Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.
Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky” (the sci-fi directed by George Clooney), and Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion “Tenet.” Look for “Tenet” or “The Midnight Sky” to win, which will be the same race for the Oscar.
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The supporting category nominees included a trio of Netflix contenders: “Da 5 Bloods” (directed by Spike Lee), “Mank” (David Fincher’s black-and-white ode to Hollywood’s Golden Age), and “Extraction” (the action-adventure produced by the Russo brothers). They were joined by “News of the World” (the Paul Greengrass-directed western) and “Welcome to Chechnya” (David France’s documentary about the government-led campaign to detain, torture, and execute LGBTQ Chechens using “deep fake” tech to protect their faces).
And joining “Soul” in the animated feature competition were Pixar’s “Onward,” Netflix’s “Over the Moon” (directed by Disney legend Glen Keane), and “DreamWorks’ “The Croods: A New Age” and “Trolls World Tour.”
Meanwhile, the VES will honor Peter Jackson with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The multiple Oscar winner and founder of Weta Digital revolutionized VFX with “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, beginning with the performance-captured Gollum (Andy Serkis), and earned best picture, directing, and adapted script for “The Return of the King.” In addition, three-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Rob Legato (“The Jungle Book, “Hugo,” “Titanic”) — a visionary in translating virtual production into a live-action methodology for directors James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jon Favreau — will receive the VES Award for Creative Excellence.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY Brad Parker Roma Van Den Bergh Eric Guaglione Carlos Monzon Stefano Pepin
PROJECT POWER Ivan Moran Leslie Hough Joao Sita Matthew Twyford Yves Debono
TENET Andrew Jackson Mike Chambers Andrew Lockley David Lee Scott Fisher THE MIDNIGHT SKY Matt Kasmir Greg Baxter Chris Lawrence Max Solomon David Watkins THE WITCHES Kevin Baillie Sandra Scott Sean Konrad Glenn Melenhorst Mark Holt Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature DA 5 BLOODS Randall Balsmeyer James Cooper Watcharachai “Sam” Panichsuk EXTRACTION Marko Forker Lynzi Grant Craig Wentworth Olivier Sarda MANK Wei Zheng Peter Mavromates Simon Carr James Pastorius NEWS OF THE WORLD Roni Rodrigues Dayaliyah Lopez Ian Fellows Andrew Morley Brandon K. McLaughlin WELCOME TO CHECHNYA Ryan Laney Eugen Bräunig Maxwell Anderson Johnny Han Piers Dennis Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature ONWARD Dan Scanlon Kori Rae Sanjay Bakshi Vincent Serritella OVER THE MOON Glen Keane Gennie Rim Céline Desrumaux David Alexander Smith SOUL Pete Docter Dana Murray Michael Fong Bill Watral THE CROODS: A NEW AGE Joel Crawford Mark Swift, PGA Betsy Nofsinger Jakob Hjort Jensen TROLLS WORLD TOUR Walt Dohrn Gina Shay, PGA Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin Matt Baer Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Jig-A-Bobo Kevin Blank Robin Griffin Pietro Ponti Francois Dumoulin STAR TREK: DISCOVERY; Su’Kal Jason Michael Zimmerman Aleksandra Kochoska Ante Dekovic Ivan Kondrup Jensen THE MANDALORIAN, The Marshal Joe Bauer Abbigail Keller Hal Hickel Richard Bluff Roy Cancino TIMMY FAILURE Rich McBride Leslie Lerman Nicolas Chevallier Anders Beer Tony Lazarowich WESTWORLD; Crisis Theory Jay Worth Elizabeth Castro Bruce Branit Joe Wehmeyer Mark Byers Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE; Episode 1 Eric Pascarelli Keith Kolder Ariel Altman MRS. AMERICA; Shirley Janelle Croshaw Kaylie Whitcher Leonardo Silva Zena Bielewicz Michael Innanen SURVIVE Ariel Altman Rae Welty Caius Wong Carl Fong THE CROWN; Gold Stick Ben Turner Reece Ewing Andrew Scrase Jonathan Wood VIKINGS; Best Laid Plans Dominic Remane Bill Halliday Tom Morrison Ovidiu Cinazan Paul Byrne WARRIOR; Learn to Endure, Or Hire a Bodyguard Jonathan Alenskas Leah Orsini Nate Overstrom David Eschrich Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA Raphael Lacoste Jean-Sebastien Guay Virginie Cinq-Mars Thierry Beaumont CYBERPUNK 2077 Jakub Knapik Małgorzata Mitręga Piotr Suchodolski Krzysztof Krzyścin GHOST OF TSUSHIMA Jason Connell Matt Vainio Jasmin Patry Joanna Wang SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES; REACTOR FINALE Gavin Goulden Jess Reed Bryanna Lindsey Mike Yosh THE LAST OF US PART II Neil Druckmann Eben Cook Erick Pangilinan John Sweeney Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial ARM & HAMMER; Once Upon a Time Kiril Mirkov Solomon Tiigah Vanessa Duquesnay Prashanth Paramasivam
