“Iron Man” Leads Visual Effects Society Awards Nominees

The stunning effects of “Iron Man” led the way when the finalists for Visual Effects Society Awards were announced.   “Iron Man” had five nominations for the seventh annual awards.

The Marvel Studios-produced superhero movie was cited in the categories of visual effects in a visual effects-driven movie, best single visual effect of the year, outstanding animated character in a live-action movie, outstanding models and miniatures in a feature, and outstanding special effects in a movie. The nominees cited for “Iron Man” are Ben Snow, Hal Hickel, Victoria Alonso and John Nelson.

Its competition for the best visual effects in a visual effects-driven movie honor are “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (Wendy Rogers, Dean Wright, Andrew Fowler, Greg Butler), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Eric Barba, Edson Williams, Nathan McGuinness, Lisa Beroud), “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Michael J. Wassel, Lucy Killick, Adrian de Wet, Eamonn Butler) and “Cloverfield” (Kevin Blank, Chantal Feghali, Michael Ellis, Eric Leven).

Nominated for supporting visual effects in a movie are “Changeling” (Michael Owens, Geoffrey Hancock, Jinnie Pak, Dennis Hoffman), “Eagle Eye” (Jim Rygiel, Jim Berney, Crys Forsyth-Smith, David Smith), “Valkyrie” (Richard R. Hoover, Maricel Pagulayan, Peter Nofz, Daniel Eaton), “Nim’s Island” (Camille Cellucci, Scott Gordon, Fred Pienkos, James Straus) and “Synecdoche, New York” (Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric Robertson, Brett Miller).

Earning a spot among the nominees for outstanding animation in an animated movie are “Bolt — The Chase” (Chris Williams, Byron Howard, John Murrah, Doug Bennett), “Kung Fu Panda — Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting” (Markus Manninen, Dan Wagner, Alex Parkinson, Raymond Zibach), “A Matter of Loaf and Death — Piella’s Mansion” (Nick Park, Steve Pegram, Dave Alex Riddett, David McCormick) and “WALL-E” (Andrew Stanton, Jim Morris, Lindsey Collins, Nigel Hardwidge).

The VES Awards will be presented Feb. 21 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City. Producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Phil Tippett will be honored with the Georges Melies Award at the ceremony.