LABYRINTH at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
June 22nd, 2006 by Andre Soares
Press Release:
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 in front 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.
Photo: © A.M.P.A.S.
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Jim Henson’s The Labyrinth, (it’s twin of sorts) The Dark Crystal, The Witches, and another non-Henson film The Neverending Story are the last great fantasy children’s films before the age of computer generated graphics and blue screens. Although none of films was a runaway hit at the time perhaps because of the dark nature of all of the films it is important to see that in the age of media blaming that there was a time when children were able to experience darker themes in films without the heavy handed “family” organizations labotomizing the cinematic experience for children. True there are dark themes in The Lion, the With, and the Wardrobe, and the Harry Potter flicks, but films are so obviously fanstasy that the messages of valor and courage in the face of darkness no longer resonate. Because Jim Henson’s creations were tangible and not pixels in a computer they had more weight with children. The 80s was a truly wonderful time for children’s films and will never be repeated. Marcus.