Hi, all,
Here is much more current info on the Disney events at the 16th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival, run by the people who are my bosses at TLA Video in Philly. I've split it in two, because it is too long for one posting.
Adrian
www.phillyfests.com
========
INSPIRATION AWARD
Saturday, April 7 ? 7:15 ? Prince Music Theater ? Tickets $10.00
Please join us to honor movie legend Roy Disney with an on-stage interview by legendary critic Leonard Maltin.
In a town and an industry that are so status-conscious, the expression ?Hollywood royalty? is often misused. But Roy Edward Disney is the real thing ? a rare example of a kid from a true Hollywood dynasty who actually learned the intricacies of the filmmaking process, quietly and with a refreshing modesty.
The son of Roy Oliver Disney (1893-1971) and a nephew of Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966), the founders of a little eponymous family-owned business, the younger Roy has worked within the ranks of the movie industry for more than 50 years, though rarely in the spotlight. He started in 1951 as an assistant film editor on episodes of the vintage TV series, ?Dragnet,? two years before he started his 50-year association with that little family business-turned-empire ? The Walt Disney Company.
Even then, Disney proved himself as a hard worker and something of a jack-of-all-trades, working at his uncle?s studio in various capacities and trying his hand at just about all the filmic crafts: he edited entries in Disney?s True-Life Adventure featurettes, among them, the Oscar-winning The Living Desert (1953) and The Vanishing Prairie (1954); worked as camera operator on the popular Disney short about a little squirrel, Perri (1957) and served as production coordinator on the ?Disneyland? TV series (alternately known as ?The Wonderful World of Disney? and ?Walt Disney Presents?).
He received an Academy-Award nomination in 1959 for his work as writer and production associate on the short subject Mysteries of the Deep and again this year, for Roger Allers? take on the Hans Christen Anderson story, The Little Matchgirl which Disney executive-produced. Of special pertinence, he was also nominated as producer of 2003?s Destino, the legendary seven-minute short that began as a collaboration between Walt Disney and artist Salvador Dal?, who met in 1945. Basing his Disney short on the Mexican love ballad, also called Destino, Dal? created sketches and storyboards for the project, but it was abandoned in 1946 because of the war and ensuing economic problems. Dal?s work was saved, however, and, working with director Dominique Monfery, Roy Disney revived the project and saw the short to its completion, presenting it at France?s 2003 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
In 1967, Roy Disney became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company, and, from 1984-2003, he held the posts of Vice Chairman there as well as Chairman of the studio?s Feature Animation Division. While he has always remained active, he left the family business in 1977 to work as an independent producer and investor, but he has always maintained close ties to the company and he currently serves as its Director Emeritus and is also as a consultant there.
But Disney?s chief, on-going role within the company, throughout his history with it, has been more crucial and more focused than that. Simply put, he has remained the titanic supporting structure of Walt Disney Productions, a valuable staple and its one link to the family that started it all in 1924.
Throughout his long and varied career, Disney has impressively compartmentalized the duties of his dual role as working filmmaker and movie royalty, knowing the importance of keeping the two separate and independent of each other and sensing when to use the clout and responsibility that travel in tandem with the latter role. He has learned to be a steadfast, highly vocal caretaker of his beloved family business and has also learned when to make a rare step into the spotlight to court a little controversy.
A case in point: on November 20, 2003, he surprised the film community with his sudden resignation from Walt Disney Productions and openly denounced the company?s then-CEO and Chairman of the Board Michael Eisner, who joined the company in 1984 (and subsequently left in 2005).
Today, Disney is chairman of Shamrock Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned family enterprise that he organized in 1978, with headquarters in Burbank, California, (which has included, among its investments, several smart growth developments) and is also chairman of Trefoil Investors, Inc., the general partner of Trefoil Capital Investors, L.P., a $500 million investment partnership.
Roy Disney, who turned 77 in January, has endured for five decades now, his career spanning the gap between that little family business and the powerful conglomerate and force that it has become. On a more personal level, he managed to find his place in both, functioning for five decades with self-effacing conviction and a quiet dignity. The 16th Philadelphia Film Festival is proud to honor The Disney Company in general and Roy in particular for his lifelong commitment to both it and the fabulous Hollywood dynasty behind it. - Joe Baltake
Here is much more current info on the Disney events at the 16th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival, run by the people who are my bosses at TLA Video in Philly. I've split it in two, because it is too long for one posting.
