Posted: 12:01 PM - Mar 11, 2009
From The Wilmington News Journal dated Wednesday 11 March 2009. He is the son of John Leonard Ellis & Jeanette Wilson and grandson of Adella Collett McKay and Horace Ellis.
Wilmington native John R. Ellis will be one of the filmmakers featured beginning Thursday at the National Aviation Hall of Fame's second Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation in Dayton.
"I'm excited to have been asked by the National Aviation Hall of Fame to participate," the filmmaker, writer and artist said.
Ellis' credentials span the world of TV, movies and comic books. Just a few highlights are his work for MTV, Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, NBC, ABC and PBS.
Ellis is currently in charge of the restoration of the "lost" 1950s NBC prime-time adventure series "Steve Canyon" which is coming to DVD and video. Steve Canyon was the creation of famed cartoonist and Daytonian Milton Caniff and Ellis will represent the Caniff estate Thursday night at a special Opening Night of the Stars Reception at the Engineers Club of Dayton. The "Operation Intercept" Canyon episode will be featured at the reception, which will welcome the National Aviation Hall of Fames producers, writers, directors and other special presenters and guests of the four-day festival.
Ellis was born in Wilmington on March 2, 1955, at Clinton Memorial Hospital. Ellis still considers himself a Buckeye.
The youngest of two sons and two daughters (by a 12-year margin). He grew up on a small farm outside of town until about 1960 when he moved to the Lakewood area. He spent his early school years here, until about the age of 11 when his family moved to Florida. He has fond memories of Wilmington, including some of the Morand family. He said one of his best friends was Mike Morand.
He also recalled coming into downtown Wilmington to buy comic books or go to the movies, often pulling a wagon to collect bottles and trade them in for more comic book money.
"Those were good days. I had a lot of fun," he recalled.
Ellis remembers being encouraged by his family to be an artist and that encouragement set him on a lifelong creative path. He also was interested in planes and flight at an early age. His love of planes, rockets and military got him hooked on building models at an early age.
He and his parents moved to West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1966. Growing up on a staple of comic books, science fiction and adventure novels, movies and TV shows, he applied these interests to art and photography through his teens. He drew his own comics, took and developed pictures (many for his high school yearbook), and shot his own effects-laden amateur films.
In his late teens, he attended a two-year commercial art school (North Tech), learning from the master graphic artist Helen Drake. Also during this time, he was tutored by famed comic book artist C.C. Beck, (creator of "Capt. Marvel" in 1939). During the mid '70s, he attended Palm Beach Community College, where he continued to study design, as well as philosophy, psychology and writing (under the tutelage of author David Stern, author/creator of the "Francis the Talking Mule" novel and movies).
During this time, Ellis paid his tuition by doing freelance graphics, drawing Spanish language comic books, and by publishing limited edition posters and magazines aimed at the comics and science fiction collectors. He was well known in the science fiction community as an entrepreneur and promoter, who put on over 40 comic and science fiction media festivals and conventions all over the U.S. between 1971 and 1981, including some of the earliest Star Trek conventions ever held. In the nine months prior to the release of "Star Wars" in 1977, Ellis acted as a special promotional rep for the then-unknown film and helped to build a "certain level of anticipation" among sci-fi fans by his appearances showing clips and exclusive materials at many media conventions.
In early 1976, after working briefly as an art assistant on several Marvel Comics, he decided to relocate to the Washington, D.C., area where he worked as a freelance artist and writer. For several years, he wrote for various magazines and newspapers and created art for numerous clients. These include a number of medical books and many covers and interiors for Science News magazine. He also did animation for several government films, and finally in 1979 was hired to work in the camera department on the "I Go Pogo" clay animation feature film which was produced in Arlington, Va. After a year on Pogo, he worked at a commercial animation house as an animator and director. After a year there, he went to work with several of the Pogo alumni who formed a company that specialized in clay animation and special effects commercials for the like of MTV, SHOWTIME, HBO, CINEMAX, NBC, ABC, PBS and many others. He designed and built miniatures, drew storyboards, and was an animator and producer there.
Ellis married and began a family in 1984, and when Broadcast Arts moved to NYC in 1985, John went to work with CVC alumni Dan Taylor at his new Taylor Made Images (TMI) animation company. TMI did a both 2D and 3D effects for a wide variety of clients. While there, he wore many hats, producing, directing, designing, editing, building sets and miniatures, and animating, as well as being an account exec for commercials and feature films.
During and since the TMI years, Ellis began producing feature length live-action movies. He also was photographer for the special effects unit for Tom Hanks' and HBO's NASA miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon," which aired in April 1998. After a stint designing and building a number of spacesuits and props for the big budget Fox movie "Supernova," he worked for SMG Effects designing and building props and sets for a variety of commercials and rock videos.
In mid-1998, he became head of all visual effects for Full Moon Pictures, and supervised and created the CGI effects for over two dozen feature films for the studio for a year and a half. In late 1999, he moved over to Unified Film Organization (UFO) and was the visual effects coordinator for over half a dozen theatrical features, and created both CGI and miniature effects for a variety of interesting projects.
Going freelance in late 2000, he has since created hundreds of effects shots out of his home studio (LSFX) for numerous feature films and a recent TV series, "William Shatner's Fright Nite," for the Sci-Fi Channel as well. As a consultant and private contractor, he also spends time doing digital cleanup and restoration films, including "8 Mile," "Frida," "The Day After Tomorrow," "25th Hour," "The Cat in the Hat" and others. Ellis is about to start work on his 80th feature film.
All in all, John Ellis has contributed in major respects to well over five dozen feature films and an equal number of national and international commercials/shorts/promos within his career in the entertainment industry. Although his career has taken him to many places, he remembers his Wilmington roots. "Wilmington was such a big part of my life. I miss it a lot," he said.
