'Up' writer Tom McCarthy's new movie is a WINner

A couple of nights ago, I attended a pre-screening and Q&A for the upcoming film Win Win. The movie stars Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, and Melanie Lynskey, and is summarized by Fox Searchlight Pictures as follows:

Disheartened attorney Mike Flaherty (Giamatti), who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach, stumbles across a star athlete through some questionable business dealings while trying to support his family. Just as it looks like he will get a double payday, the boy's mother shows up fresh from rehab and flat broke, threatening to derail everything.

Although the plot synopsis sounds rather dry and uninteresting, the film is phenomenal. Right off the bat, you really care for Giamatti's character. He is out of shape, in financial trouble, but tries to do right by his family and his business. You also care a lot for the teenage lead Kyle--he is the victim of a drug-addicted mother and her abusive boyfriend. The story of Win Win is uplifting, well-crafted, and makes you feel a range of emotions, from fear and love and hate to sadness and joy. And that's what a good story should do. Watch the trailer below:



After seeing the film, we were treated to a wonderful Q&A with director Tom McCarthy and the film's co-star Alex Shaffer. Tom McCarthy, as you probably know, is the co-writer of Pixar's Up along with Pete Docter and Bob Petersen.

Tom discussed parts of his experience with Pixar during the Q&A which I found very interesting. Apparently, Mr. McCarthy was contacted by Pete Docter to help on Up's story because Docter liked McCarthy's film The Station Agent.

Another interesting parallel that I drew between the story of Win Win and Up, is they both rely on laws that apply to the elderly. Paul Giamatti's character is an attorney for, well, old people. He makes sure they are cared for, deals with their estates, etc. This fact and the laws themselves are one of the main plot points of Win Win--the structure of the story relies on the laws and their effects. As you will likely remember, Carl Fredricksen's call to adventure in Up is when he is forced to leave his home after assaulting a construction worker. This plot turn, too, relies on laws that apply to the elderly. Someone in the audience asked Mr. McCarthy about this similarity, and he discussed that he has a friend back in New Jersey who is an attorney for the elderly (and who is incredibly passionate about the subject). This friend gave advice during the development of Up and, having never written a creative word in his entire life, co-wrote Win Win with Tom McCarthy. It is a very bizarre thing to have as a common thread through your films, but Tom pulled it off wonderfully. He has two movies which rely on laws pertaining to the elderly, yet they are both incredibly different, and very, very good.

The other aspect of the Q&A that blew my mind was Alex Shaffer. He is the lead of Win Win, who plays a damaged teenager with nothing good in his life except for wrestling. Alex's performance is spectacular; I totally buy that he is a lost, hurt, and lonely kid trying to find where he "fit in." That's why I was very surprised to find out that before Win Win, Alex had never acted before in his life. He was cast for his wrestling talent (he won the state championship in New Jersey several years ago), not his acting ability. He told us about how he worked with an acting coach, and then discussed how amazing it was to work with Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan. His story is really great--that one audition with Tom McCarthy drastically changed his life forever. I promise he'll get more parts in the very near future....

Anyways, I just wanted to share some of the interesting things I learned from Tom. I highly suggest that you go out and see the film when it is released in your state (it is an indie film, so it doesn't have a national release date). Win Win will make you laugh hysterically, make your eyes water a little bit, and, most importantly, it will make you think about yourself and your own life. Go out and see Win Win, and don't forget about the connection it has to everyone's favorite studio, Pixar.

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New 'Brave' Art

EW has just released some exclusive concept art from Pixar's upcoming film Brave. The art is spectacular, and features great landscapes of Scotland, as well as some new looks at what the main character, Merida, might look like.

Also announced in the article is the fact that, although Brenda Chapman was taken off the project as director and replaced by Mark Andrews, they are both going to be credited as director upon the film's release.

The short article on EW does a wonderful job summarizing the project, and, at the same time, getting me really excited for June of next year...

Expect to see a lot more news leaking about Brave once we get Cars 2 out of the way this June.

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Full-length film for Mickey?

During an interview with Disney veteran Burney Mattinson, Bleeding Cool discovered that a feature-length project for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy is in the very, very early stages of development. Mattinson, who worked on the classic Pooh pictures of the 1960s, as well as the upcoming Winnie-the-Pooh film, said in the interview:

I am working on just an idea of my own which is basically a Mickey, Donald, Goofy feature film idea. We have to present it first to the bosses to get the green light.

