Dennis Muren Biography (1946-)

Full name, Dennis E. Muren; born November 1, 1946, in Glendale, CA; son of Elmer Ernest and Charline Louise (maiden name, Clayton) Muren; married Zara Pinfold, August 29, 1981; children: Gregory, Gwendolen. Addresses: Office: Industrial Light & Magic, P.O. Box 2459, San Rafael, CA 94912.; Contact: c/o American Society of Cinematographers, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Visual effects director, supervisor, special effects director and supervisor, producer, creative advisor, director, and actor
Birth Details: November 1, 1946; Glendale, California, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Associate producer, special effects, and (uncredited) director, Equinox (also known as The Beast), VIP, 1970
Effects photographer, The Solar System: Islands in Space, 1972
(Uncredited) Effects technician, Flesh Gordon, 1972
Mothership photographer, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Columbia, 1977
Second cameraman: miniature and optical effects unit, Star Wars (also known as Star Wars IV: A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode IV--ANew Hope), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1977
Special effects photographer, Battlestar Galactica, Universal, 1978
Miniature and optical effects photographer and effects director of photography, The Empire Strikes Back (also known as Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back),Fox, 1980
Miniature and optical effects supervisor, Dragonslayer, Paramount,1981
Rocket effects consultant, Rocketship X-M, 1982, revised version (also known as Expedition Moon, 1950)
Visual effects supervisor, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (also knownas A Boy's Life, E.T. and Me, E.T., and Night Skies), Universal, 1982
Visual effects, Return of the Jedi (also known as Revenge of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars: Episode VI: Revenge of the Jedi), Warner Bros., 1983
Visual effects supervisor, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (also known as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death), Paramount, 1984
Visual effects supervisor, Young Sherlock Holmes (also known as Pyramid of Fear), Paramount, 1985
Visual effects supervisor, Captain Eo, Walt Disney Productions, 1986
(Uncredited) Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects supervisor, Star Tours, Industrial Light & Magic, 1987
Visual effects supervisor, Innerspace, Warner Bros., 1987
Additional optical effects, Empire of the Sun, Warner Bros., 1987
Special visual effects, Willow, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1988
Visual effects supervisor, Ghostbusters II, Columbia, 1989

ILM visual effects supervisor: special edition and additional wave composites (special edition restoration) The Abyss, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1989
ILM visual effects supervisor, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (also known as T2 and T2-Terminator 2: Judgment Day), TriStar, 1991
Full-motion dinosaur creator and ILM visual effects supervisor, Jurassic Park (also known as JP), Universal, 1993
Time Machine restoration crew, Time Machine: The Journey Back, 1993
Digital character supervision, Casper, United International Pictures, 1995
Visual effects creative advisor, Mission: Impossible (also known as Mission Impossible), Paramount, 1996
Creative advisor, Twister, Warner Bros., 1996
Visual effects creative advisor, Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition, 1997
Full motion dinosaurs, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (also known as Jurassic Park 2 and The Lost World), Universal, 1997
Creative advisor and special visual effects, Deconstructing Harry(also known as Woody Allen Fall Project), Fine Line, 1997
Senior visual effects supervisor, Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace (also known as Star Wars: Episode I, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, and The Phantom Menace), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1999
Visual effects supervisor, Artificial Intelligence: AI (also knownas A.I. Artificial Intelligence), Warner Bros., 2001
Visual effects supervisor, Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones (also known as Star Wars II), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2002
Film Appearances
(Uncredited) Nazi spy on the airplane, Raiders of the Lost Ark (also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark), 1981
Himself, The Making of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1998
Himself, From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking, 2001
Television Work
Movies
Special effects, The Ewok Adventure (also known as Caravan of Courage and Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure), ABC, 1985
Television Appearances
Specials
"George Lucas: Heroes, Myths, and Magic," American Masters, PBS, 1993
Interviewee, Masters of Fantasy: Industrial Light & Magic, Sci-Fi Channel, 1998
Himself, Special Effects: Anything Can Happen (also known as Special Effects), NOVA/WGBH Boston, 1996
Himself, The Harryhausen Chronicles, AMC, 1998
Himself, Ray Harryhausen: Working with Dinosaurs, Channel 4, 1999
Episodic
Appeared in an episode of Cinema Secrets, AMC.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 4: Writers and Production Artists, St. James Press, 1996
1997 Current Biography Yearbook, Gale, 1997

Periodicals

American Cinematographer, June, 1993, pp. 46-52; July, 1993
Boys' Life, August, 1997, p. 48
Omni, November, 1993, p. 91

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