
HPA Honors Robert Legato with Lifetime Achievement Award
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced that Robert Legato, the legendary visual effects supervisor and renowned creative, will receive the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award at the HPA Awards during a gala evening at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles on November 21st.
Now in its 14th year, the HPA Awards recognize creative artistry, innovation and engineering excellence in the media content industry. The Lifetime Achievement Award honors the recipients' dedication to the betterment of the industry.
Legato is an iconic figure in the visual effects industry with multiple Oscar , British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA), Visual Effects Society (VES) nominations and awards to his credit. He is a multi-hyphenate on many of his projects, serving as Visual Effects Supervisor, VFX Director of Photography, and 2nd Unit Director. From his work with studios, directors, and in his roles at Sony Imageworks and Digital Domain, he is a groundbreaking thinker in the development of nimble digital workflows.
Legato's extensive film credits include some of the most creatively honored and important visual effects driven projects of the past 20 years. He has enjoyed long collaborations with leading directors including James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Martin Scorsese, and Robert Zemeckis.
Legato's career in VFX began in television at Paramount Pictures, where he supervised visual effects on two Star Trek series, which earned him two Emmy awards. He left Paramount to join the newly formed Digital Domain where he worked with founders James Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross, to forge Digital Domain into a visual effects powerhouse. He remained at Digital Domain until he segued to Sony Imageworks.
Legato began his feature VFX career on Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire. He then served as Visual Effects Supervisor and Director of Photography for the VFX unit on Ron Howard's Apollo 13 , which earned him his first Academy Award nomination, and a win at the BAFTAs. He worked with James Cameron on Titanic, earning him his first Academy Award. Legato continued to work with Cameron, conceiving and creating the Virtual Cinematography Pipeline for Cameron's visionary Avatar.
Legato has enjoyed a long collaboration with Martin Scorsese that began with his consultation on Kundun and continued with the multi-award winning film The Aviator, on which he served as Co-2nd Unit Director/Cameraman and Visual Effects Supervisor. Legato's work on The Aviator brought him three VES awards and the International Press Academy's Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects. He returned to work with the director on the Oscar Best Picture winner The Departed as the 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman and VFX Supervisor. Legato and Scorsese collaborated on Shutter Island, where he was both Visual Effects Supervisor and 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman. He continued on to Scorsese's epic 3D film Hugo, which was nominated for 11 Oscars and 11 BAFTAS, including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects. Legato won his second Oscar for Hugo as well as three VES Society Awards and an International Satellite Award. His collaboration with Scorsese continued with The Wolf of Wall Street as well as with non-theatrical and advertising projects such as the Clio award winning Freixenet: The Key to Reserva, a 10-minute commercial project, and the Rolling Stones feature documentary, Shine a Light.
Legato worked with director Jon Favreau on Disney's The Jungle Book (2nd Unit Director/Cinematographer and Visual Effects Supervisor) for which he received his third Academy Award, a British Academy Award, five VES Awards, an HPA Award and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Visual Effects for 2016. His latest film with Favreau is Disney's The Lion King, which surpassed $1 billion in box office after fewer than three weeks in theaters.
His extensive credits include serving as Visual Effects Supervisor on Chris Columbus' global phenomenon Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as well as two Robert Zemeckis films, What Lies Beneath and Cast Away. He was senior Visual Effects Supervisor on Michael Bay's Bad Boys II, which was nominated for a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects, and for Digital Domain he worked on Bay's Armageddon.
He is a member of ASC, BAFTA, DGA, AMPAS, VES, and the Local 600 and Local 700 unions.
Seth Hallen, president of the HPA, said, It is an absolute honor to present the HPA Award for Lifetime Achievement to the inimitable Rob Legato. His credits and accomplishments have played an undeniable role in the advancement of visual storytelling and expanded the way that audiences experience entertainment. His brilliant work has informed our viewpoint of what is real, what is an illusion, and how stories come to life. Rob has also joined us as a presenter at the HPA Awards, and to have him with us this year to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award is a wonderful cycle of events.
The HPA Awards honor creative categories, Engineering Excellence and Creativity and Innovation. Nominations for the creative categories will be announced in the coming weeks, and winners of the HPA Engineering Excellence Awards were announced earlier. The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous sponsorship of Diamond Title Sponsor Blackmagic Design, Platinum Sponsor IMAX, and foundation members Avid, Dolby, EFilm, Encore, Deluxe Toronto, and Level 3 Post. For sponsorship or program advertising opportunities, please contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com. Tickets for the HPA Awards are now available at www.hpaonline.com.
Share this:
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Comments Comments are closed.
AMIA's Digital Asset Symposium Unveils Insightf
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
13/02/2026
This Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify brought together a group of podcast creat...
13/02/2026
Yesterday, Spotify and LoveShackFancy hosted a Galentine's and Gents Lunch a...
13/02/2026
What can I watch on UKTV this week?What can I stream on U this week?
This guide highlights romantic dramas for Valentine's Day, alternative relationship t...
13/02/2026
New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists
Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
Swindlers, a...
