Amazon.co.uk has a product page for the Finding Nemo Blu-ray. It has a list price of $38.81 and a shipping date of May 1, 2010. There has been no official announcement from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment regarding a Finding Nemo Blu-ray. Judging by the product page, I'm guessing that this is simply a false alarm.
Source: The Pixar Blog
Showing posts with label Andrew Stanton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrew Stanton. Show all posts
Saturday, January 16, 2010
'Finding Nemo' Blu-ray on the Way?
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday Link Roundup
It has been a fairly slow week when it comes to news, but there are still various tidbits that are worth mentioning:
Saturday, March 28, 2009
What if Andrew Stanton's Films Had a Human Cast?
Everybody loves Pixar, and some of the best Pixar films have been directed by Andrew Stanton. His films include Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Both of these films center around either robots or fish, but, what if, in order to make the films more relatable, they rewrote the main characters as humans instead? Here are two artist renditions of what they might have come up with, and they are pretty funny.
Source: /Film
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Pixar Honors Employess with Buzz Statues [UPDATED]
A set of pictures on Flickr depict a large set of tall, heavy and presumably bronze Buzz Lightyear statues. Each statue has a Pixar employee's name, as well as the words "10 Years of Passion & Commitment", written on the base. The statues were awarded two days ago as a thank you to all employees who have been with Pixar for at least 10 years. Employees who have worked at Pixar for 20 years were awarded a very special Woody statue. All statues were designed by the wonderful and gifted Jerome Ranft. 205 of the very cool Buzz Lightyear awards were handed out to the talented Pixar veterans.
Update: More photos have emerged on Flickr:
- Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter inspecting the Woody statues
- Eben Ostby, a 20 year Pixar veteran, holding one of the very, very cool Woody statues
- Ed Catmull at the reception/party eatin' some delicious fried chicken
Monday, February 23, 2009
'WALL-E' Wins Best Animated Feature at the Oscars [UPDATED]
Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston announced the winner of the Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards, and the big winner is WALL-E!! Although it didn't win Best Original Screenplay, and the short film preceding it, Presto, didn't win Best Animated Short, this was a big win for Pixar. Stanton had a great acceptance speech where he thanked Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, among others.
Courtesy of The Pixar Touch, here is his acceptance speech:
My producers Jim Morris and Lindsey Collins should really be up here to accept this with me. It's been such an inspiration to spend time with a character who so tenaciously struggles to find the beauty in everything that he sees. It's a noble aspiration to have at times like these. I dearly want to thank everyone that's been on this film: the cast, the crew, everybody at Disney and Pixar Studios. I have to single out Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and Steve Jobs for creating a cinematic safe haven where only a film like WALL-E could be made. To my wife Julie, my kids Ben and Audrey, I love you so much, and I guess I'd be remiss if I did not thank my high school drama teacher Phil Perry for 28 years ago casting me as Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! Creative seeds are sown in the oddest of places so, uh, thank you so much to the Academy for this.
It's worth noting that, before announcing the winner, Jack Black (who played the leading role in Kung Fu Panda) hilariously commented that every year he "makes a ton of money doing a DreamWorks movie and bets it all on Pixar!" Ha ha.
UPDATE: Here is the video of Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston presenting the award to Stanton, as well as the 2008 Animation montage:
It is also worth noting that WALL-E clips could be found throughout, and at the very end, of the "romance montage" shown during the Oscars.
There were, sadly, no other wins for WALL-E at the 2009 Academy Awards, but 6 nominations plus one for Presto is a very prestigious achievement by Pixar and by all who worked on the great movie from that famed lunch so long ago, through the premiere of WALL-E and over $500 million at the box office, and now through its success at the Oscars.
Congratulations to everyone at Pixar!