This hardly says anything concrete about the project or the likelihood it will get made, but it still presents an interesting observation and possibility. Up until now, I guess I never really realized or grasped the fact that Mickey and his pals have never had their own feature, but just a bunch of shorts and comics. That seems kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? The icon of a movie studio not having his own movie?! What's up with that? . . .

I s'pose it is probably because the studio doesn't want to gamble their most coveted asset and character on a high-profile feature film. After all, if they did make the film and ended up being awful, nobody would ever look at Mickey the same again, and that would seriously undermine the importance of the "symbol" of Mickey Mouse. I mean, after all, Mickey really is so much more than just a character, and I don't see how they could fit that aspect of him into a film . . .

I think another reason is that Mickey Mouse isn't an incredibly interesting character. I know that probably sounds crazy coming from a huge Disney fan like me, but it's true. Mickey is almost always happy and carefree and friendly--this results in no conflict whatsoever, which means a boring story. It's for this reason that Donald is my favorite character; Donald Duck is nothing but conflict. He is the most realistic and relatable character of the original Disney troop because he has real problems and reacts like we do (although perhaps exaggeratedly). I'd love to see a Donald Duck feature over a Mickey one.

Still, I wonder what type of plot they could develop for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. There are so many different styles and portrayals of the characters, and so many different settings they find themselves in (I think I have seen Mickey living in at least 20 different houses over the years in the shorts, and comics, etc.), that I just don't know how the animators could decide on one definitive style for the very first feature of the world's most iconic characters . . .

I hope that this project gets made, I hope it has a wonderful story, and, above all, I hope they keep it traditionally animated. If Disney makes a feature-length film in the style of Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse, I might just disown Disney as my favorite company.

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Wooden iPad 2 Cover

Briefy: I know I don't post much about gadgets anymore, but this is just way too cool for me to pass up. Above, you'll find a video from Miniot, an awesome company based in Holland, demonstrating their brand new "smart cover"-esque cover for the iPad 2...and it is made out of wood! Very classy and cool. I stuck with my original iPad 'cause the sequel didn't entice me enough, but now I'm having second thoughts...

The case is going to be released tomorrow, March 25, in several types of wood, starting at €50, or about $70, which ain't a bad price, considering Apple's dorky, boring leather cases are the same price.

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'WALL-E' and 'Up' Posters, stylized

Briefly: At the top of this post you will find two awesome Pixar posters I stumbled upon at Reelizer.com, by the talented artist Lópezgrafico.

Great stuff!!

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Some 'Cars 2' news!

Here are some super-exciting updates related to Pixar's next feature, Cars 2!

First up is the poster heading this article--it was just released. I like the style. Nice n' simple. It ain't no Pooh one-sheet, but it does its job.

As soon as it seemed like we'd seen everything there was to see from Cars 2 until the film's actual release date, I stumble upon something as spectacular as the Japanese Trailer . . . Click here and watch "Japan Trailer 2" for tons of never-before-seen action and pure awesomeness!

A screenwriter is suing Disney, claiming that Cars was his idea. I'm sure that he is just a gold digger who had a similar idea . . . After all, could his tming be any more perfect with the release of Cars 2 just around the corner? Read all about it at The Pixar Blog here.


In June, the first part of a two part comic series, based on Cars 2, will be released by Marvel Comics. The cover is pictured above.

Cars 2, which I am becoming increasingly less skeptical about, will be released later this year on June 24.

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'The Ballad of Nessie' details, images

The Ballad of Nessie is an upcoming, traditionally-animated Disney short. The film will be a take on the classic Loch Ness Monster story, and will be attached to Winnie-the-Pooh on July 15 later this year.


Above and below you will find the brand new, hi-res stills from the short, which is being headed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (How To Hook Up Your Home Theatre and Prep and Landing). Some of my favorite animators are involved in the project, including Andreas Deja and Mark Henn.


This looks great! As if I didn't need another reason to be excited for Winnie-the-Pooh!! I am so glad that Disney is re-embracing the wonderful art form of traditional animation. It is just so great to look at and watch . . . Is it July yet!?


For more info on the interesting production methods behind the short, check out this great post from Cartoon Brew.

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