A dear friend passed away, Jim Hayes who built the sets and props for our short film āThe Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmoreā. I reassembled some of the old sets recently and posted about them hoping that doing so would cheer Jim up while he was sick. Five thousand miniature books, six blocks of the French quarter in New Orleans, Morrisās book themed piano and bed and desk and 10,000 other tiny props that made the film real. They were Jimās work. Heād worked with directors as varied as David Lynch to Sylvester Stallone. But he took us under his lanky arms and taught us everything he knew. He was a constant ray of sunshine. Our shooting schedule was insane and there were times when Iād ask the impossible of him. Heād grin his jackoālantern grin, say āokay Williamā and a few hour later heād present a new set. Making movies is hard. Jim was the kind of guy who could help hold a film production together. His gentle, patient, always calm demeanor chilled everyone out. When we won the Oscar for Morris he made a tiny miniature Oscar for Morrisās desk. I keep the Morris set up on my work desk now and work with it surrounding me. It makes me calm and nostalgic and somehow peaceful. Iāll be doing a reading on Wednesday in Jimās honor on Simon and Schusterās Snack and Read Live at 11:00 PDT/2:00 EDT Go to Facebook.com/SimonKids. . . . #kidslitart #kidslit #picturebooks #picturebooksaremyjam #animationart #productiondesign #simonandschusterkids #morrislessmore https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWD6G_lrQa/?igshid=h025o3q0ltwl
