The Making of Tron: How Tron Changed Visual Effects and Disney Forever

Being a Tron fan is a lonely fandom. It's something I've enjoyed on an off over the years as a solitary exercise, but I've no one to talk to about it. So it took me a few years to notice that William Kallay had even written this book. I thank him, the contents were a pleasant surprise. But first about me:I saw Tron in the movie theater twice. The first time was after assuring my mother that I wouldn't ruin my eyesight by watching an entire movie made on a computer. (This book corrects this, there is a lot of traditional animation in Tron as well). About a month later, a second-run theater had it and it was a 30-minute drive to go see it. I was the only one in the auditorium.A classmate had the novelization by Brian Daley, and I was surprised to read how the Tron story in the novel was a lot better than what ended up on screen. How Flynn restore's Yori to life is a good example of how polished writing can make a scene.) I simply accepted the fact that Tron the movie was what it was, and enjoyed it for what it was without expecting it to be more.I own the vinyl Tron soundtrack, bought it at the music store when the movie came out. One of the wonders of Kallay's book is to learn that there was serious competition between Wendy Carlos, Journey, and the sound effects guy as to who would get priority in the final movie mix. The viewer has no idea this sort of conflict is going on.I managed to meet a number of Tron actors at a 2011 convention. I was disappointed that this book did not interview Peter Jurasik (who played Crom, Flynn's desperate ring opponent), who also co-starred with Bruce Boxleitner in Babylon 5. But he does get a mention. I wondered if this was the book for me.I could not have been more wrong. Kallay does interview a few actors, but the focus of the book is on the producers and the production staff. The reader gets amazing stories about the stunning amount of work required to bring Tron to the screen. There are some addendums near the end with notes and a brief interview on Tron:Legacy (a movie which to my viewing appeared to be solely a vehicle to give Daft Punk some scenes in a Tron nightclub). My understanding of the context of Tron within Disney's history, the competition of the industry, all has enhanced my understanding of the time and place that somehow produced this movie.My assessment of the movie as a child exiting the theater was surprisingly adult: Tron ended up a dull movie where the human actors were not given much to do and were secondary to the effects. But it's stuck with me over the years, and I leapt at the chance to buy Wendy Carlos' remastered CD soundtrack when it came out nine years ago. Tron is still a part of my life, and this book goes a long way towards explaining why. You can see the sweat and tears put into the movie, and here you get to meet some of those people who made magic happen. My thanks to them and to author William Kallay for bringing me full circle as that young boy who bought a ticket to see Tron.

No, this isn't the perfect glossy book with lots of pictures, the print quality is ok but the b/w picture quality is poor - which is a bummer since those pictures could really add a lot of color (no pun intended). However: this book is full of interesting TRON information, background stories, anecdotes and general knowledge - a treasure trove for any TRON enthusiast.My advice: also get "The Art of Tron" by Michael Bonnifer, together these two books complement each other very well!

This book appears to be a self-published labor of love by William Kallay. I won't lie- the appearance of the book is a bit disappointing the first time you hold it in your hand- the lack of color, the few photos inside, the layout. It is clear that this is a seriously researched work, and it is also quickly evident that this is an "unofficial" book, not sanctioned by Disney. That being said, for Tron fans, there is a lot to like- the author evidently spent much time interviewing the major players behind Tron, and crafts a compelling narrative about the making of the film. It does feel at times like reading someone's self-published dissertation- a bit academic and dry, some unnecessary background info, but there is a ton of good information in here.As a Tron fan, I'm happy that a book like this is out there, but I do wish that it were illustrated and better laid out. It's somewhat ironic that a book on one of the most visually innovative films of all time is almost entirely bereft of color or photos. I understand why this is- without Disney on board, any photos of the film are out of the question. I wonder why Disney passed on helping to publish this work? That said, it would be some much richer to be able to see color images of the movie while the author details the making of the special effects. All in all, a worthwhile book for Tron fans.

Bill Kallay - Finally gives us 30 year TRON fans a taste of what it was like to be part of making this ground breaking movie. He interviewed as many people as possible giving us in depth stories and trips down memory lane. The photo's are nostalgic and really take you back. I was 16 years old when I saw TRON in theatres and first owned it on RCA Selectivision disc which I still own. I moved on to VHS then DVD and finally Blu Ray. In 30 years TRON remains my favorite movie of all time. I have probably watched it well over 500 times and watched the special feature The Making of Tron over 100. This book is a great addition to my small yet passionate TRON collection. I think Bill Kallay and super TRON fan David Arnspiger should do a book called TRON the collectible and memorabilia achive. Just a thought fROM a 30 year TRON fan. Thanks for the book Bill ... END OF LINE

Author knows his film history . Great exploration of the film history in those heady days ! Looking forward to any other books the author may write in the future .

Well, had this book for 10 mins…first the poor print is bleeding onto my hands…like a bad newspaper. 2nd, the opening line of the introduction is patently not true. A good percentage of kids in 1982 were trying to figure out how where their dinner was gonna come from and worrying about their dads who had lost their union jobs….not nearly all kids were playing video games. Third, that a “film writer” would publish the sentence “The making of Tron was one of the most challenging films ever made” says a lot about what kind of skills are required to be a film writer. Stay tuned.