Gary A. Rizzo Wiki: Everything To Know About The 'Interstellar' Audio Engineer

“Dunkirk” was one of the best movies last year, thanks to the crew which included Gary A. Rizzo, the audio engineer. The movie was described as a silent movie because there was little dialogue in the entire film. However, the sounds were really great, thanks to people like Rizzo. Rizzo, who has won an Oscar before and he put all the skills and experience in making “Dunkirk.” Rizzo has been nominated for a couple of awards in the past and several academy awards, including the Oscar 2018 for “Dunkirk” and BAFTA. So who is Rizzo? 46-year-old Gary A. Rizzo was born and raised in New Jersey. Rizzo is a professional audio engineer having studied at Full Sail University. Rizzo, however, markets himself as a re-recording mixer. The audio engineer works at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound. Rizzo won his first Oscar for the 2010 film, “Inception”. Rizzo has also been nominated for the movies like “The Incredibles”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, “Interstellar” and probably the latest released one that Rizzo worked on, “Dunkirk”. Other movies that Rizzo has worked on are “Thor: The Dark World” and “Despicable Me 2”. Those aren’t the only movies Rizzo has worked on. Since 1994, Rizzo has worked on over 150 films and made a good net worth from that.

The Oscar 2018 awarding is slated to happen in April. “Dunkirk” received eight nominations. As far as the audio part of the film is concerned, the film garnered critical acclaim for its impressive soundtrack especially the IMAX show-case screening thanks to its director, Chris Nolan and the sound crew including the sound engineer, Gary A. Rizzo. The movie narrates the fate of around 400,000 allied soldiers who were trapped by the enemy on the beaches of Dunkirk. There is an extraordinary plan to rescue them by using small ships coming from close English seaports. Sadly, more than 68,000 soldiers were either captured or killed during the Battle of Dunkirk and from the retreat, more than 300,000 of them were rescued in nine days in May 1940. Rizzo stated that the whole film focuses on the mole where larger ships are able to take off troops, the sea, the English boats and the air where some spitfire pilots are there to protect the vessels and beaches from the German air attacks.

Richard King led the sound team of the film. While he and his team were gathering sounds, the audio engineer, Rizzo, and his team were mixing the layers of sound with the movie’s dialogue. Rizzo made a comparison that when in a restaurant with a friend, just like any other person, Rizzo’s heard the extraneous noise and his mind blocked everything because Rizzo believes the mind is like a mixing console. Rizzo has worked with King before on other Nolan’s films and they all agreed that Nolan’s approach was unique. Rizzo said that King used sound in a way that many tried but a few achieved. Rizzo also stated that he felt like his cardiovascular system had been hijacked and it was all about pulse, pace and purpose. You can at least understand why Rizzo was nominated for an Oscar 2018.

When people hear that Rizzo was the sound mixer of the film, the wonder what the audio engineer was doing. War movies like “Dunkirk” have everything to do with good audio. Rizzo allows the audience to experience the gunshots, explosions, jet engines and the dramatic music. Sound mixers like Rizzo have the responsibility of adjusting the levels of ranging sound elements. Making the audio for the film was more pleasure for Rizzo. It was a brand new experience for Rizzo helping to make the movie worth watching even though there is no much war in it.

Shortly after graduating, Gary A. Rizzo became an intern at EFX in Burbank and he had and it was a small facility, but Rizzo described it as wonderful. Later on, Rizzo, he moved into being a mix tech and Rizzo wasn’t earning much to start with. Rizzo’s first major deal took time to appear, but he never lost hope. Rizzo advised the new graduates attempting to land major jobs with big profits that they would have to start from down as Rizzo did. Rizzo urged them to be patient and focused.

Rizzo began working with Christopher Nolan in 2005 on “Batman Begins,” and since then, Rizzo has collaborated with the director in many movies including “Dunkirk.” Rizzo said that it was an honor for him working with Nolan and Rizzo described the director as a decisive and passionate as well as a relentless person who was in the pursuit of his kind of vision.

According to Net Worth Post, Gary A. Rizzo has a net worth of $6 million. Rizzo has made of his net worth from his behind the scene roles in movies like “Thor: The Dark World”, “Despicable Me 2”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, “Interstellar” and “Dunkirk”.

Rizzo has won an Oscar before and if he wins the Oscar 2018, it will be his second Oscar. Hopefully, Rizzo will take the award home.