Former Lucas Digital president Jim Morris wont be moving to Southern California after all to pursue a producing career in computer-animated features. After an 11-year stint as the Lucas Digital head and another 13 years as gm of Industrial Light & Magic, Morris will be producing at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. According to a Pixar spokesperson, Morris begins at Pixar on Feb. 14, 2005, to work on an upcoming feature film project. We think Jim will be a very good fit, considering his visual effects background at ILM.
During Morris tenure, the Lucas company led the way in the digital revolution that resulted in every major breakthrough, from the pseudopod in THE ABYSS, to the dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK to the invisible effects of FORREST GUMP to the stunning visual worlds and characters of the new STAR WARS trilogy.
Pixar Animation Studios (www.pixar.com) combines creative and technical artistry to create original stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created and produced six of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Academy Award-winning TOY STORY (1995); A BUG'S LIFE (1998); Golden Globe-winner TOY STORY 2 (1999); the Academy Award-winning MONSTERS, INC. (2001); the Academy Award-winning FINDING NEMO (2003) and THE INCREDIBLES (2004). Pixar's six films have earned almost $3 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The Northern California studio's next film release is CARS (June 9, 2006).
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
