The Motion Pictures Sound Editors (MPSE) recently honored Randy Thom with the prestigious MPSE Career Achievement Award.
The award recognizes those that have distinguished themselves by meritorious works as an individual and as a fellow contributor defining outstanding career achievements in ‘the art of sound’ for feature film and television, and further setting an example for others to follow. Randy’s diverse works and his incredible tenacity in championing the craft merit this recognition. The presti- gious company of this honor, most recently include Ben Burtt, Larry Singer, Walter Murch, George Watters II, and John Roesch, 2013’s recipient.
Thom is a sound designer and the Director of Sound Design at Skywalker Sound. Thom began his astonish- ing career in 1979 walking-in on the re-mix sessions of American Graffiti and introducing himself to Walter Murch, Ben Burt and Mark Berger. This event turned into his first film work when he was hired as a sound effects recordist on Apocalypse Now. Thom moved on to work in a wide variety of creative capacities within the sound department spanning over seventy films. Thom’s approach to designing and turning motion picture sound into art begins before the film has started shooting by helping the director open doors to sound in the script. He is the foremost advocate for the idea that sound ideas should affect creative decisions in the other crafts, just as they affect sound.
Thom has worked with some of Hollywood’s top talent, including Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, Robert Zemeckis, David Lynch, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Mel Brooks, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Brad Bird, and Chris Columbus. His films include “Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi,” “Forrest Gump,” “Temple of Doom,” “Harry Potter,” and many others, which include 2 Academy Awards for Sound, “The Right Stuff,” “The Incredibles,” and 14 Oscar nominations.
