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As this year draws to a close and we settle in at our Pasadena studio, we
look back at the events of 2OO7 and recount highlights of this year's
events. We hope you enjoy this personal message as our way of keeping in
touch with all those we consider our friends and fans. 2OO7 was a year of
extensive travel, triumphs and the unfortunate loss of Syd’s only brother,
Jerry Mead, after a year-long courageous battle with cancer.
VISIONS: THE WORLD OF FANTASY ART
We would like to remind everyone that if you haven’t taken the opportunity
to visit the museum at Forest Lawn in Glendale, you still have time to do
so. The exhibition, which opened August 16th, includes four of Syd’s
original paintings along with examples from five other contemporary scenic
and production artists as well as an extensive display of archival Disney
production items. The museum is open seven days a week but this exhibit
will close January 6, 2OO8. Details are listed on the APPEARANCES page,
www.sydmead.com.
MILESTONES
VISUAL FUTURIST
April 2007, saw the release of this Syd Mead documentary by director
Joaquin Montalvan which won the award as BEST DOCUMENTARY at the DANCES
WITH FILM festival in Hollywood last summer. It is currently available on
DVD from our website and select outlets across the country. A Japaneses
version is schedule to be released in late December in Japan.
BLADERUNNER:THE FINAL CUT
The big news this year was the release of the long anticipated FINAL CUT
version of BLADERUNNER, in theaters in October and on DVD December 18. The
film set new attendance records at many theaters, and the DVD collector
series promises to bring even more surprises.
GRAND ODYSSEY
Originally produced as a very successful attraction at the Aichi World's
Fair in 2OO5 with patrons waiting in line for over four hours for the
experience, GRAND ODYSSEY found a permanent home this year now that the fair
has ended. Syd Mead's designs for the featured spaceship became the
climactic finale of the 15 minute adventure, with audience members seeing
themselves as characters in the story following an ingenious scanning
procedure as part of the entrance queue. Syd presided over the official
ribbon cutting cermony that marked the opening of a week-long celebration
sponsored by DentsuCorporation at the Huis den Bosch destination attraction
near Nagasaki, Japan..
BRUSSELS FANSTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL
Along with Christopher Lloyd, Syd was this year's guest of honor for what
has become Europes largest Film Festival dedicated to SCI-FI and Sensational
films.
COMICON
Sponsored by Warner Brothers Home Video in connection with the DVD release
BLADERUNNER;THE FINAL CUT, Syd joined Sir Ridley Scott, Sean Young, Joanna
Cassidy, James Hong and Joe Turkel in the panel discussions, autograph
signings and personal appearances in front of thousands of fans eager to see
the cast and crew that made it all possible.
SIGGRAPH
Two weeks later Soft Image' hosted a Syd Mead signing session at their
booth, and sponsored his presentation along with a demonstration by the CG
wizards responsible for this years smash hit "300" which used the SOFT
IMAGE' software.
2007 ADAPT in Montreal
In September, Syd was invited as a featured presenter for the second
consecutive year to the 2OO7 ADAPT (Advanced Digital Art Production Techniques) conference in Montreal and will soon be seen in a video interview filmed at that event.
AUTO LINE
Then a quick stop in Detroit to attend a party of notables in the Automobile
industry to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the local TV show AUTO LINE
Detroit with John MacElroy. Syd Mead had been the guest on the show in
February.
ROMICS AWARD
On to Rome where Syd was a VIP guest of the 2OO7 ROMICS convention and
received the ROMICS AWARD for OUTSTANDING ILLUSTRATOR .
TIME MACHINE AWARD
Next stop, Barcelona/Sitges as a VIP guest of the 4Oth Sitges Film
Festival. Syd was awarded this year’s TIME MACHINE AWARD at the closing
ceremony of the festival which included five SRO screenings of
"BLADERUNNER the Final Cut" .
Syd was also a guest presenter this year to the talented team of artists
and designers at THINKWELL DESIGN in March and CRYSTAL DYNAMICS in May.
The overall list of schools and universities visited by invitation this
year include;
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California
Virginia Commenwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Corcoran University, Washington, District of Columbia
Cal State Long Beach, Long Beach, California
Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
Now is the time to submit inquiries for presentations in 2OO8. We make
every effort to include educational venues on visibility tours whenever
possible.
Current Projects
Architectural renderings from Dubai to New York, electronic game
environmentals, prop and device designs, articles and presentations continue
to be an outlet for Syd’s creative talents with several projects extending
into 2OO8. These will become public knowledge as they are released by the
various client sources.
Syd Mead Website www.sydmead.com
From time to time we receive suggestions and requests for more images to be
added to the official website. While we make every effort to update our
official web page from time to time and to keep it informative, we trust
that our viewers are aware that that our page is not now nor was it ever
intended to be an entertainment venue or that we would try and compete with
the multitude of professional sites feature cutting edge animation using
the lastest softwares. Our site is our home where all are welcome from
around the world to keep in touch with our fans and friends from around the
world.
Coming proposed event locations for 2OO8; Switzerland, Florida, NewYork
City and more. Details will be announced on the APPEARENCES section of our
web page.
And as a special note:
HAPPY EBAY HOLIDAY
A quick "Syd Mead" search just might locate the item you've been searching
for or the special gift for the at special someone this Christmas. To mark
the end of a memorable year 2007, we have decided to release a select group
of items from the Syd Mead archives starting December 2nd through our
OBLAGON Ebay Store. Check it out at:
To mark the end of a memorable year 2007, we have decided to release a
select group
of items from the Syd Mead archives starting December 2nd through our
OBLAGON Ebay Store. Syd Mead Oblagon Store on eBay
A quick "Syd Mead" search just might locate the item you've been searching
for or the special gift for the at special someone this Christmas.
Other Syd Mead Auctions
Until next time,
Syd Mead
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