BURBERRY; Singin’ In The Rain Fabian Frank Ryan Hancocks Rob Richardson Alex Lovejoy HORNBACH; It Seems Impossible Until You Do It Ben Cronin Tomek Zietkiewicz Amir Bazzazi Bruno Fukumothi PLAYSTATION; The Edge Diarmid Harrison-Murray Tom Igglesden Alex Gabucci Tom Raynor WALMART; Famous Visitors Chris “Badger” Knight Lori Talley Yarin Mares Matt Fuller XBOX; Us Dreamers Dan Seddon Elexis Stearn Fabian Frank Zhenya Vladi Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project ASTEROID HUNTERS Antoine Durr Jini Durr Bert Poole Neishaw Ali THE BOURNE STUNTACULAR Salvador Zalvidea Tracey Gibbons George Allan Matthías Bjarnason Scott Smith MICKEY & MINNIE’S RUNAWAY RAILWAY Ryan Donoghue Becky Train Blaine Kennison Nick da Silva Corban Prim THE MARCH Aruna Inversin Peter Nelson Kevin Williams Sean Kealey Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature DIE KÄNGURU-CHRONIKEN; Kangaroo Claudius Urban Sebastian Badea Dorian Knapp Ruth Wiegand JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY; Don Juan Diego Eric Guaglione Shuchi Singhal Adrien Annesley Mahmoud Ellithy THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN; Ivan Valentina Rosselli Thomas Huizer Andrea De Martis William Bell THE WITCHES; Daisy Jye Skinn Sarah Fuller Marco Iannaccone Fredrik Sundqvist Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature ONWARD; Dad Pants Kristopher Campbell Jonas Jarvers Rob Jensen Jacob Kuenzel OVER THE MOON; Chang’e Siggi Orri Thorhannesson Hyesook Kim Javier Solsona Alan Chen SOUL; Terry Jonathan Hoffman Jonathan Page Peter Tieryas Ron Zorman THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN; SpongeBob Jacques Daigle Guillaume Dufief Adrien Montero Liam Hill Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project THE CROWN; The Balmoral test; Imperial Stag Ahmed Gharraph Ross Burgess Gabriela Ruch Salmeron Joel Best THE MANDALORIAN; The Jedi; The Child John Rosengrant Peter Clarke Scott Patton Hal Hickel THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal; Krayt Dragon Paul Kavanagh Zaini Mohamed Jalani Michal Kriukow Nihal Friedel TIMMY FAILURE; Mistakes Were Made; Total Maxime Masse Hennadii Prykhodko Luc Girard Sophie Burie Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial AFK ARENA; Toilet; Uzgahk Chloe Dawe Brad Noble Tim van Hussen Simon Legrand ARM & HAMMER; Once Upon a Time; Tuxedo Tom Shiny Rajan Silvia Bartoli Matias Heker Tiago Dias Mota FAR CRY; Legacy; Anton Maxime Luere Leon Berelle Rémi Kozyra Dominique Boidin LEGENDS OF RUNETERRA; Breathe; Darius Maxime Luere Leon Berelle Rémi Kozyra Dominique Boidin TK MAXX; The Lil Goat Kiril Mirkov Silvia Bartoli Chris Welsby David Bryan Outstanding Created Environment in a Photoreal Feature BLOODSHOT: Neuralspace Arnaud Brisebois Patrick Bacon Dawid Borkiewicz Gérôme Viavant
MULAN; Imperial City Jeremy Fort Matt Fitzgerald Ben Walker Adrian Vercoe THE EIGHT HUNDRED; 1937 Shanghai Downtown Stefano Cieri Aaron Auty Simon Carlile Patrick Zentis THE EIGHT HUNDRED; Shanghai Warehouse District Jamie Macdougall Julian Hutchens Mark Honer David Pekarek Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature ONWARD; Swamp Gas Eric Andraos Laura Grieve Nick Pitera Michael Rutter SOUL; You Seminar Hosuk Chang Sungyeon Joh Peter Roe Frank Tai TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Techno Reef Luke Heathcock Zachary Glynn Marina Ilic Michael Trull TROLLS WORLD TOUR; Volcano Rock City Brian LaFrance Sara Cembalisty Christopher Sprunger Ruben Perez Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project BRAVE