In Memory of Douglas Trumbull (1942-2022)

Douglas Trumbull (1942-2022)

Douglas Trumbull, the pioneer behind the VFX for "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and "Blade Runner", passed away on February 7th, 2022. He was 79 years old. Trumbull was the son of a mechanical engineer and effects artist Don Trumbull, who worked on films like "The Wizard of Oz". His dad also worked with his son on "Silent Running", "Close Encounters", and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and received two Scientific and Technical Achievement Oscars before he died in 2004 at age 95. He was an airbrush artist and illustrator at Graphic Films in Los Angeles and did a 1964 New York World's Fair documentary called "To the Moon and Beyond". Shot in Cinerama and projected overhead onto the Moon Dome. This impressed director Stanley Kubrick, who then hired Trumbull (along with Graphic Films director Con Pederson) to work on the initial designs for "2001" after getting Kubrick's number from Pederson and cold-called him. Trumbull started with a relatively minor task by creating the animated displays seen on the computer screens throughout the ship in the movie. However, his responsibilities grew as production continued, becoming one of the four visual effects supervisors of the film. He found himself tasked with what became his signature creation, the out-of-this-world passage of light finale dubbed the Star Gate sequence.

After "2001", Trumbull made his directorial debut in an eco sci-fi film he conceived entitled "Silent Running", which achieved cult status, all on a $1 million budget. By the 1970s, Trumbull had other commitments and declined an offer to provide the visual effects for George Lucas' "Star Wars". At the same time, Steven Spielberg, who was 29, started principal photography on his sci-fi movie "Close Encounters". He rewatched Kubrick's "2001" in preparation and found the masterpiece intimidated him more than to have him inspired. Spielberg hired Trumbull, who was then under contract at Paramount Pictures on a loan-out, to contribute the visual effects for "Close Encounters". The film earned Trumbull and his team an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects, which it lost to "Star Wars". Trumbull also worked with director Robert Wise in films such as "The Andromeda Strain" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (the latter earned Trumbull his second Academy Award nomination). He also received his third Oscar nomination for his groundbreaking effects in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner".

Douglas' second directorial feature was "Brainstorm", starring Natalie Wood in her final role. The movie was the first to showcase his Showscan process (70mm film photographed at 60 frames per sec) during the virtual reality sequences, but due to the cost, MGM withdrew the idea. In November 1981, during a production break, Wood drowned under unknown circumstances while on a boat trip to Catalina Island. This setback caused MGM to file an insurance complaint, and the film remained unfinished until two years later. These experiences caused Trumbull to withdraw from the film industry and delve his passion into working on new technology for cinema and filmmakers. He even created the "Back to the Future" ride at Universal Studios.

Trumbull was brought back from his 30-year retirement by director Terence Malick to work under Dan Glass as a visual effects consultant on "The Tree of Life". He received many accolades and honours in his lifetime, including a Scientific and Engineering Award in 1993 from the Academy Awards for his Showscan Camera System and the Gordon E. Sawyer statuette in 2012 for his career contributions. In my opinion, I believe Trumbull and his team should have deserved the Oscar for the effects work in "2001", not Stanley Kubrick, who took the award for himself.

Here are the clips of the outstanding work of visual effects he provided during his career.

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