Wētā FX Nabs Three Academy Award Nominations

Wētā FX has received three Academy Award nominations for their visual effects work on Alien: Romulus, Better Man, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes this morning.

Hundreds of people are waking up across Wellington to the news that their work has contributed to securing the Oscar nods, with those representing the teams including:

• Alien: Romulus: Daniel Macarin
• Better Man: Luke Millar, David Clayton, and Keith Herft
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Erik Winquist, Paul Story, and Stephen Unterfranz

The good news follows the announcement of BAFTA Award nominations for Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes last Thursday (NZT).

Daniel Macarin, Wētā FX’s VFX Supervisor on Alien: Romulus says, “We are incredibly proud to have our team’s work on the third act of Alien: Romulus recognized by the Academy. We worked closely with director Fede Álvarez to build on the franchise’s history and bring audiences closer to the rings of a planet than ever before. We hope this nomination inspires the next generation of VFX artists and sci-fi space film fans.”

Luke Millar, VFX Supervisor for Better Man says, “We are extremely honoured that Better Man is nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 2025 Academy Awards. The film represents an insane amount of work and talent from the artists, production and support staff here at Wētā FX and we are humbled that these efforts have been recognised by our peers. It was truly such a fantastic project to be a part of and the work is something that I will always be incredibly proud of.”

Erik Winquist, VFX Supervisor on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes says, “We were thrilled to wake up to the good news this morning. It is an honour getting to represent the more than a thousand artists, developers, production, and support crew who worked their magic for over a year on Kingdom. Collaborating with Wes Ball and 20th Century on this was a delight and it's so satisfying to see our work recognised by the Academy. We're looking forward to celebrating this past year of cinema on March 3rd.”

Wētā FX’s Head of VFX, Matt Aitken added “This has been an exceptional year for the artists at Wētā FX, producing groundbreaking work of the highest quality. We have more individuals nominated for an Oscar this year than in any other year in the company’s history. “

“We continue to be acknowledged as world leaders in the area of digital performance, one of the most challenging areas in our field. The Academy has recognised this with these nominations, testament to the artistry of everyone at Wētā FX who worked on these productions. It is also worth noting that Wētā FX was responsible for practically all of the visual effects work on both Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” says Aitken.

Nominations for the Best Visual Effects category are determined by votes from members of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. Once the nominations are announced, voting for the winners is open to all branches of the Academy.

The 97th Academy Awards are set to be held in Los Angeles on Monday March 3, 2025 (NZT).

Summary of Wētā FX’s work on the films:

Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus was directed by Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead) who honoured the original series by maintaining the use of practical film effects as much as possible. Partnering with Álvarez for the third act, Wētā FX digitally augmented practical suits used on set for the Offspring creature to enhance the horror of the scenes, while also creating large-scale visual effects simulations for outer space collisions and explosions in the film’s operatic ending.

Better Man

Directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) Better Man is a musical biopic of Robbie Williams where he is depicted as a CGI ape – or unevolved, as Robbie sees himself. Wētā FX was responsible for nearly all of the film’s visual effects, blending the acting talents and performance capture of Jonno Davies with recognisable elements of a global superstar and the physical attributes of a chimpanzee. Not to mention the 226 different costumes and 50 different hairstyles from Robbie’s life that were recreated digitally.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner) and is set several generations after the reign of Caesar. Wētā FX was responsible for all of the film’s visual effects, which includes a brand new cast of digital ape characters including the hero Noa (played by Owen Teague), beloved mentor Raka (Peter Macon) and imposing antagonist Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), as well as enormous digital water simulations and environments.

About Wētā FX

Wētā FX is the standard-bearer for creative innovation in visual effects and animation, attracting talent, partners, and clients who seek a collaborator that embraces and nurtures their artistic vision.

Their renowned proprietary pipeline provides artists with the tools and infrastructure they need to create their best work. Headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, with creative hubs in Vancouver and Melbourne, Wētā FX comprises over 2,000 of the most ambitious artists, engineers, and executives you’re likely to meet.

Across three decades, their trailblazing work has so far earned seven visual effects Academy Awards®, 14 Academy Sci-Tech Awards and seven visual effects BAFTA Awards, in addition to 58 Visual Effects Society Awards awarded to them by their peers. Wētā FX is known for performance-driven animated creatures and characters such as Gollum, Kong, Neytiri, Caesar, and Pogo as well as for the universes they inhabit, including Middle-earth, Pandora and countless others.

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