Pixar's new projects

Started by MacGuffin, August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MacGuffin

Disney Announces Two New Pixar Projects
The announcement, which included a project directed by "Up's" Pete Docter and an untitled dinosaurs feature, came during the D23 convention in Anaheim on Saturday.
Source: THR

Saturday. Pixar is deep in development of two new movies, including one directed by Oscar winner Pete Docter (Up). The announcement came during Disney's D23 convention in Anaheim on Saturday. The confab, Disney's version of Comic-Con, draws Disney enthusiasts from around the world.

Pixar has had a remarkable box office and critical streak since its first full-length feature, 1995's Toy Story. The new Pixar projects are untitled but they are original creations and will follow upcoming releases Brave and Monsters University, according to Disney/ Pixar chief John Lasseter.

In addition to Docter's project, the Untitled Pixar Movie about Dinosaurs will be directed by Pixar veteran Bob Peterson and produced by John Walker. The movie is aiming for a holiday 2013 release. The story is set in a world where an asteroid didn't hit the earth, thus letting the creatures to keep living and evolving.

An image of concept art shown to the hall was of a small humanoid silhouette on top of the head of a brachiasaurus. Peterson said he was inspired by a Worlds Fair he attended as a child where he saw animatronic dinos created Disney. Docter's project is the Untitled Pixar Movie that You See Inside the Brain, which is being produced by Jonas Rivera.

It's eyeing a summer 2014 release and is in the early stages of work. Docter said the story will take the audience inside the head, "how we forget, why certain songs get stuck in our heads." "It's a place that we've all been to but have never seen," he said. Pixar also offered exclusive footage of next summer's Brave and concept art for Monsters University, the sequel to Monsters Inc. Executives trotted out voice actors Kelly Macdonald and Kevin McKidd for the former and Billy Crystal for the latter. (Crystal received a standing ovation when he came out.)

Lassetter also showed off a Cars spin-off titled Planes, revealing that Jon Cryer is voicing a crop duster with a lot of courage named Dusty. The feature is from the DisneyToon Studios label. Kevin Hall (The Simpsons) is directing. Lasseter also previewed a toon called Wreck It Ralph, unveiling a voice cast that includes John C Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman.
"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

picolas

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMLassetter also showed off a Cars spin-off titled Planes,
ew.

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMrevealing that Jon Cryer is voicing a crop duster with a lot of courage named Dusty.
nooo.

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMThe feature is from the DisneyToon Studios label.
wha?

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMKevin Hall (The Simpsons) is directing.
ooh!

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMLasseter also previewed a toon
what?

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMcalled Wreck It Ralph,
k....

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 20, 2011, 04:12:54 PMunveiling a voice cast that includes John C Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman.
yay!

OrHowILearnedTo

No one named Kevin Hall has ever worked for the Simpsons.

picolas


Stefen

haha no keep them there, they were awesome.

Pixar has to gain my faith back. They're so good, but they sell out so much these days.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

MacGuffin

Pixar announces Día de los Muertos film
Source: Los Angeles Times

An upcoming Pixar film will center on Día de los Muertos -- the Mexican holiday honoring the dead -- the animation studio announced at the CinemaCon convention of theater owners in Las Vegas this week. Director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the team behind "Toy Story 3," will collaborate on the as-yet-untitled movie.

As is often the case with its long-gestating projects, Pixar revealed little else about the Día de los Muertos movie, which will presumably take many visual cues from the spooky holiday's focus on skulls, masks and Mexican marigolds.

Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter also shared a little more about the studio's upcoming slate,  including two projects first announced at Disney's D23 fan convention last August. Lasseter supplied the title and a May 30, 2014, release date for "The Good Dinosaur," Bob Peterson's film about what the world would be like if dinosaurs had never been extinct, and a June 19, 2015, release date for Pete Docter's next project, which Walt Disney Studios is currently calling "The untitled Pixar film that takes you inside the mind."

The brain movie is still shrouded in mystery: At D23, producer Jonas Rivera said, "We can't wait to come back and tell you more as soon as we get out of psychotherapy."

At CinemaCon, the studio also screened 30 minutes of its next feature, the Scotland-set "Brave," due out June 22. Scottish bagpipers supplied a little mood music for the occasion, and Lasseter donned a kilt.

[For the record, 4:40 p.m., April 25: A previous version of this post said the untitled Día de los Muertos film will be released in 2015. Disney has not announced a release date for the film.]
"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

Sleepless

According to Variety, the film set inside the mind of a young girl is called "Inside Out."
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Lottery

From the director of Monsters, Inc. and Up, Pete Docter. Inside Out will be in US theaters June 19, 2015

MacGuffin

'Día De Los Muertos' Trademark Eyed By Disney; Mexican 'Day Of The Dead' Holiday Is Theme For New Movie
Source: LA Times

Every year, the 1st and 2nd of November, Mexico shuts down to celebrate "Día de los Muertos," a holiday to honor, pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. People build altars using sugar skulls, marigolds, and anything that the departed liked and visit their graves with these as gifts.

