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"A Family Tradition for 130 Years" 7s Bill Lishman FLY AWAY HOME Yr fr vei familiar to them, particularly our own main street. A Anna Paquin, an Oscar winner in 1993 for The Piano is | | marvelous in conveying the inner turmoils ofa girl whohashad her entire life disrupted: In the geese she finds a cause, in her | cause she forges a bond not pd ie with the birds but with her father. Using her beautifully expressive eyes, Paquin pulls us to her, inviting us to share her love for the birds she has adopted. Imagine being Jeff Daniels, meeting Bill Lishman and knowing you have to recreate this man fort the screen: How to do it? Bill tells me that initially Daniels shadowed him, picking "Bill-isms," before ing just to play the part. The mos important characteristic was created to near perfection. U meeting Bill Lishman you are immediately struck by of intelligence that radiates from the man's eyes. Bill things differently than most (artists do), which I feel Daniels harnessed in his performance. If the film possessed any one flaw, I suppose it would be a minor detail I had hoped to see: What makes Bill Lishman tick? Then again one must remember that this is not about Bill, rather based on his accomplishments. With that in mind, the Daniels performance can be experienced in wonder, as the father grows to be a true dad, be din fascinated by his daughter's obsession. Through the evolving relationships the film's message is softly conveyed; that sometimes everyone or everything needs only to be shown the way. While Carroll Ballard's direction anchors the film, Caleb | Deschanel's stunning cinematography allows the film to soar. Capturing the lush green of our township is one matter, capturing geese in flight is quite another. Deschanel puts us alongside the geese for a ride that is sheer magic, something rare indeed. The art allows us, for fleeting woments, to experience what Bill has felt in his aircraft with his geese fast behind him: utter exhilaration. oll Ballard, director of Fly s Lishman home following in Whitby Friday night. Fly Away Home is a picture for the whole family to enjoy, something increasingly absent in the film market. It an to of his friends who worked behind the scenes during the filming. Speaking with Mr. Lishman Saturday morning in the more familiar and comfortable surroundings of his Purple Hill shop, he said the events of the week were far more than he had expected. "Hollywood doesn't do big premiers anymore but this one had all the glitz and glamor of an old fashioned type of premier, including stretch limos," he said. He and his family were brought to Roy Thomson Hall for the opening night gala in a limousine and were introduced on stage with the stars and directors of the film in front of more than 1000 people. Prior to the premier showing Thursday in Toronto, Lishman was on a whirlwind media junket in Los Angeles. In specially set-up hotel rooms, he along with the director and stars of Fly Away Home, were interviewed by television, radio and print media for four days, giving an estimated 120 interviews in the process. Director Carroll Ballard, who was Lishman's guest Friday night at his home, was being given a welding lesson when I arrived Saturday morning and he explained that his deal with Bill was, "if I make the film, then Bill would give me a lesson in welding." Mr. Carroll said his interest in making the film was largely motivated because of Lishman. "We have a similar take on things. He's an original character that interests me," he said. He went on to say of all the movies he's done, "this is the most enjoyshle film I've ever done." As | left the dimly lit shop, the two men pulled down' ier welding fate screens and continued with the welding lesson. each of us, to the soaring human spirit, and to the limitless possibilities in each of us. Most important, the work is a celebration of Bill Lishman's dream and vision, which we should all share. Lishmanhad a dream, but chose not to talk about it; he simply did it. Bravo to Carroll Ballard and Columbia Pictures for seeing the joy in Lishman's work, for making his work art. Ballard made it clear to me that Lishman was the inspiration and guiding force behind the film. Hopefully we will all take home a piece of that magic. This 1 know...I can't wait to see the film again, this time with my daughter, who will, as the adults did, watch in wide eyed wonder. The * imagery given to us goes beyond simple beauty. These image sing.