Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He has been nominated for twenty

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for his work in sound for movies, and has won seven times.

Life and career

Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of talkies, the school descends from America's first program to confer a college degree in ...

in 1981.Notable Alumni
, USC School of Cinematic Arts, ''Accessed August 10, 2008. He began his career at

Skywalker Sound Skywalker Sound is the American sound effects, sound editing, sound design, sound mixing and music recording division of Lucasfilm. Founded in 1975, the company's main facilities are located at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, nea ...

, Northern California in 1983. Offered the job by a college professor, he received the opportunity to work with his mentor, ''Star Wars'' sound designer

Ben Burtt Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director, film editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, '' Invasion of the ...

. After gaining invaluable experience as a sound technician in ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'', Rydstrom went on to do sound design for the comedy ''

Spaceballs ''Spaceballs'' is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It primarily parodies the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, but also other popular franchises such as ''Star Trek'', '' Alien'', '' The Wi ...

''. The sound design for ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...

'', prepared from scratch, would become the precursor for his sound for '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. The original sound effects from ''Backdraft'' are constantly referenced and have been used for numerous other films including ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

''. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for his work on ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', for which he pioneered techniques still used today for creating realistic sound effects. Rydstrom also worked with ''Terminator 2'' director

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

on a new

5.1 surround sound 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full-bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dolb ...

remix for the original ''Terminator.'' His sound work on ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' led to further innovations, as he and his team set out to create dinosaur sounds by mixing together numerous different animal vocalizations to make the audience feel as though giant bellowing prehistoric beasts surrounded them. The Academy Award-winning film was the first motion picture to be presented in DTS. The T-Rex roar created by Gary was later re-used for Dim in ''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 1998 American animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, and Joe Ran ...

'', Thanator in ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' and the Hydra in '' Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief''. He subsequently went on to work on sound for numerous films including ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

'', '' Minority Report'' and ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

''. He won an MPSE lifetime achievement award, and regularly speaks at various sound design forums sharing his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm with aspiring sound design artists. He made his directorial debut with the

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

short ''Lifted'', for which he received his fourteenth Academy Award nomination. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2006. His debut feature film for the studio, ''Newt'', which was supposed to be about the adventure of two blue-footed newts, and their struggles to work together, was announced in 2008. It supposedly reached the early stages of production, until it was cancelled by Pixar in early 2011 due to story issues. He has also directed the Pixar short '' Hawaiian Vacation'' and the

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...

animated feature '' Strange Magic''. Rydstrom has also served as English language director on '' Tales From Earthsea'', '' Arrietty'', '' From Up on Poppy Hill'', and '' The Wind Rises'', all of which were produced by the Japanese animation company

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

Awards and nominations

Rydstrom has been nominated for 20

(7 wins), 12 Golden Reel Awards (5 wins), 5 C.A.S Awards (2 wins), 5 BAFTA Awards (2 wins), and 1 Grammy (1 win).

Filmography

* ''

'' (1984) audio technician * '' Ewoks: The Battle for Endor'' (1985) audio technician * '' Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins'' (1985) foley artist * '' Luxo Jr.'' (1986) sound designer * ''

Red's Dream ''Red's Dream'' is a 1987 American animated short film written and directed by John Lasseter and produced by Pixar. The short film, which runs four minutes, stars Red, a unicycle. Propped up in the corner of a bicycle store on a rainy night, Re ...

'' (1987) sound designer * ''

Colors Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

'' (1987) sound designer * ''

Captain EO ''Captain EO'' is a 1986 American 3D science fiction short film shown at several Disney theme parks from 1986 until 1998. The film, starring Michael Jackson, was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film was shown as part of an attraction with ...

'' (1987) sound designer * ''

Tin Toy A tin toy, or tin lithograph toy, is a mechanical toy made out of tinplate and colorfully painted by chromolithography to resemble primarily a character or vehicle. History Tinplate was used in the manufacture of toys beginning in the mid-19th ...

'' (1988) sound designer * ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' (1988) foley artist * '' Always'' (1989) re-recording mixer * ''

Knick Knack ''Knick Knack'' is a 1989 American animated short film produced by Pixar that was written and directed by John Lasseter. The short is about a snow globe snowman who wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a summer-themed party. However, the ...

'' (1989) sound designer * '' The Neon Empire'' (1989) re-recording mixer * ''Mars Navigator'' (1990) sound design/re-recording mixer (interactive video) * '' F/X2 The Deadly Art Of Illusion'' (1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer * ''

'' (1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Single White Female ''Single White Female'' is a 1992 American psychological erotic thriller film produced and directed by Barbet Schroeder from a screenplay by Don Roos. It is based on the 1990 novel '' SWF Seeks Same'' by John Lutz. The film stars Bridget Fo ...

