Movies

Q&A with Wakanda Forever Actress and Forever Buff Aba Arthur

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 20:26:06 +0000

Q&A with Wakanda Forever Actress and Forever Buff Aba Arthur Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/19/2022 - 13:26

Christie Sounart

Aba Arthur (PolSci, Thtr’05) of Atlanta is a performer, writer and owner of production company The Ohemaa Project. She caught her big break with her role as a naval engineer in charge of a ship in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Arthur filmed her role in October 2021 but shot into the spotlight a year later with the Nov. 11 release of the blockbuster, which spent five weeks at No. 1 in the box office and grossed more than $400 million in that time frame. Next year, catch her in the Oprah Winfrey-adapted film The Color Purple. Here she discusses her time at CU Boulder, choosing joy and, of course, Wakanda.

What brought you to CU Boulder?

I grew up in Colorado Springs, so I was a Colorado local. I have a sister [Ahoba Arthur (Comm’02)] who was a senior at the time. With that and in-state tuition, it seemed like the best idea. I didn't want to go to college, though, in general. I was ready to go to LA. So I was a little bit reluctant, but it was one of the best decisions of my life.

What were some of your favorite memories while at CU?

I lived in Farrand Hall, and I lived in Will Vill. And then I moved off campus my junior year. But there's so many memories — football games are some of my favorites. The gathering of friends and just going and having a blast. That's also where you get a chance to meet other students you wouldn't normally come in contact with. Also — welcome, Coach Prime! Can we throw that in there?

I served in the Black Student Alliance and the African Student Association. We used to have so many events. A lot of those memories have stayed with me.

Talk about BAM!, the dance group you started on campus.

A good girlfriend of mine, Stephanie King-Thompson (EthnSt, MA’07), and I were freshmen at the same time and we were both dancers. During our first semester, we were talking about what we wanted to do. We both had an itch to dance, but because that was not our field, we wanted it to be something that was extracurricular. We decided to start something on our own.

We didn't really know what to expect, but wow, it far exceeded our expectations. We had what I thought was going to be a random audition for a couple of people, and I ended up seeing the most talented people, some of whom I still know today. We performed at basketball games and so many other events — anywhere we had the opportunity to dance, we were there. We made our own outfits. It was so cool.

Aba Arthur on the set of Wakanda Forever.

In addition to performing, you also love writing. What are your favorite aspects of writing?

I took a summer class at CU that actually changed my life — and probably changed my writing style. We were instructed to not take the pen off of the paper for an hour. So we would go outside into nature, and literally the instruction was just to write. Even if what you're writing is, ‘I think this is stupid, I hate this exercise, I don't wanna be here’ — which, I didn't want to be there, because, remember, I said it was summertime.

But what it did was start my exploration into parts of my imagination that I normally wouldn't tap into. Much like other writers, I have a very active imagination. I can make a story about anything. At the time, I was picking and choosing what I was gonna write about, which is what I think normal people do. What that class taught me was to just pick something and create a story about it, and then pick something else and create a story about it, and then pick something else. So it activated that storyteller in me, and it forced me to create stories out of regular, random situations.

What ultimately motivated you to start your own production company?

After I was writing on my own in my own house, I was collecting scripts and stories and ideas and concepts. I was finding that of the things I was writing and that spoke to me, I wasn't seeing [them] on TV or on film. I was raised in an African home and I'm African, but I've grown up in America. So I carry both cultures. I also am a feminist womanist and very proud of the female body and form. And there are a lot of ways in which I wanted to see myself represented on camera that I wasn't seeing. So it was like, ‘Wow, OK, if I'm going to do this professionally, then the part of myself that's the type A that likes things in order, I can use that to push myself forward.’ So that's exactly what I did.

I was encouraged not to start it so many times. I actually don't remember having a conversation with anybody who told me it was a good idea. That is very important because that's happened a number of times in my life. But I had all of this content that I was creating. So after I had the skeleton in place and the purpose, which is the most important thing, I just Googled everything else.

What role has meant the most to you personally?

It sounds so cliche, but seriously, it's all of them. It really is. I don't take anything for granted. Every time I get the call, I'm so grateful. I worked in casting, and I know how hard it is. Perfect roles are like a needle in a haystack. I know that for someone to not only call me back because they liked my tape or they liked my audition, but to send me to producers and directors and for everyone to agree that this role is supposed to be mine — it's like, ‘Wow!’ So every role I've played, I have cried over and I have been very grateful for. Obviously some of them are more visible than others. But they all honestly mean the world to me. Every single one.

