Visual effects supervisor and ESC Ent. founder Kim Libreri has joined Industrial Light & Magic as the company prepares to move next year into its new Presidio facility in San Francisco and goes through a major shift in the way the facility structures productions and support ranks on its film projects.
This includes an administrative consolidation in the wake of Jim Morris recent departure as president of Lucas Digital and Chrissie Englands promotion to president of ILM.
England said: "Kim brings a wealth of unique experience to ILM. He has participated in some of the most groundbreaking projects of the last few years, and we welcome his expertise and distinctive approach to the work. I've admired his style and look forward to seeing his visions come to life here."
"I couldn't be more excited about joining ILM [as visual effects supervisor]," Libreri added. "The work that comes from the facility is always amazing, and I am thrilled to be a part of the team of artists and technologists here. Since I've been in the effects business, ILM has set the standard, and never lets up."
Libreri, whose most recent credits as a visual effects supervisor include THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS and CATWOMAN, has worked on the technology side of the industry for more than 12 years. Libreri started his film career as a senior software engineer at the Computer Film Co. in London. He later worked at Cinesite Europe as head of technology and was one of the original founders. During the three years Libreri was overseeing technology there, the visual effects for SPACE JAM, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, EVENT HORIZON, GOLDEN EYE, FIRST KNIGHT and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE were among the projects completed.
At Manex Visual Effects, he led the technology development teams on THE MATRIX and WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, each of which won Academy Awards for best achievement in visual effects. In 2002, Libreri founded ESC Ent., which was set up to produce the visual effects for the MATRIX sequels. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Libreri with a Technical Achievement Award for the development of a system for image-based rendering allowing choreographed camera movements through computer graphic reconstructed sets (Bullet Time).
In summer 2005, ILM will move to the Letterman Digital Arts Center. For the first time in the companys history, all of the Lucas award-winning businesses, including ILM, LucasArts Ent., Lucas Licensing, Lucas Online and Lucasfilm Ltd. will be under one roof in the custom-designed 23-acre Presidio campus.
Currently, ILM is putting the finishing touches on LEMONY SNICKET: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS and SON OF THE MASK. STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH will be completed this coming spring. In addition, XXX2: STATE OF THE UNION, WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE ISLAND, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE, JARHEAD, THE PACIFIER, ARE WE THERE YET and the sequel to PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN are in various stages of concept development and production.
Industrial Light & Magic (www.ilm.com) is a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual effects. ILM has been awarded 14 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and received 17 Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Rafael, California.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
