Talk: Labyrinth

Press release for "the Academy"

Is this release of use? There's also film and backstage photos.[1] -- Zanimum 12:54, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

“Labyrinth” to Bring Goblins to Life at the Academy

Beverly Hills, CA — An evil goblin king, a talking door knocker, fairies and a colony of goblins will join producer/director Brian Henson and members of the Jim Henson Creature Shop at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 20th anniversary screening and onstage discussion of “Labyrinth” (1986) on Thursday, July 20, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

A post-screening conversation featuring the creative team behind “Labyrinth,” including Henson, who is the voice of Hoggle and co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company, will offer the public a rare opportunity to hear from animatronics specialists both behind and infront of the camera.

Starring David Bowie and Oscar®-winner Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”), “Labyrinth” follows the fantastical adventures of Sarah (Connelly) as she attempts to rescue her baby brother Toby (Toby Froud) from being transformed into a goblin by Jareth, the goblin king (Bowie).

“Labyrinth,” a milestone in the development of animatronic technology, utilized a very early version of what would ultimately become the Henson Performance Control System, which in 1991 received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy for allowing a single puppeteer to remotely control up to 32 isolated facial movements in an animatronic character. The technology made it possible to express complex emotions through the character and simulate a live performance in real time.

The Academy’s current exhibition “It’s Alive!: Bringing Animatronic Characters to Life on Film,” which contains original animatronic puppets from the film, will be open for viewing immediately following the screening.

Tickets to “Labyrinth” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is unreserved.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.

Editors: Please note that downloadable images are available at http://photos.oscars.org/.

If nothing else, I gotta visit that animatronics exhibition. I think the exhibition is worth an honorable mention on the page, as it does concern the puppets...which are really great puppets. (It's all about the puppets for me, isn't it?) Chunk 16:51, 23 June 2006 (UTC)