'' (1992) sound designer/re-recording mixer * '' Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

'' (1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Baby's Day Out ''Baby's Day Out'' is a 1994 American adventure comedy film directed by Patrick Read Johnson and written by John Hughes, who also served as producer. Starring Joe Mantegna, Lara Flynn Boyle, Joe Pantoliano, and Brian Haley, the film center ...

'' (1994) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Casper'' (1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Strange Days'' (1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'' (1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

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) sound designer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' James and the Giant Peach'' (1996) sound designer * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1996) re-recording mixer * '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' (1997) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' (1997) sound designer * ''

'' (1997) re-recording mixer * ''

'' (1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

'' (1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (1999) re-recording mixer * ''

Toy Story 2 ''Toy Story 2'' is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and the first sequel to Toy Story. It is the second installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and was directed by J ...

'' (1999) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' The Haunting'' (1999) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...

'' (1984, 2000s DVD release) sound designer consultant: sound restoration and re-mixing * ''

The Legend of Bagger Vance ''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' is a 2000 American sports fantasy drama film directed by Robert Redford, and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron. The screenplay by Jeremy Leven is based on Steven Pressfield's 1995 book '' The Lege ...

'' (2000) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * ''

A.I. Artificial Intelligence ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (or simply ''A.I.'') is a 2001 American science fiction drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Spielberg and screen story by Ian Watson are loosely based on the 1969 short story " Supertoy ...

'' (2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (2001) sound supervisor * ''

Monsters, Inc. ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a 2001 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Cobu ...

'' (2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002) re-recording mixer * '' Minority Report'' (2002) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * ''

Punch-Drunk Love ''Punch-Drunk Love'' is a 2002 American Absurdist fiction, absurdist Romance film, romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It follows an entrepr ...

'' (2002) sound designer consultant/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

'' (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'' (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * '' Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation'' (2004) special thanks * '' Lifted'' (2006) director/writer/sound * '' Tales from Earthsea'' (2010) director/ADR director (English-language version) * '' Hawaiian Vacation'' (2011) director, screenplay * '' Bully'' (2011) sound designer * '' Super 8'' (2011) additional sound designer * ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

'' (2011) sound designer consultant * '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' (2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' War Horse'' (2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Lincoln'' (2012) re-recording mixer * '' The Secret World of Arrietty'' (2012) director (American English-language version) * '' Brave'' (2012) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Wreck-it Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was directed by Rich Moore and produced by Clark Spencer, from a screenplay by Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee ( ...

'' (2012) sound designer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' (2013) sound designer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' From Up on Poppy Hill'' (2013) director (English-language version) * '' The Wind Rises'' (2014) director (English-language version) * '' The Face of Love'' (2014) sound design consultant * '' Strange Magic'' (2015) director, screenplay * ''

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

'' (2015) re-recording mixer * ''

Jurassic World ''Jurassic World'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Colin Trevorrow, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly from a story by Jaffa and Silver. It is the first installment in the ...

'' (2015) sound designer consultant * '' Bridge of Spies'' (2015) re-recording mixer * '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015) re-recording mixer * ''

The BFG ''The BFG'' (short for ''The Big Friendly Giant'') is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel '' Danny, the Champion of the World''. The book is dedicated to Dahl's oldest ...

'' (2016) re-recording mixer * '' The Post'' (2017) sound designer/re-recording mixer * '' Ready Player One'' (2018) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * ''

Ralph Breaks the Internet ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' is a 2018 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is the sequel to the 2012 film ''Wreck-It Ralph''. The film was directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Joh ...

'' (2018) sound designer/supervising sound editor (uncredited) * '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' (2018) sound designer consultant * '' Ad Astra'' (2019) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * '' Come Away'' (2020) re-recording mixer * ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'' (2021) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * ''

The Fabelmans ''The Fabelmans'' is a 2022 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tony Kushner. Loosely based on Spielberg's early life and beginnings as a filmmaker, the semi-autobiog ...

'' (2022) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor * ''

Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...

'' (2022) sound design consultant * '' Once Upon a Studio'' (2023) sound designer consultant (uncredited)

References

External links

Gary Rydstorm - Skywalker Sound
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rydstrom, Gary 1959 births Living people American animated film directors American people of Swedish descent Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners Best Sound BAFTA Award winners American audio engineers American sound designers USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Best Sound Editing Academy Award winners American sound editors American voice directors CAS Career Achievement Award honorees Artists from Chicago Artists from Los Angeles Pixar people Walt Disney Animation Studios people Film directors from Illinois Film directors from Los Angeles Grammy Award winners