SAN FRANCISCO – Industrial Light & Magic (www.ilm.com) has announced that Rob Coleman has rejoined the company as a key creative for feature animation at ILM’s Sydney studio. The company has also announcing the return of Randal Shore, who will rejoin ILM’s Vancouver studio as an executive producer in feature animation. Both Coleman and Shore join the company at a crucial chapter of innovation, which is being overseen by Janet Lewin, who now helms ILM as both senior VP and general manager, alongside Rob Bredow, ILM’s senior VP and chief creative officer.
Photo (L-R): Coleman and Shore
Coleman has a long and celebrated history at ILM as an animation supervisor before focusing on work within Lucasfilm Animation. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for his work on Attack of the Clones and The Phantom Menace, and received two BAFTA Awards for his work on Men In Black and The Phantom Menace. Prior to that, Coleman worked as an animator on projects such as The Mask, The Indian in the Cupboard and Dragonheart, to name a few. He moved to Lucasfilm Animation in 2005, providing development leadership on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Most recently, he worked as an animation director at Dr. D. Studios on Happy Feet Two, and as head of animation at Animal Logic, supporting The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie and Peter Rabbit.
“I could not be more excited or humbled to be back at ILM,” says Coleman. “In my time in animation, I’ve been lucky enough to work on some truly industry-defining films, but the pipeline of projects that ILM has ahead of it is exhilarating, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
During his tenure at Industrial Light & Magic, Shore was the executive in charge of ILM’s Vancouver studio, playing an instrumental role in both launching the studio and managing its growth over the years. He also provided executive leadership on No Time to Die, Jungle Cruise, Black Widow and The Mandalorian. Prior to joining ILM, Shore held high-level positions at two other Canadian visual effects houses: The Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Prime Focus. At MPC, he was head of production, overseeing films such as Life of Pi, which was awarded the Oscar for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Effects in 2013. During his tenure at Prime Focus as executive producer, he oversaw the company’s expansion from 45 artists to over 150, and worked on such films as Tree of Life and Tron: Legacy. Most recently, Shore was head of production for Tangent Animation, where he oversaw the upcoming Maya and the Three for Netflix.
“Every project Randal oversees benefits from his collaborative stewardship, and we’re thrilled that his journey has brought him back home to ILM,” says Janet Lewin, ILM’s SVP and GM. “Randal’s wide breadth of executive leadership and animation experience make him the perfect person to step into this new role. He will be developing and growing our Feature Animation strategy while partnering with our clients to guide their projects through to completion.”