Okay. Where exactly did we leave off?
Oh, yeah. The part where I write the Disney-related stories and you folks read them.
First of all, an apology for mostly being AWOL these past two weeks. But — as you may recall — I’ve been on Divorced Daddy Duty since back on December 24th. When I flew all the way out to Honolulu to collect my darling daughter, Alice. (Shelly says “Hi,” by the way). Then the two of us quickly reversed course, schlepping all the way back to New England. Where Alice got to spend time with Nancy and I, her grandparents, aunts and uncles & cousins.
And — if that weren’t enough — my darling daughter also got to experience snow. To be specific, Alice got to experience the joy of heaving a snowball at her Dad and nailing him squarely in his over-sized ass. Ah, the joys of father-daughter bonding.
All in all, it was a fun trip. One that was over far too soon. Which meant that — on January 5th — the two of us had to begin our trek back to the tropics. And then — after spending less than 24 hours on the ground in Hawaii (Which did leave just enough time to get in a meal at Zippy’s, though) — I began my lonely trek back to New England.
So now I’m home in New Boston. Still a little bleary from all that traveling (Not to mention feeling somewhat
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blue. What with missing my daughter and all).
But — that said — it’s a new year here at JHM. And there’s already a lot to talk about. So enough with the “Poor, poor, pitiful me” crap … Let’s get back to work, shall we?
And — speaking of work — some of the hardest working, least recognized people in the industry (I.E. The folks who work in visual effects) want their turn in the spotlight. Which is why — just a few years ago — the Visual Effects Society (I.E. The entertainment industry’s only organization for visual effects professionals) started up the VES Awards. That’s right. The visual effects equivalent of the Emmys or the Oscars.
Well, just this morning, the Visual Effects Society revealed the nominees for this year’s awards. Which will honor visual effects artists who work in film, television, commercials. music videos and computer gaming.
Given the huge impact that visual effects is having on today’s film industry (Just take a look at the Top 10 films for 2005. Without the efforts of the visual effects artist, it wouldn’t have been possible to produce nine of these high grossing projects), it’s high time that these folks recieved some real recognition from their peers in Hollywood.
Speaking of which … If you’d like to get some real insight into how these visual effects wizards actually work their magic, then I suggest you make plans now to be at the Skirball Cultural Center on Saturday, January 21st. For that’s when the Visual Effects Society will be holding its annual Show & Tell event. Where — by making use of “Before and After” materials from the projects that were nominated — they’ll be able to demonstrate how this year’s nominees for the 2006 VES Awards were actually chosen.
In short, the VES Show & Tell event will be a cram course for the state-of-the-art when it comes to visual effects. So if you’d like to learn how King Kong really climbed the Empire State building, Harry Potter really escaped from that dragon and/or Aslan really defeated the White Witch … Then you really want to be at the Skirball Cultural Center on Saturday, January 21st.
That’s right. This event is be open to the public. And — given all the secrets that will be revealed — tickets are a very reasonable $20 per person. So if you’d like to get in on the fun, give the VES office a call at (310) 822-9181 and arrange to get some seats now.
As the VES Awards themselves … The award ceremony will be held on February 15, 2006 at the Hollywood Palladium. And among the luminaries that is expected to attend this year’s ceremony is Academy Award-winning director John Lasseter. This founding member of Pixar Animation Studios is being honored with this year’s Georges Méliès Award for Artistic Excellence.
Speaking of Pixar … Yes, I’m well aware of all the rumors that’s been swirling around about the Walt Disney Company possibly acquiring a large chunk of Pixar. Come back next week and we’ll talk further on that matter.
Beyond that … Even though I still miss Alice, it’s good to finally be back in the saddle here at JHM. Writing for you guys again.
Okay. Enough with the sloppy sentiment. Seriously, if you’re out in LA next weekend and want to check out something cool, be sure and drop by the Skirball Cultural Center on Saturday, January 21st to experience the VES Show & Tell Event 2006. You can thank me later.
Your thoughts?