Matt Sweeney, a pioneering special effects artist who was Oscar-nominated for his work on Ron Howard’s 1995 space epic Apollo 13, died February 19 of lung cancer at Burbank’s Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. He was 75.
His death was announced by the Alliance of Special Effects & Pyrotechnic Operators board of directors. Sweeney was a founder and past president of the trade organization.
“A special effects guru, industry legend, Asepo founding member and past president, recipient of three technical achievement awards, and Oscar nominee, Matt is well recognized for his generous spirit and deep love of his craft,” the board said in a statement posted on social media. “He etched his marks on this crazy business in so many ways that will persist long after all of us are gone. He never quit, even after his retirement.”
Sweeney, whose roster of special effects credits stretches back to such 1980s hits as 9 to 5, The Goonies,...
His death was announced by the Alliance of Special Effects & Pyrotechnic Operators board of directors. Sweeney was a founder and past president of the trade organization.
“A special effects guru, industry legend, Asepo founding member and past president, recipient of three technical achievement awards, and Oscar nominee, Matt is well recognized for his generous spirit and deep love of his craft,” the board said in a statement posted on social media. “He etched his marks on this crazy business in so many ways that will persist long after all of us are gone. He never quit, even after his retirement.”
Sweeney, whose roster of special effects credits stretches back to such 1980s hits as 9 to 5, The Goonies,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Matt Sweeney, the inventor and special effects artist who received an Oscar nomination for his work on Apollo 13 and three Technical Achievement Awards during his long career, has died. He was 75.
Sweeney died Monday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a long battle with lung cancer, Dave Burle, who worked alongside Sweeney at his company for many years, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Sweeney also handled effects for films in the Lethal Weapon and Fast & Furious franchise and for 1941 (1979), 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Goonies (1985), The Color Purple (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), Arachnophobia (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994) and Galaxy Quest (1999), among many other movies.
Sweeney won his Technical Achievement Awards in 1987 for an Automatic Capsule Gun, which simulates bullet hits and is known as the “Sweeney Gun”; in 1998 for a Liquid Synthetic Air system, which mixes liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to produce safe,...
Sweeney died Monday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a long battle with lung cancer, Dave Burle, who worked alongside Sweeney at his company for many years, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Sweeney also handled effects for films in the Lethal Weapon and Fast & Furious franchise and for 1941 (1979), 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Goonies (1985), The Color Purple (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), Arachnophobia (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994) and Galaxy Quest (1999), among many other movies.
Sweeney won his Technical Achievement Awards in 1987 for an Automatic Capsule Gun, which simulates bullet hits and is known as the “Sweeney Gun”; in 1998 for a Liquid Synthetic Air system, which mixes liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to produce safe,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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