Gary Goldman
Encyclopedia
Gary Wayne Goldman is an American
Film Producer
, Director
, Animator
, Writer
and voice actor, he is well known for working on films with Don Bluth
like Anastasia, An American Tail
and The Land Before Time
. He was an animator at Disney before working at Sullivan Bluth Studios
with Bluth.
. As a youth, Goldman was active in sports, an infielder in baseball and quarterback in high school football, he studied piano and enjoyed model-making and drawing. Before devoting himself entirely to the arts, he served as an electronics technician in the United States Air Force
from 1962 to 1967, assigned duties in Japan and Germany. He received his Associate of Arts
Degree in 1969 from Cabrillo College
, and he graduated in December, 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree in Life Drawing and Art History from the University of Hawaii
.
to legendary Disney animator Frank Thomas
on the film Robin Hood
. He then worked alongside Don Bluth
, as an animator, on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!
and The Rescuers
before serving as Directing Animator on Pete's Dragon
and The Small One
.
In an effort to accelerate their skills in preparation for leadership assignments within the Disney organization, Goldman and Bluth began to purchase used animation equipment and probe every aspect of animated production, at Don Bluth's home. United by the common goal of restoring the lost techniques of classical animation, Goldman and Bluth, along with animator John Pomeroy
, produced, directed and animated the classically animated 27 minute, filmed-featurette Banjo the Woodpile Cat
. Their enthusiasm attracted many other artists at Disney, who came by the garage to contribute their time and artistry to the project. It took four years, working nights and weekends in Bluth's garage. In December 1979, the film was shown at the Egyptian theater in Hollywood and the Peppertree theater in Northridge. It received the National Film Advisory Board Award for Excellence, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Using what they learned on their project, they attempted to implement their techniques on projects at Disney. Banjo the Woodpile Cat was later shown on ABC Television (June 1982), as a prime time special.
Since leaving Disney, the team produced several feature films, starting with The Secret of NIMH
, which won the Saturn Award
for "Best Animated Feature" from the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Academy. In late 1982, composer Jerry Goldsmith
introduced them to director Steven Spielberg. Their first collaboration with Spielberg, which began production in January 1985, An American Tail
, released in November, 1986, ushered in a new era of success for the full-length animated feature, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of its time.
Goldman was a producer on the highly successful animated laser disc interactive video games, Dragon's Lair
, Space Ace
and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
. Dragon's Lair received the Inkpot Award
for the "First Interactive Laser Disc Arcade Game" and an Arkie Award for the "Best Arcade Audio/Visuals". Financial difficulties with their distributor, cut them off from financing, and forced them to seek protection in bankruptcy in 1984. It was at this time they met mergers and acquisitions expert, Morris Sullivan, who set up a corporation, Sullivan Studios to allow the trio to continue while the bankruptcy courts slowly settled their company's case against its distributor.
In 1986, Sullivan moved Goldman, Bluth & Pomeroy, and the entire operation, including 87 employees and their families to Dublin, Ireland
, at the invitation of IDA Ireland
. Their third feature film The Land Before Time
, was their first production created primarily in Ireland, Sullivan transferred much of the ownership of the Dublin studio to the three animators, and renamed the company Sullivan Bluth Studios. The company produced six feature films from 1986 until 1994. Sullivan retired in 1991 and the company was renamed Don Bluth Entertainment, Ireland, Ltd.
In August 1994, Goldman and Bluth returned from Ireland to head up the Fox Animation Studio located in Phoenix
, Arizona
where they shared creative leadership, as producers and directors. The first production completed by the studio was the award-winning Anastasia
in 1997. Also produced there was Bartok the Magnificent
in 1999, and the animated science fiction film, Titan A.E.
, in 2000. A fourth feature film, "Africa", was in production when 20th Century Fox shut down its animation facility.
Goldman and Bluth have reestablished their independence with their production company, Don Bluth Films, Inc., developing feature-length properties. The company established a web site, http://www.donbluth.com/, where they communicate with their audience
on a personal level, and provide animation information online.
