Director. Storyteller. Creator.
Robert’s Academy Awards Experience for Alice in Wonderland:
“When I walked on stage carrying this mini Mad Hatter’s hat, it felt electric in my hands, knowing I had just won my SECOND Academy Award. The hat was my punctuation mark to all of the hard work I put into that film. I was on top of the world after winning another Oscar. And I can say I thoroughly enjoyed all the challenges that went along with my role of Production Designer on Alice in Wonderland. I couldn’t thank enough people that evening, there are so many talented team members that contributed to this movie’s success, and I appreciated every one of them.”
Robert is an extraordinary visionary artist and creative leader in the entertainment industry for movies, TV mini series, and commercials.
I grew up watching Phil Tippett and my dad make monsters in our garage. And, that's what I did as a kid. My dad was a low-budget film director, and I grew up making movies based on the love of seeing what my dad enjoyed.
Something wonderful happened when I was in elementary school. A Disney artist named Bruce McIntyre, who had retired from Disney as an illustrator – who drew 'Pinocchio' and 'Snow White', the classic stuff – had moved to the town I grew up in, Carlsbad, CA. He became a part-time art teacher at our local elementary school. He taught us how to draw – and not just anything – we drew Disney characters, and from that time forward I was hooked. I excelled in drawing, then painting, and then I knew I was an artist, even though I considered myself an athlete first.
I used to do stop motion and claymation in my garage, helping my Dad with a Pillsbury doughboy (Poppin' Fresh) commercial and other fun stuff. That led to working with Illusion Arts, creating matte paintings for Star Trek - First Contact, Star Trek - The Next Generation episodes ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ and ‘A Matter of Time,’ Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, episode ‘Tribunal,’ and Star Trek - Voyager pilot episode ‘Caretaker,’ plus many other films from the mid-90s. I earned one Emmy Award nomination and two wins for my work on Star Trek.
Illusion Arts at it’s peak with co-founders, effects cinematographer Bill Taylor and matte painter Syd Dutton shown here with then young, up and coming matte artist (and future Feature Director) Robert Stromberg observing a splendid glass painted matte for a Michael Jackson music video
For many years, I painted professionally, which was done on glass before computers could digitally master painting on screen. In 1992, I purchased an Apple II Computer and Photoshop 1.0 and taught myself to paint digitally. It proved to be a very good move; I was one of the first to offer a digital rendering just as film was converting to digital movies. From there, I launched Digital Backlot Studio, a visual effects company, and moved up the ranks in Hollywood in pursuit of my ultimate goal - to be a film director.
I moved to Los Angeles to become a director, which thousands—if not tens of thousands—of people do every year. Of course, it's a very competitive field. I immediately got swept away into the visual side of things, starting with visual effects and then designing.
Star Trek
I quickly excelled in visual effects and digital production, with over 100 production credits on films, including Addams Family Values, From Dusk Till Dawn, Dragonheart, and Courage Under Fire. I enjoyed the challenge of being a production designer, creating the worlds of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland before I finally took my first role as a director in a major film with Maleficent.
Directing is a rhythm, like music or composition, and art is a rhythm.
Golden Satellite Award winner
Cannes Lion Silver Lion Award winner
Art Directors Guild Award winner
Two-time Gold Derby Award winner
Three-time Visual Effects Society Award winner
OFTA Film Award winner
Two-time Academy Award® winner
Five-time Primetime Emmy Award® winner
BAFTA Film Award winner
Two-time Saturn Award winner
Truly Moving Picture Award winner
PFCS Award winner
Award-winning Work
Robert sits at the pinnacle of Hollywood’s visual effects work, with an Academy Award® for Best Art Direction on Avatar (the highest-grossing film of all time making $2.837 million worldwide) and Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. He has also won five Emmy Awards® for visual effects in Star Trek (both ‘Voyager’ and ‘The Next Generation’), and HBO’s John Adams and Boardwalk Empire.
As both a premier storyteller and digital artist at the forefront of emerging technology, Robert’s film directorial debut was for Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, which has made over $760 million in worldwide box office. This was the highest-grossing film for a first-time director. While Robert created 60 matte paintings and developed characters for Maleficent, he is more well known for his directing.
Robert’s big brand commercial credits include Netflix (which aired during the Opening Ceremony of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics) Walmart, Kohler, Hulu, GE, and Intel to name a few. His commercials that aired during the Super Bowl include Eli Lilly’s Emgality, PepsiCo’s LIFEWTR, and Mercedes-Benz. Robert’s branded series for Intel’s “What Lives Inside” campaign won three Cannes Lions in 2015.
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
Robert is the Founder, Chief Creative Officer, and Chairman of The Virtual Reality Company (VRC). Robert’s proven vision and artistic capacity to create captivating imaginative worlds uniquely positions him to embrace the unique design challenges inherent in the immersive experience of VR.
Robert directed The Martian VR Experience through VRC and Ridley Scott & Associates Films. This pioneering immersive companion piece to Ridley Scott’s The Martian accrued many industry honors, including a Cannes Silver Lion and AICP Next award. He also directed Jurassic World Virtual Reality Experience which debuted at Dave & Busters in 2018, and was the highest-grossing, location-based VR experience.
“The potential of virtual reality is truly limitless. The technology keeps shocking me. We launched VRC to bring together the worldd’s greatest storytellers and artists to create amazing experiences for VR. I see several incredible concert halls being built, so we’re writing new symphonies.”