A very young and eager Joe Viskocil was hired in 1975
by director George Lucas to work on a film project. Joe, along with other special effects artists, was asked to create things
that no one had ever seen before, and to do it from scratch. It took over a year of tedious work, but in the end, if not for
Joe Viskocil, Luke Skywalker would not have been able to destroy the Death Star in the climactic ending sequence of STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE.
That is because it was Joe who actually produced the blast effect a year before any audience member would see it. Using models,
Joe Viskocil created that spectacular explosion that has earned a permanent place in the memories of many fans. His successful
work on STAR WARS gave Joe another chance to work with Lucas on STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Examples of his stunning achievements can be seen in the Imperial AT-AT
invasion of the rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. Though the actual height of the AT-AT models was only 2 feet, Joe skillfully
created the on-screen illusion of the immense size of the imperial walkers, making them appear 200 feet tall to an unsuspecting
audience. Joe's successful work on the original trilogy has allowed him to open his own fully-working special effects
shop in Hollywood. Joe and his company have been hired to create the fantastic destructive explosions seen in TERMINATOR, TRUE LIES, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE and GODZILLA . He won
an Academy Award for his accomplishments in INDEPENDENCE DAY. Other films on Joe's
resume include in the thriller THE PANIC ROOM and STAR
TREK NEMESIS.
Joe preps some explosives for the opening shot of STAR WARS
Sure, Luke blew up the Death Star...BUT not without Joe's help!
Lucky guy! Joe is back on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, seen here prepping an ATAT to blow up!
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This site was last updated at 2:00 PM MARCH 9, 2010
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