Get Your Legos on This Weekend

The Lego Movie opens this weekend, riding a huge wave of positive critical reviews– striking given the pervasive skepticism that has preceded its release.

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie opens this weekend, riding a huge wave of positive critical reviews– striking given the pervasive skepticism that has preceded its release.

Producer Dan Lin (above, surrounded by legos) opens up toThe Business contributor John Horn about enduring the ‘haters’ and cynics who, for years, questioned his ambition to make a movie with Legos. Now, as the film opens big, he’s vindicated. Five years ago, Lin– who produced the Sherlock Holmes movies and Terminator Salvation— decided he wanted to make a film his young sons could see. Legos were the way.

He talks about the extensive research he did on Lego culture to prepare for pitching The Lego Group in Denmark. The toy company was cautious about making a film which they felt had the potential to hurt their brand more than help. Five years later he screened the movie for 1000 of the top brass and rank and file Lego employees and the crowd went wild. Listen to the interview here.

Lego Day: A Celebration of Building and Architecture at the Skirball

Another person who was highly influenced by Legos was architect Moshe Safdie, who says he worked with the plastic bricks when conceiving his famed prefab housing project Habitat ’67 (above; courtesy wikipedia). All are invited to the Skirball Sunday for a “Celebration of Building and Architecture” with visiting Lego group LUGOLA, taking place from 10:00AM — 4:30PM. While there, check out the exhibit Global Citizen: The Architecture of Moshe Safdie.

From Legos to Minecraft

And if you want to hear from another person highly influenced by Legos, check out this recent DnA interview about Minecraft inventor Marcus Notch Persson, with the authors of the book Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything. The blocky building (and survival) game was shaped by his childhood experience with Legos; proof that his invention had “arrived” came when it was licensed by favorite plastic brick company.