A FORMER Griffith man is the toast of the town after The LEGO Movie won a British Academy Award.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Damian Candusso was a member of The LEGO Movie sound team.
The award win comes just weeks after the movie missed out on an anticipated Academy Award nomination.
American director Phil Lord posed with the BAFTA on Monday morning and declared while it wasn't made of Lego bricks it was "still pretty great".
“Oh yeah, you are our favourite academy by far," Lord told a crowd of famous faces at the Royal Opera House in London.
Fellow director Christopher Miller said on stage: "You guys win the award for best academy."
The US pair also thanked Animal Logic for providing the crucial animation.
Earlier on the red carpet, Miller said while missing out on an Oscar nod had initially been tough to take in the end it was actually inspiring.
"We were a little surprised and disappointed," he said.
"But we've just been excited to be part of this whole thing and it was really great to see the outpouring of love that happened online for the movie after that (snub).
“So it ended up being kind of inspiring."
Mr Candusso expressed disappointment at the Academy Award snub last month.
"Our sound team picked up best sound for an animated feature film in the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSC) award," Mr Candusso said at the time.
Mr Candusso was surprised that The LEGO Movie missed out on an Academy Award.
"I thought it was a strong contender," Mr Candusso said. "It made half a billion dollars." Mr Candusso, who teaches at Charles Sturt University and is in the process of completing his PhD, said The LEGO Movie had been an incredibly creative film to work on.
"I used lapel mics because they were so small and put them inside real toys," Mr Candusso said.
"My son's toy truck was used for the sound of Wild Styles motorbike. "The cogs of my son's broken toy truck were used for the sounds of Lord Business's legs."
Mr Candusso said the success of The LEGO Movie and the huge input of Australians proved modern technology meant anyone in the world could make a major contribution to a global film.