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Concept artwork of Lyon Estates hand-drawn by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) visual effects art director John Bell during early pre-production on Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future Part II. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) met his 47-year-old self (Fox) in his house in Lyon Estates, where the McFly family had lived for decades.
This artwork depicting 47-year-old Marty arriving home in his 2015-era vehicle originates from the collection of renowned effects maestro Bell, who designed the 2015 hoverboards for the film in addition to several other key effects elements. In 1986, Bell was hired to produce concept artwork depicting a futuristic Hill Valley - including this piece featuring one of its future inhabitants - years before the film went into full pre-production. Bell ultimately received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Visual Effects for his work.
The artwork is rendered, dated "6.86," signed, and annotated with notes regarding the look of Lyon Estates in mixed media by Bell on drawing paper. It exhibits smudging along its right edge. Dimensions: 35.75 cm x 21.75 cm (14" x 8.5")
Sold without copyright; see notice in the Terms and Conditions.
Estimate: £1,500 - 3,000 Ω
Effects maestro John Bell's first major credit was as a storyboard artist for Industrial Light and Magic on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. Within two years, Bell had become ILM's effects art director, a role for which he designed and illustrated props, sets, and sequences for an outsized number of classic films. For Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future Part II, he designed the 2015 hoverboards flown by Marty McFly and Biff Tannen, earning him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Effects in 1990. He would follow that achievement with a string of acclaimed projects, including as art director for Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park franchise, production illustrator for A.I. Artificial Intelligence, storyboard artist for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Best Picture nominee The Revenant, and visual development consultant for George Lucas' Strange Magic, among several dozen other credits. In honor of John Bell's continued work on behalf of global cinema, Propstore is proud to offer select memorabilia from this legendary craftsman's personal collection to the public for the first time.
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