Dennis Muren

"I came from the old school of special effects. Prior to Star Wars, everything was based around what you could do with your idea for a shot—you could not get the money to build anything too complex. The reason for that is simple. People were not making sci-fi movies much before Star Wars."

―Dennis Muren

Dennis Muren (born November 1, 1946) is a special effects artist who worked on the first five Star Wars films and the original Star Tours. He is also one of the members of the Intellectual Property Development Group.

Muren won six Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Innerspace, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park. On June 3, 1999, Muren received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Biography

Muren (left) poses with Phil Tippett and Mike Pangrazio between two of the latter's matte paintings.

Shortly after getting his associate degree in business, Muren was hired at ILM in 1976 to work on George Lucas's upcoming film, Star Wars.

For his contribution to Star Wars, Muren won two Special Achievement Awards for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Sources

• Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (2nd cameraman)
•  "Star Wars 10th Anniversary Convention!!" – The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 1
•  "Inside ILM: Creating the Magic of Willow" – The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 4
• The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
• Star Wars: Chronicles (Picture only)
• Dennis Muren on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Reach for the Stars! on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Star News" – Star Wars Insider 45
• "The Magic of Muren" – Star Wars Insider 104
• "My Star Wars" – Star Wars Insider 137
• Interview: Dennis Muren on Return of the Jedi on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• "Dennis Muren: Effects Visionary" – Star Wars Insider 144
• Dennis Muren Interview: The Return of the Jedi Effects Challenge on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Dennis Muren Interview: Creating Thoughtful Effects in Return of the Jedi on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Dennis Muren Interview: Effects by Location on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Dennis Muren Interview: The Endor Forest on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Dennis Muren Interview: The Rancor on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• "Back on Set!" – Star Wars Insider 160
• Chewbacca Mom, Rogue One Character Reveal, A Star Wars Birthday Party | The Star Wars Show on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Dennis Muren, Star Wars Table Top Games, and Star Wars Fan Film Awards News | The Star Wars Show on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• "200 Reasons Why We Love Star Wars" – Star Wars Insider 200
• Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: The Official Collector's Edition
• "Launchpad" – Star Wars Insider 203
• Clones at 20 | Rob Coleman on Bringing Yoda, Dexter Jettster, and More to Digital Life on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• SWCA 2022: 6 Things We Learned From the Light & Magic Panel on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• SWCA 2022: 5 Creative Lessons Behind the Making of Star Tours on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• Light & Magic | Official Trailer | Disney+ on the official ILMVFX YouTube channel (backup link)
• Light & Magic Trailer, Official Poster Debut on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi Dark Side Props, Emmy Nominations, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
• Light & Magic Is Here! on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)

External links

• Dennis Muren on Wikipedia
• Dennis Muren at the Internet Movie Database

In other languages

• Deutsch
• русский