Ridley Scott To Receive 2016 VES Lifetime Achievement Award

Three time Oscar Award nominated, DGA and Golden Globe nominated directory Ridley Scott has been named this year’s Visual Effect Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Scott will receive his award during the VES Award Ceremony scheduled for February 2nd, 2015.

Scott will accompany a list of luminaries who have previously received this honor, including directors James Cameron, Christopher Nolan and last year’s honoree, J.J. Abrams. Scott’s nomination comes in response to the groundbreaking work he’s achieved in film, television and commercial formats.

"Ridley Scott is a defining voice of the feature, broadcast and commercial forms, and a true master of his craft,” said Mike Chambers, VES Board Chair, upon the announcement of Scott’s honor. “His vision and contribution to the art is incomparable and his impact upon the visual effects and technical fields is unparalleled. Ridley's iconic films have entertained and inspired millions, and his oeuvre of groundbreaking work has been immensely influential. For this, and more, we are honored to award him with the prestigious Visual Effects Society Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Scott burst into the production community’s vision with his 1977 directorial debut “The Duelist” for which he won the Best First Film Award at the Cannes International Film Festival. His second feature was the franchise launching “Alien.” “Alien” received many award nominations for its artisans, including a Golden Globe Best Score nomination for Jerry Goldsmith, a British Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography nomination for Derek Vanlint, a BAFTA Best Production Design win for Michael Seymour and an Oscar win for Best Visual Effects, presented to H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Alider and Dennis Ayling. The film ultimate received 15 total wins and 19 nominations in all.

“The best filmmaking has always been the result of collaboration between artists, craftspeople and technicians, both in front and behind the camera,” said Ridley Scott, upon learning he will be bestowed with the VES top honor. “Over the years I have been very fortunate to work on films that are visual at their core and thus I have always been immensely reliant on the expertise of our visual effects teams. To be honored by the Visual Effects Society with this Lifetime Achievement Award is indeed extremely gratifying.”

Scott’s three Best Director Oscar nominations were received for “Thelma & Louise”, “Gladiator” and “Black Hawk Down.” The science fiction community still refer to his ground breaking work in 1982’s “Blade Runner.” Television specials and series Scott has been involved with include “The Good Wife,” “Into the Storm” and “Gettysburg.” With brother Tony, Scott created the commercial and advertising production company RSA in 1967. In 1995 the sibling created Scott Free, the production company behind such hits as “In Her Shoes,” “The Grey” and Oscar nominated “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

Scott’s most recent feature, “The Martian” starring Matt Damon as an astronaut abandoned on Mars, remains the number one film on the Box Office List.

To learn more about VES, please visit: https://www.visualeffectssociety.com/