Oscar-winning visual effects artist Mark Stetson has joined Zoic Studios as the head of its feature film division.
Stetson was drawn to the studio by his connections and friendships with Zoic creative director Leslie Ekker, co-founder Loni Peristere and visual-effects supervisor Rocco Passionino.
“I like the challenge of expressing a new vision for a director, getting inside his or her head and figuring out what they want,” says Stetson. “I want to make the visual effects more than they expected and first dreamed about. That is my goal here at Zoic, to have fun working with the artists and other great supervisors, enhancing each project and continuing to build a team to expand Zoic’s role in feature films. I hope to drive that vision forward for Zoic Studios.”
Stetson has been working in visual effects since the late 1970s, when he started his career working on such seminal features as Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His career includes such classic films as Blade Runner, The Right Stuff, Ghostbusters, Total Recall, Dick Tracy, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, True Lies, Waterworld, The Fifth Element, Superman Returns and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for which he shared an Oscar for best visual effects on The Fellowship of the Ring.
“Mark Stetson is an incredible addition to Zoic,” says the studio’s co-founder Chris Jones. “He extends our commitment to excellence. We look forward to Mark’s creative leadership and the evolution of feature film within the company.”
