Rex Grignon is head of character animation at PDI/DreamWorks in Redwood City, Calif. He worked on the first Shrek movie, DreamWorks' first film Antz, and on a new animated work, Madagascar.
He tends to read non-fiction, and says he loves to read about something that's different from the type of work he does. But he also plays bass guitar as a hobby, so he also likes to read about music and music theory.
"I don't differentiate between my spare time and being on vacation," he says. "Reading is a luxury and pleasure."
Rex Grignon's List:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
Broken Music: A Memoir, by Sting
Beyond the Bass Clef, by Tony Levin
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, by Michael Miller. "It's always embarrassing to buy these... Much as I had to swallow my pride, I'm better because of it."
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. "It's just amazing hearing these stories of pioneers... I just couldn't put it down."
How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell (He read the children's book with his 8-year-old daughter, Grace.)
Three Investigators series (when he was a kid)
The Cyberiad, by Stanislaw Lem
Testaments of Honour, by Blake Heathcote
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