F/X GODS

摘要

When director rolamd emmerich got the green light to make The Day After Tomorrow, he knew exactly what talent he'd need. Before even writing the script, he called visual effects supervisor Karen Goulekas. "People didn't go to The Day After Tomorrow because of the acting, directing, and writing," says Scott Ross, chair of effects house Digital Domain. "They went to see New York flooded and LA ripped apart by a twister." Call it the Lucas effect. Since 1977's Star Wars, visual effects have come to dominate the Hollywood box office and bottom line. Of the 20 top-grossing movies of all time, three are totally animated, and the others include so many effects you can't tell the real from the fake. Over the past decade, studio sources say, the typical wide-release feature film has seen its effects budget skyrocket from an average of $5 million to $40 million. "Even five years ago, we shot one or two movies a year with a significant number of effects," says Hutch Parker, president of production at 20th Century Fox Film. "Today, 50 percent have significant effects. They're a character in the movie."