Steve Jobs and Pixar vs. Disney

Started by Jeremy Blackman, February 10, 2003, 05:56:32 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MacGuffin

Disney, Depp return to 'Caribbean'
Actor also signs on for 'Ranger,' 'Wonderland'
Source: Variety

Johnny Depp is the main man at the Mouse House.

Depp has agreed to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in a fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" pic and play Tonto in a bigscreen adaptation of "The Lone Ranger," both produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. He will also star as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's version of "Alice in Wonderland."

The roles come after Depp helped Disney earn a combined $2.6 billion at the box office with the three pics in the "Pirates" franchise, also produced by Bruckheimer.

"Alice in Wonderland," skedded for 2010, will be shot using 3-D and performance capture technology similar to that used for "Beowulf."

Depp's casting deals closed a full day Wednesday at the Kodak Theater, where Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook touted the Mouse's upcoming slate of pics during a showcase event for exhibitors, media and other industry insiders.

Toons provided the company's other big news.

Disney-Pixar's "Cars" has proved such a major moneymaker for the Mouse House that Disney is moving the release of the sequel up a year to summer 2011.

In addition to shifting the date for "Cars 2," studio also announced that it will produce a series of animated short films starring Mater and other characters from the first feature.

Shorts will air on TV, including the Disney Channel, and in theaters in front of films.

"You'll see them everywhere," Cook said. "We're going to keep this 'Cars' thing going."

"Cars," which was released in 2006 and went on to earn $462 million worldwide, has become a runaway hit in merchandise sales for the studio. Pic will also be prominently featured at a revamped California Adventure in Anaheim; "Cars Land," a 12-acre section of the park, opens in 2011. Move of the sequel from 2012 now times it to coincide with the attraction's launch.

Before a full screening of Disney's upcoming toon "Bolt," Cook also touted the studio's commitment to 3-D animation, saying the company has released more pics in the format than any other studio.

Cook even managed a playful jab at DreamWorks Animation's Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has long championed the format and is readying to roll out a slate of 3-D toons.

"I heard that Jeffrey may finally release his first 3-D movie next year," Cook quipped.

Disney has five live-action and animated pics set to unspool in 3-D next year and a slate of 16 in development.

Although several sequences in "Bolt" weren't yet completed, the fast-paced pic, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios but showing off considerable Pixar touches, played extremely well with the Kodak crowd, with Rhino, a hamster going around on a wheel, generating considerable laughs.

The Walt Disney Studios Showcase has essentially turned into a splashy, ShoWest-like event in Hollywood for the company to parade out stars and screen extended clips for a couple thousand attendees in various sectors of the biz to promote its future projects. Last time it held the showcase was in 2005, also at the Kodak.

In addition to Depp, who took the stage dressed as Jack Sparrow while wearing the Lone Ranger mask, this year's event also featured the cast of "High School Musical" plus Dwayne Johnson, Miley Cyrus, John Travolta and Robin Williams. Adam Sandler appeared in a pretaped sequence with the studio chairman. And Cook even had a conversation with the four-legged star of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."

Bruckheimer and Nicolas Cage announced a third 'National Treasure.' Although talkshow queen Oprah Winfrey wasn't present, it was announced that she will voice the mother of the princess in hand-drawn toon "The Princess and the Frog," set in New Orleans.

Cook called the upcoming pics for the rest of this year and 2009 "the most creative slate of films in Disney history" and showed sequences from "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," "Bedtime Stories," "Race to Witch Mountain," "Hannah Montana: The Movie," "Old Dogs," "The Princess and the Frog," Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" and Pixar's next pic, "Up."

During an intro for "HSM 3," Cook teased that he would sing a song from the first bigscreen installment of the runaway Disney Channel franchise but quickly backtracked.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Disney doubles up on 3-D 'Toy Story'
Animated film, sequel getting released as double feature
Source: Hollywood Reporter

LAS VEGAS -- Disney will release Pixar Animation Studios' "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" as a digital 3-D double feature for a two-week engagement starting Oct. 2.

On Tuesday at ShoWest, the studio also wowed show delegates with a preview of "Up" -- which looks poised to be another big hit for Pixar on the heels of its animated feature Oscar for "WALL-E" last month -- and an enthusiastically received new 3-D conversion of 1991 classic "Beauty and the Beast," the only animated feature to receive an Academy Award nomination for best picture.

