Well, what can I say, Philip is a great guy - ok, a weird guy (hey, he said it, not me). He gave by far, the most entertaining presentation of the trip. I had actually conversed with Philip several times via e-mail before the presentation. and have since become good friends. He is the one who gave me the phone number to call to try and get a speaker in to talk with us. It was really great just getting to meet him face to face. I actually had no idea that it was him that was coming to speak with the group until just a couple of weeks before the trip. I knew that there was some ILM guy coming to talk with us, but I didn't know who - we didn't ask for anyone specifically. He knew he was giving a presentation to some group, but he didn't know who either. Then the teacher in charge of the trip announced one day that it was Philip Alexy. She didn't even know that I had talked with him before. So the fact that it was Philip, the one guy at ILM that I actually knew, and not someone else, is a total fluke.

Philip showed up at the hotel a little early. He brought his wife Karyn along - she was also really nice. I went down before the rest of the students to meet him, because I had talked to him before, and I just wanted to say hi. Because of the fact that I knew him, I was also chosen to introduce him before the presentation, and give him the plaque etc... afterwards. We gave him some Chinese food, and I gave him a little stuffed sheep I had seen while souvenir shopping earlier that day (he REALLY likes sheep, and no, not that way). I really did not have a whole lot so say. I went down early to talk to him, and then could not think of anything to talk about! My brain wasn't working too well at the time due to lack of sleep.

When the rest of the group arrived, I went up and introduced Philip, and he got on with his presentation. We watched ILM's demo reel, then Philip's reel of the stuff he has done while at ILM. He animated the shot in Casper of Fatso in drag. I love that shot! We were going to watch his student reel, but as it turns out, the video technicians at ILM taped over it! Can you believe that? After the videos, Philip answered questions, and told some amusing stories about Robin Williams and Arnold Swarzenegger. He also told us about some things in some of his shots you wouldn't notice unless you knew about it, and even then, you probably wouldn't see it. Like the deletion of Dipsticks, um, well... dipstick. I guess they didn't think parents would be thrilled at having that blown up on the big screen for their kids to see.

After the presentation, we gathered around as Philip took a look at the portfolios that some of us brought. He apparently thinks I have what it takes to get into Sheridan, so I'll take his word for it and apply next year. While looking at porfolios he drew his psycho farmer, Frankie, in one guys sketchbook, and answered some more questions. He was really helpful, giving lot's of insight as to what career might suit each person based on their work. I then gave him the plaque, t-shirt, pin and newspaper article, and that was pretty much it.

Now you all go see Flubber!! Philip was lead animator on that show. he and everyone else at ILM did a terrific job bringing that loveable green glob of goo to life

Click Philip's picture to visit his Home Page!

Disney

Hanna Barbera

The World Animation Celebration