Phil Tippett

Phil Tippett

Born: September 27, 1951
in Berkeley, California
Phil Tippett is an American filmmaker and multi-award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, specializing in creature design, stop-motion, and computerized character animation. Over his career, he has assisted ILM, DreamWorks, and his own company Tippet Studios, with his work appearing in movies such as the original Star Wars trilogy, Jurassic Park, and RoboCop.

Movies for Phil Tippett...

Yub-Nub! The Forgotten Ewok Adventures
Title: Yub-Nub! The Forgotten Ewok Adventures
Character: Self
Released: October 19, 2023
Type: Movie
Go behind the scenes of the forest moon of Endor, and discover unseen footage and thrilling stories from the undergrowth!
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Title: RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop
Character: Self
Released: August 28, 2023
Type: TV
An in-depth look into the ground breaking franchise and features new interviews with cast and crew.
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Jurassic Punk
Title: Jurassic Punk
Character: Self
Released: December 16, 2022
Type: Movie
Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams is a pioneer in computer animation. His digital dinosaurs of Jurassic Park transformed Hollywood in 1993, but an appetite for anarchy and reckless disregard for authority may have cost him the recognition he deserved.
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Slice!
Title: Slice!
Character: Phil
Released: October 10, 2022
Type: Movie
With 18 golf holes of terror, heads will surely roll.
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Title: Light & Magic
Character: Self - Creatures and Stop Motion
Released: July 27, 2022
Type: TV
Granted unparalleled access, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan takes viewers on an adventure behind the curtains of Industrial Light & Magic, the special visual effects, animation and virtual production division of Lucasfilm. Learn what inspired some of the most legendary filmmakers in Hollywood history, and follow their stories from their earliest personal films to bringing George Lucas’ vision to life.
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Title: Icons Unearthed: Star Wars
Character: Self - Miniature & Optical Effects Unit
Released: July 12, 2022
Type: TV
Marcia Lucas, Oscar-winning film editor and ex-wife of George Lucas, sits down for her first-ever on-camera interview and provides unique insight into the rise of LucasFilm — including her 14-year marriage to and eventual divorce from George Lucas — the editing of the original Star Wars trilogy, the origin of the idea that Darth Vader would be Luke’s father and if there were really originally plans for nine movies.
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In Search of Tomorrow
Title: In Search of Tomorrow
Character: Self - Interviewee
Released: February 19, 2022
Type: Movie
A nostalgic journey through ’80s Sci-Fi-films, exploring their impact and relevance today, told by the artist who made them and by those who were inspired to turn their visions into reality.
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Empire at 40
Title: Empire at 40
Character: Self
Released: May 29, 2020
Type: Movie
A special livestream conversation with effects legends Dennis Muren, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippett, and Lorne Peterson in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. ILM's VFX Supervisor Bill George will moderate the discussion.
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Star Wars : La Révolution Visuelle
Title: Star Wars : La Révolution Visuelle
Released: May 4, 2020
Type: Movie
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Making Magic: The Artistry of Karel Zeman
Title: Making Magic: The Artistry of Karel Zeman
Released: February 20, 2020
Type: Movie
In this conversation, filmed by the Criterion Collection in 2019, animator and visual-effects supervisor Phil Tippett and visual-effects artist Jim Aupperle discuss their appreciation for director Karel Zeman and his cinematic techniques.
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Title: The Movies That Made Us
Character: Self
Released: November 29, 2019
Type: TV
These blockbusters brought us together and gave us the time of our lives. Meet the actors, directors and industry insiders who made them happen.
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Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters
Title: Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters
Character: Self
Released: September 14, 2019
Type: Movie
An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.
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The Creative Brain
Title: The Creative Brain
Character: Self
Released: April 15, 2019
Type: Movie
Neuroscientist David Eagleman taps into the creative process of various inventors, while exploring brain-bending, risk-taking ways to spark creativity
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The Secrets of Sinbad: Phil Tippett on Ray Harryhausen
Title: The Secrets of Sinbad: Phil Tippett on Ray Harryhausen
Character: Himself
Released: June 26, 2017
Type: Movie
Visual effects experts Phil Tippett discusses the legacy of Ray Harryhausen.
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Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
Title: Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
Character: Self
Released: April 16, 2016
Type: Movie
An inside look at the making of the movie Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), featuring footage and exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers.
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My Life In Monsters
Title: My Life In Monsters
Character: Himself
Released: December 22, 2015
Type: Movie
Phil Tippett is the Oscar-winning stop-motion animator and designer behind some of the greatest fantasy creatures and sci-fi set pieces in cinema history. From his humble beginnings as an alien patron in the iconic Cantina sequence from 'Star Wars: A New Hope', to pioneering stop-motion techniques used throughout 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi', to seamlessly merging practical animation and CGI in Jurassic Park and beyond. In 'My Life in Monsters', VICE chronicles Tippett's legendary life work, illustrating the process behind his greatest creations, the emotional hardships of transitioning into Hollywood's digital revolution, and completing his return-to-form, stop-motion opus with the brutal, dystopian 'Mad God'.
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Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
Title: Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
Character: Himself
Released: November 18, 2015
Type: Movie
The Frankenstein Complex takes a historical as well as a creative perspective, with a mix of fascinating scenes behind the camera, film clips, and dozens of interviews with all the big names in the industry. In addition to the many wonderful anecdotes, the film also offers a wealth of beautiful test material, while along the way showing how the art of filmmaking has changed over the years. An affectionate ode to monster makers throughout history.
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Title: The Real History of Science Fiction
Character: Self
Released: April 19, 2014
Type: TV
The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.
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Worse Than the Demon
Title: Worse Than the Demon
Character: himself
Released: January 1, 2013
Type: Movie
A short documentary following artist Phil Tippett, as he turns away from the commercial successes of Hollywood and delves into his 35-year-long passion project MAD GOD. Created as her undergrad thesis by Maya Tippett, the subject's daughter, the film chronicles Phil's journey as an artist as he commits himself to the subterranean stop-motion world of monsters, demons and mad scientists.
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Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Title: Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan
Character: Self
Released: November 27, 2011
Type: Movie
