Legendary Pictures and Blizzard Entertainment welcome “Life of Pi” 2013 Academy Award winner Bill Westenhofer to the Warcraft film as Visual Effects Supervisor. Blizzard Entertainment VP of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter and Bill Westenhofer were at a meeting today to discuss matters concerning the Warcraft film. Welcome aboard, Bill. — Twitter
Going down memory lane, Bill Westenhofer made headlines in the gaming news networks as the World of Warcraft guild leader who won an Oscar back in 2008 (Kotaku). Bill plays a mage in the Kil’jaeden server.
Listen to Bill Westenhofer’s speech at the Best Visual Effects Oscar award:
Bill Westenhofer – Bios
Academy Award winner Bill Westenhofer is leading the Rhythm & Hues creative team for “Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee for 20th Century Fox. Most recently, Bill served as the vfx supervisor on “The A-Team” and “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” for Fox, and the comedy adventure “Land of the Lost” for Universal Pictures.
In 2008, Bill received the Academy Award® for Achievement in Visual Effects for overseeing the work of hundreds of R&H digital artists on “The Golden Compass.” He also won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Special Visual Effects for the same film. Bill was previously Oscar nominated for “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Bill’s other supervisory credits include “Elf,” “The Rundown,” “Men in Black II,” “Cats & Dogs,” “Stuart Little” I and II, “Frequency” and “Babe: Pig in the City,” the latter a BAFTA nominee.
Beginning as a technical director with Rhythm & Hues in 1994, Bill’s lighting and effects animation work was featured in “Batman Forever” and numerous commercials. He was promoted to CG supervisor for “Speed 2: Cruise Control,” and continued in that role for “Spawn,” “Mouse Hunt,” “Kazaam” and “Waterworld.”
Bill holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science from George Washington University, where he studied the use of dynamics in physically based animation. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Bucknell University.
What is a Visual Effects Supervisor (VFX)’s role?
The role of a VFX supervisor is to oversee and carry out all the visual effect needs of the script throughout the pre-production phase all the way to post-production phase. Bill Westenhofer will meet with Duncan Jones (director), Chris Metzen (co-producer / story), Stuart Fenegan (executive producer), Charles Levitt (screenplay / story) and Nick Carpenter (VP of Art and Cinematic Development) quitely often throughout the next two years. Read more about the role of a VFX supervisor.
Warcraft Film Launch Date Soon
In our recent article we talked about the interview between Collider and Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull. The Warcraft film launch date will be announced soon.
Want to be up-to-date on everything about the Warcraft film? Visit Blizzplanet often, and read our Warcraft Film section covering its news since 2008.