Here is a short video of Andrew Stanton after he walked off-stage and spoke to the "Thank You Cam":
And, lastly, here is some footage of Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black sitting with Andrew Stanton backstage:
Congratulations, once again, to Andrew Stanton and everyone at Pixar!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
My Oscar Predictions
The Academy just released the nominations for the Oscars. There are some surprises, but nothing too crazy. Here are my predictions and who I think should win, and my reasons behind them:
BEST PICTURE:
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Frost/Nixon
- Milk
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
I think that Benjamin Button and Slumdog are both worthy of winning Best Picture. But, due to the momentum its been gathering after the Golden Globes, I think that Slumdog will win Best Picture, although I wish that WALL-E would have gotten its nomination for Best Picture.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
- Richard Jenkins-The Visitor
- Frank Langella-Frost/Nixon
- Brad Pitt-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Sean Penn-Milk
- Mickey Rourke-The Wrestler
I think that Brad Pitt should definitely win this award. He was a very good actor in Benjamin Button. But, unfortunately, Sean Penn will win for Milk. Don't get me wrong, he was great in Milk, but, for political reasons, he'll beat Brad Pitt who was a better actor, in my opinion.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
- Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married
- Angelina Jolie-Changeling
- Melissa Leo-Frozen River
- Meryl Streep-Doubt
- Kate Winslet-The Reader
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Josh Brolin-Milk
- Robert Downey Jr.-Tropic Thunder
- Philip Seymour Hoffman-Doubt
- Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight
- Michael Shannon-Revolutionary Road
It's a tie for me between Robert Downey and Heath Ledger for best supporting actor. Downey was really, really funny and witty, and was frankly a good actor (also it would be ironic if he won, since in Tropic Thunder his character is supposed to be an award winner). Heath Ledger will definitely win. Since he is dead, and since he deserves it. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. was amazing and is just as deserving, but Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was so creepy, funny and perfect that he will definitely get this award.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams-Doubt
- Penelope Cruz-Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Viola Davis-Doubt
- Taraji P. Henson-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Marisa Tomei-The Wrestler
DIRECTOR
- David Fincher-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Ron Howard-Frost/Nixon
- Gus Van Sant-Milk
- Stephen Daldry-The Reader
- Danny Boyle-Slumdog Millionaire
I think that David Fincher should and will win for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The film was just phenomenal, mostly due to the direction given by Fincher.
FOREIGN FILM
- The Baader Meinhof Complex-Germany
- The Class-France
- Departures-Japan
- Revanche-Austria
- Waltz With Bashir-Israel
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Eric Roth and Robin Swicord-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- John Patrick Shanley-Doubt
- Peter Morgan-Frost/Nixon
- David Hare-The Reader
- Simon Beaufoy-Slumdog Millionaire
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Courtney Hunt-Frozen River
- Mike Leigh-Happy-Go-Lucky
- Martin McDonagh-In Bruges
- Dustin Lance Black-Milk
- Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter-WALL-E
WALL-E!! It was the best movie of last year. It didn't get nominated for Best Picture, so it had better win this category. You cannot deny that WALL-E's story is one of romance, action, sci-fi, adventure, and a truly touching connection between two things that we didn't think could love. The tie-in with Hello, Dolly! is brilliant, the character of WALL-E is flawless, especially having the eyes be the only "emotional indicator". WALL-E hands-down had the best screenplay of last year. It should, and will, and had better win the best original screenplay.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- Bolt
- Kung Fu Panda
- WALL-E
Look at my response to the previous category. Do I need to repeat myself? Nope. GO WALL-E!
ART DIRECTION
- Changeling
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- The Duchess
- Revolutionary Road
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Changeling
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
SOUND MIXING
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Slumdog Millionaire
- WALL-E
- Wanted
WALL-E! It had the best sound mixing. It should win, but, unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't yet take animated movies seriously. Hence the lack of a Best Picture nom for WALL-E. So, sadly, The Dark Knight is gonna take this one for the fancy BatPod sounds.
SOUND EDITING
- The Dark Knight
- Iron Man
- Slumdog Millionaire
- WALL-E
- Wanted
ORIGINAL SCORE
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Alexandre Desplat
- Defiance-James Newton Howard
- Milk-Danny Elfman
- Slumdog Millionaire-A.R. Rahman
- WALL-E-Thomas Newman
ORIGINAL SONG
- Down to Earth from WALL-E-Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
- Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire-A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
- O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire-A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
COSTUME
- Australia
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Duchess
- Milk
- Revolutionary Road
Benjamin Button should and will win this one. The costumes helped the audience to really transport themselves to that specific time period.
