'The Men Who Would Be King'

If you look at Disney, etc. often, you'll know I am a Pixar and Disney guy, and not too fond of DreamWorks Animation as a whole. Sure, they have some great films such as Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, but, overall, their films aren't of the same quality as Disney or Pixar. Still, I love movies and animation, and am interested in all of the studios' histories and creative methods. Therefore, I am definitely going to pick up a copy of The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks. It has great reviews (here's one from Business Week), and apparently contains a lot of thorough research and animation history. Here's an interview with the book's author, Nicole Laporte. When asked if DreamWorks will ever surpass Pixar, Laporte comments:

The Pixar culture is the anti-Hollywood studio. It’s based in Northern California. They nurture these ideas over years. At Dreamworks, it’s much more about the way a live action movie gets made. You hire Judd Apatow to come in one day and write some jokes and punch it up. At this point, Pixar is head and shoulders above everyone. I don’t see them passing on the crown any time soon. But I think Katzenberg has seen the folly of his ways. I think he realized you have to let the artist be the artist.

The book is available from Amazon now for $18.50.

Source: Cartoon Brew