American Cinematographer - February 2008 - (Page 56) Forward Thinker Richard Edlund, ASC receives the Society’s Presidents Award for his dazzling visual-effects achievements. by Ron Magid hat a long, strange trip it’s been for Richard Edlund, ASC, the recipient of this year’s ASC Presidents Award. Edlund’s Santa Monica office reflects a man with many pasts. Naturally, there are Star Wars posters, a very full trophy case, old motion-picture cameras and a variety of books of photography. That’s the Edlund most moviegoers know: the professorial hipster who broke new ground for visual effects with his work for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) on Star Wars, The W 56 February 2008 Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Raiders of the Lost Ark, among other pictures. But the banjo and ukuleles tucked against a wall might be surprising to those who haven’t heard him play, and the Pignose amplifier sitting atop his TV is the one he invented and built to kick-start the brand. The subtle Japanese art amid the chaos points to his lifelong love affair with the East, while shelves bursting with books reveal his literary side. He’s a Renaissance dude. So how did Edlund get here from there? Born in Fargo, North Dakota, in 1940, Edlund had “a Norman Rockwell childhood.” He spent summers at his grandparents’ cottage on Ottertail Lake in Minnesota, where he went camping, hunting, rowing and swimming. “I must’ve spent half the summer in the water,” he recalls. He spent the other half at the movies. “I loved movies. For two bits and change, I could see two movies and get some popcorn. I liked Shane, The Ten Commandments and Destination Moon. I even saw The Bicycle Thief when I was 10.” He
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.