How did the Wakanda Forever opportunity come up?

I have an agent whom I love, and she is magnificent. At the time, I was getting an audition for an untitled project. Then I got another one maybe a month later. Then I got another one. And because I've been in the industry for a while, when that happens, you know that it's something big. So I just did my best. It was at the first fitting that I found out what the movie was. I didn't really have a lot of time to react then because I was there and it was just go, go, go, go, go.

From what I suspect, my role was supposed to be for a man. In the script, they referred to my character as ‘he’ a number of times. I take a lot of pride in that because I don't know the logistics of what happened in between. All I know is, I showed up!

What was your first day on set like?

Oh my gosh. My fitting was with Oscar-award-winner Ruth Carter. I feel very fortunate for that because I know she didn't fit everybody. When I showed up, I was in the waiting room and the woman said to me, ‘Are you ready to meet with Ruth?’ And my knees gave out. She was such a dream — very professional and very kind. She knew that it was a lot for me to take in. I'm standing there and there's people swarming all over doing their thing. She would whisper in my ear, ‘Relax your knees.’ Because obviously I'm standing at attention, and when you stand at attention for that long, you're gonna pass out. So you have to relax your knees. I will always be grateful for that.

The second person I met was Lupita [Nyong'o]. She was so kind and lovely from the beginning. As you can imagine, for someone like me coming into the second installment of this massive film, I'm walking in with all of my nerves. You won't see it on my face or my body, but inside, I was freaking out. So to have a veteran like Lupita welcome me meant the world, and it allowed me to exhale and relax a little bit before I entered the world of Wakanda.

By the time I got to set, I have a very clear memory of walking up onto the platform and it was Wakanda: all the characters, all the people doing their thing. And that was a lot to take in. I certainly got teary-eyed in that moment.

What was the experience like?

I'm still processing it. The logistical part of being on set I was familiar with and I was comfortable with. I had my own trailer. I knew how it worked. But, again, we're talking about Wakanda. Ryan Coogler is my director. He is a special human being. So being directed by him and him welcoming me to the set was really important and helpful for me to be able to process what was happening as it was happening. He didn't feel daunting at all. I was able to really hear what he was saying and take it in as he was giving direction in, say, a massive battle scene.

What has been the reception by those around you now that the film is out?

I knew that the movie was gonna be massive because, hello, obviously. But the way people have received me has been such a lovely surprise. I went and shot my little lines and did my little stunts, and I was thrilled. I didn't realize that the rest of the world, including my family and friends, were going to be so excited about this.

Right after I shot Black Panther, I booked a television show called Bad Monkey, which is coming to Apple TV next year and stars Vince Vaughn! Oh my gosh. And then right after that I booked The Color Purple!

Early this year, I was taking a lot of deep breaths throughout the day because there was a lot happening in my personal orbit. So certainly for me, during that period of time, there were a couple of days where I sat and I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We're here. This is it. It's happening.’ So now it's been exciting to watch the people around me catch up to what I've been feeling for this whole year.

What brings you the most joy in your work?

When someone can relate. That's the point. Acting is empathy. So when someone is able to connect to my character or something about the project that I'm in, I feel like I've done a good job. That means the most, and it's funny because when I write things on my own, people close to me always think what I’ve written is about them. I take it as a compliment because it means that it was so personal that they felt like I was telling their story specifically.

What do you do outside of your work?

I'm such a film nerd. I'm watching movies. That's what I do. Everybody that knows me, knows that's what I do. I watch movies and I watch television with 90% of my downtime.

Do you have a classic go-to movie or show that you've watched over and over?

Oh gosh, I'm so glad you asked. I have so many. On my birthday, I always watch Sister Act II. This is the most random thing I've ever told anyone. My Best Friend’s Wedding is a classic favorite of mine, but I have a really good reason for it too: It's not just that I love the movie, but specifically because it was the first film I saw where the protagonist and antagonist were the same person, and we were rooting for the villain. We love Julia Roberts’ character, but she was making very bad decisions. But we still wanted her to win. And then she didn't win in the end, and we were okay with it. I've recently added Schitt’s Creek to my favorites too. The comedy, it's just brilliant.

When I'm having a bad day, I watch the Care Bears. I like the colors and that everything is soft and fluffy. Oh! This will be my last one or I’ll keep going and going. I love Mahogany. I'm a huge Diana Ross fan. I watch Mahogany on my birthday too.

