Animator Phil Tippett Retired and Sold His Studio This Weekend
Gizmodo • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Phil Tippett, renowned animator known for his work on Star Wars and Jurassic Park, has announced his forced retirement and the closure of his namesake Tippett Studio.
- Over the weekend, Tippett sold off 273 items from his and his studio’s stop-motion work and signed memorabilia in a fire sale, excluding his Oscars for Return of the Jedi and Jurassic Park.
- Tippett Studio, co-founded by Phil Tippett and his wife Jules Roman in 1984, evolved from stop-motion animation to prop building and CGI, contributing to films like Robocop, Starship Troopers, Mad God, Bicentennial Man, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Black Adam.
- After being acquired by PhantomFX, Tippett Studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024; despite plans to lead the stop-motion feature Sentinel, the studio was ultimately closed following difficult decisions.
- Tippett’s retirement and the studio’s closure mark the end of an influential era that significantly impacted four decades of Western filmmaking.