FILM EDITING
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Frost/Nixon
- Milk
- Slumdog Millionaire
MAKE-UP
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army
I would say that Button should win this one, but most of that was digital, so I think that Hellboy II should get it. Hellboy's make-up is awesome and realistic. Plus Guillermo Del Toro is really cool.
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
- La Maison en Petits Cubes
- Lavatory — Lovestory
- Oktapodi
- Presto
- This Way Up
Definitely Presto. It was witty, relatable, fantastic and superbly animated. It was very creatively stylized and had a hilarious premise. Presto will, thankfully, win this one.
VISUAL EFFECTS
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Iron Man
So, those are my predictions for the 81st Academy Awards. (You'll notice that I cut about 3 categories since I hadn't seen any of the films in them). As you can tell, I loved WALL-E, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Dark Knight. Button got the most nominations at 13! Yay! Although I am very dissappointed that WALL-E didn't get a Best Picture nomination, and that it won't win big since it isn't considered to be a "real movie" when it is better thanevery other movie out there this year. Oh well. I guess only the actual results will let us know...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Everything That Mattered at The Golden Globes
Briefly: The 66th Annual Golden Globes aired tonight, and here are all of the winners that mattered:
- WALL-E: It won for the best animated picture. It definitely deserved it, as it was in the top 3 best movies of last year (and definitley the top animated movie). Andrew Stanton, the director of WALL-E accepted the award. He was in a pretty snappy suit and thanked Ed Catmull, John Catmull, Ben Burtt, the complete cast of WALL-E, Bob Iger, and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, among other people.
- Heath Ledger: He won best supporting actor for The Dark Knight. He absolutely deserved it. He is the best super-villain of all-time. He was creepy and hilarious. I am very glad that he won this award--he deserved it.
Slumdog Millionaire: This great movie won best screenplay, best score, best picture, and best director, and it was a truly great movie. It's style and superb story made it one of my favorite movies of all time.
- Steven Spielberg: He won the Cecil B. DeMille Award. He is the movie man. What else is there to say? He created the visions of Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, and ET, among other masterpieces. I am just surprised he hasn't gotten this award earlier. (By the way, great speech, Steven!)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pete Docter Sketches
I sent Pete Docter (the director of Monsters, Inc. and Up) a letter. I told Mr. Docter about how much I admire him, my aspirations for a possible career at Pixar, and I asked if I could get something small signed by him. (I have done this with several other great people as well--John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Ralph Eggleston, and more--you can see the scans here).
Well, this time I got more than I expected. Here is what I received from Pete Docter, one of the most influential and important people at Pixar, the best animation studio on the planet. Here is what Mr. Docter sent me (click for a high res version):
'WALL-E' Oscar Campaign Begins
In my opinion, WALL-E, while not being Pixar's best work, was definitely one of the best movies of the year. It had romance, comedy, action, and a robot that you couldn't help but fall in love with (read my full review here).
Due to the fact that critics and moviegoers alike all loved WALL-E, Disney has started its campaign to make Pixar's most recent feature eligible for all categories of the Oscars, including Best Picture. The campaign's first step was an add of the cover of today's Daily 'Variet•E':
I am glad that WALL-E is attempting to break the Academy out of their animated film bias tendencies. There is no reason in the world as to why an animated movie can't be better than a live action one.
So, For Your Consideration: WALL-E, in all categories, including Best Picture and Best Animated Feature.
Go WALL-E!!
Source: The Pixar Blog
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Pixar Honored by Vanity Fair
The Vanity Fair 100: The New Establishment list was released today. It has many prominent people awarded for their movies, TV shows, governance, and journalism, among other things.
Why am I bringing this list up? Well, Pixar has four people on this list...who are all found in the top 28 positions. Steve Jobs can be found in slot #4 on the list. He earned this slot through his extremely successful computer company Apple, and through his generous contributions to the world's best animation company, Pixar.
But that's not all. Brad Bird, John Lasseter, and Andrew Stanton are tied for #28 on the list! Vanity credits them for being the "greatest rolls in entertainment history" for having "produced nine straight commercial and artistic winners".
I am very glad that Pixar is getting all of the recognition they deserve. Their movies truly are pheonomenal works of entertaining, comedic, action-packed art with fantastic animation.
