Corona | Coming Attractions

San Francisco-based special effects house The Orphanage has closed its doors for good and its employees are looking for new jobs. As the downturn in the economy continues to hit entertainment companies, visual effects firms are facing the dual threat of smaller, leaner shops taking their work. Both of these factors played into the dissolution of The Orphanage.

Founded in 1999 by ex-Industrial Light & Magic employees, The Orphanage built up a great reputation and an impressive list of credits: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Grindhouse, and more recently, The Spirit. They also made some of the FX for Iron Man including the armor's HUD screens as well as the memorable scene where Iron Man fires a missile at an enemy tank.

The company had an offshoot called The Orphanage Animation Studio. Based in Los Angeles, that company has survived the closure of the S.F. parent house and now exists as a separate entity. The animation studio continues to work on The Power of the Dark Crystal with Gennedy Tartakovsky directing.