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MillimeterMacGillivray Freeman Takes Home Best Soundtrack Award at the Giant-Screen Theater Association Conference
Oct 14, 2002 12:00 PM, Press Release
MacGillivray Freeman Films was awarded the Best Soundtrack Award for its large format film Journey Into Amazing Caves at the Giant-Screen Theater Association's 6th annual Achievement Awards ceremony during the GSTA's 25th annual conference in Toronto, Ontario, last week.
Journey Into Amazing Caves was first released to large-format theatres in March 2001 and has since played in 98 theatres. Over 5.5 million people have seen the film. Directed by Stephen Judson and narrated by Liam Neeson, Journey Into Amazing Caves is produced and distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films in association with Cincinnati Museum Center, with major funding provided by the National Science Foundation. The soundtrack features songs and music by The Moody Blues including two new compositions by the band, "We Can Fly" and "Water," with additional music by Steve Wood. The film's soundtrack was mixed at Wilshire Stages by Ken Teaney, C.A.S., with sound design by Andrew DeCristofaro, M.P.S.E. The soundtrack CD is available from ARK 21.
Journey Into Amazing Caves follows the story of two dedicated cavers on a quest to find the mysterious life forms that live in some of the world's most remote and spectacular caves, from the ice caves of Greenland to the underwater caves of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. "We're very grateful for this recognition from the GSTA," says Judson. "We craft soundtracks with great care because they're key to a film's emotional impact. For Journey Into Amazing Caves, we were extremely lucky to work with the Moody Blues. Under the leadership of Justin Hayward and John Lodge, their music really brought the film to life. And Steve Wood did a great job integrating it all into a score that captured the soul of the movie."
Further recognition for MacGillivray Freeman Films and Producer/Director, Greg MacGillivray, came during the GSTA's 25th Anniversary Celebration event during which the GSTA recognized MacGillivray as one of the most important lifetime contributors to the GSTA and to the large-format film industry at large. MacGillivray was among six individuals to be recognized, a group that also included the four founding fathers of the IMAX Corporation, Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr, Roman Kroitor, and William Shaw, and theatre pioneer Michael Sullivan.
"I am deeply honored to have received this recognition from the GSTA, and I feel humbled to have been recognized in the same company of such greats as Graeme, Roman, Bill, and Mike," says MacGillivray. "This industry really does exist because of their efforts and theirs alone. Throughout the years, I have been very fortunate to have worked with so many talented filmmakers and theatre operators, and together we've seen this industry grow from a few IMAX theatres sprinkled across the country to what it is today, a thriving network with over 250 theatres worldwide. I love this film format above all others, and know that it will continue to provide audiences with a cinematic experience unlike any other."
During a career that spans over 35 years, MacGillivray has produced or directed 26 large format films starting in 1976 when his first giant screen film, To Fly!, premiered at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum (NASM). To Fly! is the highest-grossing documentary in history, and has been seen by over 100 million people. It continues to play at NASM where it has played without stop for over twenty-five years, making it the longest running documentary in history. In 1996, To Fly! was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry where it joined such classic films as Citizen Kane and Gone With The Wind as one of the most important representations of American filmmaking in the last 100 years. Since that auspicious debut in the large format, MacGillivray has directed such major giant screen hits as To The Limit (1989), The Magic of Flight (1996), the fastest-grossing large-format film, Everest (1998), and two Academy Award-nominated films, The Living Sea (1995) and Dolphins (2000). In addition to his two Academy Award nominations, MacGillivray has received numerous critical awards, including the Clio, the Cine Eagle, and the industry's Maximum Image Award for Best Film.
MacGillivray is also well-known in the industry for his artistic and technical innovation. He has initiated the development of three cameras for the IMAX format—a high-speed (slow-motion) camera, the industry's first lightweight camera, and the all-weather camera used during filming on Mt. Everest.
MacGillivray is currently completing two new giant-screen films for release next spring: Coral Reef Adventure (February 2003), an underwater odyssey into the world's most beautiful and endangered coral reefs, and Top Speed (April 2003), a film about the human pursuit of excellence and what it takes to be the fastest in the world.
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