Special Achievement Academy Award

Last updated

The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award given for an achievement that makes an exceptional contribution to the motion picture for which it was created, but for which there is no annual award category. Many of the film projects that received these awards were noted for breaking new ground in terms of technology, where an awards category simply did not yet exist for the given area. New awards categories were often opened in following years. For example, Toy Story was awarded a special achievement award as the first computer-animated feature film in 1996, before the best animated feature category debuted in 2001. [1]

The award may only be conferred for achievements in productions that also qualify as an eligible release for distinguished achievements and meet the Academy's eligibility year and deadlines requirements. Special Achievement Awards were primarily given between the 1970s and 1990s, with only a single award being given since 2000.

Recipients

This table displays the individuals who received the Special Achievement Oscar for their contributions to film. The category was inaugurated in 1972.

YearRecipient(s)AchievementFilm
1972 (45th) L. B. Abbott
A. D. Flowers
Visual Effects The Poseidon Adventure
1974 (47th) Frank Brendel
Glen Robinson
Albert Whitlock
Earthquake
1975 (48th) Peter Berkos Sound Effects The Hindenburg
Albert Whitlock
Glen Robinson
Visual Effects
1976 (49th) Carlo Rambaldi
Glen Robinson
Frank Van der Veer
King Kong
L. B. Abbott
Glen Robinson
Matthew Yuricich
Logan's Run
1977 (50th) Ben Burtt Alien, Creature and Robot Voices Star Wars
Frank Warner Sound Effects Editing Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1978 (51st) Les Bowie
Colin Chilvers
Denys Coop
Roy Field
Derek Meddings
Zoran Perisic
Visual Effects Superman
1979 (52nd) Alan Splet Sound Editing The Black Stallion
1980 (53rd) Brian Johnson
Richard Edlund
Dennis Muren
Bruce Nicholson
Visual Effects The Empire Strikes Back
1981 (54th) Ben Burtt
Richard L. Anderson
Sound Effects Editing Raiders of the Lost Ark
1983 (56th) Richard Edlund
Dennis Muren
Ken Ralston
Phil Tippett
Visual Effects Return of the Jedi
1984 (57th) Kay Rose Sound Effects Editing The River
1987 (60th) Stephen Hunter Flick
John Pospisil
RoboCop
1988 (61st) Richard Williams Animation Direction Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1990 (63rd) Eric Brevig
Rob Bottin
Tim McGovern
Alex Funke
Visual Effects Total Recall
1995 (68th) John Lasseter First Feature-Length Computer-Animated Film [2] [3] [4] Toy Story
2017 (90th) Alejandro González Iñárritu Virtual Reality Flesh and Sand

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Awards</span> Annual awards for cinematic achievements

The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States, in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry.

<i>Toy Story</i> 1995 Pixar film

Toy Story is a 1995 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the franchise of the same name, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar. It was directed by John Lasseter and produced by Bonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, from a screenplay written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow and a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft. The film features music by Randy Newman, and was executive-produced by Steve Jobs and Edwin Catmull. The film features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, and Erik von Detten.

The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is traditionally the final award of the night and is widely considered as the most prestigious honor of the ceremony.

The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.

The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Academy Award given to the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for film. Traditionally, three films have been nominated each year with exceptions in the early 1980s and 2002 when there were only two nominees; in 1999, when there were four nominees. Beginning with the 92nd Academy Awards, five films were nominated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Award for Best Animated Feature</span> Film category of the Oscars

The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for the best animated film. An animated feature is defined by the academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique, a significant number of the major characters are animated, and animation figures in no less than 75 percent of the running time. The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature was first awarded in 2002 for films released in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Award for Best Visual Effects</span> Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.

The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to Kukan and Target for Tonight. They have since been bestowed competitively each year, with the exception of 1946. Copies of every winning film are held by the Academy Film Archive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy Award for Best Original Score</span> Motion picture award for music

The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. Some pre-existing music is allowed, though, but a contending film must include a minimum of original music. This minimum since 2021 is established as 35% of the music, which is raised to 80% for sequels and franchise films. Fifteen scores are shortlisted before nominations are announced.

The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Since 2009, it has been presented at the separate annual Governors Awards rather than at the regular Academy Awards ceremony. The Honorary Award celebrates motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of competitive Academy Awards are not excluded from receiving the award.

<i>Toy Story 2</i> 1999 Pixar film

Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The second installment in the Toy Story franchise and the sequel to Toy Story (1995), it was directed by John Lasseter, co-directed by Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich, and produced by Helene Plotkin and Karen Robert Jackson, from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chris Webb, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, Brannon, and Pete Docter. In the film, Woody is stolen by a toy collector, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to rescue him, but Woody is then tempted by the idea of immortality in a museum. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf reprise their roles from the first Toy Story film and they are joined by Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Estelle Harris, Wayne Knight, and Jodi Benson, who play the new characters introduced in this film. This is the last Toy Story film to feature Varney as the voice of Slinky Dog before his death the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytime Emmy Awards</span> American TV award

The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Awards</span> Film award

The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributions to animation, the award has been given to individual works since 1992.

<i>Toy Story</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise created by Pixar

Toy Story is an American media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company. It centers on toys that, unknown to humans, are secretly living, sentient creatures. It began in 1995 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, which focuses on a diverse group of toys featuring a classic cowboy doll named Sheriff Woody and a modern spaceman action figure named Buzz Lightyear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Screen Awards</span> Canadian media awards

The Canadian Screen Awards are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media productions. Given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the awards recognize excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership.

References

  1. "We Need More Special Achievement Oscars to Honor What is Interesting in Cinema". 23 February 2014.
  2. "1995 Academy Awards". infoplease. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  3. King, Susan (September 30, 2015). "How 'Toy Story' changed the face of animation, taking off 'like an explosion'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  4. "Three Pixar execs get special Oscars". San Francisco Chronicle. February 1, 1996. Retrieved March 12, 2009.