American Cinematographer - February 2008 - (Page 65) the finished film, he got caught up in the four characters and forgot to pay attention to his own work. “I always said if I ever did a perfect job, I would retire. Well, Multiplicity was close to perfect, but I had to go back on my word because I wasn’t ready to retire!” But a year later, it was time to shutter his company. “The business used to be about building photochemical-based equipment, but in the digital era, it became about buying machines and developing software. Between Alien3 and Batman Returns, the magnificent, in-housebuilt optical printers and other photochemical gear became obsolete virtually overnight. When we completed Air Force One [AC July ’97] and shots for Starship Troopers [AC Nov. ’97], I looked out at the horizon, and it was pretty bleak. The time had come when I could close the business gracefully; the most painful part was saying so long — but not good-bye — to some of the most wonderful people I’d ever worked with.” After the closing, Edlund became busier than ever, writing screenplays, producing projects and, of course, tackling visual effects as a freelance artist. “I’m having more fun now that I don’t have to sweat all those hideous problems of multimillion-dollar leases and equipment obsolescence.” Edlund recently formed a strong bond with director Mike Nichols on the HBO project Angels in America (AC Nov. ’03), for which Edlund earned an Emmy nomination, and they recently collaborated on the feature Charlie Wilson’s War (AC Jan. ’08). The trajectory from Lucas’ fantasies to Nichols’ dramas proves how facile the materials and techniques Edlund pioneered truly are. He notes, “Visual effects have become a necessary tool for any kind of movie; every director will come up with shots he needs but just can’t get without some help from visual-effects artists. With Mike, I do a lot of enabling — for example, using morphs to take lumps of time out of actors’ performances when Mike is tapping his foot — and we also add breadth to his canvas. All in all, it’s been a good progression.” I Edlund (front) celebrates the 1983 opening of his visualeffects studio, Boss Film, which notched five Academy Award nominations before closing its doors in 1997. 65 http://www.rosco.com/swatchbook.asp http://www.rosco.com/swatchbook.asp http://www.rosco.com/rewards
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