There’s only one person who so accurately personifies movie magic in the history of film, and that man is special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. Focusing on the man behind the landmark effects on films like Clash Of The Titans, One Million Years B.C., Jason And The Argonauts and many more, this in-depth film features interviews with the great man himself, and with an array of animators and directors influenced by his work including Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. The film also features unseen footage of tests and experiments recently uncovered.
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Return to Jurassic Park
Title: Return to Jurassic Park
Character: Self
Released: February 5, 2011
Type: Movie
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the hurricane during the shooting of the first film, and how advances in CGI for Jurassic Park helped change the world of special effects forever. All interviews for these retrospective documentaries come with comments from Spielberg, Johnston, Neill, Dern, Goldblum, the effects crews, the child actors, and Peter Stormare. This documentary is broken into six parts: Dawn of a New Era (25 min), Making Prehistory (20 min), The Next Step in Evolution (15 min), Finding the Lost World (28 min), Something Survived (16 min), and The Third Adventure (25 min).
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Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
Title: Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
Character: Self
Released: October 23, 2007
Type: Movie
This documentary about "2001: A Space Odyssey" looks at some of the things that seemed fanciful in 1968, which don't seem quite as much anymore.
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Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
Title: Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
Character: Self
Released: November 14, 2006
Type: Movie
A documentary about the making of, and legacy of, the Forbidden Planet movie.
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American Scary
Title: American Scary
Character: Himself
Released: October 21, 2006
Type: Movie
A fond remembrance of and tribute to the uniquely American institution of the horror movie host.
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The Sci-Fi Boys
Title: The Sci-Fi Boys
Character: Self
Released: April 27, 2006
Type: Movie
Legendary all-stars of cinema bring to life the evolution of science-fiction and special effects films from the wild and funny days of B-movies to blockbusters that have captured the world's imagination. This is the story of the Sci-Fi Boys, who started out as kids making amateur movies inspired by Forrest J Ackerman's FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine and grew up to take Hollywood by storm, inventing the art and technology for filming anything the mind can dream.
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Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Title: Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Character: Self
Released: September 12, 2004
Type: Movie
From the earliest versions of the script to the blockbuster debuts, explore the creation of the Star Wars Trilogy.
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Flesh + Steel: The Making of 'RoboCop'
Title: Flesh + Steel: The Making of 'RoboCop'
Character: Himself
Released: October 2, 2001
Type: Movie
A look behind the scenes at the making of this science fiction classic about a policeman killed in the line of duty, only to be reborn as a half-man, half-machine supercop. Includes interviews with star Peter Weller and director Paul Verhoeven, who give their views on the efforts that went into making the film.
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The Making of 'DragonHeart'
Title: The Making of 'DragonHeart'
Character: Self
Released: January 14, 1997
Type: Movie
This documentary was first released on the laserdisc for DragonHeart, and was then re-released on both the Collector's Edition and Franchise Collection DVDs.
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The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
Title: The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
Character: Self
Released: April 23, 1995
Type: Movie
This documentary treats film fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Jurassic Park," one of the 90's biggest hits and a milestone in special effects development. Narrated by James Earl Jones, it includes footage of the filming process, as well as interviews with director Steven Spielberg, and other members of the cast and crew, who give their insights into what it was like working together on this project and the efforts it took to bring the film to completion.
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Willow: The Making of an Adventure
Title: Willow: The Making of an Adventure
Character: Self - Visual Effects
Released: April 26, 1988
Type: Movie
A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the film Willow (1988). Included are interviews with cast and crew and scenes of the actual filming of the production itself.
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From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Title: From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
Character: Self
Released: December 3, 1983
Type: Movie
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga is a 1983 television documentary special that originally aired on PBS. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the original Star Wars trilogy, with particular emphasis on the final film, Return of the Jedi. Narrated by actor Mark Hamill, the documentary was written by Richard Schickel who had written the previous television documentaries The Making of Star Wars (1977) and SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
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Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi
Title: Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi
Character: Self
Released: November 21, 1983
Type: Movie
Go behind the scenes — and into the costumes — as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film.
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Return of the Jedi
Title: Return of the Jedi
Character: Rancor
Released: May 25, 1983
Type: Movie
Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, while the Emperor seeks to destroy the Rebellion once and for all with a second dreaded Death Star.
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The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
Title: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
Character: Self
Released: September 22, 1980
Type: Movie
Even the most devout Star Wars fan might not know that filmmaker and journalist Michel Parbot was once given unprecedented access to the set, stars, and filmmakers behind The Empire Strikes Back. The resulting work, The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, has apparently never been commercially released. Most of the footage has been lost, but 15 minutes has circulated online in recent years. Now, the 1 hour cut of Michel Parbot’s lost documentary has been found.
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Piranha
Title: Piranha
Character: Scuba Diver (uncredited)
Released: August 3, 1978
Type: Movie
When flesh-eating piranhas are accidently released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
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Star Wars
Title: Star Wars
Character: Cantina Alien (uncredited)
Released: May 25, 1977
Type: Movie
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
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Virus: Ghost in the Machine
Title: Virus: Ghost in the Machine
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
A look behind the scenes: making the 1999 film Virus
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Inside the Federation
Title: Inside the Federation
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
The 30-minute long featurette "Inside the Federation" mirrors the commentary, with a look at the challenges faced in the filmmaking process with such a limited budget, and how some of the visual effects were handled.