LOS ANGELES — Eric Saindon, part of Sunday night’s Oscar-winning “Avatar: The Way of Water” visual effects team, was reportedly hospitalized shortly after winning his award Sunday night in Hollywood.
Saindon then underwent surgery for a ruptured small intestine, according to IndieWire. He is now recovering.
Weta FX, the New Zealand visual effects company founded by filmmaker Peter Jackson, did not respond immediately Tuesday to a request for information about Saindon.
The VFX supervisor went to a Beverly Hills hospital around noon Sunday after experiencing intense pain all day, a Weta FX representative told IndieWire. Cleared of appendicitis and kidney stones and given painkillers by the doctors, Saindon decided to attend the Oscars, but went back to the hospital in pain after his pressroom interview, the outlet reported.
On the second hospital visit, doctors found the ruptured small intestine and operated to fix it, IndieWire said.
Sunday’s trophy was the first Oscar for Saindon, an American visual effects supervisor who lives in New Zealand. He and his cohorts were also honored this year with a BAFTA for their “Avatar: The Way of Water” work. Saindon was nominated for Oscars for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in 2013 and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” in 2014.
Saindon‘s resume includes VFX supervisor gigs on the “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Night at the Museum,” the first “Avatar” and “The Hobbit” films, and he was a senior VFX supervisor on “Avatar: The Way of Water.” He has worked at Weta since 1999.
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