Film restorer John Lowry dies

John D. Lowry, a professional in film restoration who had been set to get an Academy Plaque for his innovative Lowry Process at February. 11's Scientific and Technical Honours, died Jan. 21. He was 79. With several co-workers, Lowry developed what AMPAS referred to like a "unique and efficient system for that decrease in noise along with other items, therefore supplying high-quality images needed through the filmmaking process." Lowry's company enhanced the look quality on a large number of films, including recent photos for example "Avatar" and "The Curious Situation of Benjamin Button" and classics for example "Gone Using the Wind," "Citizen Kane," "Sunset Boulevard," "Singin' while it is raining,Inch "Roman Holiday" and "Dr. Zhivago." Lowry founded his company in 1988 as Lowry Digital Images. It later grew to become DTS Digital Images underneath the possession of DTS from 2005-08 however the Burbank-based firm eventually grew to become a part of India's Reliance Large Entertainment Group. Reliance MediaWorks Boss Anil Arjun stated, "We're deeply saddened through the passing of John Lowry. He would be a visionary who introduced unparalleled technological and imaging developments towards the film industry. His work has been utilized to revive probably the most exclusive classic films from the century and respected for that standards and excellence the various tools represented." Additionally to the work rebuilding in the past significant films, Lowry Digital is becoming progressively expert in focus on three dimensional films. Jon Landau, co-producer of "Avatar," which won an Oscar for visual effects, stated: "Lowry Digital's innovative digital image processing assisted us produce the wholly immersive world that (director and co-producer James Cameron) imagined. We introduced Lowry directly into cleanup and enhance live-action moments where necessary, permitting us to provide three dimensional images with unparalleled quality." Lowry seemed to be active in the change in Cameron's "Titanic" to three dimensional. Born in Toronto, Lowry began within the entertainment industry like a stagehand in the CBC in 1952. In 1971 he acquired recognition in the market for his calculations utilized in the restoration from the NASA Apollo missions 16 and 17 films. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com