Oct 17, 2014

"Book of Life" director Jorge Gutierrez: "Write your own story"

Today, Reel FX's film The Book of Life opens in the United States, and the story of its 39-year-old director, Jorge Gutierrez, is also one worth telling. The film, one of the most authentic cultural statements yet seen in American feature animation, stands as a testament to the unconventional and uncompromising career path chosen by Gutierrez. In a piece written on LinkedIn entitled “The Book of My Life,” Gutierrez described his efforts to express his personal vision in an industry that often dictates to its artists what kind of animation to make:

After running down the list of his efforts to create his own work, Jorge concludes the piece by imploring artists to not let others tell them what to produce:

Coming from Jorge, a guy who's had both a major animated TV series and feature film before the age of 40, that's advice worth heeding.