Briefly: Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich is having another set of charity auctions on eBay, this time to help the earthquake victims of Japan. There are only two items this time around, as opposed to the smorgasbord of items he offered for Haitian relief.
The items include an awesome, limited edition print (pictured to the left) from the film's story artist Adrian Molina and the complete TS3 soundtrack on a two-disc set, exclusive to Pixar employees.
The bid amounts are really getting up there, but if you love Pixar and want to support a good cause, get bidding!
Showing posts with label Randy Newman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Randy Newman. Show all posts
Thursday, May 12, 2011
'TS3' auctions to support Japan
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The 83rd Annual Academy Awards
The biggest night in Hollywood has just about wrapped up (at least it has for you and I--I'm sure the night has just begun for all of the big stars out there), and I have to say there were absolutely no surprises this year. The King's Speech was the big winner, with four awards for Best Actor, Screenplay, Directing, and Picture--it certainly deserved these awards. It was a phenomenal cinematic piece.
And, of course, Toy Story 3 won for Best Animated Feature (see pics of the Animated Feature Symposium from a few days ago at TPB here) and Randy Newman won for Best Original Song, "We Belong Together." Oh, and he had, by far, the best acceptance speech of the night. Although I am ecstatic he won this award, what was up with his "live performance"? The tempo was way sped up, Randy's voice was drowned out, and none of the instrumentation but the piano was live. That aspect of the awards were a bit of a let-down.
In fact, the whole ceremony felt very detached and weird; they kept trying to find a theme with their little vignettes about past Oscar shows, but nothing really clicked. Not only that, but all of the jokes were, quite frankly, just lame. And Anne Hathaway was plain annoying. The whole time . . . I approve of the winners (although I still think Toy Story 3 should have won Best Picture, and Day & Night for Animated Short), but the show itself could have been much better.
Congrats to the crew at Pixar, the guys behind The King's Speech, and all of the other winners.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Some Pixar Links: a Grammy, a BAFTA, Some New Cars and Lotsa Toys
There's been a lot of Pixar news recently, and I decided I'd share it with you like the good, little Blogger I am. You'll find it all packaged, nice 'n' neat, below . . .
Toy Story 3, ever the favorite of everyone, has won two more awards: a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack Album and a BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature. Good job, Pixar! Now all that's left is for the Academy to give you that award for Best Picture.
New Cars 2 characters have been announced, including some voiced by John Turturro and Eddie Izzard. Those are two very funny and wonderful actors, so I am very excited that they will be joining the cast of Pixar's next film. However, the fact that the cast keeps growing on the film is making me anxious . . . is Pixar really being this gimmicky with their film and marketing campaign? I haven't had a good feeling about Cars 2 from the get-go, but let's hope that I'm wrong.
Last but not least, we have Pixar at the American International Toy Fair! Watch the embedded video above for the scoop, including Michael Caine revealing a life-size Finn McMissile, and an on-stage discussion with voice actors Caine and Emily Mortimer. Also check out this link and this one and, for kicks, this one for more of the Cars 2 toy announcements from the fair . . . and you know there's lots of 'em! Disney loves merchandising, especially when it comes to Cars.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Newman Talks Oscars, Pixar
Briefly: Read this interview. It's with Randy Newman and its about Pixar. What more could you ask for?...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Happy Birthday Pixar! (with Link Round-up!)
It was 25 years ago today that the best movie studio of all-time officially came into being. Above you will find their original logo--it would soon be replaced, however, by a cute little lamp named Luxo, Jr.
Over at Cartoon Brew you can read Pixar's full, original press release from February 3, 1986. It is very interesting to see what the studio thought of themselves then, without having known how successful and iconic they would become.
At The Pixar Blog you can read the wonderful story of Pixar's creation from David A. Price, author of The Pixar Touch.
