Linux in Hollywood: a star is born

Although Linux has yet to achieve wide popularity in the computer game world (see ibid., Dec., p.161-2, 2001), it is making rapid progress toward becoming the dominant operating system in the other major entertainment arena: motion pictures. Name a motion picture from the past year or two (to 2002) that featured stunning animation or dazzling special effects, and chances are the film's producers used Linux-based computers to splash those graphics on the big screen. For most of the past 30 years, Hollywood has led the development of computer graphics by constantly pushing the state of the art to wow audiences with ever more spectacular visuals. Many of these achievements can be seen annually at Siggraph conferences and exhibitions, where leading researchers and practitioners in the computer graphics field demonstrate work that companies such as Industrial Light and Magic or Pixar have done for the latest blockbuster films.