Source: The Pixar Blog
Friday, August 15, 2008
Signed Pixar Sketches, Photos and Letters
I am a huge Pixar fan. I think that their movies are great; they have so much heart, character depth and story. Being such a huge fan of Pixar, I sent letters earlier this year to several people who are very involved with Pixar. I have gotten 4 replies so far: Brad Bird, John Lasseter, Bud Luckey, and Ralph Eggleston (I am still waiting and hoping for a reply from Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton). Here are the stunning scans of sketches, letters, and glossy photographs that I have gotten in return for simply sending a letter:
Ralph Eggleston is a Production Designer, Art Director, and a writer for Pixar. He also directed the Pixar short For the Birds. Here is a quick WALL-E sketch and note that he made for me with a marker. This is the best piece of my collection:
Here is a hand-written note and glossy photo from Bud Luckey. Bud Luckey is the director, writer, narrator, production designer, and composer for the Pixar short Boundin'. Luckey has also done production design, art direction, voice work, and animation for various other Pixar features and shorts. He signed this photo, which has him and Brad Bird standing in front of the original storyboard for Boundin'. Awesome:
This is a glossy photograph of Remy and the ghost of Gusteau from Ratatouille. The photo and letter are signed by Brad Bird, who is huge at Pixar, he has directed and written The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. He has also done voices, production, and animation for various other Pixar movies. Very cool:
Last, but certainly not least, here is John Lasseter. This is a glossy photograph depicting the Toy Story 2 toys, signed by John Lasseter. He is the director of Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Cars. He has also produced, directed, written, and animated many Pixar features and short films. One of the most powerful people at Pixar:
Well, there ya go. "Is that your whole collection," you might be asking me. And the answer, is no. I have over 100 pictures, some Disney-related, some Pixar-related, and some related to neither. I will scan and post more pictures about once a month. Keep checking back for the Sherman Brothers, Art Linkletter, Randy Newman, among many other authentically signed pictures, notes, and sketches.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
WALL-E Sparks 'Hello, Dolly' Revival
WALL-E has done very good things for Disney and for Pixar. One party that also profited from Pixar's latest hit is Jerry Herman, the composer of Hello, Dolly!. Two songs from Hello, Dolly!, 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes' and 'It Only Takes a Moment', play a major role in WALL-E.
Due to the prevalence of Hello, Dolly! in WALL-E, a Broadway revival has been considered. There has already been a huge increase in the videos and DVDs and CD rentals/purchases. Here is a link to the article discussing this.
Many find Hello, Dolly! to be an odd choice for WALL-E. According to Stanton,
"After discovering 'Put On Your Sunday Clothes,' I started exploring the other songs in the play, and when I found 'It Only Takes a Moment,' it just became this godsend because I was always looking for ways to tell the story without the need to use conventional dialogue. This song became a great device for showing WALL-E's interest in what love is, and it gave him a way to convey his love for EVE. I happened to have read somewhere that holding hands is the most intimate public display of affection, which led to the idea of WALL-E learning that action by watching the movie. Suddenly I was desperate: ''I've gotta get a copy of Hello, Dolly! Please, please, please let them show these two lovers holding hands!'' And they were! I took that as a sign that it was meant to be to have these songs in the film because Hello, Dolly! was suddenly helping me tell the story."Here is the link to the interview with Stanton about Hello, Dolly!.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Unofficial WALL-E Promoter Rewarded By Pixar
You know that girl who videotaped herself crying to the WALL-E teaser trailer, then uploaded it to YouTube? Well, supposedly, that video was so much publicity for Pixar and for WALL-E, that the girl in the video was thanked numerous ways: by e-mails from Pixar, by being invited to the WALL-E wrap-up party, by getting to personally speak to Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird, and by getting a tour of Pixar Animation Studios. Personally, I find this thank you a bit extreme, but it sure was classy and nice of Pixar. Any other studio would have loved the publicity even more, and wouldn't have done anything about it. Oh, and don't be surprised if a video of me crying to the Up teaser appears in later posts. Here's the YouTube video that got the girl such a fantastic "thank you" from Pixar, as well as a link to the girl's blog which has an entire post about the events.
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