What else should we know about you?

I'm so silly. I know when to take things seriously, but I prefer to laugh, always. I have a lot of jokes in my mind all the time. I just know when it is appropriate to bring them out of my mouth. But I like to laugh through life. I like joy a lot, and I will always choose that.

Photos courtesy Aba Arthur

Aba Arthur of Atlanta is a performer, writer and owner of production company. She caught her big break with her role as a naval engineer in 2022's mega-hit Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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10 Hollywood Buffs

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 17:10:58 +0000

10 Hollywood Buffs Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/22/2016 - 11:10

Christie Sounart

Actor Christopher Meloni

Forever Buffs who made it in Tinseltown:

Heather Arthur (Bus’03) and Jonathan Arthur (Bus’03), Stunt Actors, Lost, Furious 7, Captain America
Adrianna Costa (Jour’03) Entertainment Reporter, E! Network, Access Hollywood, CNN
Sarah Siegel-Magness (Bus’95) Film Director; Producer of Precious
Trey Parker (A&S ex’93) and Matt Stone (Art, Math’93) Co-Creators and Executive Producers of South Park
Christopher Meloni (Hist’83) Actor, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Jim Doyle (Art’78) 1992 Academy Award winner, technical achievement
Howard Schultz (Comm’75) Reality TV Producer, Extreme Makeover
Larry Linville (Engr ex’61) Actor, M*A*S*H
Robert Redford (A&S ex’58, HonDocHum’87) Actor, Director and Producer; Founder of the Sundance Institute
Dalton Trumbo (A&S’29) Screenwriter

See which Forever Buffs made it in Tinseltown.

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From Hostages to Hollywood

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:00:00 +0000

From Hostages to Hollywood Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/01/2013 - 00:00

Nancy Averett

It was 1970. The Cold War was in full swing, and a junior Soviet Union intelligence officer stationed at the Soviet embassy in Bangkok had defected to the Americans. Soviet security agents were scouring the airports, bus and railroad terminals looking for the man.

It was up to CIA operative Tony Mendez (Art ex’59) and his colleagues to get him out alive. They put lifts in his shoes, covered his blond pompadour with a dark brown wig, gave him an expensive European suit and had him affect a German accent.

The most important prop, though, turned out to be a cigar they handed him at the last minute. When a Soviet security officer stopped the man at the airport and gave him the once-over, the young spy lifted the cigar to his lips and blew a cloud of smoke into his face.

“That’s what did it,” says Mendez who attended CU for several semesters in the late-1950s. “Your demeanor has to be just right to pull off these kinds of operations.”

He should know. During 25 years with the CIA, Mendez was involved in 150 successful “exfiltrations,” rescues of people from countries hostile to the United States.

His most famous exfiltration became the subject of his 2012 book Argo: How the CIA Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History (Penguin)and of the Academy Award-nominated movie Argo. The book and movie are based on Mendez’s rescue of six Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

The crisis began on Nov. 4, 1979, when a group of Islamist students and militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran. They took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in reaction to the United States allowing the former Shah of Iran into the country to receive medical treatment for terminal cancer. During the siege, six Americans slipped out a side door of the American embassy. They were taken in by Canadian embassy officials who hid them in their homes.

Mendez hatched a plan to get the six out of Iran by having them pose as Canadian filmmakers based in Hollywood who had supposedly traveled to Iran to scout out a movie location. He bought a script for a sci-fi movie called Argo and even took out an advertisement for it in Variety.

“It was a crazy idea, but I thought it just might work,” Mendez says. “Everyone knows people from Hollywood are eccentric and would go anywhere in the world no matter what time of year it is or what is going on there.”

Mendez never intended to be a spy. As a young child, he showed a penchant for drawing and later, at Englewood High School in suburban Denver, took up painting. He majored in fine arts at CU but quit when his wife became pregnant. He took a job as an illustrator of missile designs for Martin Marietta based in Littleton, Colo.

A few years later in 1965, he saw a Navy ad in The Denver Post looking for artists to work overseas. Mendez applied and found himself seated in a seedy hotel off Colfax Avenue, talking to a CIA recruiter. He was hired as an espionage artist for the agency’s technical services division where he did everything from sketching descriptions of North Korean infiltrators to forging passports and drawing fake currency. He later began to help with exfiltrations and eventually was made chief of the CIA’s graphics and authentication division.