In August 2007, Goldman was named an artist in residence at the Savannah College of Art and Design
for the college’s 10-week winter quarter starting in January 2008. Goldman lectured on animation, as well as taught undergraduate and graduate level classes in traditional 2-D animation production.
http://www.scad.edu/about/news/topstories/2007/080607a.cfm
since 1976. While in college he married elementary teacher, Janith Eileen Brand in April 1968. They separated in 1983 and divorced in 1988. They have two children, Kip and Andrew. In 2001 Goldman & Bluth received Lifetime Achievement Awards for their dedication and contribution to the art of animation from Animation Magazine, and in 2005, at the Savannah Film Festival, Life Time Achievement Awards for animation, from the Savannah College of Art & Design, to which, they gifted their animation art archive. Goldman remarried in late 1988 to film cutter, Cathy (Bassett) Carr. She and her three children John, Jason and Joanna moved with him to Dublin, Ireland in 1986. Together they have seven grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Film Producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, Director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
, Animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, Writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and voice actor, he is well known for working on films with Don Bluth
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
like Anastasia, An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
and The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
. He was an animator at Disney before working at Sullivan Bluth Studios
Sullivan Bluth Studios
Sullivan Bluth Studios was an American animated film production company established in 1985 by animator Don Bluth. Bluth and several colleagues, all of whom were former Disney animators, left Disney in 1979 to form Don Bluth Productions, later known as the Bluth Group...
with Bluth.
Pre-Disney
Goldman was born in Oakland, California and raised in Watsonville, CaliforniaWatsonville, California
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 51,199 according to the 2010 census.Located on the central coast of California, the economy centers predominantly around the farming industry. It is known for growing strawberries, apples, lettuce and a host...
. As a youth, Goldman was active in sports, an infielder in baseball and quarterback in high school football, he studied piano and enjoyed model-making and drawing. Before devoting himself entirely to the arts, he served as an electronics technician in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from 1962 to 1967, assigned duties in Japan and Germany. He received his Associate of Arts
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
Degree in 1969 from Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College
Cabrillo College is a public community college offering associate degrees and certificates in more than 70 fields of study such as: engineering, computer science, allied health , public safety, marine biology and the visual and performing arts. The college itself is named after the explorer Juan...
, and he graduated in December, 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
degree in Life Drawing and Art History from the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
.
Disney
Goldman began his career in animation when he joined Walt Disney Productions in February 1972. His first assignment was as an in-betweenerTweening
Inbetweening or tweening is the process of generating intermediate frames between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image. Inbetweens are the drawings between the key frames which help to create the illusion of motion...
to legendary Disney animator Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (animator)
Franklin M. "Frank" Thomas was an American animator. He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as the Nine Old Men....
on the film Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. He then worked alongside Don Bluth
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
, as an animator, on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too is a 1974 animated feature from Disney released as a double feature with The Island at the Top of the World. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, but lost to Closed Mondays. It was later added as a segment to the 1977 film The Many...
and The Rescuers
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is a 1977 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on June 22, 1977. The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society, an international mouse organization headquartered in New York and shadowing...
before serving as Directing Animator on Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon
Pete's Dragon is a 1977 live-action/animated musical film from Walt Disney Productions and the first Disney film to be recorded in the Dolby Stereo sound system...
and The Small One
The Small One
The Small One is a Christmas animated short film created by Walt Disney Productions and was originally released to theaters in the United States by Buena Vista Distribution Company on December 15, 1978, before the 1978 re-release of Pinocchio. It started off as a children's book, by Charles...
.
In an effort to accelerate their skills in preparation for leadership assignments within the Disney organization, Goldman and Bluth began to purchase used animation equipment and probe every aspect of animated production, at Don Bluth's home. United by the common goal of restoring the lost techniques of classical animation, Goldman and Bluth, along with animator John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy
John Pomeroy is an American animator who has worked for several major studios, including The Walt Disney Company and Sullivan Bluth Studios...
, produced, directed and animated the classically animated 27 minute, filmed-featurette Banjo the Woodpile Cat
Banjo the Woodpile Cat
Banjo the Woodpile Cat is a 1979 animated short television film directed by Don Bluth. It follows the story of Banjo, an overly curious and rebellious kitten who, after getting into trouble for falling from a house to see if he could land on his feet, runs away from his woodpile home in his owners'...
. Their enthusiasm attracted many other artists at Disney, who came by the garage to contribute their time and artistry to the project. It took four years, working nights and weekends in Bluth's garage. In December 1979, the film was shown at the Egyptian theater in Hollywood and the Peppertree theater in Northridge. It received the National Film Advisory Board Award for Excellence, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Using what they learned on their project, they attempted to implement their techniques on projects at Disney. Banjo the Woodpile Cat was later shown on ABC Television (June 1982), as a prime time special.
Post-Disney
Divided by disagreements over story and production values, Goldman, along with Bluth and Pomeroy, resigned from Walt Disney Productions to establish their independent animation studio, Don Bluth Productions, in 1979. The departure was highly publicized and the trio were dubbed "Disney Defectors" by news reporters.Since leaving Disney, the team produced several feature films, starting with The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH
The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film was produced by Aurora Pictures and released by United Artists. While released to critical acclaim,...