During a 3-D slate presentation, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group president Mark Zoradi asserted that "3-D is here to stay" and restated the studio's commitment to making quality, commercial 3-D films.

Seventeen Disney-announced titles are scheduled for release in the format, and the studio previously has stated plans to produce all CG animated movies in 3-D.

The 3-D "Toy Story" double feature will include an extra-dimensional trailer for the new "Toy Story 3," which opens June 18, 2010. The 1995 "Toy Story" -- the first computer-animated feature -- and its 1999 sequel have been remastered for the format.

Opening May 29, "Up" is Pixar's 10th animated feature and the first to be released in 3-D. Director Pete Docter introduced a 47-minute preview, which features elderly Carl Fredricksen, voiced by Ed Asner, who ties thousands of helium balloons to his house in order to lift it into the air and journey to South America for retirement. What he doesn't anticipate is that a young Wilderness Explorer named Russell ends up on the trip, which includes such characters as a colorful bird and talking dogs. A second, shorter clip featured Fredricksen and Russell and the hovering house fleeing from the dogs.

During the presentation, Zoradi revealed that Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" will be released in Imax 3-D, as well as standard digital 3-D, when it opens March 5. It is the third film confirmed from a previously announced five-picture deal between Disney and Imax.

Burton's retelling of the Disney classic will combine motion capture, live action and animation. Zoradi presented some concept art, including the look of Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter, who wore an oversized top hat, covering his face; Anne Hathaway's dramatic White Queen; and additional characters including a mischievous gray-and-blue Cheshire Cat.

Disney previewed the just-completed first scene for the converted version of "Beauty," which opens Feb. 12. The clip featured the sequence where Belle goes to town and the villagers join her in the song "Belle." Disney also showed its 3-D conversion of the classic shot of Belle and the Beast dancing beneath the ballroom chandelier.

Next up was a 2-D in-production reel of the Robert Zemeckis' performance-capture retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts. It opens Nov. 6. The footage included Scrooge, in CG versions as a young and then aged man; some of the ghosts; and London's streets and such sites as Big Ben.

Presenting a test sequence of "Tron 2.0," Zoradi said the 3-D retelling of the 1982 sci-fi film would enter production in the coming weeks.

As has been widely reported, the economic crisis has stalled the transition to digital cinema, which enables 3-D. But Zoradi said that scenario has not altered his company's plans to produce in the format.

"We are nearly at a critical mass," he said. "We hope we soon will be able to have a 3-D-only (wide) release."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

Disney/Pixar launching new studio
Vancouver outfit to draw on existing characters
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Woody and Buzz are heading north.

To accommodate a growing slate of nonfeature projects, Disney and Pixar will launch an animation studio in the fall in Vancouver.

The focus will be on Pixar's legacy characters, including Buzz and Woody from the "Toy Story" films and Lightning McQueen and Mater from "Cars."

"The operation will be small in size and dedicated to producing short-form quality computer animation for theme parks, DVDs, television and theatrical exhibition ... for several different divisions of the Walt Disney Co.," Disney/Pixar president Ed Catmull said.

Amir Nasrabadi, vp operations and finance at DisneyToon Studio, has been tapped as GM of the new facility, and Dylan Brown -- previously a supervising animation director at Pixar, with credits including "Ratatouille" and "Finding Nemo" -- will serve as creative director. Darwyn Peachey moves from technical lead on the 3-D versions of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" to chief technology officer at the Vancouver location.

The trio will report to Ali Rowghani, Disney/Pixar's CFO and senior vp strategic planning.

Pixar GM Jim Morris said he expects the staff to reach 75-100. He added that feature work and all stereoscopic 3-D work will still be done at Pixar's headquarters in Emeryville, Calif.

The move marks the latest company to open a VFX or animation facility in Vancouver. Other residents include Rainmaker, an animation company; CIS Vancouver, a Deluxe-owned VFX business; and Moving Picture Co., a Technicolor-owned VFX facility.

Tax incentives, a local talent base and proximity to Pixar contributed to the decision. Pixar will receive incentives offered for animation production and research and development.

"Canada, and Vancouver specifically, has had terrific tax incentives for this type of work," Morris said. "I think they have a desire to grow this sort of business activity and get a critical mass. This will allow us to do more with the budgets that we have."