In late 1979, he and his crew learned about the six Americans in Iran and were charged with finding a way to bring them out. The best way out of the country was through Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which was crawling with Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Just seven months earlier, Mendez had traveled to Iran to exfiltrate an Iranian who had been a member of the former Shah’s inner circle.

Some officials suggested the six pose as English-language teachers. Others thought they should pretend to be crop inspectors. But the English-language schools had closed down in Tehran, and since the rescue attempt would happen in the winter, the presence of agricultural inspectors would seem odd.

Mendez was friendly with a makeup artist in Hollywood who had helped him on previous spy missions. As he traveled to Canada to ask officials there to create fake passports for the six, it occurred to him that turning the Americans into moviemakers might work.

“We were having trouble getting people in the Canadian government and in the U.S. government to believe we could pull off any kind of rescue,” Mendez says. “It was a crazy idea, born of desperation. But in the end, they liked it.”

So did the Americans when Mendez arrived in Tehran weeks later.

“Tony presented all three cover stories to us,” recalls Mark Lijek, who like Mendez, has written his own book about the episode, The Houseguests: Memoirs of Canadian Courage and CIA Sorcery (CreateSpace). “And he let us choose. It was obvious, though, that the Hollywood scenario had been more developed than the others.

“He told us they had set up a fictitious production company, bought a script, rented office space and made business cards that included a live phone number in Hollywood that someone would answer and vouch for us if it came to that.”

Lijek says he and the others quickly decided they liked the Hollywood idea best. As Mendez suspected, it was easier to imagine themselves as Hollywood types than as schoolteachers or crop inspectors. Mendez also thought playing such roles would be fun for the group and thus allow them to be more relaxed, something he felt was key to them having the confidence to fully assume their fake identities.

“They had to believe they could do this,” Mendez says.

After that first afternoon in Tehran, Mendez left the six with packets of information to memorize their new identities. When he came back the next night to quiz them, a party was in full swing. The Americans had decided to drink all the leftover alcohol and make a lavish meal for their last night in Tehran.

Lijek recalled that Mendez joined in the festivities.

“He told war stories about how he helped exfiltrate people from the Soviet Union and how he had gotten someone out of Iran the previous spring,” Lijek says. “He was trying to build up our confidence, and we soon realized there was no comparison between 91��Ƭ��n KGB border guards and the Iranians.”

Mendez also waited until the six were well into party mode before he told them about the one weakness in his plan — anyone flying into Iran had to fill out an immigration form with matching yellow and white sheets. Upon entry, immigration officials kept the white copy, and it was supposed to be compared to the yellow copy when the person left the country. Since the six had arrived in Iran using their real identities, immigration officials at the airport would not have the white forms with their Canadian names.

“Tony told us at just the right moment,” Lijek says, “nonchalantly mentioning to the group, when we were relaxed, the one hitch we might have at the airport.”

In the end, the six made it out of Iran. They faced several anxious moments, such as when an airport immigration officer questioned Lee Schatz about his Canadian passport photograph not resembling him. Schatz had a smaller, less bushy mustache than in the picture. Schatz made his fingers into scissors to mimic trimming his mustache, and the officer was satisfied.

The group’s plane also was delayed for mechanical problems. Unlike the movie, though, no officials called the Argo office in Hollywood, and there was no chase on the tarmac. Like the film, though, the six Americans and Mendez quietly toasted each other once the plane was out of Iranian airspace and alcohol could be served.

Mendez had informed the group not to talk about what happened. No one did until 1997 when George Tenet, head of the CIA, decided he wanted to celebrate the agency’s 50th anniversary by honoring 50 “trailblazers,” people’s whose extraordinary intelligence work stood out. Mendez was shocked to learn the CIA wanted him to share his story with the world by going on television with CBS news anchor Dan Rather.

“I just kept looking at them like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ ’’ he says.

Eventually, though, he agreed. It led to the writing of several books, one of which was made into the hit movie Argo. Ben Affleck directed and starred in the movie, and Mendez spent a lot of time talking to the actor on the phone and meeting with him in person.

He has nothing but good things to say about Affleck who, among other things, agreed to use the name Ian for the little boy featured in the film as Mendez’s son. In real life Mendez has four children, including one named Ian who died of colon cancer several years ago.

“Ben is a very classy guy,” Mendez says.

As for what it’s like to see yourself portrayed on the big screen by a man who once held the mantle of People magazine’s “sexiest man alive,” Mendez says, nonchalantly. “I guess he’s good-looking enough to play me.”

