Alex Funke

Alex Funke (born October 12, 1944 in Santa Barbara, California) is a special effects photographer.

Career

He worked with Charles and Ray Eames for eleven years, a period he deemed important to his career success. His first Oscar was a shared one for Total Recall.^[1] Funke became noted as an expert on miniatures^[2] and was brought to New Zealand for work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.^[3] At the 75th and 76th Academy Awards, he won Best Visual Effects for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, respectively. He shared both wins with Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri and Randall William Cook.

Selected filmography

• 1977 – Powers of Ten
• 1978 – Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
• 1979 – Buck Rogers
• 1981 – Heavy Metal
• 1988 – The Blob
• 1989 – The Abyss
• 1990 – Total Recall - Shared an Academy Special Achievement Award for this.
• 1991 – Grand Canyon
• 1992 – Freejack
• 1992 – The Lawnmower Man
• 1995 – The Indian in the Cupboard
• 1995 – Waterworld
• 1996 – Executive Decision
• 1996 – The Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace
• 1997 – Starship Troopers
• 1998 – Snake Eyes
• 1998 – Mighty Joe Young
• 1999 – Mystery Men
• 2001 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• 2002 – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• 2003 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• 2005 – King Kong
• 2008 – The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• 2015 – Fast & Furious 7
• 2017 – Blade Runner 2049