Person
John Nelson
Visual Effects · Born 1959-07-21 · Detroit, Michigan, USA
Biography
John Nelson (born July 21, 1953) is an American visual effects supervisor. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for his work on the films Gladiator (2000) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He has also been nominated for I, Robot (2004) and Iron Man (2008). He also won the 2018 British Academy of Film and Television Arts for the Special Visual Effects in Blade Runner 2049. After graduating with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1976, he worked as a cameraman, technical director, and director at the pioneering computer animation and commercial production company Robert Abel and Associates, where he won two Clio awards and earned six additional Clio nominations. Early in his career while at ILM, Nelson modelled, animated, lit, and composited several shots for Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), including the iconic scene in which the shotgunned head of the chrome terminator splits open and reseals. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Visual Effects Society, the International Cinematographers Guild, and the Directors Guild of America. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Nelson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for

Iron Man
Visual Effects Supervisor

Gladiator
Visual Effects Supervisor

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
CG Animator

Blade Runner 2049
Visual Effects Supervisor

The Residence
Visual Effects Supervisor

I, Robot
Visual Effects Supervisor

Anaconda
Visual Effects Supervisor

Point Break
Visual Effects Supervisor

City of Angels
Visual Effects Supervisor

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Visual Effects Supervisor
Filmography
- 2025Hurry Up TomorrowVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2025The ResidenceVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2017Blade Runner 2049Visual Effects Supervisor
- 2015Point BreakVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2015BlackhatVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2010The Sorcerer's ApprenticeVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2008I Am 'Iron Man'Self
- 2008Iron ManVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2005Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator'Self
- 2004I, RobotVisual Effects Supervisor
- 2000Gladiator Games: The Roman BloodsportSelf
- 2000GladiatorVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1998City of AngelsVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1997AnacondaVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1996The Cable GuyVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1993My LifeVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1992Stay TunedVisual Effects Supervisor
- 1991Terminator 2: Judgment DayCG Animator
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