Oscar-winning special effects wiz Eileen Moran who worked on 'The Hobbit' and ... - New York Daily News

Eileen Moran, the Oscar-winning special effects wizard who placed King Kong atop the Empire State Building, made Brad Pitt bleed, and helped speed Bilbo Baggins on his quest, died Monday in New Zealand after a battle with ovarian cancer.

Moran, who hailed from Long Island, was too ill last week to attend the world premiere in Wellington, N.Z., of one of the last movies she worked on, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

Her death sparked tributes from the film's director, Peter Jackson, his partner Fran Walsh, and other top moviemakers.

"Fran and I are terribly upset at the news that we lost Eileen a couple of hours ago," said Jackson. "She was a lovely, decent person who had great respect for all the artists she worked with."

Moran also worked with Jackson on "King Kong" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. And as the leader of the Weta Digital team, she won the Best Visual Effects Oscar for "Avatar" in 2009.

"Eileen was an integral part of building Weta Digital Profile into the most powerful engine for imaginative imagery that ever existed, and she shepherded some of the milestone films of her generation to completion," said "Avatar" director James Cameron.

Moran, who lived in New Zealand, was also nominated for an Oscar last year for Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin."

Raised in West Islip, L.I., Moran attended the State University College at New Paltz with other aspiring actors like John Turturro. She then moved to Brooklyn Heights and tried to make it as an actress in New York City.

Moran later moved to Los Angeles where she tapped her technological side and began to make her indelible mark in the movies. Her body of work also includes "Fight Club," which co-starred Pitt, "I, Robot," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "The Lovely Bones" and "Prometheus."

In 1991, Moran got an email that changed her life: Jackson was turning J.R.R. Tolkein's trilogy into a movie and needed a visual-effects producer.

Moran got the gig and moved to the other side of the world and remained a key member of Jackson's production team until she died.

Moran is survived by her children, Jack and Ava, her father Jack Moran, stepmother Joan Moran, and sisters Janet, Patti and Jackie.

Like many in show business, Moran was fuzzy about her age. She was described as being in her mid-50s.