The Visual Effects Society (VES) has named actor-producer-director William Shatner as the forthcoming recipient of the VES Award for Creative Excellence in recognition of his valuable contributions to visual arts and filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 22nd Annual VES Awards on February 21 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The VES Award for Creative Excellence, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognizes individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by uniquely and consistently creating compelling and creative imagery in service to story. The Society will honor William Shatner, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning talent, for his exceptional work in the epic Star Trek film and television franchise, crafting an indelible cinematic legacy that continues to touch new generations of filmmakers, creatives and audiences.
“William Shatner has been at the center point of compelling stories that use visual effects to enhance unforgettable storytelling for decades, and his work has left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape,” said Nancy Ward, VES executive director. “With his portrayal of Captain Kirk, Shatner is the originator of one of the most iconic science fiction characters in history and has boldly taken audiences to the final frontier. We are thrilled to honor William Shatner with the VES Award for Creative Excellence!”
Shatner has cultivated a career spanning over 70 years as an award-winning actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist and horseman. He is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures and a major philanthropist. He has won Emmys and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of eccentric lawyer “Denny Crane” on both The Practice and Boston Legal. He has received four additional Emmy nominations, as well as other Golden Globe and SAG Award nods.
In 1966, Shatner originated the role of “Captain James T. Kirk” in the legendary science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series and returned as Kirk in seven of the Star Trek movies. Shatner is currently the host and executive producer of The UnXplained on The History Channel and has authored nearly 30 best-sellers in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. Shatner’s passion for music has resulted in 10 albums from the spoken word, the blues, country and alternative genres. He has been awarded stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Shatner continues to act, write, produce and direct while still making time to work with charities and further his passion in equestrian sports.
Previous recipients of the VES Award for Creative Excellence include acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, award-winning creators-executive producers-writers-directors David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, acclaimed visual effects supervisor Sheena Duggal and award-winning visual effects supervisor and DP Robert Legato, ASC.
James Earl Jones, Lauded Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies At 93
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, "The Lion King" and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of "The Gin Game" having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in "Field of Dreams," the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit "The Great White Hope," the writer Alex Haley in "Roots: The Next Generation" and a South African minister in "Cry, the Beloved Country."
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader ("No, I am your father," commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father"), as... Read More