Gary Rydstrom

Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American sound designer and film director. He has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards for his work in sound for movies, and has won 7.

Life and career
Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1981. He began his career at Skywalker Sound, Northern California in 1983. Offered the job by a college professor, he received the opportunity to work with his mentor, Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt.

After gaining invaluable experience as a sound technician in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Rydstrom went on to do sound design for the comedy Spaceballs. The sound design for Backdraft, prepared from scratch, would become the precursor for his sound for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The original sound effects from Backdraft are constantly referenced and have been used for numerous other films including The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and Shrek.

He won an Academy Award for his work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, for which he pioneered techniques still used today for creating realistic sound effects. Rydstrom also worked with Terminator 2 director James Cameron on a new 5.1 surround sound mix for the original Terminator.

His sound work on Jurassic Park led to further innovations, as he and his team set out to create dinosaur sounds by mixing together numerous different animal vocalizations to make the audience feel as though giant bellowing prehistoric beasts surrounded them. The Oscar-winning film was the first motion picture to be presented in DTS. The T.RexrRoar created by Gary was later re-used for Dim in A Bug's Life, Thanator in Avatar and the Hydra in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

He subsequently went on to work on sound for numerous films including Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report and Finding Nemo. He won an MPSE lifetime achievement award, and regularly speaks at various sound design forums sharing his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm with aspiring sound design artists.

He made his directorial debut with the Pixar short Lifted, for which he received his fourteenth Academy Award nomination. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2006. His debut feature film for the studio, Newt, which was supposed to be about the adventure of two blue-footed newts, and their struggles to work together, was announced in 2008. It supposedly reached the early stages of production, until it was cancelled by Pixar in early 2011 due to story issues. He has also directed the Pixar short Hawaiian Vacation and the Lucasfilm animated feature Strange Magic.

Rydstrom has also served as English language director on Tales From Earthsea, Arrietty, From Up on Poppy Hill, and The Wind Rises, all of which were produced by the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli.

Awards and nominations
Gary Rydstrom has been nominated for 20 Academy Awards (7 wins), 12 Golden Reel Awards (5 wins), 5 C.A.S Awards (2 wins), 5 BAFTA Awards (2 wins), and 1 Grammy (1 win).

Filmography

 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) audio technician
 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) audio technician
 * Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) Foley
 * Luxo Jr. (1986) sound designer
 * Red's Dream (1987) sound designer
 * Spaceballs (1987) sound designer
 * Colors (1987) sound designer
 * Captain EO (1987) sound designer
 * Tin Toy (1988) sound designer
 * Willow (1988) Foley
 * Always (1989) re-recording mixer
 * Knick Knack (1989) sound designer
 * The Neon Empire (1989) re-recording mixer
 * Mars Navigator (1990) sound design/re-recording mixer (interactive video)
 * F/X2 The Deadly Art Of Illusion (1991) sound design/re-recording mixer
 * Backdraft (1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Single White Female (1992) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Jurassic Park (1993) sound designer/re-recording mixer (with Gary Summers and Shawn Murphy)
 * Baby's Day Out (1994) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Casper (1995) sound designer
 * Strange Days (1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Toy Story (1995) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Jumanji (1995) sound designer
 * James and the Giant Peach (1996) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Mission: Impossible (1996) re-recording mixer
 * The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) sound designer/re-recording mixer (with Gary Summers and Shawn Murphy)
 * Hercules (1997) re-recording mixer/sound designer
 * Titanic (1997) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
 * Saving Private Ryan (1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * A Bug's Life (1998) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
 * Toy Story 2 (1999) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * The Terminator (1984, 2000s DVD release) sound designer consultant: sound restoration and re-mixing
 * 102 Dalmatians (2000) sound designer consultant/re-recording mixer
 * Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
 * Monsters, Inc. (2001) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
 * Minority Report (2002) sound design consultant/re-recording mixer
 * Punch-Drunk Love (2002) sound designer consultant/re-recording mixer
 * Finding Nemo (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
 * Hulk (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Peter Pan (2003) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
 * Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) special thanks
 * Lifted (2006) director/writer/sound
 * Tales from Earthsea (2010) director/ADR director (English-language version)
 * Hawaiian Vacation (2011) director, screenplay
 * Bully (2011) sound designer
 * Super 8 (2011) additional sound designer
 * The Adventures of Tintin (2011) sound designer consultant
 * Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * War Horse (2011) sound designer/re-recording mixer/supervising sound editor
 * From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) voice director
 * The Secret World of Arrietty (2012) director (American English-language version)
 * Brave (2012) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Wreck-it Ralph (2012) sound designer
 * From Up on Poppy Hill (2013) director (English-language version)
 * The Wind Rises (2014) director (English-language version)
 * The Face of Love (2013) sound designer consultant
 * Strange Magic (2015) director, screenplay
 * Tomorrowland (2015) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Jurassic World (2015) sound designer/re-recording mixer (uncredited)
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) sound designer (uncredited)/re-recording mixer
 * The BFG (2016) re-recording mixer
 * The Post (2017) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Ready Player One (2018) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) sound designer
 * Ad Astra (2019) re-recording mixer
 * Come Away (2020) re-recording mixer
 * West Side Story (2021) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * The Fabelmans (2022) sound designer/re-recording mixer
 * Luck (2022) sound design consultant
 * Once Upon a Studio (2023) sound consultant (uncredited)