Full Sail Stories
Published Mar 11, 2024
2024 Academy Awards: 100 Grads on Nominated Films
Grad Gary Rizzo nominated for his work as Re-Recording Mixer on Oppenheimer.
Originally published on February 26, 2024; updated and republished on March 11, 2024 to reflect the Academy Award results.
The 2024 Academy Awards celebrated the past year’s greatest achievements in filmmaking, from huge productions like Barbie and Oppenheimer to smaller projects like Nyad and Past Lives – and Full Sail alumni worked on a number of this year’s nominees. Overall, 100 graduates were credited on 23 projects in 20 categories, and one grad was nominated by name for his own Oscar. When the winners were announced at the March 10 ceremony, 12 graduates were credited on five winning projects in 11 categories.
Graduate Gary A. Rizzo, a Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee who has previously won Oscars for his work on Inception and Dunkirk, was nominated again this year for his contributions to Oppenheimer. Gary was a Re-recording Mixer on the movie, which was nominated in 13 categories including Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Six Full Sail graduates worked on Barbie, which was nominated in categories like Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. Alumni like Gianny Carbone (Visual Effects Artist), Kendell Darian Copeland (Visual Effects Layout Artist), and Conner Wessinger (Lighting/Lookdev Artist) all helped bring the movie’s pink-toned magic to the silver screen.
Seven grads helped out on Best Animated Feature nominee Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Alex Hanneman (Senior Compositor), Andy Sisul (Sound Effects Editor), and Katherine Renee Jones (CG Supervisor) helped the movie’s visual and audio elements stand out.
Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated in the Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Actress in a Leading Role categories, had multiple Full Sail grads in the credits. Tim Bird (Rigging Console Programmer), Javed Noorullah (Set Decoration Buyer), and Charity Gibson (Sustainability Production Assistant) all worked on the film.
Full Sail grads also worked on nominated movies like The Color Purple, Elemental, Napoleon, Nyad, American Fiction, and more.