Michael Lantieri

Michael Lantieri (born August 13, 1954) is a special effects supervisor. He attended school in Los Angeles, California, with actor-director Ron Howard, with the goal of working in film as a director, a field he had been interested in since childhood. Instead, he began working in the special effects department at Universal Studios, with his first credited role being as a remote operator on *Heartbeeps* (1981). His first collaboration with Steven Spielberg came on *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade* (1989), where he served as a special effects supervisor. His work on *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986) earned him his first Saturn Award nomination (shared with Ken Ralston). He received his first of five Academy Award nominations for *Back to the Future Part II* (1989). His work on *Jurassic Park* (1993) earned him an Academy Award. Lantieri has since worked on each film in the *Jurassic Park* franchise, serving as under-special dinosaur effects for all except *Jurassic Park III*, where he was credited as a consultant.

One of his most notable films was *Mars Attacks!* (1996), where he was responsible for creating lifelike animations. Two years later, he directed his first and, to date, only film, *Komodo* (1998). In addition, Lantieri worked on *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* (2006) and the *Pirates of the Caribbean* ride at Disneyland, as well as special effects for video games. In television, he worked on *The Last Tycoon* (2016) and *Westworld* (2016–18). His work on the latter earned him (alongside several others) a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and win for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2017 for the episode "The Bicameral Mind."

Outside of effects work, Lantieri was involved in the destruction of the Steve Bartman baseball; when Grant DePorter purchased the ball in late 2003, he enlisted Lantieri to help detonate it publicly, which occurred on February 26, 2004. The remains of the ball are now on display at the Chicago Sports Museum.