Celebrating the deaths of ancestors apparently has appealed a lot to Disney, who now wants to trademark "Día de los Muertos" because it has been selected as the topic of an upcoming film from Pixar Animation Studios.

You must be thinking why promote a movie about death and target it to little kids. Well, think of it as a cultural experience. The "Día De Los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead" is not about portraying the morbid aspect of death, but celebrating life, and appreciating the good times people had while on earth.

If you think about it, it's about teaching the kids to leave a positive mark on the world so when time comes, people remember them, and value their contributions to society. They'll also learn about Mexican culture, which is very rich, interesting and colorful, and as a parent, you'll feel good to have a great educational family outing.

Among the trademark applications that The Walt Disney Company has filed for, are education and entertainment services, confectionery, cosmetics, transmission or reproduction of sound or images, computer programs, accessories, jewelry, paper articles, luggage, and more.

Even though the project is officially known (for now) as "The Untitled Pixar Movie about Dia de los Muertos," filing the application might indicate that the movie could actually be called "Día de los Muertos," and they want to play it safe with the name, since it's a popular celebration.
The film will be directed by Lee Unkrich and will hit the theatres in 2015.
"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 Drops Controversial Dia De Los Muertos Trademark Bid
Source: Deadline

After raising the ire of critics online, The Walt Disney Company quickly backed away today from its move to quietly trademark "Dia de los Muertos" for an upcoming Pixar animated feature. Criticism exploded on social media in recent days as word spread of Disney's efforts to trademark the name associated with the November holiday. Although the studio still is moving forward on its Pixar project inspired by Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, it has withdrawn its application to trademark "Dia de los Muertos" for various merchandising applications.

"As we have previously announced, Disney-Pixar is developing an animated feature inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos", the studio said in a statement. "Disney's trademark filing was intended to protect any potential title for our film and related activities. It has since been determined that the title of the film will change, and therefore we are withdrawing our trademark filing". Pixar's Dia de los Muertos film was announced last April and will be directed by Oscar-winning Toy Story 3 helmer Lee Unkrich with Darla K. Anderson producing.
"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

Sleepless

He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

MacGuffin

Pixar to Scale Back on Sequels; Hopes to Release a Follow-Up Every Other Year
Source: Collider

There's no doubt about it: Pixar has lost some of its luster.  The animation studio used to be the company that could do no wrong, but following its first truly disappointing film—Cars 2—Pixar's subsequent output has yet to receive the same universal acclaim that was previously almost guaranteed.  This year's Pixar release, Monsters University, has fared a bit better than Cars 2 and Brave as far as critical acclaim goes (I loved it), but there are still plenty who claim that the pic is not "up to snuff" with regards to the very high bar that the studio set in its initial run.

One of the main complaints against Pixar in recent years is the studio's new propensity for sequels.  Now Pixar Studios President Ed Catmull says that the plan is to scale back on follow-ups in the near future, with the aim of making one original film a year and alternating sequels only every other year.  Hit the jump for more.

Prior to the brilliant Toy Story 3, Pixar had only made one sequel (Toy Story 2) out of a total of 10 films.  But of the studio's past four films, only one has been an original outing.  Personally I think most of the flack that Pixar is getting has to do with just how bad Cars 2 was, but while the production-troubled Brave was in no way a terrible film, it didn't necessarily feel like the Pixar we've come to expect.

With Andrew Stanton working on the follow-up Finding Dory as we speak, some are worried that Pixar has "sequel fever."  Speaking with Buzzfeed, however, Pixar chief Ed Catmull says that the studio is well aware of possible overkill and wants to focus on more original content in the near future:

"For artistic reasons ... it's really important that we do an original film a year," says Catmull, who also serves as president of Walt Disney Animation. "Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want those characters, which means we were successful with them. But if you keep doing that, then you aren't doing original films."

Catmull went on to say that the studio's strategy going forward will see original fare hitting theaters more frequently than sequels:

It's part of what Catmull says is a strategy to release "one and a half" films a year. "We're going to have an original film every year, then every other year have a sequel to something," he says. "That's the rough idea."

Pixar has been trying to release two films a year for some time now, and if you'll recall the original plan was for both Brave and Monsters University to hit theaters last year.  As of now, 2015 will see two Pixar films opening: Up director Pete Docter's Inside Out on June 19th, and the aforementioned Finding Dory on November 25th.  If that plan sticks, don't expect to see another Pixar sequel or prequel until 2017.  Fingers crossed for The Incredibles 2.

As a refresher, here's a look at Pixar's upcoming release schedule as it stands now.

The Good Dinosaur – May 30, 2014
Inside Out – June 19, 2015
Finding Dory – November 25, 2015
Untitled Pixar Film about Dia de los Muertos – June 17, 2016
Untitled Pixar Film – November 22, 2017
Untitled Pixar Film – June 15, 2018
"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

Pixar Animation yanks director Bob Peterson off 'The Good Dinosaur'
Source: Los Angeles Times

Pixar Animation has removed the director of its 2014 film, "The Good Dinosaur," and not named a replacement, marking the fourth time in eight movies that the Emeryville studio has made a director change midstream.

