Gary Rydstrom facts for kids

Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American sound designer and film director. He is famous for creating amazing sounds for movies. He has been nominated for twenty Academy Awards for his sound work and has won seven times!

About Gary Rydstrom

Gary Rydstrom was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Elmhurst, Illinois, and finished high school in 1977. He then studied film at the University of Southern California. In 1983, he started working at Skywalker Sound. This was a big chance for him to learn from Ben Burtt, who designed sounds for Star Wars.

Early Career in Sound

Gary gained important experience as a sound technician for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. After that, he designed sounds for the comedy Spaceballs. He created all the sounds for the movie Backdraft from scratch. These sounds were so good that they were later used in many other films. For example, sounds from Backdraft were used in The Lord of the Rings movies and Shrek.

Making Movie Sounds Come Alive

Gary won an Academy Award for his work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He invented new ways to make realistic sound effects that are still used today. He also worked with the director of Terminator 2, James Cameron, to update the sound for the first Terminator movie.

His sound work on Jurassic Park was also groundbreaking. Gary and his team mixed many different animal sounds to create the dinosaur roars. They wanted audiences to feel like giant prehistoric beasts were all around them. The famous T-Rex roar he created was later used for characters in A Bug's Life, Avatar, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Jurassic Park was also the first movie to use a special sound system called DTS.

Gary continued to work on sound for many other popular movies. These include Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, and Finding Nemo. He has received a special award for his lifetime achievements in sound. He often shares his knowledge with young people who want to become sound designers.

Directing Animated Films

Gary Rydstrom also directs movies! His first directing job was for a Pixar short film called Lifted. This short film earned him another Academy Award nomination. He also directed the Pixar short Hawaiian Vacation. Later, he directed the Lucasfilm animated movie Strange Magic.

He has also directed the English versions of several animated films from the Japanese company Studio Ghibli. These include Tales From Earthsea, Arrietty, From Up on Poppy Hill, and The Wind Rises.

Awards and Recognitions

Gary Rydstrom has won many awards for his amazing work in sound and directing. He has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards and won 7 of them. He has also won 5 Golden Reel Awards, 2 C.A.S Awards, 2 BAFTA Awards, and 1 Grammy Award.

Academy Award Wins

• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (Best Sound Effects Editing) - Won
• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (Best Sound) - Won
• 1998: Titanic (Best Sound) - Won
• 1994: Jurassic Park (Best Sound Effects Editing) - Won
• 1994: Jurassic Park (Best Sound) - Won
• 1992: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Best Sound Effects Editing) - Won
• 1992: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Best Sound) - Won

Other Major Awards

• 2005: Motion Picture Sound Editors - Career Achievement Award
• 2002: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature Film) - Won
• 1999: A Bug's Life (Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature) - Won
• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (Best Sound Editing - Dialogue & ADR) - Won
• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (Best Sound Editing - Sound Effects & Foley) - Won
• 1998: Hercules (Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature) - Won
• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (Cinema Audio Society - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing) - Won
• 1998: Titanic (Cinema Audio Society - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing) - Won
• 1999: Saving Private Ryan (BAFTA Award for Best Sound) - Won
• 1992: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (BAFTA Award for Best Sound) - Won
• 2023: Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique - The Making of the Orchestra (Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical) - Won

Movies Gary Rydstrom Worked On

Here are some of the many movies Gary Rydstrom has worked on, either as a sound designer, re-recording mixer, or director:

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• Spaceballs (1987)
• Backdraft (1991)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
• Toy Story (1995)
• Jumanji (1995)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
• Titanic (1997)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• A Bug's Life (1998)
• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
• Toy Story 2 (1999)
• A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
• Monsters, Inc. (2001)
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Finding Nemo (2003)
• Lifted (2006) - Director
• Hawaiian Vacation (2011) - Director
• Super 8 (2011)
• War Horse (2011)
• Lincoln (2012)
• Brave (2012)
• Wreck-it Ralph (2012)
• Strange Magic (2015) - Director
• Jurassic World (2015)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
• The BFG (2016)
• Ready Player One (2018)
• Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
• Ad Astra (2019)
• West Side Story (2021)
• The Fabelmans (2022)

See also

In Spanish: Gary Rydstrom para niños