The London section of the Visual Effects Society announced that visual effects supervisor Steve Begg will receive the Vanguard Award for leadership and the advancement of visual effects in the U.K. at the inaugural U.K. Visual Effects Society awards March 17 in London. Actor Jim Broadbent will receive the Inspiration Award for promoting awareness of visual effects through his body of work. Highlights of the 14th Annual VES Awards held in Los Angeles will also be shown.
2016 marks Steve Begg’s 30th year in the business having started his career working on models and miniatures on Aliens and Batman. Born in Edinburgh, Begg is active in promoting U.K. filmmaking and recently petitioned the Scottish government to build a film studio in Scotland in order to provide production facilities to projects considering filming in Scotland. He has also contributed to U.K. cinema through his work on the James Bond franchise, including Casino Royale, Spectre and Skyfall.
Broadbent’s body of work spans four decades with close to 150 films under his belt. He has been honored with 22 awards and 46 nominations, including Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, International Emmy, Royal Television Society, London Critics Circle Film Awards (ALFS) and Screen Actors Guild awards. He has starred in many visual effects-driven and animated films such as Paddington, Cloud Atlas, Arthur Christmas, The Chronicles of Narnia, Moulin Rouge and as Professor Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter franchise.
“The U.K. VES Awards are inspired by the fact that the biggest box office hits of all time are visual effects-driven, yet very few know who the artists are,” said VES U.K. chair, Brooke Lyndon-Stanford. “We want to highlight these achievements and give the stars of VFX worldwide recognition.”
