The answer: they will all be appearing July 21-23 at the Argonaut Foundations tribute to its mentor, Ray Harryhausen.
"We have the newly-restored version of [The 7th Voyage of] Sinbad," said co-founder Clyde Lucas from the organization's Los Angeles office. "This will be the first and only screening -- after this it goes straight to DVD."
Lucas credits Harryhausen and Bradbury for helping him and partner Arnold Kunert get the Argonaut Foundation launched last year . Their goal is to prevent the loss of films, film scores and movie locations and sets that are important to the history of the medium.
"I was in Ireland recently, and the schoolhouse from Ryan's Daughter, the cottage from The Quiet Man -- they're still there. Falling into ruins, but still there," he recalled. "I want the foundation to be able to buy those and build them back up."
If the weekend's festivities are a success, the organization will have a nest egg to begin doing just that. In addition to the screenings of such Harryhausen classics as Sinbad, Jason, and 20 Million Miles to Earth, there will be personal appearances by Harryhausen, Honor Blackman ("Hera" in Jason), Michael Callan (The Mysterious Island), and the original Hercules, Steve Reeves. Terry Moore and Harry Carey, Jr., will host a screening of the Willis O'Brien/Harryhausen Mighty Joe Young, and on Saturday night a stellar host will attend the first presentation of the foundation's Omega Awards.
"We called them that because they come last," joked Lucas.
All of the events are priced well within the range of the average fan, and that's just the way Lucas and Kunert want it.
"I want the fans to have the fun," Lucas explained. "They're coming from all over -- we have more people coming from out of state than we do from the immediate area!"
One such fan told Lucas he's been waiting years for a chance to see 20 Million Miles to Earth on the big screen again. That's why he's flying in from Michigan.
"He told me he saw 20 Million Miles to Earth when he was a kid," Lucas said. "Ever since, every time it's been on TV he watches it. He checks the TV schedules to see when it's going to be on. Now he's coming here so he can see it on the big screen again."
There is a great deal of focus on the preservation of our movie treasures, but not all of the films that could be restored are likely to be, Lucas said. The Argonaut Foundation will try to work on films that the major studios currently doing restoration won't handle, the ones without the commercial appeal of a Sinbad.
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
