November 24th 2016 marks the 100th birthday of sci-fi legend Forrest J Ackerman, founder of 'Famous Monsters of Filmland' magazine. Forry was also one of Ray Harryhausen’s oldest friends, the two having met in the late 1930's after discovering a shared interest in 'King Kong'.

We caught up with former 'Famous Monsters' editor David Weiner to discuss the friendship between Ray, Forry and Ray Bradbury. We also heard a clip of the three legends in discussion, taken from an interview which can be found on the 'Ray Harryhausen- the early years collection' DVD.

Enjoy our celebration of Forrest J Ackerman on his centenary!

Bonus Podcast- Forrest J Ackerman Centenary

Welcome to the Ray Harryhausen Podcast, the show dedicated to the life, career and films of a special effects titan!

TV & Film

Listen to an in-depth interview with director and producer Arnold Leibovit about his fantastic restorations of The Puppetoons! 

'The Puppetoons' series of short films were a very important part of Ray Harryhausen's early career, being his first paid work as an animator in the 1940s. Created by legendary director George Pal, the films used replacement animation, whereby a series of individual models were created to portray different movements or facial expressions, frame by frame. Trustee John Walsh and Collections Manager Connor Heaney speak with Arnie about his friendships with George Pal and Ray Harryhausen, and his decades of work with The Puppetoon films.

Wonderful news for fans of Ray Harryhausen and stop-motion animation, as 'The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3' is now available to purchase. The release showcases high quality, restored versions of these wonderful films, many of which not been available to view in decades. Amongst other short films on this new release, Volume 3 contains 'Western Daze'- the first Puppetoon film that Ray Harryhausen worked upon. 

Find out more about The Puppetoon Movie Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and purchase through the link below:

https://www.puppetoon.net

Episode 48: The Puppetoons- Interview with Arnie Leibovit

Celebrate 90 years of King Kong in Episode 47 of The Ray Harryhausen Podcast!

To mark this landmark movie, we look back at the ‘King Kong at Ninety: Visualization in the Art of Stop-Motion Animation’ exhibition which ran at Eastern Michigan University earlier this year. Foundation trustee John Walsh and collections manager Connor Heaney speak about King Kong, Willis O'Brien, and their influence on Ray Harryhausen.

In an interview from the 'King Kong at 90' exhibit, Connor is joined by Gregory Kulon (independent scholar, and researcher of the history of Stop-motion animation), Professor Tom Suchan (Art History, The University of East Michigan) and Ben Harry (curator of Audiovisual Materials and Media Arts History of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections of Brigham Young University) for a discussion on the legacy of King Kong, the story of Willis O'Brien and the incredible artwork which had been created for this film and other stop-motion projects.

Celebrate one of the most important pieces of cinema of all time with our 90th anniversary celebration of King Kong!

Episode 47: King Kong at 90

Episode 46 of the Ray Harryhausen Podcast sees an exclusive interview with Nigel Glockler, drummer of legendary heavy metal band Saxon!

Nigel chats with Foundation Collections Manager Connor Heaney about his love of Ray Harryhausen films, and of his dinosaur pictures in particular. Occasionally nicknamed 'The T-Rex', Nigel describes the impact that films such as 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' and 'Jason and the Argonauts' had upon him growing up. 

Find out more about Saxon on their official website and social media channels- new album coming on January 19th 2024!

https://www.saxon747.com

Many thanks to Nigel for taking the time to chat about his Harryhausen memories!

Episode 46: Interview with Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler

'A life changing award’ -  Guillermo Del Toro

A special bonus episode of the Ray Harryhausen Podcast, where we speak to some of the previous winners of our Ray Harryhausen Awards. Listen to Guillermo Del Toro, Phil Tippett and Mark Gustafson speak about how much their Harryhausen Award wins have meant to them. We speak with 'Best Student Film Animation' winner Kheyal Roy-Meighoo and 'Best Children's Film Animation' winner Kristian Harding on how the Harryhausen Awards are helping to maintain Ray's legacy for a new generation of filmmakers.

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation are delighted to open submissions for 2024 Harryhausen Awards, established in honour of the legendary master of stop-motion animation. 

We are now accepting submissions for animated films of all types within the following categories before the deadline of May 31st 2024.

 Best Feature Film Animation 
 Best Short Film Animation 
 Best Student Film Animation 
 Best Children’s Film Animation 
 Harryhausen Hall of Fame Award 

https://www.harryhausenawards.com
https://www.filmfreeway.com/harryhausenawards 
info@harryhausenawards.com

We look forward to seeing your films- please get in touch with any queries about The Ray Harryhausen Awards 2024!

Bonus Podcast- The Ray Harryhausen Awards 2024

Episode 45 of the Ray Harryhausen Podcast details an exciting visit to the studios of Aardman Animations!

Ray's daughter Vanessa Harryhausen and Collections Manager Connor Heaney chat with Aardman archivists Tom Vincent and Zoe Critchley about their important work in taking care of such legendary stop-motion creations. Aardman's founder Peter Lord also joins for a discussion on Ray's ongoing legacy, and the importance of keeping such valuable items for future generations to enjoy. 

Our episode is capped off with an update on the latest Star Ace Toys unboxing videos by author, filmmaker and trustee John Walsh. Watching his exclusive previews of each new model for a chance to win one of these incredible replicas. 

Enjoy this latest episode, packed with stop-motion magic from Harryhausen and Aardman! Check out a video version of this episode on our official YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sem14e4Tz4A

Bonus Podcast- Forrest J Ackerman Centenary

Download our free app to listen on your phone