LAST NIGHT at the Motion Picture Academy`s The Art Of Animation:

We all had a great time at the Animation as Performance Show at the Motion Picture Academy in Beverly Hills. We saw rare footage of how they built the Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, The indomitable Brad Bird was there talking about the Incredibles.

Highlights from animated classics from Max Fleischer's Koko the Clown to Chris Wedges' Ice Age to Dumbo. All shown in crisp beautiful digital projection.

Eric Goldberg did a presentation of how he developed Phil the Satyr in Disney's Hercules and screened a rare 3D Genii from Aladdin done for Tokyo Disneyland.

Animators Kathy Zelinski and Randy Cartwright did a comparative documentary Tools of the Trade, describing the differences between traditional animation techniques and CGI.

Frankly, I was surprised we got it all in. I was concerned the evening would run really late. But it all went off without a hitch. I made new friends, Jan Pinkava the creator of the Oscar winning film Geri's Game, and Steven "Shaggy" Henley who did some wonderful Gollum scenes.

The evening was a sell-out. There was not a seat to be had in the thousand-plus Goldwyn Theater. They had to turn away a large crowd that still wanted in. Congratulations to Bill Kroyer and the Academy planning committee for a wonderful night!

- Tom Sito  ¶ 8:50 AM