Tim McGovern Dies: ‘Total Recall’ Visual Effects Oscar Winner Was 68

Armando Tinoco
·2 min read
Tim McGovern Dies: ‘Total Recall’ Visual Effects Oscar Winner Was 68
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Tim McGovern, the visual effects artist and Oscar winner for his work on the 1990 film Total Recall, has died. He was 68.

McGovern’s wife, Reena NeGandhi, shared news of her husband on social media.

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“Today is the saddest day of my life. My Husband Tim McGovern, an Oscar winner for the VFX in 1990’s for Total Recall and several more awards from the VES has died today. He passed away in his sleep,” NeGhandi shared on Facebook.

NeGhandi shared that he found McGovern unresponsive and called the ambulance but was declared “dead on arrival.”

“When I went to go wake him up at 1pm He wasn’t getting up and I realised he had no heart beat or pulse,” she continued. “I quickly called the ambulance. We took him to the hospital they tried to revive him with CPR but it didn’t work and they claimed him dead on arrival. He was only 69. May his soul RIP.”

The Visual Effects Society recently recognized McGovern with the 2023 Founders Award for his contributions to the art, science, or business of visual effects and meritorious service to the Society.

McGovern was a founding member of Sony Pictures ImageWorks and ran it as the Senior VFX Supervisor as well as the SVP of Creative and Technical Affairs. After leaving Sony, McGovern continued as an independent VFX artist and filmmaker.

NeGhandi shared that McGovern had written a film and a novel, which she will now take over and make for him.

“He had so many life dreams for his film and now he’s gone. He’s left it in my hands to make it happen now,” she added. “I have no idea how I will live without him. He took such good care of me and he was my world. May his soul rest in peace.”

McGovern’s most recent film credits include Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), Jungle Cruise (2021), Men in Black: International (2019), First Man (2019), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Dunkirk (2017), The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016), and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015), among many others.

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