Colin Cantwell
Colin Cantwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 |
| Died | May 21, 2022 (aged 89–90) Colorado, U.S. |
Colin Cantwell (August 22, 1932 – May 21, 2022)[2] was an American concept artist and director known for his work on films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and WarGames, but primarily for doing initial concept designs and models for a number of the iconic Star Wars vehicles, most notably the X-wing fighter, the TIE fighter, and the Death Star, that were then further developed by people like Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston.
Career
While employed by NASA Cantwell was in the CBS News studio for the Apollo 11 moon landing assisting Walter Cronkite as he narrated the landing.[1]
In the early seventies Cantwell was employed by the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center to produce effects for, and direct, an early multimedia presentation titled Voyage to the Outer Planets (1973) that would show a spacecraft touring the outer planets of the solar system.[3][4]
Having previously been employed to work on visual effects for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey with Douglas Trumbull, in 1974 Cantwell was hired to work on the original Star Wars film.[5] Based on Lucas' directions he created the original designs and concept models for a number of vehicles including the X-wing fighter, the Y-wing, the TIE fighter, the Star Destroyer, the Death Star, the Tantive IV (which was originally intended to be the Millennium Falcon), the landspeeder and the sandcrawler.[1][6] Cantwell's original designs were further developed by concept artists like Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston. One of Cantwell's concept models was used in the film, with Luke playing with it as he talks to C-3PO.[7] One of Cantwell's original Star Destroyer designs was further developed for the 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story but ultimately unused although Hot Wheels did release a toy version.[8]
Cantwell consulted with Hewlett-Packard on the development of their Hewlett-Packard 9845C desktop computers which were designed for graphical tasks,[9] also creating a demo package to show off its capabilities.[10] He then used HP 9845C desktop computers to design and create the computer graphics for the large displays in the NORAD set on the 1983 WarGames film.[11]
In 2014 a number of items were auctioned from Cantwell's collection for a total of $118,732.50.[1]
Personal life
His uncle, Robert Cantwell, was an American critic and author[citation needed] and one of his great-great-grandfathers, Michael Simmons, was a 19th-century American pioneer.[citation needed]
Cantwell died on May 21, 2022, at his home in Colorado, according to his partner Sierra Dall.[12] Dall had reported that Cantwell had been afflicted with Alzheimer's disease in the final years of his life.[13]
Awards
In 1984, Cantwell was nominated at the 37th British Academy Film Awards for Best Special Visual Effects for his work on WarGames. Return of the Jedi won the award.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d John Wenzel (8 December 2017). "He kept his Star Wars legacy a secret in Boulder for decades. At 85, the sci-fi pioneer is ready to step out". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ RIP Star Wars designer Colin Cantwell
- ^ Greg Bear (2017). "The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater: the Early Years, and Before". Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ "Colin Cantwell". BFI. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ J. W. Rinzler (2007). The Making of Star Wars. Del Rey Books.
- ^ Bouzereau, Laurent (1997). Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays. Ballantine Books. pp. 99, 311. ISBN 0345409817.
- ^ Stephen J. Sansweet (1992). Star Wars : From Concept to Screen to Collectible. Lucasfilm.
- ^ Phil Szostak (2018). Art Of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
- ^ Frost, John B.; Hale, William L. (December 1980). "Color Enhances Computer Graphics System". Hewlett Packard Journal. 21 (12).
- ^ A. Kückes (2010). "Screen Art: HP 9845C Demo". The HP 9845 Project. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ A. Kückes (2010). "Screen Art: WARGAMES". Retrieved 2021-06-19.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (May 22, 2022). "Colin Cantwell, Concept Artist Who Designed Iconic 'Star Wars' Spacecraft, Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (May 22, 2022). "Colin Cantwell, Artist Who Designed Iconic 'Star Wars' Spacecrafts, Dead at 90". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ^ "Film - Special Visual Effects in 1984". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved June 19, 2021.