Space creatures Neek and Wak are on a galactic
adventure in their huge Alien ship when they
encounter and prepare to swallow a small flying
craft manned by three young explorers from earth
in Paramount Pictures' new science fantasy
"Explorers."

A four-time Academy Award nominee for his work on "The Shootist," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Gaily, Gaily" and Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," Robert F. Boyle has been delivering his own subtle impressions to motion picture audiences for more than half a century. At an average of two films per year, his credits number well over 100.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Joaquin Valley, Boyle was graduated from USC's School of Architecture before making his way to Paramount Pictures' art department in the mid-'30s. He became an art director on Hitchcock's "Saboteur" in 1942, followed by such films as "Shadow of a Doubt," also for Hitchcock, "Nocturne," "An Act of Murder," "Sierra," "A Day of Fury," "It Came From Outer Space," "East of Sumatra" and "Weekend with Father."

Among his remarkable list of accomplishments for art direction and production design are "The Birds" and "Marnie," again for Hitchcock, as well as "The Thrill of It All," "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming," "The Landlord," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Private Benjamin," "Lookin' to Get Out," "Staying Alive" and "No Small Affair."

"Let's face it--it's pretty humbling to work with a guy who has worked for Hitchcock, who is arguable the best filmmaker ever," acknowledges Dante.

"The chance to work with someone like Bob doesn't come around the corner every day, and I just hope I let him know how much we appreciate him."

Perhaps in thanks, Dante gave Boyle a cameo role in "Starkiller," his hilarious send-up to all of the B-movies of yore, which appears briefly in a drive-in movie scene at the center of "Explorers," which is and Edward S. Feldman Production produced by Feldman and David Bombyk, with Michael Finnell as executive producer. The original screenplay is by Eric Luke.

"Bob seems to have survived the cut, and with his Viking helmet and all the rest, he looks like the grand old man of Italian science-fiction movies."

Make that the grand old man of movies in general.

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