He said the intent is to build the studio as a start-up with local talent. "There is a great animation community in Vancouver, as well as postproduction, visual effects and good schools," he added.

Morris said Pixar would step up production of its character-based ancillary content at the new venue.

"We have a somewhat unfulfilled demand," he said. "We wanted to do various things with 'Toy Story' to keep the characters alive. People like to see them somewhat regularly." He pointed to Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter, who would like to do more with the "Cars" characters.

Pixar has a full slate of upcoming titles -- some sequels and some introducing new characters. "Up," the studio's 10th computer-animated feature and first to release in digital 3-D, opens May 29 and introduces new characters, including elderly Carl Fredricksen and young wilderness explorer Russell.

The 3-D releases of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" bring Woody, Buzz and the toys back to theaters Oct. 2.

Current film projects at Pixar, which employees about 1,000, are the 3-D features "Toy Story 3," "Cars 2," "The Bear and the Bow" and "Newt." The studio also is developing a series of shorts based on the Mater character from "Cars" as well as theme park projects.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

MacGuffin

We'd Like To See Some Girl Leads, Pixar!
by MTV News

Over at NPR, Linda Holmes wrote an excellent open letter to Pixar asking the esteemed animation studio to make a film about a girl. And not just that, a girl who isn't a princess. Pixar, whose latest flick "UP" is a smash success and possibly surpasses last year's "WALL-E" for sheer awesomeness, is known for its storylines that are equally appealing as family outings or date movies (hey, was that you crying during "WALL-E"? Thought so!). But so far, none of them have a female anything as the lead protagonist — not a robot, not a fish, and certainly not any "girls in Band-Aids," as Holmes described them.

Other sites have responded to her letter with kudos and criticism in equal parts. Cartoon Brew posted an excerpt from Holmes' letter under the header "Dear Pixar, How About a Chick Flick...?" (note the condescending use of "chick flick") and then let its readers go to town tearing apart Holmes and anyone who stuck his or her neck out for non-princess 'toons. (By the way, what's wrong with the occasional chick flick?!)

Dawn Taylor at Cinematical wrote a great response. "Why is it that when women — who make up over half of the species, by the way — respectfully point out that they're underrepresented in movies, it's seen as some sort of angry feminist screed?" It's true! If anything, Holmes was too polite. Why? Because she loves Pixar. And who doesn't? They can't make a bad movie, so it only makes sense to trust them to come up with a great girl-centric flick rather than, say, another Tinkerbell.

So while the haters are off mumbling to themselves in the corner, how about we come up with some ideas for Pixar's next flick? We won't even ask for a consulting fee!

1. The Magnificent Adventures of Weetzie Bat: An adaptation of Francesca Lia Block's first book in the Weetzie Bat series about a fabulously glam gal and her best friend Dirk. A glittery punk rock fairy tale with a complicated heroine would appeal to both the princesses and the punk rockers inside girls of all ages.

2. The Lion-Tamer and the Magician: The world-famous lion tamer Ms. Angela's most prized lioness goes missing when they decamp for a show in Florida, and the only person who can help find her is the psychic (and dreamy!) magician, Mr. Honeybuzzard. They have to search the swamps — watch out for the alligators! (Perfect opportunity for IMAX 3D here, people.)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/06/dear_pixar_from_all_the_girls.html
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Neil

it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

hedwig


SiliasRuby

How about some sex and violence pixar?
The Beatles know Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and is in Los Angeles.

When you are getting fucked by the big corporations remember to use a condom.

There was a FISH in the perkalater!!!

My Collection

Neil

it's just an attempt at something i'm not a fan of; distracting non-issue bullshit.  it's kind of what i was wanting to talk about regarding to advertising.  Something like this holds zero weight, especially if we're conscience and what the fuck? Every pixar film is pretty rockin'. So, this is all the sudden a misrepresentation or underrepresentation of women?  I mean christ, do we really need pixar raising our children, sure many cartoons contain great morals, but just raise your own fucking children.  Don't let a pixar film dictate something related to reality? I mean, i don't really care. this sounds like something from the npr, it's just I'm not sure where this becomes an issue? Grow "Up"


did i over react?
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

hedwig

i don't think mis/under-representation of women is a non-issue. it's fucked up to pretend like our media culture has moved beyond the outmoded gender constructs that comprise patriarchal society. that lady is right: even pixar ain't above it. the female character is usually the 'love interest' or the sidekick - an accessory to the male protagonist. (The Incredibles avoids this trapping to some extent.) i agree that not every movie has to focus on women and i thought it was ridiculous when people/ebert criticized TWBB for its shortage of women. but you can't deny that films, especially "children's films", reflect our cultural notions of gender (and race and class, and lots of other things) in a serious way, and so i think it's certainly an issue worth talking about. 

