In this past week's edition of "Entertainment Weekly" (has Daniel Radcliffe on the front) there is a fantastic article about Ray's very close friend, Ray Harryhausen. He is called the "godfather of special effects," and there are quotes from many of the people he has inspired, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson. There is also a very interesting parallel drawn between Harryhausen and Jackson. The theory was given that since they were both only children, they learned to rely heavily on their imaginations for entertaining themselves and eventually, millions of others. It gave a brief biography and told about his special-effects work and how it evolved over the years. There's one tiny mention of Bradbury, but only that his picture is in Harryhausen's London home because he is "a longtime pal." I know this is only tangentially related to Ray Bradbury, but the article is so good I just had to mention it. I have enjoyed so many of his movies over the years, and it was great to learn more about the man behind them.

I saw that article, also. Very interesting. I'd love to get the book (Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life). I would imagine the book has more than a passing mention of Bradbury, but I can't say that for sure without seeing the book.

As I get older, I have a greater and greater appreciation for those who create worlds of imagination for our escapist pleasure. As with Bradbury, the really good stuff operates at a metaphorical level, as well as an entertainment level.

I think Harryhousen and Bradbury's relationship on these boards is less tenuous than the relationship between Bradbury and the WMD debate in Iraq -- a conversation to which I have, to my embarrasment, contributed too much to on these boards. I'm trying to repent of this.

Mr. Dark::::

WMD?

Here's ''Weapons of Mass 'Distraction' ''...

scroll down near the bottom and there's a small paragraph concerning Moore and Bradbury... http://www.derekpgilbert.com/blog.html

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 06-11-2004).]

Mr. Dark, FYI, Ray Bradbury wrote the introduction for the Ray Harryhausen book, AN ANIMATED LIFE.

I didn't know that! That makes it even more interesting to me! Thanks for the info.

The PBS show "History Detectives" often groups historical mysteries by location and theme. Monday's show concentrated on "Hollywood Mysteries." A camera collector who bought a movie camera in England wanted to verify that it was owned by the cinematographer on "King Kong" and used by him on that picture. As part of this investigation, the investigator conversed with Ray Harryhausen on movie cameras and special effects. It's my understanding that he now lives in England, but must have been in Hollywood when this was filmed.

At the end of each segment, they have a little informational bit connected with that segment. After a segment talking about propaganda, they talked about censorship and mentioned "Fahrenheit 9/11," saying that the "distributor's parent company" (not mentioning the name but picturing the Disneyland castle) refused to release it as "too political," and that the publicity generated only helped Michael Moore in promoting his film.

I had to think: Ray Harryhausen and Michael Moore on the same show! What are the odds?