Photos courtesy 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Joanna Mendez

Tony Mendez helped mastermind the escape of six Americans in Iran in 1979. Today Ben Affleck plays him in Argo, the 2013 Golden Globe Award-winning movie.

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Where the Oscars Roam

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:00:00 +0000

Where the Oscars Roam Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/01/2010 - 00:00

Clay Evans

Sarah Siegel-Magness (Bus’95) co-produced Precious, the 2009 film that won two Academy Awards — one for best supporting actress and the other for best adapted screenplay.

Sarah Siegel-Magness (Bus’95) never doubted the decision to turn the controversial young-adult book Push: A Novel (Vintage) into the Oscar-winning film Precious, despite widespread skepticism that the story’s gut-punching realism would find an audience.

After all, the tale of an HIV-positive, obese, illiterate African-American teen, her emotionally abusive mother, a history of incest, a child with Down Syndrome and AIDS didn’t reflect typical Hollywood fare. No explosions — except the emotional kind. No sappy, happy ending — just a real one. Young Clareese Precious Jones fights through her difficulties, and though saddled with challenges at film’s end, she is prepared to move ahead.

“The story tugged on our hearts,” says Siegel-Magness, co-producer of the film with her husband, Gary Magness, whose Denver family has long-standing connections to the cable entertainment industry. “We just knew making the film would be a smart business move and it would touch people.”

Siegel-Magness isn’t the only CU alum with a connection to Oscar gold this year. Viki Psihoyos (Jour’02) worked closely with her husband on The Cove, the documentary-cum-investigative thriller about the slaughter of dolphins near a Japanese village. And Gary Sharp (PhDElEngr’92) helped create the new-generation 3D technology that wowed audiences and critics in James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar, in which a paraplegic soldier of the future finds love and helps save a peaceable alien civilization from the encroachment of violent, planet-raping earthlings.

CU — Hollywood, Colo.? Is it something in the Boulder water?

All three grads agree CU provided an environment and foundation that got their very different creative skills flowing.

“There was a lot of freedom,” says Sharp, who was chief technology officer for Boulder-based ColorLink, which developed the new 3D tech. The company is now owned by California-based RealD, which worked closely with Cameron on Avatar.

Precious catches her attention

Siegel-Magness still considers producing an avocation; her eight-year-old, multimillion-dollar clothing company So-Low is her primary business. She also does a great deal of charity work, and with singer Mariah Carey — who plays a social worker in Precious — helped start “Camp Precious” for disadvantaged girls.

And it was actually through So-Low — which found early success with underwear designed for newly popular low-rise pants — that Siegel-Magness got into filmmaking. In fact, the company helped bring her together with Lee Daniels, the director of Precious and Monster’s Ball, which netted an Oscar for actress Halle Berry.

“Lee had read an article about me and my clothing company,” says Siegel-Magness, who grew up in Boulder and is the daughter of Celestial Seasonings founder Mo Siegel. She got a cold call suggesting that she and Daniels “would be a great match.”

They met, and that connection eventually led to Siegel-Magness and her husband producing Daniels’ film Tennessee about two brothers searching for their estranged father in hopes of saving another sibling who has leukemia. After the first film, the husband and wife team decided they liked producing. They came across Push (renamed Precious because of a recent sci-fi dud called Push) and knew Daniels was the right man for the project. Siegel-Magness and her husband’s next film is based on the “Judy Moody” kids books by Megan McDonald.

Siegel-Magness says she is a “hands-on” producer who enjoys being involved with everything from managing a budget to viewing “dailies” — raw footage — to auditioning a cast. Mo’nique, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her take on Precious’ troubled, vicious mother, and Gabourey Sidibe who played Precious, particularly impressed her.

“As soon as Gabby auditioned we knew she was something special. She was smart, funny, strong and could light up a room,” she says. “Mo’nique is so good it’s scary.”

Immersing herself in The Cove

Viki Psihoyos, like Siegel-Magness, knew her film would touch people. In The Cove, her husband, photographer and filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, went to extraordinary lengths to expose the dolphin slaughter, mounting hidden cameras on everything from submerged, algae-covered rocks to birds’ nests. The film sheds light on Taiji, Japan, which, despite its preferred public reputation as a place devoted to its marine mammals, quietly stages the bloody bludgeoning of its ocean-going residents.