NEW WORLD: New London Guy Williams Justin Gros-Désir Markus Sterner Ryan Clarke CYBERPUNK 2077; Night City Jakub Knapik Lucjan Więcek LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Tulsa 1921 Patrice Poissant Pauline Lavelle Mohamed Abdou Elhakim Alan Lam THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer; Morak Jungle Enrico Damm Johanes Kurnia Phi Tran Tong Tran THE MANDALORIAN; The Siege; Nevarro Canyon Kevin George Aaron Barr Piotr Tatar Abel Milanés Betancourt Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a CG Project GHOST OF TSUSHIMA; A Storm is Coming Aladino Debert Matt Dougan Eric Beaver David Liu SOUL Matt Aspbury Ian Megibben THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer Richard Bluff Matt Jensen Chris Williams Landis Fields IV THE MANDALORIAN; The Siege Dave Crispino Kyle Winkelman Paul Kavanagh Jose Burgos Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project THE MANDALORIAN; Boba Fett’s Ship Jay Machado Enrico Damm Gerald Blaise Ryan Church THE MANDALORIAN; The Rescue; Light Cruiser John Knoll John Goodson Dan Patrascu Rene Garcia THE MIDNIGHT SKY; Aether Michael Balthazart Jonathan Opgenhaffen John-Peter Li Simon Aluze THE WITCHES; Rollercoaster Jared Michael Peter Dominik Sylvain Lesaint Emily Tilson Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature BLOODSHOT Omar Meradi Jeremy Poupin Sylvain Robert Deak Ferrand GREYHOUND Mike Nixon Nicholas Papworth Jeremy Smith Yashdeep Sawant MONSTER HUNTER Vimal Mallireddy Warren Lawtey Tom O’Bready Dominik Haase MULAN Theo Vandernoot Sandra Balej James Carson Yuri Rudakov PROJECT POWER Yin Lai Jimmy Leung Jonathan Edward Lyddon-Towl Pierpaolo Navarini Michelle Lee Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature ONWARD Dave Hale Jonah Blue Laird Stephen Marshall Ricardo Nadu OVER THE MOON Ian Farnsworth Brian Casper Reinhold Rittinger Jennifer Lasrado SOUL Alexis Angelidis Keith Daniel Klohn Aimei Kutt Melissa Tseng TROLLS WORLD TOUR Stephen Wood Carl Hooper Spencer Knapp Nick Augello THE WILLOUGHBYS Helén Ahlberg Kyle McQueen Russell Smith Raehyeon Kim
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Strange Case; Chrysalis Federica Foresti Johan Gabrielsson Hugo Medda Andreas Krieg PLAYSTATION; The Edge Tom Raynor Andreu Lucio Martin Aufinger Platon Filimonov TALES FROM THE LOOP; Loretta’s House Dominik Kirouac Gaël Chopin Sylvain Nouveau Laurent Pancaccini THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal; Krayt Dragon HuaiYuan Teh Don Wong Mathieu Chardonnet Prashanth Bhagavan Outstanding Compositing in a Feature GREYHOUND Chris Gooch Tiago Santos Stu Bruzek Sneha Amin MULAN Christoph Salzmann Beck Veitch Joerg Bruemmer Indah Maretha PROJECT POWER Russell Horth Matthew Patience Julien Rousseau UNDERWATER Sreejith Venugopalan Ruslan Borysov Susil Sabat Andreas Andersson Outstanding Compositing in an Episode LOVECRAFT COUNTRY; Strange Case; Chrysalis Viktor Andersson Linus Lindblom Mattias Sandelius Crawford Reilly THE MANDALORIAN; The Believer Peter Demarest Christopher Balog Shawn Mason David Wahlberg THE MANDALORIAN; The Marshal Nicolas Caillier Simon Rafin SiangKee Poh Simon Marinof THE MANDALORIAN; The Passenger TC Harrison Tami Carter Jaume Creus Costabella Shane Davidson Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial BURBERRY; Singin’ In the Rain Alex Lovejoy Mithun Alex David Filipe Amresh Kumar PERRIER; Heat Stéphane Pivron Franck Lambertz Harry Bardak Christophe Courgeau PLAYSTATION; The Edge Alex Gabucci Rebecca Clay Alex Grey Alex Kulikov WALMART; Famous Visitors Chris “Badger” Knight Ben Smith Jake Albers Franz Kol Outstanding Special (Practical) Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project FEAR THE WALKING DEAD; Bury Her Next to Jasper’s Leg Frank Iudica Scott Roark Daniel J. Yates Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project TIME’S DOWN Valentin Soulard François Brugalières Nils Lemonnier Yan Weitlauff ARAL Cédric Moens de Hase Benoit Paya Charles Morhain Mathilde Dallamaggiore STRANDS OF MIND Adrian Meyer Laura Messner MIGRANTS Antoine Dupriez Hugo Caby Lucas Lermytte Zoé Devise Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
