In 2004, my wife Angie, Greg McCullough (a colleague) and I trekked out to Emeryville, CA out side of San Francisco for a fund-raiser for the Cartoon Art Museum. The evening still stands as one of the highlight of my little life. We were treated to a full tour of the studio, allowed to roam free through most of the common areas and even sample the food and wine from the grill. That was all followed by a great evening of lectures by the likes of Michael Johnson, Gary Rydstrom, Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews and Angus acLane. These guys were fantastically entertaining and educational and the facility was world-class.
Ha! it was only a few weeks ago that my beloved Pixar Studios license plate frame was stolen from my vehicle. That was really a bummer. I loved that thing and was very surprised that it was, in fact, quite rare. In the end, I deduced that it was stolen and the plate cast off. So, if you've got an extra one laying about, I'd be very very happy to take it off of your hands!
It is strange to me that the details of the evening are so vivid now, even 7 years after we originally visited. Greg has long since moved on from the studio at which we worked. Pixar has been sold to Disney but still manages to produce emotionally evocative, meaningful work and I still seem to be waiting for something. But what is it? Probably for everything to be perfect, that's my bane... 10 good ideas a day, but everyone archived for the perfect moment to move on it. My, my. If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness is surely it's father.
Enough reminiscing. Here is a link to my notes from that terrific evening those few years ago. I hope they bring you some benefit, or at least a glimpse into the absolute glee that the evening was.
MY PIXAR EVENT NOTES PDF
My Pixar Journal/Sketchbook