Anywho, in honor of Pixar's illustrious 25 years (and having being my favorite film studio of all-time), here is a massive Pixar link round-up for your reading pleasure:
Probably the most exciting bit of news is that Randy Newman will perform his Oscar-nominated song from Toy Story 3, "We Belong Together," live, during the Awards ceremony on February 27. Also performing will be Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi accompanied by Alan Menken with their piece "I See the Light" from Disney's Tangled. I am much more excited for Mr. Newman's performance since, as you know, the music from Tangled didn't exactly knock my socks off, whereas I just loved all of the songs from TS3. Just writing this post got the chorus of "We Belong Together" stuck in my head . . . again.
While we're on the subject of the Academy Awards and the third Toy Story, it's worth mentioning that Lee Unkrich and Teddy Newton (director of Day & Night) will both be on-hand at a symposium at the Smuel-Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on February 24 to join all other nominees in the Animation categories in order to "discuss their films' development and their creative processes as well as present clips illustrating their techniques." Let's hope these discussions will be recorded and uploaded to the worldwide web so we can all get our Pixar-thirsty, grubby little mitts on 'em.
Now, while we're on the subject of Day & Night, it has recently won the VES (Visual Effects Society) Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short. It is no surprise that the short won for its visual effects--it definitely broke several barriers in the field by combining classic 2D animation techniques with the world of CG... TS3 was also nominated, but lost to How to Train Your Dragon.
Above, you will find a picture of Tom Hanks recording his voice for an upcoming Toy Story Toons short, most definitely the short that will be attached to Cars 2, whose synopsis can be found here. He is surrounded by the energetic crew of animators (turned directors): Angus McClane, Bobby Podesta, and Scott Clark.
Speaking of Pixar shorts, in a recent interview with AWN, Reher of Pixar, leaked some info about future Pixar shorts. Reher told AWN that:
Read the rest of the larger discussion with Newton, Reher, and Wellins for more interesting tidbits on Pixar, their short films, and the overall process.It's funny, the new film we're finishing production on now, which will be attached to Brave in 2012, it's three characters and two sets, and man, how easy it is. It's different, there're no gags…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 3 characters and 2 sets."
It has long been said by many that Lee Unkrich looks like Office regular Andy Bernard (played by the always-funny Ed Helms). To secure any and all suspicions, Mr. Unkruch went to the set of The Office and took the above photo, tweeting: "Amazing day visiting set of The Office. How is it that all these people are so incredibly cool and friendly? Reminded me of Pixar." This is not the first time that Pixar and The Office have united--Woody and Up and numerous other Pixar-related themes and characters have made their way onto the show in the past. Being a huge Pixar and Office fan, I think it is all very, super cool.
That's all the Pixar news out there for now! (Unless you call the constant "leaking" of new Cars 2 characters news. If that's the case, head over to TPB for the scoop).
Once again, Happy Birthday, Pixar! It's been 25 wonderful years of great films, whimsical stories, and truly timeless characters.
I cannot wait to see what the next 25 years will bring . . .
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
'TS3' Award Updates
Everyone's favorite animated film of last year has been raking in the awards. Last night it won, to nobody's surprise, the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. Pixar has swept the category every year since its creation half a decade ago.
In his acceptance speech, Lee thanked everyone at Disney and Pixar, John Lasseter, Randy Newman, and the whole cast of "an animated movie that beats with a human heart." His speech was certainly the most genuine (and funny) of the evening. Watch it in its entirety here.
In addition to this honor, Toy Story 3 has been nominated for three Orange British Academy
Film Awards by BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The nominations include Animated Film, Adapted Screenplay, and Special Visual Effects. The awards will be presented in a few weeks on February 13 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
Also, Toy Story 3 has won a Critics' Choice Award and the Golden Tomato from the king of all film review websites, Rotten Tomatoes.
All of these honors bestowed upon Toy Story 3 are excellent and well-deserved. However, they will be small bananas compared to the Oscar for Best Picture that I am certain Toy Story 3 is going to win.
Certain!
