Phil Tippett's 90-disc production archive goes online after Berkeley liquidation

An archive buyer posting as TippettFan says they acquired a folder of CD-ROMs and DVDs during the August 2026 liquidation of Tippett Studio's former Berkeley facility and have posted ISO images of 90 key, non-duplicated discs on the Internet Archive. The upload is explicitly labelled unofficial. It is a collection of disc images rather than a rights-cleared, work-by-work studio archive; some files must be downloaded to inspect.

According to the uploader's account and reporting, the discs contain slides and behind-the-scenes images linked to Star Wars and Piranha; creature-design material from Evolution; and effects-related photographs, tests, artwork and interviews associated with films including RoboCop, Jurassic Park and Starship Troopers. These are collection-level leads, not a claim that SMDB has independently inspected every asset or verified production credits from the discs.

The Berkeley site closed in August, but that is a separate event from the archive's appearance online. Tippett Studio has stated that it continues visual-effects and animation work, including from its Toronto operation. The archive's public availability does not establish copyright or blanket permission to reproduce its photographs, art, films or production files.

The Internet Archive listing is the primary access point. For historical research, the next steps are to inventory disc filenames, classify stop-motion footage separately from CG tests and other VFX, inspect individual assets, preserve source references and connect verified findings to the relevant films, craftspeople and production techniques without mirroring uncleared materials.