Digital Domain (website here) is a California-based effects studio. Originally a collaboration between James Cameron, Stan Winston and former head of ILM Scott Ross in 1992. Since then, the company has provided effects for over eighty films, multiple commercials and over a dozen games.
In 2006, leading shareholders Cox and IBM took control of Digital Domain and sold the company to Wyndcrest Holdings, LLC (led by director and reoccurring client Michael Bay, former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, and technology entrepreneur John Textor).
On September 6, 2012, John Textor and Michael Bay resigned, as Textor made a proposal to purchase the company and replace the company’s toxic predatory lenders. On September 11th, 2012, the board decided instead to restructure the company through "Chapter 11" bankruptcy which allowed them to sell DD to two major shareholders originally brought in by Textor. They shut down the Florida studio (the ones in LA, Asia and Vancouver are still open), became tangled in lawsuits between longtime partner Prime Focus and South Korean firm Samsung, against creditor/shareholder Legendary Pictures and has since become a turning point in Florida's history.
Films and other projects Digital Domain have worked on include:
- 2012
- The A-Team
- A Beautiful Mind
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (Commercial)
- Apollo 13
- Armageddon (1998)
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Barbie Cool Looks Fashion Designer & Digital Makeover
- Bulletstorm
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Cinderella Man
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Darkness II
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Deadpool
- Dead Space 3: Take Down The Terror
- Ender's Game, also co-produced the film.
- Evolve: Happy Hunting
- The Fifth Element
- Fight Club
- Flags of Our Fathers
- The Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
- Fright Night (2011)
- Furious 7
- Every Gears of War Commercial (using the actual Unreal 3 Game Engine)
- GI Joe The Rise Of Cobra
- The Golden Compass
- Halo:
- Halo 3: "Starry Night" commercial
- Halo 4: "Awakening" Trailer
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
- I, Robot
- Independence Day: Resurgence
- Into the Storm (2014)
- Iron Man 3
- Jack the Giant Slayer
- Killzone 3
- Lake Placid
- The Last of Us (2023)
- LEGO Alpha Team (Video Game)
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Mad Max: Ethos
- MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat (Intro)
- Medal of Honor: Warfighter: Pre-rendered cutscenes
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Oblivion
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pixels
- Pokémon (20th anniversary trailer)
- Power Rangers (2017)
- Ready Player One (2018), also handled ADR recording services.
- Real Steel
- Red Planet
- Rock of Ages
- Rules of Engagement
- Secondhand Lions, also co-produced the film.
- The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
- Speed Racer (were the leads in developing the software and cars)
- Star Trek (2009)
- Star Wars: Visions (Recording studio for the short T0-B1)
- Super Mario Maker (Commercial)
- Supernova (for Hammerhead Production)
- Thor
- Titanic (1997)
- Transformers:
- Transformers
- Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (VGA World Premiere and E3 Trailers)
- TRON: Legacy
- True Lies (their first project)
- The Fake Shemping of Tupac Shakur at the 2012 edition of the Coachella festival.
- Vanilla Sky
- Voltron: Legendary Defender: VR Chronicles
- We Were Soldiers
- What Dreams May Come
- A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
- X-Men
- Zodiac
Tropes the company's exhibited:
- All-CGI Cartoon: Their video game trailer work and several commercials.
- Alliterative Name
- Animesque: Used in a recent Dodge commercial.
- Development Hell: When the bankruptcy in 2012 happened, they were set to co-produce a live action Ender's Game movie. Subverted in that production on it has since resumed. With Digital Domain still co-producing.
- Easter Egg: Some minor examples were included in The Fifth Element, such as license plates that say "New York, The Fuck-You State" and several employees on the rooftops, decks and windows.
- He Also Did: Besides the opening paragraph; Christina Hsu, a former animator for the company is also a regular columnist for Cracked.
- Live-Action Adaptation: Speed Racer, The Golden Compass, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Thor, the Transformers films and Ender's Game; among others.
- Troubled Production: Red Planet, though other problems factored into that.
- The aforementioned Ender's Game fell into this state when the bankruptcy happened.
- Before the lawsuit, Prime Focus was bidding to buy the company. Technicolor Creative Services was also a bidder.