12/02/2026
Valentine's Day often comes with a soundtrack. In fact, Spotify data shows that more people used Blend, our shared playlist feature, on February 14, 2025, t...
12/02/2026
Some days you want your music to reflect a specific feeling, memory, or vibe that goes beyond a single artist or genre. You want to do more than listen. You wan...
12/02/2026
The six-part crime drama, created by Claire Oakley and produced by Little Door P...
12/02/2026
Wuppertal February 12, 2026
Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Glo...
12/02/2026
The Digital Product Passport: A New Era of Transparency and Sustainability
Arvato Systems supports companies in getting started with the digital product passp...
11/02/2026
Video moves fast can your DAM keep up?
Join Blue Lucy in LA for the West Coast's leading Digital Asset Management event as we explore, celebrate, and acc...
11/02/2026
Wednesday 11 February 2026
Sky brings together Netflix, Disney , HBO Max and Ha...
11/02/2026
At the end of January, ICG headed off to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for our annual conference.
An early flight gave us plenty of time to start exploring s...
11/02/2026
The intergalactic children's show starring Adam King will premiere on 14 February on RT 2, RT KIDSjr and RT Player
The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King...
10/02/2026
With a new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights arriving just in time for Valent...
10/02/2026
Today, we announced our fourth quarter 2025 earnings, marking a strong finish to the year with exceptional user growth and continued momentum across the busines...
10/02/2026
I dag redovisar vi v rt resultat f r fj rde kvartalet 2025, vilket markerar ett starkt avslut p ret med robust anv ndartillv xt och fortsatt momentum i hela v...
10/02/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
10/02/2026
10 Feb 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Expands Digital Healthcare Services in Ukraine ...
10/02/2026
The new TV campaign is set to air on Sky from 10th February - 6th April inviting...
10/02/2026
Red Seat Ventures Acquires Leading Podcast Subscription Platform Supercast Los Angeles, CA, February 10, 2026 - Red Seat Ventures, a division of Fox Corporati...
10/02/2026
Arvato Systems celebrates a decade of innovation and customer success in the dig...
09/02/2026
Book a meeting or demonstration at ISE 2026! Please enter the following details. (Tick the relevant box for a meeting or demo):
--
Meeting / Demo*
Meeting...
09/02/2026
From Green Day using 2028s, Charlie Puth's rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner with a d:facto (as well as 4099s on many of the instruments) and Bad Bunny...
09/02/2026
RT Investigates rapid rise in waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital
am...
08/02/2026
08 Feb 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Launch Invest in Pakistan, NOW! Inviting Inter...
06/02/2026
Music fans know the feeling: A song stops you in your tracks, and you immediately want to know more. What inspired it, and what's the meaning behind it? We ...
06/02/2026
Calrec Wins Best of Show at ISE 2026 for Orchestrating Distributed IP Production
Calrec is delighted to announce that its IP Ecosystem Powered by True Control...
06/02/2026
What can I watch on TV in the UK this week? What can I watch on U&GOLD? What can I stream on U this week?
This week on UKTV, viewers can watch a range of new a...
06/02/2026
The Winter Olympics 2026 in Milano Cortina officially get underway this evening (Friday 6 February) with the Opening Ceremony live on RT Player and RT News ch...
05/02/2026
Since bringing audiobooks to Spotify in 2022, we've helped listeners discove...
05/02/2026
Today, Spotify announced two new updates to give book lovers a more personalized...
05/02/2026
AI should balance automation (replacing tasks) and augmentation (empowering humans). Automate the mundane and augment the creative by applying the right AI type...
05/02/2026
BBC Studios and UKTV have appointed Karin Marelle to lead their Global Acquisitions team, overseeing the sourcing of content across BBC Studios' global chan...
05/02/2026
Thursday 5 February 2026
The Miniature Wife, A Sky Exclusive comedy drama starr...
05/02/2026
Thursday 5 February 2026
Trailer Revealed for Sky Original Film FUZE starring A...
05/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz at MWC Barcelona 2026: Enabling connections, empowering innovati...
04/02/2026
Lyrics are one of Spotify's most popular features, giving fans a richer way to experience the music and artists they love. They're viewed hundreds of mi...
04/02/2026
Wednesday 4 February 2026
Full cast announced for Saturday Night Live UK, comin...
04/02/2026
Wednesday 4 February 2026
Fear of running out of mobile data (FORO) is a real i...
04/02/2026
Rohde & Schwarz powers next generation television in Brazil with DTV technology...
04/02/2026
Fox Corporation Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, February 4, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Compan...
04/02/2026
Lucas P. Arag n Joins FOX Advertising as Senior Vice President, Creative New York, NY - February 4, 2026 - Accomplished Creative Executive Lucas P. Arag n has...
04/02/2026
Following the passing of our friend and colleague Hugh Wallace, and with the full support of his family, RT will proceed with the broadcast of the new series o...
03/02/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration returned to Los Angeles last ni...
03/02/2026
FoMa Antares: Redefining Camera Stabilization for Modern ProductionsIn high-end broadcast and cinematic environments, precision, reliability, and flexibility ar...