Academy announces shortlist for SFX Oscar [Oscars]

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the special effects in films.

I grew up on the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen and the effects wizardry of John Dykstra. The SFX people were gods to me, so even today I still enjoy hearing who is being honored by the Academy each year.

Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences narrowed the choices for this year’s nominations in the Visual Effects category for the 83rd Academy Awards^®.

The seven films still in the running are:

“Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
“Hereafter”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2”
“Scott Pilgrim vs the World”
“Tron: Legacy”

All members of the Visual Effects branch of the Academy will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films on Thursday, January 20.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.