(I hope . . .)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Massive Link Round-up: 'Toy Story' short gets a plot, Awards, Postage stamps, and more!
Happy New Year, everybody!
Since Disney, etc.'s posting has been on a temporary hiatus as of late, this shall be a massive link round-up summarizing all of the important Disney, Pixar, entertainment, and "everything in-between" news from the last few weeks. Enjoy....
At the top of this post, you will find some wonderful mash-up art from DeviantArt user iamclu, courtesy of HeyUGuys. It is just awesome, ain't it?...
Rumors that a Toy Story short will be attached to Cars 2 have been all but confirmed. After it was leaked that the next short will include Ken and Barbie going to Hawaii, Mike at The Pixar Blog did some very thorough investigating and discovered an Amazon.com product page for a picture book based on the short. Here's the synopsis:
Bonnie is off to Hawaii, and Barbie and Ken are excited to go along on their first tropical vacation! But when they're accidentally left behind, it's up to Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys to create a Hawaiian paradise right in Bonnie's room.Read all about the short and its synopsis at The Pixar Blog here or Amazon here.
Based on the latest animated short featuring the toys from Disney/Pixar Toy Story, this full-color storybook includes punch-out postcards that girls and boys ages 3-7 will love sending to their friends!
Above you will find a video tribute, The Beauty of Pixar, by Leandro Copperfield, who says that "Pixar's films have always been important in my life." It is a very well-edited video, and will remind you just how great Pixar is.
As we get further and further into this Awards season, more news of the Oscars are being leaked and announced. Recently, Variety has reported that Disney will not enter Randy Newman's Toy Story 3 score into the running for Best Original Score. Instead, they will focus their efforts on promoting his tune We Belong Together for Best Original Song. It really is a great song, and helps to lighten the mood of the film while it plays during the closing credits. Not only that, but it is a great song on its own. It definitely deserves one o' them little gold guys. Also, I think it is a smart move for Disney not to enter Newman's score--there are tons of great scores this year, and I doubt the Academy would vote for a score that is simply (yet expertly) an extension of two already-existing scores.
You may have heard of Disney's brilliant "For Your Consideration" ad campaign for where they are comparing stills from Toy Story 3 to past Best Picture winners including The Sting, Lord of the Rings, The Sound of Music, Platoon, Shakespeare in Love, and Slumdog Millionaire, among others. They are very funny, and I hope they manage to snag Pixar the Best Picture nom and, with some luck, the award itself. Go to the Disney Awards site here to see the newly-released series of advertisements, as well as an additional (and boldly hilarious) one here.
Current accolades for Toy Story 3 include: being at the top of Moviefone's list of the best films from 2010, being at the top of Rotten Tomatoes' list of the best films from 2010, being on Quentin Tarantino's list of the best films of 2010 as well as Edgar Wright's top 5 list, a Golden Globe nom for Best Animated Feature, being one of the films honored on AFI's list of the top ten films of 2010, and being at the top of Time Magazine's list of the best films from last year. With all of that under its belt, how can you say that it won't win that Best Picture Oscar? I think it will. It just has to...
While we're on the topic of Pixar, it's worth noting that the U.S. Postal Service has announced that later this year, a collection of commemorative Pixar stamps will be released. They'll be in sheets of twenty, include the above five designs, and instead of having a set value, they'll be valid for every first-class letter forever. Expect to see them on August 19 later this year.
Above, you will find a behind-the-scenes video for the upcoming animated film Rango. The short video, which features Johnny Depp, is very interesting, showing how director Gore Verbinski coached the voice actors while also incorporating their movements into a type of mo-cap/animation hybrid. It's really quite interesting...
The headline How Disney Designed The Military's Electromagnetic Launch System says enough about this article. A bizarre, surprising, and thoroughly engaging read... Check it out here.
In an interview with Collider, David Fincher let loose the information that his upcoming remake/adaptation 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will be in 3D. Although I hate 3D with a fiery passion, I am very, very excited to see a version of Jules Vernes classic story told with modern effects by one of my favorite directors. Read the full interview here.
