A Pleasanton man who falsely claimed he was a three-time Oscar-winning sound designer was sentenced Friday to four years in federal prison for defrauding investors of nearly $4 million in an investment scheme.
Scene 1 – Lying
It was Brice Carrington who gave King Kong his roar, the T-Rex and other dinosaurs their menacing sound in the movie Jurassic Park, put the hiss in Snakes on a Plane, the swoosh in Superman’s flight and the swirling sound in Spiderman’s web-shooting. Carrington is the man behind the pops, bangs, booms and blasts of the firepower in Miami Vice, True Lies, The Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, etc.
Carrington received 3 commemorative Oscars for “King Kong,” “Ghost and the Darkness,” and “Jurassic Park.” He has created sound effects for 41 blockbuster films, including Jurassic Park 3, Blade, The Blood Hunt, Rush Hour 2, Van Helsing, Superman Returns, Spiderman, and the Mummy Returns sequels.
Scene 2 – Retraction
I am Brice Carrington. I am writing this note to address comments made about me and to state some facts about my work. All the statements made that say directly that I have NEVER worked on a film or have won an academy award for sound is absolutely true. I have never worked on a motion picture nor have I ever won an academy award. The fact is, I am a sound designer, and I make recreations of sounds found in films and sell them to the public through a brand called Ultimate FX. I am completely responsible for all the misleading or incorrect statements made about me in the press. My effort was to create press for the brand Ultimate FX, which I am the author. I did this foolishly. This is a library where I have made my OWN versions of movie sounds. I have no association with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. I commemorate the Oscars by creating a version of the main characters in films that win Oscars. Like in Jurassic Park, we make a T-Rex using hogs in water, lion growls, a lawn mower and elephant roars. That is My version. I sell this and other sounds complete with the stems to consumers. This is a lawful enterprise, but misleading the public or allowing mis-characterizations is wrong. I am issuing an apology for making all of the misleading or mischaracterizations of my work. I apologize to those in the sound industry and the makers of the original works and studios that distribute them for this offense. To correct this, I will ask for retractions were appropriate in the press. I will also refrain from any further public comments and allow the brand and the product to speak for itself through traditional means of sales and marketing. To those in the sound industry and those specifically I have offended, you have a right to be upset, and I offer my sincere apology. I am sorry that you had to spend one minute of your time addressing this.
The End – Sentence
Carrington admitted that he had lured investors by spinning a series of yarns. He told people he had won three Oscars, had an extensive background in sound design and had ties to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Carrington admitted that he had received $3.6 million by victimizing 13 people. Almost none of the money went to designing sound effects; most went for such expenses as the mortgage on his $2.6 million Pleasanton home and fancy cars.
In 2006, Carrington paid $52,000 to Walnut Creek jeweler Davidson & Licht to create three fake Oscar statuettes, according to a civil suit that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences filed, claiming copyright infringement. He displayed at least one of the fake Oscars at his home, authorities said.
Carrington, born Antonio Wilson, has a previous forgery conviction in San Diego and a larceny conviction in Dallas, court records show.
His Twitts (I don’t know if this is the official account of Brice but is fun)
Moral: Be careful with your words.
Best apology perhaps ever-give this guy an award:)
His Apology is nice, but if you were one of the investors who dumped money into his escapade I think it would be insuffcient. As the Sound Designer for Fantastic Four and one of the Sound Designers for Spiderman, I find it remarkable that anyone would feel comfortable in claiming credit for something they had no involvement with, and the idea of being connected to criminal fraud in such a manner of association is not a trivial insult in my opinion.
My apologies Charles-I was of course just being facetious.
I think it’s obvious that his apology does nothing to mitigate the real-world consequences of his actions. Hence the joke.
Would you invest in a sound-designer?
My personal belief is that people shouldn’t invest in fields that they have little understanding of.
Hopefully, they will see some of their energy(money) again.
“I find it remarkable that anyone would feel comfortable in claiming credit for something they had no involvement with, and the idea of being connected to criminal fraud in such a manner of association is not a trivial insult in my opinion.”
“Sometimes, one confesses a sin in order to take credit for it” -John von Neumann.
People make fake diplomas and impersonate war veterans on a regular basis. Prestige, I suppose.
Perhaps the definition of “sound-designer” needs firming up. It’s a bit nebulous at the moment.
Nice work on FF.
Jeez, I always get left out! I suck at finding people with money they want to throw down the rat hole of post audio!
The funny thing is that even having film credits doesn’t necessarily put you in the Sound Designer category, which my definition of is creating what has never been heard in sound. The blurry part is when designing and editing meet and this new sound is placed against picture for the best possible dramatic effect. I do both and that’s who and how I work.
This guy is a fascinating radar blip and a nice reminder about how well the sound community self polices credit piracy.
You steal credits and achievements, we will find you.
I got to speak to this guy on the phone once. A family friend was someone who had invested in him.
Anyway, I could tell he was all lies from speaking to him the first time. Everyone who invested in him was quite dumb to be honest.
I had warned people, but they didn’t listen to me because I was still in college back then. Oh well.
Luckily, he got justice served to him. Had he been smarter, he could have covered his tracks, a real fool this guy.