Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) is an American

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...

company specializing in

animatronics An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

and prosthetic make-up, headquartered in Chatsworth, California. It was founded in 1988 by

Stan Winston Stanley Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American television and film special make-up effects artist, best known for his work in the ''Terminator'' series, the first three '' Jurassic Park'' films, '' Aliens'', '' The Thing'', ...

alumni Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, who hails from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Notable work includes ''

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical surrealistic black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan. The film stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, a ...

'', for which they won an

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creatin ...

, ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of ...

'', which was also nominated for an Academy Award, and the practical creature effects seen in the ''Alien'' franchise from ''

Alien 3 ''Alien 3'' (stylized as ''ALIEN3'') is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. Starring Sigourney Weaver reprising her ...

'' onward. Woodruff also portrays creatures in the films ADI works on, such as the Alien. In 2013, Amalgamated Dynamics successfully ran a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to fund their independent horror film titled '' Harbinger Down'', which was directed by Gillis and produced by Woodruff Jr. The film was released in August 2015 and features exclusively practical creature effects. The impetus for the project began when ADI were frustrated that their practical effects for '' The Thing'', which tried to follow closely the ones featured in the original 1982 film, had been mostly digitally replaced with

computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...

by order of the studio. During 2022 it was revealed through social media that Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. would part ways with Alec establishing Studio Gillis and the two pursuing separate endeavours. Gillis would also establish sister company ''Pro Machina, Inc.'' which specialises in the creation of miniature effects.

Filmography

As Amalgamated Dynamics

1980s

* ''

Teen Witch ''Teen Witch'' is a 1989 American teen fantasy comedy film directed by Dorian Walker, written by Robin Menken and Vernon Zimmerman, and starring Robyn Lively and Zelda Rubinstein. The plot follows Louise, a teenage girl who discovers she is ...

'' (1989)

1990s

* '' Tremors'' (1990) * '' The Grifters'' (1990) * ''

Point Break ''Point Break'' is a 1991 American action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term " point break", where a ...

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Demolition Man'' (1993) * ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

'' (1994) – animatronic designers: mechanical wolf * '' The Santa Clause'' (1994) * ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The original ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' arcade game spawned Lis ...

'' (1995) * ''

Jumanji ''Jumanji'' is a 1995 American fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Johnston from a screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain, based on the 1981 children's picture book by Chris Van Allsburg. The film is the first ins ...

'' (1995) * '' Tremors 2: Aftershocks'' (1996) * ''

Mars Attacks! ''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction film, science fiction black comedy, black comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading ca ...

'' (1996) * ''

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

'' (1996) * '' Alien Resurrection'' (1997) * ''

'' (1997) * ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' (1998) * ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...

'' (1999) * '' The Astronaut's Wife'' (1999) * ''

Bats Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

'' (1999)

2000s

* '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000) * '' Hollow Man'' (2000) * '' Bedazzled'' (2000) * ''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of t ...

'' (2000) * ''

Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter who is stranded on a desert island after his plane cras ...

'' (2000) * ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' (2001) * '' Bubble Boy'' (2001) * '' Tremors 3: Back to Perfection'' (2001) * ''

John Q ''John Q.'' is a 2002 American crime drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, and written by James Kearns. It stars Denzel Washington as the title character, a man who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a ...

'' (2002) * '' Panic Room'' (2002) * ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (2002) * '' The Santa Clause 2'' (2002) * '' Scary Movie 3'' (2003) * '' Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003) * ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles ...

'' (2004) * '' Alien vs. Predator'' (2004) * '' Elektra'' (2005) * '' Stealth'' (2005) * '' Failure to Launch'' (2006) * ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...

'' (2006) * '' The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006) * '' Wild Hogs'' (2007) * ''

Spider-Man 3 ''Spider-Man 3'' is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, and Laura Ziskin Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it was directe ...

'' (2007) * '' Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem'' (2007) * '' The Incredible Hulk'' (2008) * '' Lonely Street'' (2009) * ''

Race to Witch Mountain ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is a 2009 American science fiction adventure film directed by Andy Fickman. The film stars Dwayne Johnson alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Ludwig, Tom Everett Scott, and Christoph ...

'' (2009) * '' Dragonball: Evolution'' (2009) * '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009) * ''

G-Force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

'' (2009) * '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'' (2009) * '' Old Dogs'' (2009)

2010s

* ''

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

'' (2010) * '' Beastly'' (2011) * '' X-Men: First Class'' (2011) * ''

Zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

'' (2011) * '' The Thing'' (2011) * '' Beautiful Wave'' (2012) * '' Odd Thomas'' (2013) * ''

Grown Ups 2 ''Grown Ups 2'' is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler, Fred Wolf (writer), Fred Wolf, and Tim Herlihy, and produced by Sandler and Jack Giarraputo. It serves as a sequel to the 2010 film Grown Ups (fil ...

'' (2013) * '' Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters'' (2013) * ''

Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...

'' (2013) * ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' (2014) * '' Kids vs Monsters'' (2015) * '' Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'' (2015) * '' Harbinger Down'' (2015) * ''Fire City: End of Days'' (2015) * '' Rakka'' (2017) * '' It'' (2017) * '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' (2018) * '' Sorry to Bother You'' (2018) * '' The Predator'' (2018) * '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019)

2020s

* ''

Guest House A guest house (or guesthouse, also rest house) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), a guest house is a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the e ...

'' (2020) * '' Godzilla vs. Kong'' (2021) * ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

'' (2022) * ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'' (2022) * '' No One Will Save You'' (2023)

As Studio Gillis

2020s

* '' I'm a Virgo'' (2024) * '' Alien: Romulus'' (2024) * '' Smile 2'' (2024) * ''

Werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

'' (2024) * '' Predator: Killer of Killers'' (2025) * '' Predator: Badlands'' (2025)

References

External links

* {{official, url=http://www.studioadi.com/ Visual effects companies Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Entertainment companies established in 1988 Privately held companies based in California 1988 establishments in California