Ron and I snapped quite a few pictures during the San Fran leg of the tour. Here’s a gallery of some of the pics that Ron took. Keep checking back for more exclusive photos from the Oscar Tour.

Friday morning I went to sleep at 6:20 am and woke up around 7:40 am. That may have been the most restful hour and 20 minutes of sleep I’ve ever had. The comfortable beds and soft pillows at Skywalker Ranch were hard to leave. The last time I ran on so little sleep was in college during my senior year while we were filming long hours over a weekend on the bedroom set I built. This trip has certainly recharged the creative juices in me.

Thursday was an absolute whirlwind day on the tour. I couldn’t possibly write everything interesting that was said during the course of the day. So I’m going to set out to recap the day in full, but tease you with details to come later.

Well, we have safely arrived in San Fran. Ron and I happened to be on the same flight with Little Matchgirl director Roger Allers, who waited for us to get off the plane. Sadly, he’s battling a bad cold and was more worried about infecting others than his own discomfort. So Roger and producer Don Hahn (who had to stay at a different hotel then the rest of us,

because ours was not an approved Walt Disney lodging) decided to stay in this evening to rest up for our busy day tomorrow. I was surprised to receive a phone call from Don in my hotel room giving his regrets for not coming to dinner with the rest of us. It’s not too often I get a call on my cell from the producer of legendary films and former president of Disney Feature Animation saying he’s sorry that he won’t be making it to dinner because he’s just getting over bronchitis. I didn’t even know he had my number. I must say, both Roger and Don are so kind and welcoming

, not a shred of Hollywood self-importance at all.

Well, today is a travel day. I’m heading up to San Fran where Ron Diamond and I will meet up with the nominees for dinner at Trapeze.

For young animators, no story from last year’s Oscars was more inspiring than Shane Acker’s tale. His student film, 9, not only earned him an Academy Award nomination, but a feature production deal at Focus Features with Tim Burton and Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov producing. The feature is now in production at Luxembourg-based Attitude Studios and the voice cast includes Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau. I really enjoyed 9 and I look forward to seeing the feature, which looks to be something potential unique in the world of 3D animation.

Okay, okay, I’ll get off my obsession with Skywalker Ranch. However, I did want to share some pics from the San Fran leg of last year’s Oscar Tour. Ron Diamond provided the images and they represent a great visual chronicle of the fun events the nominees get to experience. See whom they chatted with at lunch or who just happened to be at the Ranch when they arrived.