Thilo Kuther, the German founder of the international visual effects company Pixomondo, died of cancer on Tuesday at his home in Marina del Rey, his cousin, Niklas Fissel, said. The Hollywood Reporter. He was 58.
Born in Frankfurt, Kuther launched Pixomondo in 2001 from Stuttgart, creating video installations and 3D animation for corporate clients before jumping into films four years later. As of 2012, it had offices in those two cities and 10 others: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Shanghai, Beijing, London, Toronto, Santa Monica, Burbank, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
By 2018, Pixomondo had added offices in Vancouver and Montreal to its two offices in China, plus London, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
“It’s about finding a place that’s capable of doing great work and then joining the other facilities to share the work [among them],” he said in 2012.
Pixomondo’s notable credits include that of Martin Scorsese Hugo (2011), which won five Oscars, including one for visual effects, and films in the Fast & Furious and hunger games franchises.
It is also known for his relationship with Roland Emmerich, who has worked with the German filmmaker on effects-driven movies like 2012 (2009), Independence Day: Revival (2016), Halfway through (2019) and Moon attack (2022).
In television, Pixomondo was one of HBO’s main effects providers Game of Throneswho won seven Emmys in the VFX category.
In July 2018, Mayfair Equity Partners took a majority stake in Pixomondo valuing the company at $65 million. Kuther remained CEO and executive producer at the time.
In October, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the company from Mayfair. Kuther had left by then, his cousin said.
The talented Kuther’s most recent venture was running Xmachina, a themed entertainment and design agency based in Marina del Rey (his cousin also works there). It was the name of his first company.
Survivors also include his wife, Claudia.