Tron: Legacy was visually-stunning, but was quite under-whelming. The story was weak, the acting was dry (although I appreciated seeing Jeff Bridges returning to a Dude-type philosophy on the big screen), and the overall feel of the movie just didn't do justice to its original counterpart. I couldn't even follow the Light Cycle scene well enough to enjoy it! I certainly agree with RT's 49%. However, it is doing decently at the box office, having made over $130 million so far. They still need $40 million more to make their money back, but I'm sure that they will...
Let's conclude this New Year's link round-up with a bang. Watch the above video of the "Fountains and Fireworks" show that was shown at Disney's California Adventure a couple of nights ago...
And that's all there is to post about for now! You are now completely up-to-date on all Disney, Pixar, entertainment, and everything in-between news. I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to keep checking your favorite blog for all of the best news...
And once again, Happy New Year!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The 'TS3' Soundtrack
The Amazon product page for the Toy Story 3 album has just gone live, and reveals a lot. It has a complete track listing, the album cover, and a 30-second sample of each track.
All tracks on the soundtrack are by Randy Newman. All, that is, except for the Spanish version of "You've Got a Friend in Me," which is performed by one of my favorite bands, the Gipsy Kings.
Here's the complete track listing:
- We Belong Together
- You've Got a Friend in Me (para el Buzz Español)
- Cowboy!
- Garbage?
- Sunnyside
- Woody Bails
- Come to Papa
- Go See Lotso
- Bad Buzz
- You Got Lucky
- Spanish Buzz
- What About Daisy?
- To The Dump
- The Claw
- Going Home
- So Long
- Zu-Zu (Ken's Theme)
Very exciting! I am definitely most excited for the Gipsy Kings' rendition of one of my favorite songs, "You've Got a Friend in Me"; it's gonna be great. See the product page for the album here.
Toy Story 3 comes out in theaters on June 18--only 13 days left!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The 82nd Annual Academy Awards
Up won one for the Best Animated Feature, Christoph Waltz won for Best Supporting Actor, and, unfortunately, Randy Newman did not win for his Original Songs from The Princess and the Frog (The Weary Kind won from Crazy Heart). No surprises, but I'm glad that Christoph and Docter both won, and they both had great acceptance speeches.
Sadly, Up did not win for Best Original Screenplay. My second choice would've been Quentin for the wonderful Inglorious Basterds script. Oh well, I suppose that The Hurt Locker deserved it too.
Michael Giacchino won an Oscar for Best Original Score! Even though this is not a surprise in the slightest, I am still very happy for him. The score of Up truly was pheonomenal--it was filled with emotion, heart, and a timeless melody. Congratulations, Michael Giacchino! (And great acceptance speech, too! I like the Ellie Badge.)
Well, The Hurt Locker was the big winner tonight. Up, while not winning Best Picture, still took home two awards and was also graced with its prestigious Best Picture nomination. Congratulations to Pixar, Michael Giacchino, and all of the other winners! See the full list of winners here.
(Also, take a look at Lee Unkrich's Twitpic page. Along with the above photo, he has taken a couple more at the Oscars ceremony which he attended. Very cool.)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
'Princess and the Frog' Score Ineligible at Oscars
Randy Newman wrote a wonderful score for Disney's most recent animated masterpiece, The Princess and the Frog. However, after having mailed the nominations ballots, the Music Branch Executive Committee of the Academy Awards decided that the score for the film could not be eligible for an Oscar due to Rule 16, Section II, Paragraph E: "...scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible." They have yet to specify which rule the score has broken.
If you loved the music of The Princess and the Frog like I did, don't feel too bad. The film is still eligible to win with one of its four original songs. And, frankly, it should do very well in this category, being up against songs from Avatar and Nine (neither of which are anything special). Sorry there, Randy. At least you can look forward to an Oscar for one of your great original songs.
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