David Randall Thom (born August 21, 1951) is an American

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

and the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound.

Career

Randy Thom began working at FM radio station WYSO at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a volunteer in 1970. After two years he became the station's Program Director, produced a live music show he called “Live Music Crawlin’ Out Your Radio,” and did pieces for NPR’s “All Things Considered.” In 1975 he moved to Berkeley, California and began working with Erik Bauersfeld at KPFA Radio producing radio plays. Thom started his film career with a phone call to Walter Murch, who invited him to visit a re-mix of ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

''. Thom introduced himself to

Walter Murch Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. With a career stretching back to 1969, including work on '' THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', ''Am ...

Ben Burtt Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...

, and Mark Berger, and said he had been working for a radio station in Berkeley, and wanted to work in film sound."2010 CAS Career Achievement Speech
At the end of the day Murch asked him to write an essay about what he had seen during the visit. A few weeks later Murch hired Randy to work on ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...

''. His second film sound job would prove to be a strong turn in his career, as he assisted Ben Burtt in the Sound Effects Recording for ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a stor ...

''. In February 2010, Thom was honored with the

Cinema Audio Society The Cinema Audio Society Awards are an annual awards ceremony given by the Cinema Audio Society that honor outstanding achievements in sound mixing. These awards have been presented by the Cinema Audio Society since 1994. The competition is open ...

Career Achievement Award The Career Achievement Award, also referred to as the Career Achievement Medal, is an award of the Volcanology and Igneous Petrology Division of the Geological Association of Canada. First awarded in 1993, it is given to scientists "in recognition o ...

. The Award was presented by Thom's long time client and friend, Robert Zemeckis. Thom received the prestigious MPSE Career Achievement Award at the 2014 Golden Reel Awards Gala in Los Angeles. The Award was presented by George Lucas. Thom has been nominated for fifteen Oscars and has received two. One for “The Right Stuff,” and one for “The Incredibles. He has also received a British Academy Award for “The Revenant,” and a French Academy Award for “Le Chant de Loup.”

Filmography

Awards

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

* 2005 – Best Sound Editing, ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah ...

'' *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

– Best Sound, '' The Right Stuff''

Nominations

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

– Best Sound Mixing, '' The Revenant'' *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

– Best Sound, ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' * 2008 – Best Sound Editing, ''Ratatouille'' * 2005 – Best Sound Editing, ''

The Polar Express ''The Polar Express'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detai ...

'' * 2005 – Best Sound Mixing, ''The Polar Express'' * 2005 – Best Sound Mixing, ''

'' * 2001 – Best Sound Mixing, ''

Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...

'' *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

– Best Sound Mixing, '' Contact'' *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

– Best Sound Effects Editing, '' Forrest Gump'' * 1995 – Best Sound, ''Forrest Gump'' * 1992 – Best Sound, ''

Backdraft A backdraft ( North American English) or backdraught (British English) is the abrupt burning of superheated gasses in a fire, caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a window or door to an enclosed ...

'' * 1984 – Best Sound, '' Never Cry Wolf'' * 1984 – Best Sound, ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA)

- Best Sound, ''The Revenant''

French Academy Awards (César)

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

- Best Sound, '' The Wolf's Call''

Honorary awards

* 2010 Cinema Audio Society Career Achievement Honoree. *2014 Motion Picture Sound Editors Career Achievement Honoree *Honorary Doctorate from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

References

External links

Randy Thom
at Skywalker Sound * * https://randythomblog.wordpress.com/ (Randy Thom's blog) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Randy 1951 births Living people American sound editors Animal impersonators Best Sound BAFTA Award winners Best Sound Editing Academy Award winners Best Sound Mixing Academy Award winners CAS Career Achievement Award honorees Lucasfilm people People from Shreveport, Louisiana Pixar people American sound designers Blue Sky Studios people