, which won the Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
for "Best Animated Feature" from the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Academy. In late 1982, composer Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
introduced them to director Steven Spielberg. Their first collaboration with Spielberg, which began production in January 1985, An American Tail
An American Tail
An American Tail is a 1986 American animated adventure film directed by Don Bluth and produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios and Amblin Entertainment. The film tells the story of Fievel Mouskewitz and his family as they immigrate from Russia to America for freedom. However, Fievel gets lost and must...
, released in November, 1986, ushered in a new era of success for the full-length animated feature, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of its time.
Goldman was a producer on the highly successful animated laser disc interactive video games, Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair
Dragon's Lair is a laserdisc video game published by Cinematronics in 1983. It featured animation created by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth....
, Space Ace
Space Ace
Space Ace is a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and Advanced Microcomputer Systems...
and Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp is a 1991 laserdisc video game by Don Bluth. It is regarded as the first "true" sequel to Dragon's Lair. It takes place years after the timeline of the original Dragon's Lair. Dirk has married Daphne, and the marriage has produced several children...
. Dragon's Lair received the Inkpot Award
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
for the "First Interactive Laser Disc Arcade Game" and an Arkie Award for the "Best Arcade Audio/Visuals". Financial difficulties with their distributor, cut them off from financing, and forced them to seek protection in bankruptcy in 1984. It was at this time they met mergers and acquisitions expert, Morris Sullivan, who set up a corporation, Sullivan Studios to allow the trio to continue while the bankruptcy courts slowly settled their company's case against its distributor.
In 1986, Sullivan moved Goldman, Bluth & Pomeroy, and the entire operation, including 87 employees and their families to Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, at the invitation of IDA Ireland
IDA Ireland
IDA Ireland is the agency responsible for industrial development in Ireland. The agency was founded in 1949 as the Industrial Development Authority and placed on a statutory footing a year later...
. Their third feature film The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time is a 1988 American animated adventure film directed and co-produced by Don Bluth , and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall....
, was their first production created primarily in Ireland, Sullivan transferred much of the ownership of the Dublin studio to the three animators, and renamed the company Sullivan Bluth Studios. The company produced six feature films from 1986 until 1994. Sullivan retired in 1991 and the company was renamed Don Bluth Entertainment, Ireland, Ltd.
In August 1994, Goldman and Bluth returned from Ireland to head up the Fox Animation Studio located in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
where they shared creative leadership, as producers and directors. The first production completed by the studio was the award-winning Anastasia
Anastasia (1997 film)
Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was the first feature film to be released by Fox Animation Studios....
in 1997. Also produced there was Bartok the Magnificent
Bartok the Magnificent
Bartok the Magnificent, also known as Bartok the Great, is a spin-off to the 1997 film Anastasia, which features Hank Azaria as the voice of Bartok. This film was released on VHS and DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on November 16, 1999, and was re-released in 2005 along with Anastasia...
in 1999, and the animated science fiction film, Titan A.E.
Titan A.E.
Titan A.E. is an American animated post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman released in 2000. The title refers to the spacecraft that is central to the plot, with A.E. meaning "After Earth."...
, in 2000. A fourth feature film, "Africa", was in production when 20th Century Fox shut down its animation facility.
Goldman and Bluth have reestablished their independence with their production company, Don Bluth Films, Inc., developing feature-length properties. The company established a web site, http://www.donbluth.com/, where they communicate with their audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
on a personal level, and provide animation information online.
In August 2007, Goldman was named an artist in residence at the Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
for the college’s 10-week winter quarter starting in January 2008. Goldman lectured on animation, as well as taught undergraduate and graduate level classes in traditional 2-D animation production.
http://www.scad.edu/about/news/topstories/2007/080607a.cfm
Miscellaneous
Goldman has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
since 1976. While in college he married elementary teacher, Janith Eileen Brand in April 1968. They separated in 1983 and divorced in 1988. They have two children, Kip and Andrew. In 2001 Goldman & Bluth received Lifetime Achievement Awards for their dedication and contribution to the art of animation from Animation Magazine, and in 2005, at the Savannah Film Festival, Life Time Achievement Awards for animation, from the Savannah College of Art & Design, to which, they gifted their animation art archive. Goldman remarried in late 1988 to film cutter, Cathy (Bassett) Carr. She and her three children John, Jason and Joanna moved with him to Dublin, Ireland in 1986. Together they have seven grandchildren.