April 14, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

                        lunger@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - The Sixth Annual Marc Davis Lecture on Animation, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and named for the legendary Disney animator - one of the "Nine Old Men" - will be presented on April 28, at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. This year's lecture will pay tribute to Davis, who died in January.

Leonard Maltin, who moderated the inaugural Marc Davis Lecture with Davis himself in 1994, will once again offer his insights and perspective on Davis' prominent place in animation history. Joining Maltin for the evening's first panel discussion will be Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball, the three remaining "Nine Old Men" who worked with Davis; Mary Costa, the voice of Princess Aurora and Briar Rose in "Sleeping Beauty;" Kathy Beaumont, the voice of Wendy in "Peter Pan" and Alice in "Alice in Wonderland;" and Richard Sherman, who, in addition to composing music for numerous Disney movies, worked with Davis in writing the songs and lyrics for some of Disneyland's most well-known rides.

Andreas Deja ("The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "Hercules") is also scheduled to lecture on the evolution of Davis' graphic style.

Another panel will feature students and disciples of Davis who are working in animation today. Among them will be Bob Kurtz, Glen Keane, Eric Goldberg and Tom Sito. Gary Goddard, the co-founder of Landmark Entertainment Group, which specializes in theme park attractions with movie themes, and Charles Solomon, author and animation historian, will also take part in the discussion.

Several film clips will be shown to illustrate the discussions.

Davis began working for Walt Disney and the Disney Studio in 1935. Through gentle animals like Bambi and Br'er Rabbit, to elegant human characters such as Cinderella, Alice and Tinkerbell, to two of the most delightfully frightening villainesses on film, Maleficent and Cruella De Vil, Davis consistently demonstrated a powerful combination of sensitivity, wit and craftsmanship. Davis also did extensive work on a number of well-known attractions at the 1939 New York World's Fair, Disneyland, Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.

The Marc Davis Lecture on Animation was established to provide a forum for established film animators and other experts in the craft to share their experience, as well as to explore with colleagues the challenges of creating animation for the screen.

Tickets for the Sixth Annual Marc Davis Lecture are free but required. They may be obtained in advance at the Academy during regular business hours (with a limit of two tickets per person) or, if still available, on the night of the lecture when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call 310-247-3000, ext. 111.

All participants are subject to availability.