To learn more about the Steve Canyon project, go to: www.stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com.
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| John Ellis setting up a miniature helicopter for a special effects shot for the movie Invader in 1993. The film was one of 80 feature films that he has been involved with. (Contributed photo) |
"I'm excited to have been asked by the National Aviation Hall of Fame to participate," the filmmaker, writer and artist said.
Ellis' credentials span the world of TV, movies and comic books. Just a few highlights are his work for MTV, Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, NBC, ABC and PBS.
Ellis is currently in charge of the restoration of the "lost" 1950s NBC prime-time adventure series "Steve Canyon" which is coming to DVD and video. Steve Canyon was the creation of famed cartoonist and Daytonian Milton Caniff and Ellis will represent the Caniff estate Thursday night at a special Opening Night of the Stars Reception at the Engineers Club of Dayton. The "Operation Intercept" Canyon episode will be featured at the reception, which will welcome the National Aviation Hall of Fames producers, writers, directors and other special presenters and guests of the four-day festival.
Ellis was born in Wilmington on March 2, 1955, at Clinton Memorial Hospital. Ellis still considers himself a Buckeye.
The youngest of two sons and two daughters (by a 12-year margin). He grew up on a small farm outside of town until about 1960 when he moved to the Lakewood area. He spent his early school years here, until about the age of 11 when his family moved to Florida. He has fond memories of Wilmington, including some of the Morand family. He said one of his best friends was Mike Morand.
He also recalled coming into downtown Wilmington to buy comic books or go to the movies, often pulling a wagon to collect bottles and trade them in for more comic book money.
"Those were good days. I had a lot of fun," he recalled.
Ellis remembers being encouraged by his family to be an artist and that encouragement set him on a lifelong creative path. He also was interested in planes and flight at an early age. His love of planes, rockets and military got him hooked on building models at an early age.
He and his parents moved to West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1966. Growing up on a staple of comic books, science fiction and adventure novels, movies and TV shows, he applied these interests to art and photography through his teens. He drew his own comics, took and developed pictures (many for his high school yearbook), and shot his own effects-laden amateur films.
In his late teens, he attended a two-year commercial art school (North Tech), learning from the master graphic artist Helen Drake. Also during this time, he was tutored by famed comic book artist C.C. Beck, (creator of "Capt. Marvel" in 1939). During the mid '70s, he attended Palm Beach Community College, where he continued to study design, as well as philosophy, psychology and writing (under the tutelage of author David Stern, author/creator of the "Francis the Talking Mule" novel and movies).
During this time, Ellis paid his tuition by doing freelance graphics, drawing Spanish language comic books, and by publishing limited edition posters and magazines aimed at the comics and science fiction collectors. He was well known in the science fiction community as an entrepreneur and promoter, who put on over 40 comic and science fiction media festivals and conventions all over the U.S. between 1971 and 1981, including some of the earliest Star Trek conventions ever held. In the nine months prior to the release of "Star Wars" in 1977, Ellis acted as a special promotional rep for the then-unknown film and helped to build a "certain level of anticipation" among sci-fi fans by his appearances showing clips and exclusive materials at many media conventions.
In early 1976, after working briefly as an art assistant on several Marvel Comics, he decided to relocate to the Washington, D.C., area where he worked as a freelance artist and writer. For several years, he wrote for various magazines and newspapers and created art for numerous clients. These include a number of medical books and many covers and interiors for Science News magazine. He also did animation for several government films, and finally in 1979 was hired to work in the camera department on the "I Go Pogo" clay animation feature film which was produced in Arlington, Va. After a year on Pogo, he worked at a commercial animation house as an animator and director. After a year there, he went to work with several of the Pogo alumni who formed a company that specialized in clay animation and special effects commercials for the like of MTV, SHOWTIME, HBO, CINEMAX, NBC, ABC, PBS and many others. He designed and built miniatures, drew storyboards, and was an animator and producer there.
Ellis married and began a family in 1984, and when Broadcast Arts moved to NYC in 1985, John went to work with CVC alumni Dan Taylor at his new Taylor Made Images (TMI) animation company. TMI did a both 2D and 3D effects for a wide variety of clients. While there, he wore many hats, producing, directing, designing, editing, building sets and miniatures, and animating, as well as being an account exec for commercials and feature films.
During and since the TMI years, Ellis began producing feature length live-action movies. He also was photographer for the special effects unit for Tom Hanks' and HBO's NASA miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon," which aired in April 1998. After a stint designing and building a number of spacesuits and props for the big budget Fox movie "Supernova," he worked for SMG Effects designing and building props and sets for a variety of commercials and rock videos.
In mid-1998, he became head of all visual effects for Full Moon Pictures, and supervised and created the CGI effects for over two dozen feature films for the studio for a year and a half. In late 1999, he moved over to Unified Film Organization (UFO) and was the visual effects coordinator for over half a dozen theatrical features, and created both CGI and miniature effects for a variety of interesting projects.
Going freelance in late 2000, he has since created hundreds of effects shots out of his home studio (LSFX) for numerous feature films and a recent TV series, "William Shatner's Fright Nite," for the Sci-Fi Channel as well. As a consultant and private contractor, he also spends time doing digital cleanup and restoration films, including "8 Mile," "Frida," "The Day After Tomorrow," "25th Hour," "The Cat in the Hat" and others. Ellis is about to start work on his 80th feature film.
All in all, John Ellis has contributed in major respects to well over five dozen feature films and an equal number of national and international commercials/shorts/promos within his career in the entertainment industry. Although his career has taken him to many places, he remembers his Wilmington roots. "Wilmington was such a big part of my life. I miss it a lot," he said.
To learn more about the Steve Canyon project, go to: www.stevecanyondvd.blogspot.com.