Academy Award Nominee to Speak at the UA
John C. Kilkenny, executive vice president of Twentieth Century Fox, will speak about science in the movies.
John C. Kilkenny, who attended The University of Arizona in the 1980s and is now the executive vice president of Twentieth Century Fox, will be on campus talking about how dreamlike sequences become visual realities in film.
His presentation is one of several on-campus events celebrating the UA's role in the Phoenix Mars Mission, the first a public university is leading to the planet.
Kilkenny leads the studioâs visual effects department â his team is currently working on the upcoming film âAvatarâ â and will talk about the working relationship visual artists and filmmakers sometime have with scientists.
âHe will be talking about how the world of science and entertainment come together,â said Victoria Westover, program director for the UAâs Jack and Vivian Hanson Film Institute, which is presenting the Jan. 31 talk. âSometimes, they have to consult scientists on ways to make films more entertaining.â
But his work has not been strictly focused on science fiction.
Kilkenny has been the visual effects producer for films that include âNight at the Museum,â âLive Free or Die Hardâ and âFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.â He earned an Academy Award nomination in 2004 for his work on âI, Robot.â
While in Tucson, Kilkenny, who also serves on the Hanson Film Institute Industry Council, will speak to students in the School of Media Arts about the film industry, working in Hollywood and his career path.
His public lecture, âProducing Special Effects in Science Fiction Movies,â is free. Audience members will also have a chance to ask him questions. The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow at 5 p.m., both at the UAâs Meinel Optical Sciences Building.
âThe institute is cross-collaborative, and weâre delighted to be doing something with the College of Science,â Westover said. âWe thought we could attract more science students.â
Extra info
What
"Producing Special Effects in Science Fiction Movies"Where
Meinel Optical Sciences Building, 1630 E. University Blvd.When
Jan. 31, 4 p.m.Share
Resources for the media
Victoria Westover
Jack and Vivian Hanson Film Institute
520-626-9825
Trending Stories
University of Arizona in the News