Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

As a child, acclaimed animator and filmmaker Phil Tippett marveled at the mighty beasts created by stop-motion maverick Ray Harryhausen in films like The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Obsessed with the craft, the Berkeley native became an apprentice in his teens, and later got his break when George Lucas hired him to work on the original Star Wars trilogy, including the first film’s now-legendary cantina scene. He went on to create Return of the Jedi's iconic Jabba the Hutt, for which he earned his first Oscar®. With his wife Jules Roman, he formed Tippett Studio, making his own short films (including the Mad God series, a staple at MVFF) while continuing his Hollywood work in blockbusters like RoboCop, Starship Troopers, and Jurassic Park, where he made the transition to computer-generated imagery. Featuring extensive interviews with Tippett and his collaborators—including directors Joe Dante and Paul Verhoeven—this enlightening portrait celebrates the man behind contemporary cinema's most memorable monsters.