Joseph Viskocil (December 21, 1952 – August 11, 2014) was an American special effects artist who had over 80 film credits from 1974 to 2014. He created special effects for some of the most famous movie franchises and was awarded an Academy Award for his work on Independence Day (1996).
Career In 1977, Viskocil assisted John Dykstra and George Lucas in creating the pyrotechnics for Star Wars, including the explosion of the Death Star at the film's climax. In 1980, he returned to create pyrotechnics for The Empire Strikes Back. For the next three decades, he worked on films from the most famous franchises, including Ghostbusters, Batman and Star Trek.
After serving as pyrotechnics supervisor for the 1996 film Independence Day, Viskocil was awarded the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects alongside Volker Engel, Douglas Smith and Clay Pinney at the 69th Academy Awards. Viskocil and miniature supervisor Mike Joyce were responsible for the creation of a 15-foot-wide, 5-foot-high (4.57 metres by 1.52 metres) miniature of the White House, built for destruction during the film.
Style In the 1990s, Viskocil opposed using computer-generated imagery in the creation of some special effects:
Following the September 11 attacks, Viskocil expressed guilt over making the explosions in Independence Day appear lifelike, saying "I started thinking maybe I did my job too well, and it might have been the nucleus of an idea for someone to say: ‘Hey, let’s crash a plane into the White House.’"
Personal life Viskocil died on August 11, 2014, in Los Angeles from complications of liver and heart failure.
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes 1977 Star Wars 1980 The Empire Strikes Back 1984 Ghostbusters 1984 The Terminator 1985 The Return of the Living Dead 1987 Masters of the Universe 1988 Killer Klowns From Outer Space 1989 The Abyss 1991 Barton Fink 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1992 Batman Returns 1994 True Lies 1995 Apollo 13 1995 Johnny Mnemonic 1996 Independence Day Pyrotechnics supervisor 1997 Alien Resurrection 1997 Volcano 2000 Battlefield Earth 2002 Panic Room 2002 Star Trek: Nemesis 2004 Team America: World Police Pyrotechnics supervisor 2011 Source Code 2022 The Prey: Legend of the KarnoctusPosthumous release
Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1996 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Independence Day 2017 Visual Effects Society Hall of Fame
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