Michael Lantieri (born August 13, 1954) is a

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

supervisor. Lantieri went to school in

Los Angeles 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 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with actor-director

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of '' The Twilight Zone''. ...

with the ambition to work in films as a director, which he had been interested in from a young age. However, he went to work in the special effects department of

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, with his first credited work being for '' Heartbeeps'' (1981), serving as a remote operator. His first collaboration with

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

was with ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action- adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and a s ...

'' (1989), where he served as a special effects supervisor. His work on '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986) garnered him his first awards nomination (shared with

Ken Ralston Kenneth Ralston (born 1954) is an American visual effects artist, currently the Visual Effect Supervisor and Creative Head at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Ralston began his career at the commercial animation and visual effects company, Cascade Pictur ...

) by the

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

. He received his first of five

Academy Award 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 ...

nominations with ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film '' Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ...

'' (1989). His work on ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' (1994) earning him an Academy Award. Lantieri has subsequently worked on each film of the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise, serving as under special dinosaur effects for all except ''

Jurassic Park III ''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American science fiction action film, written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor and directed by Joe Johnston. It is the third installment in the ''Jurassic Park'' franchise and the final fi ...

'', where he was credited as a consultant. One of his most famous films was ''

Mars Attacks! ''Mars Attacks!'' is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Burton, who also co-produced it with Larry J. Franco. The screenplay by Jonathan Gems was based on the Topps trading card series of the same name. The film featu ...

'' (1996) where he had the job of creating lifelike animations. Two years later, he directed his first and so far only film in ''

Komodo Komodo may refer to: Computers * Komodo Edit, a free text editor for dynamic programming languages * Komodo IDE an integrated development environment (IDE) for dynamic programming languages * Komodo (chess), a chess engine People * Komo ...

'' (1998). In addition, Lantieri also worked on '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006) and the ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with the ...

'' ride at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

along with effects for

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

s. In television, he has worked on '' The Last Tycoon'' (2016) and ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...

'' (2016-18) His work on the show earned him (alongside several others) a nomination and ensuing award win for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a series, miniseries, film, or special. Since the award ceremony of 1998, the category has been divided into Special V ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

for the episode "

The Bicameral Mind "The Bicameral Mind" is the tenth episode and the first season finale of the HBO science fiction western thriller television series '' Westworld''. The episode aired on December 4, 2016. It received positive reviews from critics, who cited Anth ...

". Unrelated to effects, Lantieri was also part of the destruction of the Steve Bartman baseball; when Grant DePorter bought the ball in late 2003, he tasked Lantieri to help detonate the ball publicly, which was done on February 26, 2004. The remains of the detonated ball are now at the Chicago Sports Museum.

References

External links

* Special effects people 1954 births Living people Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Best Visual Effects BAFTA Award winners {{film-bio-stub