Special effects supervisor Brian Johnson was asked to helm the special effects for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), but his involvement with this series took priority. While helming the special effects for Alien (1979), Johnson was asked to take charge of the effects for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), so he left the effects duties for Alien (1979) with his assistant on the project, Nick Allder, who had also been his main special effects assistant on this show, then moved on to work with the effects crew on "Empire". Johnson and Allder ended up sharing an Oscar for Special Effects for Alien (1979), then Johnson shared a Special Achievement Award for Special Visual Effects on . Johnson would later go on to helm the post-production visual effects on , in which he would end up sharing a BAFTA Film Award.