Written by on Oct 15, 2014. Posted in On Location

Industrial Light & Magic VFX company opens new London base

Iconic visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has officially opened its new London office. The firm is a division of Lucasfilm and was initially set up in the mid-70s to pioneer the innovative visual effects needed for the first Star Wars movie.

Over more than 30 years, Industrial Light & Magic has become one of the world’s top visual effects houses. In addition to its San Francisco base, the company also has a presence in Singapore.

A special R&D division will be set up in the London office, creating 200 new jobs in the city, and the company will be supported by a creative industries fund set up last year by the UK government. The UK's visual effects industry got a huge profile boost from the international success of Gravity and is now better supported and incentivised.

“Industrial Light & Magic has always been a global company, looking to work with the best visual effects talent around the world,” said Lynwen Brennan, the company's President and General Manager.

“The investments that the government has made in the UK make it a thriving film community with the talent, history and economic model that makes it the ideal location not only for shooting Star Wars – but also the ideal place for ILM.”

Lucasfilm has based Star Wars: Episode VII in London and will film the first of three standalone Star Wars movies in the city. Parent company Disney also owns Marvel, which has filmed Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers: Age of Ultron in London. Pinewood Studios plans to start work on a major expansion plan in the first quarter of 2015 to better cater for international demand.

As a stark measure of Industrial Light & Magic’s influence and standing in Hollywood, the company has been involved with 25 of the top 50 most successful films of all time.

(Images: Lucasfilm)