![]() ![]() to deliver the newspaper during his Ann Arbor youth.)ĭirected by Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla"), "Rogue One" chronicles an unlikely band of heroes who come together for the mother of all difficult missions: stealing the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's most devastating weapon. (He's quick to point out that he used to get up at 5 a.m. "If I didn’t make the appointment to pitch it, I would always wonder what would have happened if I did," says Knoll by phone during a recent interview with the Free Press. ► Related: Detroit actress-singer ready for close-up on 'Star' In the case of "Rogue One," Knoll actually came up with the idea for the story and successfully pitched it to Lucasfilm president and "Rogue One" producer Kathleen Kennedy. ![]() ![]() The film is also a first of sorts for Knoll, who has been with the George Lucas-founded company for nearly 30 years and helped shape many epics, including the "Star Wars" prequels and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. It's the first in a series of stand-alone movies set in the "Star Wars" universe, but focused on new characters and story lines. On Friday, Knoll's own work as an Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor will be on display when "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" hits theaters. I felt like I had found my people. This is really what I wanted to do.” "It’s one thing to read about these things in a magazine, but it’s another to witness them in person. “It totally changed my life," says Knoll, 54, who's now the chief creative officer at ILM. Suddenly, the kid born and raised in Ann Arbor was immersed in the world he'd only read about in serious film journals tucked inside the U-M campus libraries he'd scoured. ► Related: Metro Detroit gets into the 'Rogue One' spirit He called and said he was a model maker interested in the company's work.The next day, Knoll's dad braved rush-hour traffic to drive him to Van Nuys at about 8:30 a.m. Tagging along on a work trip to Anaheim for his dad, a University of Michigan nuclear engineering professor, he found the number for ILM in a phone book. Knoll, only 15, was a huge "Star Wars" fan at the time. He also talks about the biggest challenges he faced supervising the film’s visual effects, including designing the devastatingly real Death Star weapon testing scenes and making decisions on which exciting visual development ideas could be included in the film.A long time ago (it was 1978) in a galaxy far, far away (well, California seemed like a different world from Michigan), a teenager named John Knoll talked his way into spending a day at Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company for the sensational new film "Star Wars." In this two-part interview, ILM’s chief creative officer John Knoll discusses his role in the original concept and story development for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, his responsibilities as executive producer and overall VFX supervisor as well as the film’s use of previs and virtual production tools. Watch all the AWN - FMX Professional Spotlight videos on AWN's YouTube Channel. Stay tuned as we add dozens of brand new interviews over the coming weeks. Watch and enjoy our insightful and entertaining AWN – FMX 2017 Professional Spotlight video series featuring some of the biggest names in animation, visual effects, computer graphics and transmedia. With FMX 2017 just finishing up May 5th in Stuttgart, Germany, we’re pleased to present our latest set of exclusive interviews with some of the talented speakers who presented over the packed four-day conference, a group of top industry professionals who converge each year to lecture, teach and network. ![]() 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.' Image courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic. ![]()
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