Oscar-winning special effects master John Richardson lifts the lid on his amazing career, through unpublished images and behind-the-scenes stories. John Richardson is an Oscar-winning special effects supervisor and designer, who has been involved in over 100 movies, including nine James Bond adventures, all eight Harry Potter films, Aliens, Superman, A Bridge Too Far, Straw Dogs, The Omen, Cliffhanger, Far and Away, Willow... and many, many more. In creating the magic that flows through these films – by creating huge explosions, beheading people, producing futuristic gadgets, making a man fly or breathing life into creatures that amaze and haunt us – Richardson has come to hold a unique place in cinema history. The son of pioneering FX technician Cliff Richardson, he learned his trade at the feet of a master of the craft. With over five decades of adventures under his belt, and a vast photographic collection of unseen pictures, Richardson now lifts the lid on his exciting and fascinating career of making movie magic. AUTHOR: John Richardson has enjoyed a fifty-seven-year career in the film business as an acclaimed special effects technician and supervisor, working on well over 100 films and several of cinema's biggest franchises. He has been Oscar-nominated six times and won for Aliens in 1986. 100 colour, 100 b/w illustrations