Phil Tippett archive online after Berkeley studio liquidation
After Phil Tippett’s Berkeley studio was liquidated, archive files surfaced online, with material reportedly spanning Star Wars, RoboCop and Jurassic Park.
According to the available information, a large CD binder was found during a sale of studio items. An anonymous buyer is said to have uploaded its contents to the Internet Archive, with roughly 90 ISO files from non-duplicated discs reportedly included.
The shared files are said to contain material tied to multiple phases of Tippett’s career, including Star Wars, RoboCop, Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers and Hellboy.
What happened
Phil Tippett’s studio in Berkeley, California, is said to have closed after financial problems and then been liquidated. The reporting mentions a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a sale of studio assets. According to the information provided, the liquidation sale took place in August, and the online circulation of the material was reported in early October 2026.
During that sale, a large CD binder is said to have turned up. According to the source, an anonymous attendee bought the binder and later put it online, after which the contents circulated on the Internet Archive. The available description mentions around 90 ISO files from non-duplicated discs, but the supplied information does not fully clarify which file types were included or how complete the upload is.
The shared collection is said to include material from several phases of Tippett’s career. The description names Star Wars, Hellboy, Starship Troopers, RoboCop and Jurassic Park. The source information therefore mainly confirms that this is a broad selection from his archive, but not that every listed project is equally well represented or that all files were distributed with permission.
Timeline
1978 — Phil Tippett works at Industrial Light & Magic on stop-motion animation for Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, including the tauntaun and Imperial walkers.
1984 — Tippett Studio is founded in Berkeley, California.
Last August — The Berkeley studio is reportedly closed, followed by a liquidation sale of studio items, artwork, production materials and equipment.
2026-10-01 — Online reporting about the surfaced archive material appears, with references to an upload on the Internet Archive.
2026-10-03 — The story continues to circulate, with reports of about 90 ISO files from non-duplicated discs from the studio sale.
Background
Phil Tippett is an American animator, visual-effects artist and filmmaker best known for his stop-motion work on Star Wars. The sources also connect his name to RoboCop, Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers and Hellboy. According to the background information provided, he worked with Industrial Light & Magic before building his own company.
The available information says Tippett founded Tippett Studio in 1984. An external biographical source included in context lists his birth year as 1951 and describes him as a visual-effects supervisor and producer with multiple Academy Award nominations and wins. That broader career context helps explain why archive material from his studio is drawing so much attention.
Reporting on the Berkeley studio liquidation refers to a sale of artwork, production materials and equipment. The supplied sources also say the studio was closed in August 2026 with a liquidation sale. The online circulation of the files therefore follows a concrete sale of physical studio items, but the legal status of the shared files remains unclear.
The available information also says the upload circulated on the Internet Archive after an anonymous buyer took the CD binder. The source mentions around 90 ISO files, but does not confirm whether all discs in the binder were digitized or whether other archive media are also in circulation. It also remains unclear whether the files contain only visual material or also other production assets such as documents or audio.
Sources
The facts in this article are based on the supplied source information about the Berkeley studio liquidation, the online circulation of archive material and the titles named from Tippett’s career.