The following is the official press release announcing The Visual Effects Society’s festival this year with particular mention being made of Joe Dante’s participation in the “VFX Guilty Pleasures” Panel:
VES FEST ANNOUNCES NEW PANEL, “VFX GUILTY PLEASURES,” FEATURING JOE DANTE
Director of Gremlins Heads up Discussion of VFX in Cult Movies
Los Angeles, May 29, 2007 –The Visual Effects Society (VES), has announced new panel for the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects. The “VFX Guilty Pleasures” Panel will take place at 8:30 pm, Saturday, June 9 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Joe Dante, of Gremlins and Small Soldiers fame, will moderate a fun-filled tour through the guilty pleasures of cult movie classics past and present. The panel will explore a wide range of cult films and the VFX that made them possible, and examine why viewers have a love/hate relationship with them.
“This is the ultimate geekfest for VFX aficionados,” says Eric Roth, Executive Director of the Visual Effects Society (VES). We wanted to combine an informational panel with some ‘grindhouse” fun, and luckily for us, Joe Dante, who shares our passion for VFX and cult films, was eager to host this panel.
Joe Dante has directed several cult classics like Piranha (1978), The Howling (1980), and produced Steven Spielberg’s Gremlins (1984). For television, Dante has directed episodes of Police Squad, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone, and Tales from the Crypt.
Starting Friday, June 8, and continuing through Saturday and Sunday, visual FX pros and fans will have the opportunity to attend discussion panels with industry leaders and legends, screenings of past and present films and the presentation of the VES 50: The Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time.
The full schedule and information on buying festival passes or tickets to individual events is available at the official website for the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects, http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/vesFestival.cfm, or by contacting the VES office at 818-981-7861.
About the VES
VES is a professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest uniform standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary year, VES is the entertainment industry’s only official trade organization representing the extended community of visual effects practitioners including supervisors, artists, producers, technology developers, educators and studio executives. Its 1,500 global members contribute to all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos, games and new media. VES strives to enrich and educate its members and the entertainment community at large through many domestic and international events, screenings and programs. Visual effects professionals constitute a vital creative force in content creation and are literally shaping the future of entertainment.
