969) A. D. Flowers and L. B. Abbott – Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) Alan Maley, Eustace Lycett, and Danny Lee – Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers – The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, and Albert Whitlock – Earthquake (1974) Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson – The Hindenburg (1975) Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, and Frank Van der Veer – King Kong (1976) John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, and Robert Blalack – Star Wars (1977) Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic – Superman (1978) H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling – Alien (1979) Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981–2000	Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, and Joe Johnston – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, and Kenneth F. Smith – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett – Return of the Jedi (1983) Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson, and George Gibbs – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, and David Berry – Cocoon (1985) Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson – Aliens (1986) Dennis Muren, Bill George, Harley Jessup, and Kenneth F. Smith – Innerspace (1987) Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, and George Gibbs – Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, and Dennis Skotak – The Abyss (1989) Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, and Alex Funke – Total Recall (1990) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Douglas Smythe, and Tom Woodruff Jr. – Death Becomes Her (1992) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri – Jurassic Park (1993) Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, and Allen Hall – Forrest Gump (1994) Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan, and John Cox – Babe (1995) Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, and Joe Viskocil – Independence Day (1996) Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, and Michael Kanfer – Titanic (1997) Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson, and Kevin Mack – What Dreams May Come (1998) John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum – The Matrix (1999) John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey – Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020	Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier – Spider-Man 2 (2004) Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, and Richard Taylor – King Kong (2005) John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass (2007) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones – Avatar (2009) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb – Inception (2010) Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning – Hugo (2011) Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott – Life of Pi (2012) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould – Gravity (2013) Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher – Interstellar (2014) Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, and Andrew Whitehurst – Ex Machina (2015) Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon – The Jungle Book (2016) John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover – Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and J. D. Schwalm – First Man (2018) Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, and Dominic Tuohy – 1917 (2019) Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, and Scott R. Fisher – Tenet (2020)
2021–present	Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune (2021) Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett – Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima – Godzilla Minus One (2023) Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two (2024) Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

v t e Saturn Award for Best Special Effects
1970s	Marcel Vercoutere (1972) Joe Dante and Mark Goldblatt (1973) Douglas Knapp, Bill Taylor, John Carpenter, and Dan O'Bannon (1974/75) L. B. Abbott (1976) John Dykstra and John Stears (1977) Colin Chilvers (1978) Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, and Richard Yuricich (1979)
1980s	Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund (1980) Richard Edlund (1981) Carlo Rambaldi and Dennis Muren (1982) Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston (1983) Chris Walas (1984) Kevin Pike (1985) Stan Winston, Robert Skotak and Dennis Skotak (1986) Peter Kuran, Phil Tippett, Rob Bottin, and Rocco Gioffre (1987) George Gibbs, Ken Ralston, and Richard Williams (1988) Ken Ralston (1989/90)
1990s	Stan Winston (1991) Ken Ralston, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Alec Gillis (1992) Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri (1993) John Bruno (1994) Stan Parks (1995) Volker Engel, Clay Pinney, Douglas Smith, and Joe Viskocil (1996) Phil Tippett, Scott E. Anderson, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., John Richardson (1997) Volker Engel, Patrick Tatopoulos, Karen E. Goulekas, and Clay Pinney (1998) Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and Scott Squires (1999)
2000s	Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk, and Stan Parks (2000) Dennis Muren, Scott Farrar, Stan Winston, Michael Lantieri (2001) Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow (2002) Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke (2003) John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier (2004) Joe Letteri, Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers, and Brian Van't Hul (2005) John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall (2006) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, and John Frazier (2007) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, and Paul J. Franklin (2008) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones (2009)
2010s	Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Paul J. Franklin, and Peter Bebb (2010) Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett (2011) Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick (2012) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould (2013) Paul J. Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher (2014) Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, and Chris Corbould (2015) John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel, and Neil Corbould (2016) Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, and Dan Sudick (2017) Dan DeLeeuw, Matt Aitken, Russell Earl, and Dan Sudick (2018/19) Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, and Dominic Tuohy (2019/20)
2020s	John “D.J.” Des Jardin, Bryan Hirota, Kevin Andrew Smith, and Mike Meinardus (2021/22) Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett (2022/23) Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer (2023/24) Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, and Eric Saindon (2024/25)
Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat
National	United States France BnF data Italy Spain Netherlands Korea Poland
Artists	Grammy Awards
People	Deutsche Biographie

Colin Chilvers

Born	1945 (1945) London, England
Died	19 November 2024 (aged 79) Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
Occupations	Television and music video director, special effects coordinator