by Jerry Beck
Oct. 6, 2017
Producer-Director Arnold Leibovit guest hosts on Turner Classic Movies with Ben Mankiewicz next Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 11th and Oct. 12th, 2017 introducing his films The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal and The Puppetoon Movie, both produced and directed by Leibovit, plus 8 George Pal features for this Special 2 Day Tribute. Pal was the Academy Award winning Sci-Fi Fantasy pioneer of such classics as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, When Worlds Collide, Houdini, Tom Thumb, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Destination Moonand many others.
Among the legends of Hollywood, George Pal takes his place as a true visionary, an innovator and a showman who profoundly shaped the art of motion pictures. A peer and friend of Walt Disney, Pal pioneered stop motion animation and went on to virtually invent the modern science fiction and fantasy film genre. Pal's extraordinary genius molded a dazzling array of films which earned 8 Academy Awards and left a cinematic legacy that served as formative inspiration for the movies of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry and many more.