With the film's release date fast approaching and various creative choices unmade, Pixar executives decided to replace director Bob Peterson this summer, according to the studio's president, Ed Catmull.

"All directors get really deep in their films," Catmull said this week. "Sometimes you just need a different perspective to get the idea out. Sometimes directors ... are so deeply embedded in their ideas it actually takes someone else to finish it up. I would go so far as to argue that a lot of live-action films would be better off with that same process."

Peterson, who began at Pixar as an animator on its first feature film, "Toy Story," and co-directed the 2009 Oscar-winning movie "Up," conceived the idea for "The Good Dinosaur," which envisions an Earth where dinosaurs never became extinct.

Until a new director is named, Pixar is relying on a team of people to shepherd various sections of the movie, due in theaters in nine months. That group includes Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, "Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich, "Brave" director Mark Andrews and the film's original co-director Peter Sohn (at Pixar, a co-director plays a deputy role to the director).

The move comes as Pixar is under mounting pressure to build on its early successes in an increasingly competitive marketplace; this year will see the wide theatrical release of 11 animated movies, up from six a decade ago.

The studio has changed directors on three other films — Brad Bird replaced Jan Pinkava on the 2007 movie "Ratatouille," Lasseter replaced Brad Lewis on 2011's "Cars 2" and Andrews replaced Brenda Chapman on 2012's "Brave." Each of those movies went on to gross more than $500 million at the box office worldwide, and "Brave" and "Ratatouille" won Oscars for animated feature, but "Cars 2" was the rare critical disappointment.

Over its 14 feature films produced since 1995, the computer animation studio has enjoyed outsized artistic and commercial success, but in recent years critics have suggested that it is in a creatively fallow period.

Pixar's 2013 film, the comedy "Monsters University" from first-time feature director Dan Scanlon, just became the fourth Pixar film to pass $700 million at the global box office, finding a large audience despite comparatively moderate reviews.

In the world of live-action films, changing a director when a film is already in production is rare, though it happened this year on the independent western "Jane Got a Gun," when Gavin O'Connor replaced director Lynne Ramsay after she failed to show up on the first day of shooting in New Mexico.

Animated films tend to have much longer schedules than live-action ones, with story changes often occurring after production has begun. As a result, personnel changes are far more common — Genndy Tartakovsky, who helmed last year's Sony Pictures Animation hit "Hotel Transylvania," was the sixth director to work on that film.

Leading an animated movie combines skills that can be hard to find in one person — the imagination to conceive an original idea and the command to manage crews of 200 to 300 people operating on budgets north of $200 million.

"Up" director Pete Docter in June said the method of choosing directors at Pixar is imperfect.

"We take our best guess," said Docter, whose next movie, "Inside Out," is due in 2015. "We try to diagnose: What are the necessary skills? How does this person measure up? They're going to need buttressing here, here they totally shine, and try to pair them with the right people. But if you figure it out, let us know."

Industry watchers started to speculate about Peterson's status when he didn't attend D23, Disney's fan conference in Anaheim this month, to showcase footage from "The Good Dinosaur." Instead, Sohn and producer Denise Ream represented the film, introducing its premise of a 70-foot-tall teenage dinosaur who befriends a young human boy.

Ream too represents a change on the film. The "Cars 2" producer has stepped in to replace John Walker, who left to work on "Tomorrowland," Bird's upcoming live action film for Disney, which owns Pixar.

Peterson, still employed at Pixar, declined to comment for this story. He has another directing project in development, according to Jim Morris, general manager and executive vice president of production for Pixar. "Bob is still working at the studio, and we hope he will stay here for the rest of his natural life," Morris said.

As of now, the release date for "The Good Dinosaur" is unchanged and the movie is proceeding on its production schedule, according to Catmull. "We've been around long enough to know it will never be smooth," Catmull said. "But getting this process smooth is not our goal; our goal is to make the movie great."
"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

Lottery

Something about that made me a little uneasy.

Pubrick

the process sounds cold hearted because of the way we're familiar with directors usually being ousted from live action films or more commonly having their voice stifled by studio men, producers, accountants.. basically non-creatives.

but if we take them at their word:

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 30, 2013, 03:50:35 PM
"our goal is to make the movie great."

then we can see the difference between Pixar and the typical bottom-line focus group goons that usually alter a director's initial intent. this is a team full of good ideas being pitched by great director/writer/artists. the proof is in the final product, they're not just trying to satisfy some idiotic principle that having every character raising one eyebrow is the winning formula and so every scene has be reworked to accommodate this. they're trying to make good movies.

the reasons the dude fell out could be simply that he demanded more time and they have a commitment to release by a certain date. they can't just let their stable of Kubricks run wild, they risk devolving into Tony Kayes. this way may not be the nicest method possible, and they admit it in the article, but it's their own way and i believe the best way to keep the whole studio from imploding.

what excites me about their films is their ideas, especially these new ones they've got coming up. if that stays intact, if they stay true to the concept and blow my mind as they have done SO many times before, then who cares who directed it.
under the paving stones.