Douglas Trumbull, Director and VFX Artist, Dead at 79

After the Oscar nominations were announced this morning, news broke that the Academy had lost one of its brightest stars: three-time Oscar-nominated VFX artist Douglas Trumbull. After a two-year battle with cancer, a stroke, and a brain tumor, Trumbull died Monday evening at 79. His death was announced on Facebook by his daughter Amy Trumbull. “He was an absolute genius and a wizard and his contributions to the film and special effects industry will live on for decades and beyond,” she wrote. “My sister Andromeda and I got to see him on Saturday and tell him that we love him and we got to tell him to enjoy and embrace his journey into the Great…