Alec Gillis began his professional career in 1980 at Roger Corman's New World Pictures. While working with future luminaries such as James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd, Alec also attended UCLA Film School. By 1985 he began working for Creature FX legend Stan Winston ("Aliens", "Predator", "Pumpkinhead"). There he met Tom Woodruff, Jr with whom he co-founded the Creature FX studio Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) in 1988. The duo received an Oscar for their work on "Death Becomes Her", as well as nominations for "Alien 3" and "Starship Troopers". They also won BAFTAs and Saturn Awards for the films "Starship Troopers" and "Jumanji". Gillis is also a writer. His book Worlds: A Mission of Discovery has been optioned by a major studio. He's also written a number of screenplays and created a TV series.