George Pal

The George Pal Lecture was established in 1980 in memory of the producer, director and special effects wizard whose science fiction and fantasy films include "Destination Moon," "The War of the Worlds," "The Time Machine," "7 Faces of Dr. Lao," and "Doc Savage, The Man of Bronze." Ray Bradbury, the author of "Fahrenheit 451," "The Martian Chronicles, "The Illustrated Man," and other famous fantasies, delivered the first George Pal Lecture on February 19. The lectures were designed to feature a producer, director, writer or other creative person who would discuss the making of science fiction or fantasy films, either in general or with regard to a specific film. The original lectures were funded by contributions to the Academy Foundation made in Pal's name by his friends and associates after his death that year. Pal was born in Hungary and began his film career in Budapest, then Berlin and Holland. He came to Hollywood in 1940 and produced the Puppetoons series for Paramount, utilizing a new technique for which he received an Academy Special Award (a plaque) in 1943. "Destination Moon" received an Oscar for Special Effects in 1950, awarded to Pal's company, George Pal Productions.

The George Pal Lectures:

Ray Bradbury, 1980
Carl Sagan, 1982
Richard Matheson, 1983
Jim Henson, 1984
Screening of "The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal", 1986
Joe Dante, 1987
Pierre Jenn, 1989
Charles Champlin, 1992
Rick Baker, 1993
John Dykstra, 1997
Lynn Spigel: "Mad Science Make-Overs," 2000
George Romero, 2002
Ray Harryhausen, 2004

40th Anniversary of “2001: A Space Odyssey”, 2008
Hosted by Tom Hanks, with Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Douglas Trumbull, Bruce Logan and Daniel Richter.

Discovering the Fantastic: A George Pal Centennial Celebration, 2008
Hosted by Joe Dante, with Barbara Eden, Ann Robinson, Russ Tamblyn, Alan Young and Bob Baker.