Dean Wright (born May 15, 1962) is a film director and visual effects supervisor, best known for his work on ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''.

Biography

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

-born Wright enrolled at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

film school to pursue a career as a filmmaker. Relocating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1989, he landed work with one of the industry's most prominent directors, James Cameron, on the groundbreaking project '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. The film's success propelled Wright into larger production rolls in a variety of capacities alongside acclaimed filmmakers. He became the

VFX Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated 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 foota ...

production manager for Cameron's own visual effect's house,

Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...

. Collaborating with effects supervisor Rob Legato, Wright worked on ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

''. The film garnered eleven

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Wright was promoted to visual effects producer and helped land

's next landmark project, '' What Dreams May Come'', which also earned the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. After producing the VFX for several other projects, he joined Dream Quest Images. During his tenure he was responsible for the production of all VFX at the facility, overseeing more than thirty feature films, theme park attractions and animation projects, including '' Reign of Fire'', '' 102 Dalmatians'', ''

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...

'', ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'', Oscar-nominated '' Mighty Joe Young'', ''

Unbreakable Unbreakable may refer to: * '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', a book written by Jenni Rivera * Unbreakable (horse) (1935–1962), a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire Film and television * ''Unbreakable'' (film series), a trilogy directed by M ...

'', ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...

'' and '' Bicentennial Man''. In 2002, Wright became visual effects producer for the final two chapters in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' film trilogy. In undertaking this challenge, he teamed with Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Jim Rygiel. In 2003 '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' was recognized with eight

Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and ...

awards, as well as both the BAFTA and the Academy Award for Visual Effects. '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' won in all of the eleven

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Director, and Visual Effects. Wright picked up the top

award for his work on the project. Wright was the visual effects supervisor for

Andrew Adamson Andrew Ralph Adamson (born 1 December 1966) is a New Zealand film director, producer, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, where he directed the Academy Award-winning animated films '' Shrek'' and '' Shrek 2''. He was director, executive p ...

's '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', and was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and VES Award for Best Visual Effects for 2005. He was also the Visual Effects Supervisor for the Narnia follow up, ''

Prince Caspian ''Prince Caspian'' (originally published as ''Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia'') is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1951. It was the second published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of N ...

''. In 2008, Wright began preparing for his directorial debut on the big budget VFX bible epic, ''Kingdom Come'', but when the film's start of production was delayed, Wright was hired to rewrite and direct what was to become the largest ever Mexican produced feature film, ''Cristiada'' (also titled ''For Greater Glory''), starring Andy Garcia, Peter O'Toole and Eva Longoria. The film was released June 1, 2012 by 20th Century Fox. Wright would join MGM as a visual effects executive for film and television. He would oversee projects such as ''

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

'', '' Fargo'' and ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...

''.

Select filmography

* '' Cristiada'' (2012) .... Director, Writer * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008) .... Visual Effects Supervisor * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005) .... Visual Effects Supervisor * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003) .... Visual Effects Producer * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002) .... Visual Effects Producer * '' Reign of Fire'' (2002) .... Visual Effects Executive Producer * ''

'' (2000) .... Visual Effects Executive Producer * '' Gone in 60 Seconds'' (2000) .... Visual Effects Executive Producer * '' Bicentennial Man'' (1999) .... Visual Effects Executive Producer * '' What Dreams May Come'' (1998) .... Visual Effects Producer * ''

'' (1997) .... Visual Effects Production Manager

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Dean Living people University of Arizona alumni 1962 births American film directors Visual effects supervisors Film directors from Michigan