Eileen Moran (January 23, 1952 – December 3, 2012) was an American

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

producer and former executive producer at Weta Digital. Moran was born in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, on January 23, 1952, was raised

Lindenhurst, New York Lindenhurst is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the southern shore of Long Island in the town of Babylon. The population was 27,253 at the 2010 census. The village is officially known as the Incorporated Village of Lin ...

, on Long Island. She attended the State University of New York at New Paltz with the initial goal of becoming an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Her classmates at SUNY New Paltz included actor

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

. After graduating from SUNY New Paltz, Moran appeared in off-Broadway productions while living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Her career path changed when she was hired as a

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

, which eventually led to her promotion to

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

. Moran moved from New York City to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where pursued an interest in music and worked for film director,

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

. She was hired by

Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...

, a special effects firm founded and owned by film director, James Cameron. Moran received industry buzz for her digital effects work on two

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

television commercials featuring

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s, the

Budweiser Frogs The Budweiser Frogs are three lifelike puppet frogs named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American television commercials for Budweiser beer during Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. Adweek called it one of the "most iconic alcohol campaig ...

, and lizards. In 2001, Moran left

and took a position at Weta Digital, the digital effects company based in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, which had been founded by Peter Jackson. In 2005, Moran won her first Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture from the

Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and ...

for her work on Peter Jackson's ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''. Moran led the Weta Digital effects team which worked on James Cameron's ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

'', released in 2009. Moran and her team won the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture for their work on ''Avatar'' in 2009. She also received a Visual Effects Society Award nomination for her work on Steven Spielberg's '' The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn''. Her film credits included work on ''

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...

'', '' Lake Placid'', and ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film ''Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, ...

'', all released in 1999; ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup (compilation) novel of science fiction short stories or essays by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines ''Super Science Stories'' and '' Astounding Science Fiction'' be ...

'' in 2004; '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' in 2006; ''

Eragon ''Eragon'' is the first book in ''The Inheritance Cycle'' by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for a ...

'' in 2006; '' Bridge to Terabithia'', '' Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer'', '' 30 Days of Night'', and ''

The Water Horse ''The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep'' (stylised on-screen as simply ''The Water Horse'') is a 2007 fantasy drama film directed by Jay Russell and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, based on Dick King-Smith's children's novel ''The Water Horse'' ...

'' all released in 2007; ''

Jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United State ...

'', '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' and ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Re ...

'', all released in 2008; ''

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zea ...

'' and ''

The Lovely Bones ''The Lovely Bones'' is a 2002 novel by American writer Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while sh ...

'' in 2009; ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...

'' in 2010; ''

Rise of the Planet of the Apes ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film franchise, which is based on the 1963 nov ...

'' in 2011; and ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...

'' in 2012. Moran served as a co-producer for the 2012 Peter Jackson film, '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey''. She was unable to attend the film's premiere on November 28, 2012, in New Zealand due to poor health. Eileen Moran died from cancer in Wellington, New Zealand on December 3, 2012, at the age of 60. She was survived by her children, Jack and Ava; her father, John G. Moran; and her three sisters - Janet Hamill, Patty Matthes and Jackie Meyer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moran, Eileen 1952 births 2012 deaths Visual effects supervisors Visual effects artists State University of New York at New Paltz alumni American expatriates in New Zealand People from Lindenhurst, New York Businesspeople from New York City People from Los Angeles 20th-century American businesspeople