Adrian
www.phillyfests.com
========
INSPIRATION AWARD
Saturday, April 7 ? 7:15 ? Prince Music Theater ? Tickets $10.00
Please join us to honor movie legend Roy Disney with an on-stage interview by legendary critic Leonard Maltin.
In a town and an industry that are so status-conscious, the expression ?Hollywood royalty? is often misused. But Roy Edward Disney is the real thing ? a rare example of a kid from a true Hollywood dynasty who actually learned the intricacies of the filmmaking process, quietly and with a refreshing modesty.
The son of Roy Oliver Disney (1893-1971) and a nephew of Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966), the founders of a little eponymous family-owned business, the younger Roy has worked within the ranks of the movie industry for more than 50 years, though rarely in the spotlight. He started in 1951 as an assistant film editor on episodes of the vintage TV series, ?Dragnet,? two years before he started his 50-year association with that little family business-turned-empire ? The Walt Disney Company.
Even then, Disney proved himself as a hard worker and something of a jack-of-all-trades, working at his uncle?s studio in various capacities and trying his hand at just about all the filmic crafts: he edited entries in Disney?s True-Life Adventure featurettes, among them, the Oscar-winning The Living Desert (1953) and The Vanishing Prairie (1954); worked as camera operator on the popular Disney short about a little squirrel, Perri (1957) and served as production coordinator on the ?Disneyland? TV series (alternately known as ?The Wonderful World of Disney? and ?Walt Disney Presents?).
He received an Academy-Award nomination in 1959 for his work as writer and production associate on the short subject Mysteries of the Deep and again this year, for Roger Allers? take on the Hans Christen Anderson story, The Little Matchgirl which Disney executive-produced. Of special pertinence, he was also nominated as producer of 2003?s Destino, the legendary seven-minute short that began as a collaboration between Walt Disney and artist Salvador Dal?, who met in 1945. Basing his Disney short on the Mexican love ballad, also called Destino, Dal? created sketches and storyboards for the project, but it was abandoned in 1946 because of the war and ensuing economic problems. Dal?s work was saved, however, and, working with director Dominique Monfery, Roy Disney revived the project and saw the short to its completion, presenting it at France?s 2003 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
In 1967, Roy Disney became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company, and, from 1984-2003, he held the posts of Vice Chairman there as well as Chairman of the studio?s Feature Animation Division. While he has always remained active, he left the family business in 1977 to work as an independent producer and investor, but he has always maintained close ties to the company and he currently serves as its Director Emeritus and is also as a consultant there.
But Disney?s chief, on-going role within the company, throughout his history with it, has been more crucial and more focused than that. Simply put, he has remained the titanic supporting structure of Walt Disney Productions, a valuable staple and its one link to the family that started it all in 1924.
Throughout his long and varied career, Disney has impressively compartmentalized the duties of his dual role as working filmmaker and movie royalty, knowing the importance of keeping the two separate and independent of each other and sensing when to use the clout and responsibility that travel in tandem with the latter role. He has learned to be a steadfast, highly vocal caretaker of his beloved family business and has also learned when to make a rare step into the spotlight to court a little controversy.
A case in point: on November 20, 2003, he surprised the film community with his sudden resignation from Walt Disney Productions and openly denounced the company?s then-CEO and Chairman of the Board Michael Eisner, who joined the company in 1984 (and subsequently left in 2005).
Today, Disney is chairman of Shamrock Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned family enterprise that he organized in 1978, with headquarters in Burbank, California, (which has included, among its investments, several smart growth developments) and is also chairman of Trefoil Investors, Inc., the general partner of Trefoil Capital Investors, L.P., a $500 million investment partnership.
Roy Disney, who turned 77 in January, has endured for five decades now, his career spanning the gap between that little family business and the powerful conglomerate and force that it has become. On a more personal level, he managed to find his place in both, functioning for five decades with self-effacing conviction and a quiet dignity. The 16th Philadelphia Film Festival is proud to honor The Disney Company in general and Roy in particular for his lifelong commitment to both it and the fabulous Hollywood dynasty behind it. - Joe Baltake