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Seven years of Oscar nominees

February 1, 2006

(UPDATE March 6, 2006)

And the winners are...

On March 5, Christopher Boyes (B.A., '85) and Ethan Van Der Ryn (B.A., '85) took home gold Oscar statuettes for their sound work on "King Kong."

Van Der Ryn and his colleague Mike Hopkins received the Academy Award for Achievement in Sound Editing. "We are so proud to stand here and accept this award on behalf of our whole crew who continue to prove that with unconditional creative collaboration, the impossible becomes possible," Van Der Ryn said in his acceptance speech.

Boyes won the Oscar for Achievement in Sound Mixing, his fourth Oscar win. He shares the Oscar with Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek.

Both alums expressed gratitude to "King Kong" director Peter Jackson among others. Boyes also thanked his mother Katherine.


Photo of Steven OkazakiFor the seventh consecutive year, the outstanding film achievements of San Francisco State alumni have earned them a place among the annual Academy Award nominees.

Steven Okazaki (B.A., '76) has been nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject for his film "The Mushroom Club," while alumni Christopher Boyes (B.A., '85) and Ethan Van Der Ryn (B.A., '85) have both been nominated for his sound work on the blockbuster movie "King Kong." Boyes shares his nomination for Achievement in Sound Mixing with team members Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek. Van Der Ryn was nominated, along with colleague Mike Hopkins, for Achievement in Sound Editing.

The three alumni among this year's nominees are no strangers to the red carpet. Okazaki was nominated for Best Feature Documentary in 1985 for "Unfinished Business" and won an Oscar in 1990 for Best Documentary Short Subject for "Days of Waiting." His newly nominated film returns to the subject of his 1980 documentary "Survivors," the effects of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Photo of Christopher BoyesBoyes is an eight-time Oscar nominee. He took home his first Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing for "Titanic" in 1998 and his second Oscar for "Pearl Harbor" in 2002. The third win came in 2003 for Best Sound for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." And if Van Der Ryn and Hopkins win their Oscar, it will be their second win. The two share the Oscar for Best Sound Editing on "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002).

This year's trio follows the 2005 nomination of Theatre Arts alumna Annette Bening (B.A., '85) for best actress in a leading role for "Being Julia," her third Academy Award nomination. Other past Academy Award nominees and winners include Cinema Department alumni Steven Zaillian (B.A. '75), who won Best Adapted Screenplay for "Schindler's List" (1993); and Gloria Borders (B.A. '78), who won Best Sound Effects Editing for "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991). Shawn Murphy, (B.A., '68), who graduated with a degree in history, won the Oscar for Best Sound for "Jurassic Park" in 1993.

With alumni hard at work on new creative projects, including Zaillian, who cowrote the screenplay for and directed "All The King's Men," scheduled to hit theaters later this year, there's a good chance SFSU's Oscar trend will continue.

The 78th annual Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005 will be presented Sunday, March 5, at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre and televised on ABC.

-- Adrianne Bee

         

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