Filmmaker Arnold Leibovit will host screening and two Puppetoons with Q&A discussion
Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “The Time Machine” on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 4:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
This special event will also feature two Academy Award-winning “Puppetoons” restored in Technicolor: “Western Daze” (1940) — the first Puppetoon introducing Jim Dandy with key animation by Ray Harryhausen — and “Tubby the Tuba” (1947), considered one of the greatest of the Puppetoons.
“The Time Machine” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup (John M. Elliot Jr. and Barbara Lorenz) at the 75th Academy Awards.
The film is loosely based on the H.G. Wells 1895 novel and David Duncan’s screenplay from the George Pal 1960 film. Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds humankind divided into two warring races.
Guy Pearce stars in the role of Alexander Hartdegen — a scientist and inventor who is determined to prove that time travel is possible. His determination is turned into desperation by a personal tragedy that now drives him to want to change the past. Testing his theories with a time machine of his own invention, Hartdegen is hurtled 800,000 years into the future, where he discovers that mankind has divided into the hunter and the hunted.
“The Time Machine” also stars Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Mark Addy, Sienna Guillory, Jeremy Irons, Phyllida Law and a cameo by Alan Young who starred as Filby in the original Pal film.
Executive Producer (and Sedona resident) Arnold Leibovit will host this special event and discussion following the screening. Leibovit produced and directed “The Puppetoon Movie” (1987), “The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal” (1986), “The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 & 3”, executive produced “The Time Machine” (2002).
(Warner Bros. & Steven Spielberg), produced “The Time Machine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Score”, co-directed “Rascal Dazzle” and others plus has been the decades-long keeper of the flame of George. Leibovit is the recipient of many awards including George Pal Memorial Award (the Saturn) from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror and the Rondo Award for Best Blu-ray Collection 2024 for “The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3”.
“The Time Machine” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 4:00 p.m.
Here, Leibovit ads some more tidbits on his personal work on the movie and questions he will be answering during after the movie:
George Pal’s 1960 movie “The Time Machine is the film that made me fall in love with science fiction when I was nine. I never forgot the feeling it gave me—awe, wonder, the possibilities of tomorrow. Decades later, with Mrs. George Pal’s blessing, I obtained George Pal’s rights and stood in his shoes to bring The Time Machine forward – something George was trying to do when he was alive. It became a long, winding journey… different studios, different directors, many near-starts. But some stories simply refuse to die. They wait for the right moment. And when it happened it was great feeling to know I had reached the top of the mountain in the field of making motion pictures. It was 100 million dollar production with at least 30 million promotion and advertising. Projects like this come along once in a lifetime and for some never. I was very lucky. And as a exclusvie – I am working on yet another reimagining of The Time Machine now with Warner Bros. So there’s more to come.
2. On Spielberg and the turning point
“Steven Spielberg told me how George Pal influenced him and loved his films. He had already been supportive helped while making The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal and The Puppetoon Movie. When the studio called to say Steven wanted to do the remake of The Time Machine it didn’t surprise me. He loved George Pal’s movies. Steven understood immediately that the key was honoring George Pal—not replacing him, so what we did was try to extend his vision.”
3. On Simon Wells
“When I learned that Simon Wells – H.G. Wells great grandson, was interested in directing. We all thought it was a great idea. Simon was a supervising animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and directed The Prince of Egypt and other animated films. He understood the family legacy he was carrying, but he also brought a fresh, emotional perspective. The film is part Wells, part Pal, and part of every dreamer who ever believed time travel might be possible.”
4. On the Time Machine as a character
“We treated the Time Machine as if it were a living thing—a Victorian instrument built with imagination and precision. Oliver Scholl who was Roland Emmericn’s production designer on Independence Day did production design and added all the great turn-of-the-century and retro futuristic aspects to The Time Machine. Tim Wilcox designed the machine built by Matt Sweeney at a cost of 2 million dollars. It was nearly three tons of brass, wood and glass and had many working parts. It is considered one of the greatest props ever made for a motion picture and perhaps the most expensive.
5. On whether time travel is possible
Tickets are $12 general admission, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.