i think you're overreacting. it's not "disgusting" to critique this sort of thing. nobody slammed Pixar. anyway, a female protagonist in a pixar movie would be awesome. i'm tired of dudes.

matt35mm

Quote from: Björk Guðmundsdóttir beat the shit out of me on June 13, 2009, 08:51:07 AM
i don't think mis/under-representation of women is a non-issue. it's fucked up to pretend like our media culture has moved beyond the outmoded gender constructs that comprise patriarchal society. that lady is right: even pixar ain't above it. the female character is usually the 'love interest' or the sidekick - an accessory to the male protagonist. (The Incredibles avoids this trapping to some extent.) i agree that not every movie has to focus on women and i thought it was ridiculous when people/ebert criticized TWBB for its shortage of women. but you can't deny that films, especially "children's films", reflect our cultural notions of gender (and race and class, and lots of other things) in a serious way, and so i think it's certainly an issue worth talking about. 

i think you're overreacting. it's not "disgusting" to critique this sort of thing. nobody slammed Pixar. anyway, a female protagonist in a pixar movie would be awesome. i'm tired of dudes.

Agreed on all fronts.  Well put.

Neil

I am not denying anything about what films have in them.  Talk about it all you like, I just think there is no issue.  I realize it is just an observation, not an attack but as far as this being some sort of "statement" that pertains to real life or society, come on... It is not reality, but Yeah, that's fine, once pixar delivers that female protagonist that is "normal" we shall over come and have equality for all!  That's what the planet is missing, more "average" women protagonists in cartoons.  Baby steps.  My whole life views and belief systems were built from the ideas presented to me in cartoons.  As far as taking this seriously, give me a break. Sit your fucking kids down and have them watch aurthur or something, there is a morally sound show.
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

Gold Trumpet

I still think your overreacting. The social role aspect of her argument is just an extension of it. Nobody is deploring Pixar at all for their characterizations or even thinking that they have an obligation to better portray women. That would happen if Pixar continually depicted female characters as weak, but they don't at all. In fact, they are the opposite of that. I think the context of the author wanting leading female characters in Pixar movies is akin to someone wanting a specific villian to be the star of a comic book film. The person criticizing the series still loves it and follows every movie with interest, but their one hope is to see a certain villian highlighted. That would make everything perfect for them. I think the author's wish for a leading female would make Pixar perfect to her. It's a personal wish so it isn't a PC grab on her part at all.

Neil

This actually makes sense. You're probably right, this woman wants to see this in a Pixar film.  I believe she made that evident, however taking it from a fan boy perspective like you have presented it, I see no reason for the npr to print such a thing. I believe the claim is to "respectfully point out that they're [women] underrepresented in movies" AND it comes off as a femist rant according to one of the womem. i'm trying to say, put as much worth into this kind of idea as you want.  it's clown shoes. In everyone else's defense I'm often  presented with "Awareness doesn't dictate Attitude"  So, i'm still not sure of the whole thing, but i just can't take it seriously. Let me just start over and instead of saying "disgusting" i'll go with "lol" 

This left handed piece glows with a little more assertion than you two are letting on.  An obvious stance can be found here, and like i said the tone isn't exactly neutral, I'm under the impression she's trading a little hostility for attempted humor. Oh well. this whatever is over with.  Personal wish lists published on npr, this is what we're discussing?
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

hedwig

Quote from: Neil on June 16, 2009, 09:21:25 AM
AND it comes off as a femist rant according to one of the womem.

what's your beef with feminism?

Neil

I'm quoting said article
Quote from: Madonna is a stupid bitch on June 12, 2009, 02:33:56 AM
We'd Like To See Some Girl Leads, Pixar!

"Why is it that when women — who make up over half of the species, by the way — respectfully point out that they're underrepresented in movies, it's seen as some sort of angry feminist screed?"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/06/dear_pixar_from_all_the_girls.html

no problem with feminism, just quoting.
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.