Leslie Iwerks
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Leslie Iwerks () is an American producer, director, and writer. She is daughter of
Disney Legend The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...
Don Iwerks and granddaughter of
Disney Legend The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...
Ub Iwerks, the animator and co-creator of
Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...
and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. She has directed films including '' Recycled Life'' which was nominated for an Academy Award and ''
The Pixar Story ''The Pixar Story'', directed by Leslie Iwerks, is a documentary of the history of Pixar Animation Studios. An early version of the film premiered at the Sonoma Film Festival in 2007, and it had a limited theatrical run later that year before it ...
'' which was nominated for an Emmy for best nonfiction special. She is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
, the Producers Guild of America, and the
International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...
. She has worked with non-profit organizations Save Our Seas, Safe Passage, NRDC, and the
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
to raise awareness on matters affecting the globe. She currently helms Santa Monica-based production company Iwerks & Co.


Biography

Iwerks graduated with a BA from the University of Southern California and currently is a member of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Alumni Council. In 1999, Walt Disney Pictures released her first feature-length documentary, ''The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story'', chronicling the life of her grandfather, Ub Iwerks. The film was narrated by Kelsey Grammer. In 2000, Iwerks began working on numerous ethnographic documentaries in Guatemala which culminated in the film '' Recycled Life'' (2006), which was nominated for the Academy Award Best Documentary (Short Subject) category. The film documented the lives of Guatemalans who live and work in the largest landfill in Central America. The film was narrated by Edward James Olmos. ''Recycled Life'' went on to raise an estimated $3 million for Safe Passage, a non-profit organization building schools for children who work in the dump. ''
The Pixar Story ''The Pixar Story'', directed by Leslie Iwerks, is a documentary of the history of Pixar Animation Studios. An early version of the film premiered at the Sonoma Film Festival in 2007, and it had a limited theatrical run later that year before it ...
'' (2007), about the rise of Pixar Animation Studios was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
in the Outstanding Nonfiction Special category and was additionally nominated for the A.C.E. Eddie Awards for Best Edited Documentary. The feature-length documentary was narrated by Stacy Keach and includes interviews with John Lasseter,
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
, Ed Catmull,
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
, Tom Hanks, and other producers, directors, and artists. Variety wrote, "The movie is, above all else, a celebration of animation in all its forms. Iwerks naturally has a firm grasp of the medium’s history and rightly sees Pixar as the catalyst for the recent resurgence of audience interest in animation." In 2008, Iwerks' short documentary ''Downstream'', brought awareness to the environmental effects of oil sands production in Alberta, Canada, as well as rare cancers being found downstream in the aboriginal community of Fort Chipewyan. Because the film scrutinized the local government's pro-oil policies and was partially subsidized by the Alberta Film Fund, it prompted Alberta's Minister of Culture, Lindsay Blackett, to criticize the film, which in turn, sparked public outcry as to whether films subsidized by the government would be allowed freedom of artistic expression. The film was short-listed for the Academy Awards Best Documentary (Short Subject) category in 2008. Iwerks released ''Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible'' (2010), which chronicles the developments of visual effects house
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
from the earliest days of
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
to Star Trek Beyond. The documentary is narrated by Tom Cruise and features interviews with
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
,
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, Ron Howard, Robin Williams,
J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as ''Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' For ...
, Jerry Bruckheimer, Samuel L. Jackson,
Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...
,
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
, and various ILM visual effects supervisors. In 2011, the Biografilm Festival in Bologna, Italy, paid tribute to Iwerks through a multi-day retrospective of her documentary films. Iwerks' short environmental documentary ''Pipe Dreams'' (2011), about the controversy behind the
Keystone XL pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...
, was narrated by Daryl Hannah and won the Ashland Independent Film Festival award for Best Documentary Short. The film was also short-listed for the Academy Awards Best Documentary (Short Subject) category in 2012. Iwerks' 2012 documentary, ''Citizen Hearst'', charting the 125-year history of the Hearst media empire, premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film is narrated by
William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...
, and features interviews with
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
, Dan Rather, Mark Burnett,
Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
, Donna Karan,
Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...
, Leonard Maltin,
Dr. Oz Mehmet Cengiz Öz (; born June 11, 1960), known professionally as Dr. Oz (), is an Turkish American former professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, television presenter, author and former political candidate. The son of Tur ...
,
Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
and various members of the Hearst family and company. In 2013, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival showcased a retrospective of her documentary work, and honored her with the festival's Spotlight Award. In 2016, she was honored by The Bay Foundation for her environmental impact through filmmaking. Additionally, she was commended by California Assemblymen Richard Bloom and Mike Giatto for her profound commitment to environmental stewardship through penetrating, exemplary documentary filmmaking addressing critical national and global issues. Iwerks' 2016 documentary, ''Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table'', about famed New Orleans restaurateur
Ella Brennan Ella Brennan (November 27, 1925 – May 31, 2018) was an American restaurateur and part of a family of restaurateurs specializing in haute Louisiana Creole cuisine in New Orleans, Louisiana. Early life and education Brennan was born in New Orl ...
premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival and won the Audience Award. The film is narrated by Academy Award-nominated actress Patricia Clarkson, and features interviews with
Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagassé III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regio ...
, Danny Meyer, Daniel Boulud,
Drew Nieporent Drew Nieporent is an American restaurateur based in New York City. His company Myriad Restaurant Group owns and operates numerous restaurants. Nieporent's Nobu and Nobu London both earned two Michelin stars. The restaurant's partners are celebrit ...
, Jeremiah Tower, and others. The film began streaming on Netflix in May 2017. In 2017, Iwerks embarked on a journey to Macedonia where she uncovered the inside world of fake news created by Macedonian teenagers. The short film follows how the proliferation of fake news impacted the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election and worldwide elections thereafter. ''Selling Lies'' was directed, edited, and produced by Iwerks.
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
’s production company
Revelations Entertainment Revelations Entertainment is an independent movie production company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and business partner Lori McCreary in 1996. Its mission statement, to "reveal truth," drives to company produce thought-provoking entertainment ...
co-produced the film. The film, completed in 2018, premiered and won the Best Short Documentary at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The film then went on to win Best Documentary Short at San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, Dumbo Film Festival, DOC LA, and Ridgefield Independent Film Festival. In 2019, ''League of Legends Origins'' premiered on Netflix. The Iwerks directed feature-length documentary takes viewers around the world to chronicle the rise of today's number one played online game in the world, League of Legends. In association with
Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
, Iwerks spent four years documenting the ups and downs and global growth of the billion-dollar
esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
business and community that grew up around it. In 2013, Iwerks began producing and directing a documentary series on the history of Walt Disney Imagineering, the division responsible for designing Disney theme parks and other attractions. ''
The Imagineering Story ''The Imagineering Story'' is a 2019 documentary streaming television miniseries created, directed and executive produced by Leslie Iwerks. The series is focused on Walt Disney Imagineering and takes an in-depth look at the history and creation ...
'' premiered on the Disney+ streaming service at launch on November 12, 2019, with Academy Award-nominated actress
Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
narrating. This documentary series looks at the more than 65-year history of Walt Disney Imagineering through parallel storylines focused on the people, the craft, and the business. Reviews of the series called it everything from the "crown jewel of the first wave of original programming to Disney+" to "a surprisingly honest history of how Disney’s theme parks were made."


Filmography


References


External links


Leslie Iwerks official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwerks, Leslie Living people American film directors American documentary filmmakers American people of Frisian descent Disney people Year of birth missing (living people)