Iaphet Elli 
LOS ANGELES, CA – Oscar® winners John
Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar
Animation Studios, and Ed Catmull, the studios’ President, will
take the stage in a live panel discussion celebrating “Toy
Story,” the world’s first entirely computer-animated
feature film, on Thursday, October 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater in
Beverly Hills.
Twenty years after they collaborated on the game-changing film,
Lasseter, the film’s director and co-writer, and Catmull, its
executive producer and the creator of the revolutionary digital
animation program that made “Toy Story” possible, will
share behind-the-scenes stories about the myriad challenges they
faced as they imagined, invented and problem-solved their way into
motion picture history. Actor-director Jon Favreau will
moderate the panel, which will feature additional guests to be
announced.
Pixar Animation Studios, founded in 1986, was at the vanguard of
the computer animation revolution that blurred the lines between art
and technology. “Toy Story” was the company’s
first feature film, after years of creating revolutionary software,
animated logos and television commercials with Lasseter and Catmull
leading the way. The film earned Oscar nominations for Original
Song, Original Musical or Comedy Score, and Original Screenplay (the
first for an animated film); Lasseter shared in the screenplay
nomination as well as received a Special Achievement Award for his
inspired leadership of the filmmaking team. Catmull went on to
receive an Oscar for his contributions to RenderMan, the software
that was instrumental to the creation of “Toy Story” and
the countless computer-animated films that followed.
Tickets for “Toy Story: 20 Years of Being an Animation
Game-Changer” are $5 for general admission and $3 for Academy
members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at
www.oscars.org
starting September 16. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at
8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information,
call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
