Saturday 31 October 2009

Happy Halloween

10 comments:

Gerard said...

And to you! What's on the screaming/screening list, then?

Mark Salisbury said...

You know what, in the end I opted for watching that afternoon's Grand Prix qualifying, which I'd recorded, followed by X Factor, and then a TV documentary on Pixar. Having said that, I did watch Nightmare Before Christmas in the morning.

I'm saving up a pile of horror DVDs for later in the month...

Lloyd said...

That Pixar TV documentary would'nt be the South Bank Show would it? I was gutted to miss it! I watched another before and it was amazing to find all my loves merged into one company - George Lucas (Love Star Wars) & Steve Jobs (Love Apple). Have you managed to watch Finding Nemo yet??

Mark Salisbury said...

@ Lloyd

It was the South Bank Show, which I enjoyed but found it a little too basic for my liking. I would have preferred it to be longer and more in depth, especially having heard Lasseter talk in Venice about the evolution of the company. I remember him being especially complimentary about Lucas, without whom we wouldn't have digital sound, nonlinear editing, etc...

Jobs, too, came in for much praising, for bankrolling the company at the right time.

I too am an Apple fellow. Have been for many, many years...

Lloyd said...

Have you managed to see the documentary Pixar Story by Leslie Iwerks, a great insight into their world. I always dream of visiting their Animation Studios in Emeryville, they hold a benefit each year with Cartoon Art Museum http://cartoonart.org/index.html, but alas I can't go this year!

I'm also a collector of Pixar's movie tie-in art books, published by Chronicle Books. They are stacked full of storyboards, rendering and sketches...well worth a read!

I've been with Apple since the 1st iMac and have loved watching them grow and to see them getting credit they've deserved for many years...wished I had bought heaps of shares though! I was even sad enough to 21st into their Regent Street Store... that was a long a cold night on the pavement, got interviewed for the BBC news though, which broke up the night!

Mark Salisbury said...

No, haven't seen that documentary. Is it available on DVD?

I haven't picked up any of the Pixar books although I'm definitely going to get the Up one, and I've always wanted the one on The Incredibles, so might have to add that to my amazon wishlist.

And talking of Pixar, the DVD of Finding Nemo has been paid for and is actually on its way to me as I write. Hopefully, I'll find some time this weekend to watch it.

As for Apple, you have me in the committed stakes. I bought my first Mac in '92, although I had been using them at work since '90. And I'm on my fourth laptop and first (home) desktop. Have you noticed how the time between buying a new Apple has decreased over the years? Certainly has for me...

Lloyd said...

It only got released on DVD as part of a Pixar Collection boxset, although I watched it during Sky's Animation Week. It's a great documentary, giving a great insight with interviews from all the main players - including Lucas & Jobs! Here's it's website: http://www.thepixarstory.com/

Although it was never released found this one on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THE-PIXAR-STORY-DISNEY-DVD-TOY-STORY-BUZZ-LIGHTYEAR-ERA_W0QQitemZ230394684773QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CDsDVDs_DVDs_DVDs_GL?hash=item35a497e565

You're so right about buying Apple, I had my Bright Blue iMac for ages, then in the last 5 years I've got hold of 2 iPods, a G5, an Apple TV, a Mac Mini & a G4 Tower...damn you Jobs (Special mention to Jonathon Ive)!!!

Mark Salisbury said...

Wow, that's a lot of gear.

And thanks for the tip for the DVD.

Gerard said...

The Pixar Story was also included in the UK edition of the WALL-E bluray. Lloyd's right - it's fascinating stuff.

The Art of Up book is a good'un, too.

Mark Salisbury said...

That's good to know. I've actually got the BR of Wall-E, but I never got as far as watching any of the extras. Now I shall.

My thanks to Lloyd and Gerard!