Behind the big screen is where the real movie magic happens. The film’s production only starts when Jeanie King, an accomplished alumnus from Marin County who made her mark in the film industry, steps in.
King, a lifelong Marin resident, grew up in Greenbrae and attended Kent Middle School and Redwood High School, where she played on the varsity tennis team for three years. She was also part of the Redwood International Student Exchange, spending a summer abroad in the Netherlands for eight weeks. She later pursued hotel management at the University of Oregon, minoring in business. After college, she landed an internship at the Hyatt in San Francisco. However, King’s sister’s friend had told King that she had a job opportunity in Los Angeles, which King grabbed, introducing her to visual effects.
“I started working for Star Trek and from there, I saw visual effects. I decided I didn’t want to stay in Los Angeles for the rest of my life, [so] I moved back home and applied at Lucas-Film [and] Industrial Light Magic. I’ve been here at Industrial Light and Magic [since 1994],” King said.
Since joining the renowned visual effects company, she has worked hard to be involved in the behind-the-scenes work for these extraordinary films and to make the movies come alive.
“I worked in Morocco on Mummy Returns, and I got to live in England for six months,” King said. “I had good times on [the] Marvel films Avengers and End Game because of the crew. We were all in it together and it was hard, but I’ve made some lifelong friends out of that, too.”
King explained that the movies are very chaotic yet exciting to watch unfold. She also enjoys being able to see the product before any of the viewers.
“You know when you’re working on something that a lot of people are going to see, and you have a glimpse into the story, you have a sneak peek into [what the end result is going to be],” King said.
Marvel films, in particular, hold a special place for many high school students, including senior Sawyer Goldberg, who appreciates how they teach valuable lessons that can be applied in his day-to-day life. With a plethora of successful alumnae attending Redwood, Goldberg is inspired.
“It’s inspiring that you can see the success of people from Redwood in many different places,” Goldberg said.
King’s love and dedication to her job shine through despite the challenges. However, King’s experiences are worth those challenges.
“[The best part about working on these movies were] the relationships that I have made, places that I have been able to travel [to], and the experiences in Morocco, Petra, living in London, riding horses in the desert [and] in the southwest. The negatives [are] the long hours and working with difficult people,” King said.
Reflecting on her time at Redwood, she credited her high school experience with teaching her valuable life lessons that contributed to her success.
“It was working with the teachers and [how I have] fond memories of some of the teachers who were really honest and really [said how] this is what it’s going to be in life, and this is what you should do,” King said.
From Greenbrae to Hollywood and beyond, Jeanie King has accomplished many things due to her drive and positive mindset that she developed during her time at Redwood.
