With the release of Cars 2 less than 3 days away, the PR push is gearing up big time, and that means, in addition to reviews of the film, tons of new interviews!
I've been searching the internet for fresh interviews, and have found plenty of them for your reading pleasure. Enjoy:
Movies Online talks to Director John Lasseter about his motivations for making a sequel, the story process, 3D, and more stuff. Nothing new or incredibly exciting in the interview, but still a good read to get you excited for this Friday!
Collider has an interview with Michael Caine about the voice work he did for Finn McMissile (as well as some talk about The Dark Knight Rises). It's a good interview, in which Caine discusses the differences between live action acting and animation, this role compared to his past spy roles, etc. Good read.
CinemaBlend and ComingSoon.net both have interviews with Giacchino. He talks about the challenge with this film due to the very different atmospheres in each city, the fine line between an homage to spy films and a parody, his inspirations, etc. Two great interviews with the greatest film composer in the business today.
The Wall Street Journal has an interview with Lasseter, in which he discusses the villain of the film being "Big Oil. Obviously the interview is spoiler-filled, sobe weary, but that also means it's got some new information in it... Read it here.
Finally, Movie Viral has a roundtable (once again) with director John Lasseter. He talks about the animation process, 3D, and more... Nothing groundbreaking in this interview, either, but it'll keep your Pixar Fix at maximum levels until Friday, and that is very important.
Well, those are all the interviews I have for now! Stay tuned for more news on Cars 2 as its release gets ever nearer . . .
Briefly: Enrico Casarosa, the director of Pixar's upcoming short film La Lunaposted on his blog earlier today that production on the short has finally wrapped! In the post, he discusses the wrap party from Tuesday night, which included Brad Bird and Michael Giacchino as guests. The restaurant, Paisan, served the Pixarians the above La Luna Tiramisu. Awesome.
In addition to the article about the wrap party, Mr. Casarosa released this video as a "thank you" to his crew, or as he puts it, his "new found family." He preempts the video by saying: "After a year of work with your crew you develop a sincere affection for all of them … I ended often showing my gratitude during production in my own goofy ways … here follows one of them … in animated form."
Way to go, Enrico and Pixar! I can't wait to see La Luna . . .
Briefly: Below you'll find the official track listing for Cars 2, (courtesy of Amazon) featuring Weezer, Brad Paisley, and, of course, Michael Giacchino.
The soundtrack will be released on both CD and digital download this June 14. Unless otherwise noted, the tracks below are instrumental and by everyone's favorite composer (or at least mine) Michael Giacchino.
You Might Think—Performed by Weezer
Collision Of Worlds—Performed by Brad Paisley and Robbie Williams
Mon Caeur Fait Vroum (My Heart Goes Vroom)—Performed by Bénabar
The Pixar Blog has just revealed the above title card and the below still from Pixar's upcoming short La Luna. The short's supposed producer Kevin Reher (who also produced Day & Night and Partly Cloudy) said that "the new short we're finishing production on now... it's beautiful, it's lyrical, it's very different from all the other ones. It's amazing how easy it can be when you just have three characters and two sets."
Here is the synposis for La Luna, which means the moon in both Spanish and Italian:
La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait.
A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family’s most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?
The short is being directed by Enrico Casarosa, storyboard artist on Ratatouille and Up, with music by, of course, Michael Giacchino.
The short, which will most likely be attached to Brave next year, is Pixar's lengthiest at almost 7 minutes.
It sounds very simple and beautiful, and I can hardly wait to see it! . . .
To see more about the director, visit his website here, his blog here, or read a fairly dated (but still interesting) interview with GhibliWorld here.
After the wild week that led up to Easter, I find myself having to post yet another link round-up to catch up on all the amazing news I've missed recently! I'm sorry to my loyal readers. My life has been a bit upside-down lately... But have no fear!! Normal posting has returned, and you can expect many more posts from Disney, etc.
But, for now, here are lots of awesome links (and commentary) so that you (and I) can catch up on everything we might have missed.
Stitch Kingdom has posted a ton of new Cars 2 stuff, including almost 1,000 new characters, some fun facts about the film, and some minor spoilers. Check it out here.
Also over at SK is a collection of brand new Cars 2 concept art and a series of panels showing how the development of a shot progresses--from storyboard (like the image at the top of this post) to final film.
AWN has a great interview with Lasseter all about Cars 2.
Denise Ream, producer of Cars 2, discusses the film in a recent interview with Collider. She discusses how Cars 2 is the most effects-heavy film ever attempted at Pixar. Having seen the trailers and considering the epicness of the premise, this doesn't surprise me in the least...
TPB has a tip-off that Giacchino, everyone's favorite composer, might be doing the underscoring for the short attached to next year's Pixar flick Brave. This sounds about right... Go Giacchino!!
Also at TPB is info about the awesome trip taken by the creative team at Pixar as research for the foreign escapades of Cars 2.
Finally, if you happen to be in or near Walt Disney World around May 13-15, be sure to check out Pixar weekend in Epcot! Speakers include Jonas Riviera and Michael Giacchino (!), but there will be plenty more activities, including Meet and Greets, fun activities for kids, and an awesome Pixar-themed topiary.
That's all the Pixar news I could scrounge up for you, my beloved reader. As I've said before, the more I see about Cars 2, the more excited I am. It looks like it will be a large-scale, exciting, fun action movie. Let's just hope it's got the touching Pixar heart we've all come to love and expect.
Sorry that there haven't been any posts recently. News has been slow and I have been busy . . . Luckily, I've managed to scrounge together some great Cars 2 updates for your reading pleasure.
