Matthew Sweeney (April 1948 – February 19, 2024) was an American special effects artist who was nominated at the

68th Academy Awards The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

in the category of Best Visual Effects along with Leslie Ekker, Michael Kanfer and

Robert Legato Robert Legato (born 1956) is an American visual effects supervisor, second unit director, and second unit director of photography. Raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Legato graduated from Ocean Township High School.Staff. "Shore's Robert Legato ...

. They were nominated for their work on the film '' Apollo 13''. Sweeney died in Burbank on February 19, 2024, at the age of 75, from prolonged lung cancer. He was survived by his wife of the same profession, Lucinda Foy, whom he married in 2020.

Awards

Sweeney received 3 Technical Achievement Awards at the Academy Awards. *

59th Academy Awards The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During ...

: For the development of an automatic capsule gun for simulating bullet hits for motion picture special effects (with Lucinda Strub). *

70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the sh ...

: For the development and realization of Liquid Synthetic Air (with James F. Foley, Charles Converse and F. Edward Gardner (of UCISCO); and to Robert W. Stoker, Jr.). *

74th Academy Awards The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly ...

: For the concept, design and realization of the "Mic Rig" (with Mic Rodgers)

Selected filmography

*''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astor ...

'' (1985) *'' American Flyers'' (1985) *''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'' (1985) *''

The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American supernatural black comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard with a screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jerem ...

'' (1987) *''

Big Top Pee-wee ''Big Top Pee-wee'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser. A stand-alone sequel to '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' (1985), the film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman with Susan Tyrrell, Kris Kristofferson, Penelope Ann Mil ...

'' (1988) *''

Lethal Weapon 2 ''Lethal Weapon 2'' is a 1989 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. It is a sequel to the 1987 film ''Lethal Weapon'' ...

'' (1989) *''

Rockula ''Rockula'' is a 1990 American comedy horror film directed by Luca Bercovici and written by Bercovici, Jefery Levy, and Chris Ver Weil. Dean Cameron stars as the vampire Ralph LaVie, Toni Basil plays Phoebe LaVie, Ralph's mother, and Thomas Dolby ...

'' (1990) *'' Arachnophobia'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *''

Falling Down ''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American action film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on February 26, 1993. The film stars Michael Douglas in the lead role of William Foster, a ...

'' (1993) *''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' (1994) *''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childho ...

'' (1994) *'' Apollo 13'' (1995) *''

The Cable Guy ''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack ...

'' (1996) *'' Batman & Robin'' (1997) *''

Lethal Weapon 4 ''Lethal Weapon 4'' is a 1998 American buddy cop action film directed and produced by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, and Jet Li (in his international film debut). It is the fourth ins ...

'' (1998) *''

Galaxy Quest ''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially ''Star Trek'' and its fandom, the ...

'' (1999) *'' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) *''

Knocked Up ''Knocked Up'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann. It follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between a sl ...

'' (2007) *'' Role Models'' (2008) *''

Fast and Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a ...

'' (2009) *''

Fast Five ''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'' or ''Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist'') is a 2011 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fifth i ...

'' (2011) *''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...

'' (2015)

References

External links

* 1948 births 2024 deaths Special effects people Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners Deaths from lung cancer in California {{film-artist-stub