Lishman, William

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lishman
  • Wiki Biography:
    • William Lishman (February 12, 1939 – December 30, 2017) was a Canadian sculptor, filmmaker, inventor, naturalist and public speaker, president of William Lishman & Associates Limited, Vice President of Paula Lishman Limited and Chair Emeritus of Operation Migration Inc. Described by the Toronto Star as a “dyslexic, colour-blind, wildly creative sculptor”, he died less than two weeks after being diagnosed with leukemia.
    • Westwood and Lishman met with movie studio representatives in Los Angeles, January 1994. They signed a deal with Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures in February, worth $500,000 and a 5% royalty. The deal included a five-year option on creating an IMAX documentary. The resulting film was Fly Away Home (1996). As the studio couldn’t insure actor Jeff Daniels for ultra-light flight, Lishman doubled as Tom Alden, the character based on Lishman himself. Aviation, the training of 60 geese for the production, and on-set goose-wrangling by the Lishman family and others, as well as six ultralight aircraft, were purchased by producers in a later contract worth $1.4 million. Weeks from the start of production, the Ontario team was told by the director to customize the aircraft to look like geese, requiring the sculpting of geese necks and heads.
    • The film took significant liberties with the Lishman story, replacing his sons with a daughter from New Zealand (Anna Paquin), who hasn’t seen him since age 3. The mother is killed at the start of the film, and Lishman’s character (Jeff Daniels) has a girlfriend (Dana Delany). Scenes set in North Carolina were also filmed in Canada.
    • The film earned a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 1996 Academy Awards.
  • Fourth Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=15795
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/263638008/william_ayton-lishman