30 September 2010 Posted 11:00 by Les ENCORE PAYS VISUAL TRIBUTE TO OSCAR®-WINNING VISUAL EFFECTS GIANT ILM IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR 35TH ANNIVERSARY WITH ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY “INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC: CREATING THE IMPOSSIBLE” Beverly Hills, CA., September 29, 2010 – Since its founding 35 years ago, Industrial Light & Magic has been the movie industry’s undisputed leader in groundbreaking visual effects, thrilling audiences and making hits into blockbusters. On Friday, November 12 at 9:00 p.m. (et/pt), Encore presents an original documentary celebrating that legacy. “Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible” is directed by Academy Award® and Emmy® nominated director Leslie Iwerks and is narrated by Tom Cruise. The special airs again on Saturday, November 13 (12 noon and 10:00 p.m.), and on Sunday, November 14 (8:00 p.m. and 10:50 p.m.) Sunday also includes five ILM-effects films starting at 2:00 p.m. with Jumanji, followed by Hook, Jurassic Park III, Twister and Starship Troopers. The hour-long special has interviews with filmmakers George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau, actors Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Williams, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Film and television shows featured in the special include The Abyss, Avatar, Forrest Gump, Jumanji, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Robot Chicken, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Transformers, Twister, Young Sherlock Holmes and The War of the Worlds (2005), which starred narrator Cruise. Leslie Iwerks’ documentary takes audiences behind the scenes at ILM with in depth interviews with some of the company’s top talent and showcases never before seen footage highlighting many of their pioneering milestones. From creating the first ever computer generated character in a feature film to the latest advancements in visual effects for film franchises like Transformers and Iron Man, ILM has created some of the most memorable movie moments in recent history. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is a division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and was founded by George Lucas in 1975 to create the visual effects for his space epic Star Wars. The studio originated in Van Nuys, California but moved to San Rafael, California to work on The Empire Strikes Back and is now headquartered at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco with a sister studio in Singapore. ILM has worked on nearly 300 films in its 35 year history and has largely been the driving force behind the evolution of modern visual effects. From the liquid metal man in Terminator 2: Judgment Day to the lifelike digital dinosaurs in Jurassic park, ILM has created some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history. ILM has received 15 Best Visual Effects Oscars® and 25 additional nominations. It has also received 23 Scientific and Technical Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of the critical role the company's advances in technology have played in the filmmaking process. ILM is also the only entertainment company to be recognized with the National Medal of Technology.
26 September 2010 Posted 17:00 by Les I recently met with Star Wars/Indiana Jones artist Matt Busch and was able to purchase 4 of his original color paintings for our museum... and I think you'll agree that they are fantastic! Please support Matt any chance you get - he's an all-around super fellow!! You can visit his site here for more info about himself and his art.
21 September 2010 Posted 23:00 by Michael Two new Young Readers books are due in early 2011 from DK Publishing.... Indiana Jones: The Search for Buried Treasure follows Indy in his hunts for ancient and valuable artifacts. Indiana Jones: Great Escapes tells of Indy's most daring escapes from dungeons, castles and bad guys of all sorts.
20 September 2010 Posted 18:00 by Michael Pedro shares this wonderful video of the Grail Knight's shield from Last Crusade that he made for his collection... now if we can just get him to make one for Ravenwood museum!
13 September 2010 Posted 08:00 by Michael Episode 112 of the Indy-Cast is available for your listening pleasure. Mitch speaks with a number of the creative folk behind Indy's outings at Marvel Comics, they have more details on their 2 competitions, Pat returns with the final installment in the making of Temple of Doom, Rob and Ron are back plus they have more of your great emails. Click here to download the latest episode.

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