The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “The Time Machine” on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 4:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
This special event will also feature two Academy Award-winning “Puppetoons” restored in Technicolor: “Western Daze” (1940) — the first Puppetoon introducing Jim Dandy with key animation by Ray Harryhausen — and “Tubby the Tuba” (1947), considered one of the greatest of the Puppetoons.
“The Time Machine" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup (John M. Elliot Jr. and Barbara Lorenz) at the 75th Academy Awards.
The film is loosely based on the H.G. Wells 1895 novel and David Duncan's screenplay from the George Pal 1960 film. Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds humankind divided into two warring races.
Guy Pearce stars in the role of Alexander Hartdegen — a scientist and inventor who is determined to prove that time travel is possible. His determination is turned into desperation by a personal tragedy that now drives him to want to change the past. Testing his theories with a time machine of his own invention, Hartdegen is hurtled 800,000 years into the future, where he discovers that mankind has divided into the hunter and the hunted.
“The Time Machine” also stars Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Mark Addy, Sienna Guillory, Jeremy Irons, Phyllida Law and a cameo by Alan Young who starred as Filby in the original Pal film.
Executive Producer (and Sedona resident) Arnold Leibovit will host this special event and discussion following the screening. Leibovit produced and directed “The Puppetoon Movie” (1987), “The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal” (1986), “The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 & 3”, executive produced “The Time Machine” (2002) (Warner Bros. & Steven Spielberg), produced “The Time Machine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Score”, co-directed “Rascal Dazzle” and others plus has been the decades-long keeper of the flame of George. Leibovit is the recipient of many awards including George Pal Memorial Award (the Saturn) from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror and the Rondo Award for Best Blu-ray Collection 2024 for “The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3”.