The first but of news can be found at the top of this post. That epic bit of Cars 2 art is a super awesome triptych, released several days ago on the film's Apple Trailers page here. There are over 400 posed characters and it took 5 months to complete. Read all about it at The Fan Carpet here. So cool . . .
Head on over to MovieWeb to read this awesome Michael Giacchino interview (Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Up, Lost, Star Trek, and much more). He discusses working for Pixar, why the studio stands out from the crowd, and also his inspirations for Cars 2 (the soundtrack for which is available for pre-order, by the way). I am very glad that Mr. Giacchino is doing the score for Cars 2--he really lets the subject matter influence his music, so I am very excited to see how he incorporates Japanese, Italian, and British musical motifs into the unified soundtrack. Should be excellent, as all of his stuff is. I am also very excited to hear his score for Super 8, The Ballad of Nessie, the upcoming reboot of Star Tours, John Carter of Mars, and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol . . . sheesh. Does this guy ever sleep?!
Some more British characters have been announced for the flick.
The final bit of news is the releasing of the above two vintage posters. They feature scenes from the British segments of the film, and are super cool. Especially the one on the right.
Cars 2 will be released on June 24 later this year.
Once again, John Williams has declined to score a theme park attraction for Disney. So, for Star Tours 2.0, they have turned to music extraordinaire Michael Giacchino--the Oscar-winning genius behind the scores of Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Up, Partly Cloudy, Day & Night, Mission Impossible: III, and Star Trek, among others.
This is great. Ever since The Incredibles, Giacchino has been my favorite contemporary composer. But then he wrote that glorious score for Up, which moved him up to possibly being my favorite composer of all time (he's definitely in the top three).
Hearing how he utilizes the original Star Wars and Star Tours themes to compose his own score is going to be very, very cool. My favorite composer combined with one of the most recognizable film themes ever written? Yes, please.
We'll get to hear his brand new, intergalactic score next year when Star Tours 2.0 makes its debut.
While the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards haven't aired yet, some awards have already been given out at a separate, non-televised ceremony. One of the winners at this ceremony was the brilliant composer Michael Giacchino. He won two awards: one for "Married Life" as the best instrumental composition, and another for Up having the best score of the year.
This is so exciting! Up's score truly is the best I have ever heard, and "Married Life" really is a remarkable composition. I am so glad the genius of Giacchino and the timelessness of Pixar are being recognized this awards season.
Up can add two more awards to its ever-growing list of accolades. Docter is taking home a Golden Globe for Up as the Best Animated Feature, and Michael Giacchino is taking one home for his score. The legendary Paul McCartney presented the award to Docter, stating that “animation is not just for children, it also for adults who take drugs.” Everyone knew that Up would win best animated feature, since it almost had a chance at getting nominated for best picture. But what I am really glad about is Up's win for Best Score. Michael Giacchino really did write a truly glorious score. He definitely deserves his globe, and deserves the Oscar that is most certainly heading his way.
Great job to Pete Docter, Michael Giacchino, and Pixar!
Well, the Annie Awards are here once more. The biggest animation awards' nominations have been released. Pixar's Up has 9 nominations and Disney's The Princess and the Frog has eight. It's also worth mentioning that Partly Cloudy was not nominated, and that William Reeves (a founding member at Pixar) will be receiving the honorary Ub Iwerks award.
I hope we don't have a repeat of last year when WALL-E was shut out in favor of Kung Fu Panda; even paid-off judges couldn't call the gimmick-y Monsters vs. Aliens better than the masterpiece that was Up. Here is the complete nominations list (I have bolded which ones I'm pulling for to win):
Best Animated Feature
* Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation * Coraline — Laika * Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox * The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios * The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon * Up — Pixar Animation Studios
Best Animated Television Production
* Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications * Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation * Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios * The Simpsons — Gracie Films
Best Animated Television Production for Children
* Mickey Mouse Clubhouse — Disney Television Animation * SpongeBob SquarePants — Nickelodeon * The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack — Cartoon Network Studios * The Mighty B! — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions * The Penguins of Madagascar — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
Animated Effects
* Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation * Alexander Feigin “9” — 9 L.L.C. * Eric Froemling “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation * James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Animation in a Television Production
* Mark Donald “B.O.B.’s Big Break” — DreamWorks Animation * Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios * Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation * Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios * Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” — DreamWorks Animation
Character Animation in a Feature Production
* Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios * Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios * Travis Knight “Coraline” — Laika * Daniel Nguyen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Design in a Television Production
* Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! – Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions * Ben Balistreri “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios * Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation * Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
Character Design in a Feature Production
* Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Shane Prigmore “Coraline” — Laika * Shannon Tindle “Coraline” — Laika
Directing in a Feature Production
* Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox * Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation * Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli * Henry Selick “Coraline” — Laika
Music in a Television Production
* Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios * Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” — Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. * Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology-The Big Beginning” — Nickelodeon
Music in a Feature Production
* Bruno Coulais “Coraline” — Laika * Michael Giacchino “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli * John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios
Writing in a Feature Production
* Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach – “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox * Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy – “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios * Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers – “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios * Christopher Miller and Phil Lord – “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
There are many other nominations at the website here. The awards are slated to take place on Saturday, February 6, 2009 at UCLA's Royce Hall in LA.
Hi. My name is Adam and I love to write and to read. I shoot and go to a lot of movies. I am an avid collector of Disneyland souvenirs, Pixar stuff, celebrity photographs, and everything else.
