Biography for
Jim Rygiel More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA

Birth Name

James Reginald Rygiel

Mini Biography

Starting his career in 1980, Rygiel joined Pacific Electric Pictures, one of the earliest companies to employ computer animation for the advertising and film markets. In 1983, Rygiel's work took him to Digital Productions where he began work on The Last Starfighter (1984), a film notable for its pioneering use of digital imaging in place of models. While at Digital Productions, Rygiel's commercial work was nominated for numerous awards, winning a prestigious CLIO award for the introduction of the Sony Walkman. From 1987 to 1989, Rygiel supervised numerous projects while at visual effects companies Pacific Data Images (PDI) and Metrolight.

In 1989 Rygiel was asked to form and head a computer animation department at Boss Film Studios. This department of one grew to over 75 animators and 100 support staff within a little more than a year, winning several awards, including a CLIO Award for the Geo Prism automobile commercial. While at Boss, Rygiel supervised many feature films, both as Digital Effects Supervisor and Visual Effects Supervisor. His credits there include Starship Troopers, Species, Outbreak, Air Force One, The Scout, The Last Action Hero, Cliffhanger, Batman Returns, Alien III, and Ghost. After Boss Films closure Rygiel went on to supervise, The Parent Trap, Star Trek: Insurrection, Anna and the King, and 102 Dalmatians.

In 2002, Rygiel received the American Film Institute's first AFI Digital Effects Artist of the Year award, the Academy Award and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Best Visual Effects, for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Rygiel is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and The British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

IMDb Mini Biography By:

Spouse

Theresa Ellis Rygiel

(1991 - present)

Trivia

Jim holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree(University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and a Master of Fine Arts degree (Otis Parsons School of Design, Los Angeles, Ca.). He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from (Otis Art Institute), as well as an Honorary Doctorate from the (Academy of Art University) in San Francisco California.

Personal Quotes

If you see a show with lots of effects but you don't mention the effects, that's a big compliment to me. That means I did my job well.

I was basically one of those starving-artists stories. My art transformed itself into the visual-effects world, but I still see myself doing art.

On 'The Last Starfighter': "In the '80s, you felt like you were crossing the Great Plains in a covered wagon because no one was doing graphics on the computer. There were years you questioned if it would ever get off the ground. It's like anything; if you stick with it, it will improve."

One of the things I was tormented over when I got out of art school was losing my æsthetic sense. People don't see that you are being creative if you are not painting or drawing. I don't see that at all. There is an æsthetic sense to this. It's how well you do your job. The best part is when you are completely done with the film and you watch the film with the audience and feel what they are feeling.

Where Are They Now

(2002) Wellington, New Zealand

(2008) Los Angeles, California

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