“We wanted to give people the tools to create armies of supporters and activists,” says Viki Psihoyos who serves as communications director for her husband’s film and photography projects. She is co-founder of their Boulder-based nonprofit, the Ocean Preservation Society.

The Cove, which was filmed in Taiji, Japan, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2009. Viki Psihoyos (Jour’02) worked closely with her husband on the movie.

By all accounts, The Cove has had a big effect, catalyzing a global protest against the killings. The Oscar statuette standing oh-so-casually on the couple’s kitchen table, as if it was a salt shaker or bottle of hot sauce, serves as weighty, golden affirmation of the film’s impact.

But it also has angered some in Japan, apparently even the Japanese mafia, Viki Psihoyos says. In fact, the film’s official Japanese debut was delayed this spring because of safety concerns. In April, Louie Psihoyos told Oprah Winfrey that he’d been getting death threats from “militant factions” in Japan.

Although Viki Psihoyos didn’t travel to Japan for the film, she provided a kind of logistical “base camp” from the couple’s north Boulder home. She has been the “e-team” for both the film and the Ocean Preservation Society, creating Facebook and Twitter accounts using skills she learned while studying under journalism teacher Bruce Henderson who serves as communications director at CU’s Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society. She also took care of crucial tasks such as receiving and caring for shipments of film along with less Oscar-worthy jobs.

“We do what needs to be done . . . I may be the boss’ wife, but I also change the toilet paper,” she says with a laugh.

From thousands of miles away she worried at times about the crew’s well-being.

“I had the lawyer on speed dial in case (Louie) got arrested. I made the contacts with the state department,” says Viki Psihoyos who is working with her husband on their next film, a documentary called Singing Planet about the destruction of the environment.

Building Avatar’s foundation

Gary Sharp’s connection to Avatar, which won the Oscar for visual effects and two others, may seem less obvious than that of Siegel-Magness or Viki Psihoyos. Of the three, he’s the only one without a statuette. But the technology he developed, based on work he started at CU as a doctoral student in the early 1990s, may have a greater impact on the future of filmmaking.

The technology is complex and difficult to summarize. But Sharp says old 3D technology was based on “sequential color” techniques — think of a wheel of red, blue and green spinning rapidly before your eyes.

“That was a dying technology,” he says. The new technology is a “sequential polarization” method, which involves two different projections, one for each eye, “shuttering” at about 1/144th of a second; when one projection is open, the other is black.

Gary Sharp (PhDElEngr’92) helped create the new-generation 3D technology in James Cameron’s science-fiction epic Avatar, which won three Academy Awards in 2009 for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Director.

“You are tricking your brain. Any time your eyes get different imagery, your brain immediately goes to work trying to extract depth information,” Sharp says.

When the imagery is presented quickly enough, the eye isn’t able to “catch up,” which produces the illusion of depth.

The less-than-impressive effects of old-school 3D were seldom worth the sharp headaches experienced by those who staggered in pain from theaters. When Sharp saw Avatar, he was pleased to see how his work — at CU initially and later at his company ColorLink — was integral not only to audience immersion in a vivid 3D world but also viewer comfort.

“I think it was definitely in the top two for 3D imagery I’ve seen,” he says. “And in terms of comfort, you didn’t feel like your brain was being messed with so much.”

The film’s effects are astonishing. Digital images dominate with the lush, vivid landscapes of the planet Pandora. The blue-hued, catlike N’avi people — including the vat-grown “avatars” into which humans like hero Jake Sully project their digital selves — fire arrows over viewers’ heads. An alien bestiary rumbles, soars and slinks toward startled audiences. But in some ways, the genius of the new technology is most apparent in more subtle effects — a gently undulating, airborne, ethereal seed pod slipping over a sea of slender, upraised N’avi hands.

ColorLink’s journey to Hollywood was complex. When Hollywood 3D company RealD started up and was seeking partners, it discovered Sharp’s company. ColorLink provided the key components to RealD for a 3D digital cinema experiment.

The Walt Disney Company, ever the pioneer in animation, quickly saw the potential for marrying three technologies — digital projection, computer-generated imagery and Sharp’s sequential polarization method — to create a better 3D mousetrap. Disney’s trial-run film Chicken Little in 2005 quickly demonstrated that audiences preferred the new 3D technology to conventional 2D movies.

“The guys who started RealD had it right,” Sharp says. “This is the best thing that’s happened to cinema in a long time.”

Forever Buffs have worked on many major movies. Do you know them all?

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