Bay Area Film Events Brings Ray Harryhausen Documentary to the Bal Theatre on September 8, 2012 For the U.S. Premiere. Source: Bay Area Film Events Special Thanks to Tony Dalton and Alexandre Poncet From the original MIGHTY JOE YOUNG to George Pal’s PUPPETOONS in the 1940s to monster on the loose films of the 1950s such as BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA through amazing fantasy films including SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, the original CLASH OF THE TITANS and many more films, Ray Harryhausen has created images that occupy the dreams of most of today’s major special effects creators and have entertained audiences for generations. The amazing stop motion effects that Ray produced have provided inspiration for many of today`s top producers, directors and special effects artists. These inspirations and Ray`s work are now chronicled in a brand new documentary from producer Alexandre Poncet and director Tony Dalton, RAY HARRYHAUSEN: SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN. This is the definitive documentary about Ray Harryhausen. Aside from interviews with the great man himself, shot over five years, there are also interviews and tributes from Vanessa Harryhausen, Tony Dalton, Randy Cook, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Phil Tippet, Peter Lord, Terry Gilliam, Dennis Muren, Rick Baker, John Landis, Ken Ralston, Guillermo Del Toro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and many more. For the first time Ray and the Foundation have provided unprecedented access to film all aspects of the collection including models, artwork and miniatures as well as Ray`s private study, where he designed most of his creations, and his workshop where he built them. In addition the documentary will use unseen footage of tests and experiments found during the clearance of the LA garage. Never before has so much visual material been used in any previous documentary about Ray. This definitive production will not only display a huge part of the unique collection but will illustrate the influence that Ray`s work has had on film makers during the past fifty or so years.

Bay Area Film Events is hosting the United States premiere of RAY HARRYHAUSEN: SPECIAL EFFECTS TITAN as part of a special tribute to one of the true pioneers of special effects films, the phenomenal Ray Harryhausen. As a second feature, BAFE will be showing one of Ray’s most famous films THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD. The second of special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen`s three Sinbad epics, this film finds the titular hero played by John Philip Law, while the principal villain, Koura, is portrayed by future Dr. Who Tom Baker. The plot sends Sinbad and his crew on a quest for a valuable and magical golden tablet. Harryhausen`s "Dynarama" highlights include a six-armed statue, a one-eyed centaur, a flying griffin and other amazing creatures. Caroline Munro also stars. Guests of honor at the show will be Academy Award Winning special effects artists Dennis Muren of Industrial Light & Magic, and Phil Tippett from Tippett Studios. From building miniatures of the Millennium Falcon for the first STAR WARS film (1977), to using computer graphics to create the shape-shifting cyborg in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991), to bringing to life the most realistic dinosaurs ever before seen onscreen in JURASSIC PARK (1997), Dennis Muren used both models and computers to create cinematic fantasy for more than a generation. In fact, Muren`s Oscar-winning work bridged the gap between the stiff, rubbery B-movie creatures of the past to the slick, stylized computer-generated imagery that later saturated multiplexes. Having won more than 13 Academy Awards for special effects - mostly through his work at Industrial Light & Magic - Muren led the pack in cutting edge visual effects techniques. Despite his pioneering work in CGI, however, Muren remained a critic of soulless effects work, insisting that artistry must always triumph over technology.

Muren moved up to the position of senior effects supervisor at ILM and went on to oversee the effects on countless landmark movies, including the three installments of the second "Star Wars" trilogy, AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001) HULK (2003) and WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005). In 1999, Muren was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first visual effects artist to receive the honor. Then in 2006, he was given a lifetime achievement award from the Visual Effects Society. Phil Tippett is the founder and namesake of Tippett Studio. His varied career in visual effects has spanned more than 30 years and includes two Academy Awards; and six nominations, one BAFTA award and four nominations, two Emmys and the advent of modern digital effects in motion pictures. Phil`s roots in stop motion, modeling and practical effects and his ability to use this foundation in conjunction with developing technologies has made him one of a handful of artists whose careers have spanned the transition of visual effects from largely practical to digital. In this way he is a great teacher and mentor to the crew passing on the tradition of mentorship given to him in the early part of his career. His films include STAR WARS, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, ROBOCOP, STARSHIP TROOPERS, THE TWILIGHT SAGA and more.

This event will be a benefit for the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation, a charitable Trust set up by Ray on the 10th April 1986. It is the primary aim of the Foundation to protect Ray’s name and body of work as well as archiving, preserving and restoring Ray’s extensive collection. In addition the Foundation is firmly committed to show and exhibit, for educational and enjoyment purposes, all of Ray’s unique collection and films. It is estimated that there are in excess of 50,000 items in the collection, including original armatured models, hard rubber stand-in models, armatures, original molds, original artwork, original miniatures, stills, negatives, original equipment, various test and dailies footage, books and many influences, such as paintings and lithographs by Gustav Dore and Willis O’Brien. During Ray’s life, it is remarkable and fortunate that he has rarely thrown anything away, which is why the collection is near complete and contains so much original materials. With such a vast wealth of archive materials it is a difficult, complex and ongoing task to catalogue and preserve as much of it as possible. So come out and support the preservation of Ray’s amazing creations while paying tribute to the creator of many of our dreams. The show is on Saturday, September 8 at the Bal Theatre. The Historical Bal Theatre is a 700-seat theater located at 14808 East 14th Street in San Leandro, Caifornia. Click like on Bay Area Film Events` Facebook Page too keep up with the latest information on this and future events. Advance Tickets available at Ticketweb.