Jim Danforth works on the set of 7 FACES OF DR. LAO. Photo courtesy of Loren Portillo.

Dinosaurs, Dragons, & Drama—The Odyssey of a Trickfilmmaker—Volume One —An Illustrated Memoir by Jim Danforth. Author: Loren Portillo Special Thanks to: Ernest Farino Official Website: Archive Editions One of the most anticipated Book/CD on stop motion animation, and the incredible career of special effects genius Jim Danforth, will finally be made available to the public this month, on November 13th. To stop motion fans the world over, this memoir (Vol 1) will cover Jim`s career from his humble beginnings as young artistic teenager, to his work with Art Clokey on the famed GUMBY series. This book also will cover Jim`s early film work such as JACK THE GIANT KILLER and end with his work on WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. Lavishly produced, the book has an incredible array of never before published photographs from Jim`s personal collection. This is a must have for all stop motion aficionados, as well as those who appreciate the artistic genius of one of the greatest Special Effects men ever. More info and ordering details below: Dinosaurs, Dragons, & Drama—The Odyssey of a Trickfilmmaker—Volume One —An Illustrated Memoir by Jim Danforth.

This is the story of visual effects artist Jim Danforth’s journey from a childhood in rural areas of the Midwest to the soundstages of Hollywood and London; and how a shy boy with no inside contacts managed to fulfill his dream of working in the movies. Volume One describes Jim’s work with Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby; his feature film stop-motion animation assignments on JACK THE GIANT KILLER; THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM; 7 FACES OF DR. LAO; IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD; and others, plus his involvement with the creation of The Pillsbury Dough Boy. Volume One concludes with a detailed account of Danforth’s challenging assignment as designer, director, and animator of the visual effects for WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH. The book also contains Danforth’s recollections of interesting people he encountered during his professional journey. The CD book includes ‘click-on’ sidebars and footnotes filed with additional facts, plus thoughts about various eclectic topics that interest Jim. There are also auxiliary sections describing various pre-digital effects techniques and now-obsolete processes. 828 pages of text, in addition to the forward, sidebar, and auxiliary material. Over 720 photos, drawings, and paintings in the main text; plus more in the sidebars. Distributed by Archive Editions on a CD in a DVD-sized box. ******* BIO Jim Danforth was born in Ohio, in 1940. He was professionally involved with motion pictures for more than 40 years, working in the U.S., England, Mexico, Canada, and the Canary Islands as a designer, writer, producer, director, and cinematographer, but is best known for his achievements in the field of visual effects and stop-motion animation. He has been nominated twice for Best Achievement, Visual Effects by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (7 FACES OF DR. LAO in 1965, and WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH in 1972). He now devotes much of his time to fine art painting and illustrating. Jim is married to his best friend, the former Karen Tuttle, who was also his visual-effects business administrator.

Jim animating a creature from JACK THE GIANT KILLER. Photo courtesy of Loren Portillo.