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Brad Bird has always been one of my favorite animators and creative minds. Going all the way back to “The Family Dog” in AMAZING STORIES, I followed his career with great interest, and have thoroughly enjoyed his films THE IRON GIANT, RATATOUILLE, and of course THE INCREDIBLES. I’m also excited to see that he’s branching out into live action, currently directing the fourth installment of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise. Last Saturday the Annie Awards, which honor achievements in animated motion pictures, honored Bird with their special Windsor McCay award. But ol’ Brad was a little tied up with his current job, and had to accept the award via video… with a little unexpected help from his M:I 4 stars Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise. This is a funny little diversion, and worth a chuckle or two, if for no other reason than all three men deciding to make time for it. If you want to get to the meat of it, just skip ahead about four and a half minutes… however, by watching the retrospect on Bird’s career, you might find out he’s worked on a lot more than you were aware of.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
