From Scriptsales.com:
Title: The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Log line: A crafty fox finds himself and his family targeted for death by the three dumb, plug-ugly farmers who are tired of sharing their chickens with him.
Writer: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
Agent: Jim Berkus of UTA and atty. Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum & Morris
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Price: n/a
Genre: Comedy
Logged: 10/29/04
More: To be adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl. Wes Anderson will direct. This will be a stop-motion animated film.
insane.
This was mentioned in Entertainment Weekly a few months ago, actually -- just a little blurb about it being a potential project. Guess it's true. Roald Dahl seems right up Wes's alley...this will be amazing, especially if it's stop motion.
Sounds like a real masterpiece :roll:
:?: :?
I don't understand the sarcasm/confusion.
It just sounds like a very weird project. That doesn't mean I'm not excitef with it. I really am. Actually, I think I got a boner when I read it.
The only thing I thought when I read about this flick was that I hope it isn't Henry Selick doing all the grunt work while Wes gets all the credit (if in fact, Selick is doing it-- I would assume so after his contributions to 'Aquatic').
yes, the forum description worked!!
thank u w2a.
Sounds like Chicken Run.
Who will play Mr. Fox?
Why Christopher "show me a talkin' animal movie and I'm in" Walken of course.
FANTASTIC Move for Anderson
Wes Anderson on board with Revolution for a stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Source: FilmStew.com
Joe Roth and his Revolution Studios are teaming with The Royal Tenenbaums' writer-director Wes Anderson for a big screen stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which will be released by Sony. The project marks the first dip into animation for both Anderson, who will direct the project, and Revolution.
Anderson and Noah Baumbach, who recently collaborated on the script for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, will adapt the tome, which centers on a family of sly foxes who find themselves the targets of three ugly farmers' guns. The farmers are tired of sharing their chickens with the foxes and want the foxes terminated.
Anderson, repped by UTA, is known for his work on witty comedies such as Rushmore and Tenenbaums. He also wrote and directed Bottle Rocket, and his most recent effort, Life Aquatic, will be released on Christmas Day by Buena Vista.
For Roth's part, he most recently directed the holiday comedy Christmas with the Kranks, which will bow in November. His other helming credits include America's Sweethearts and Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise. On the producing side, his more recent efforts include The Forgotten, Mona Lisa Smile and Hollywood Homicide.
oooh Nerds In Paradise. this IS gonna be good!
Don't forget that Joe Roth also financed Punch Drunk Love...
This sounds fantastic. I can so just imagine it working.
[This is one project that just screams Wes or Linklater, that's for sure...]
Quote from: The Silver BulletThis sounds fantastic. I can so just imagine it working.
[This is one project that just screams Wes or Linklater, that's for sure...]
YEAH! Link!!!!!...lay..........ter?.........
So is anyone at all here a fan of Roald Dahl?
I am. His two autobiographies, Boy and Going Solo especially.
His more "adult" work is remarkable as well. It's been forever since I read The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, but I have very fond memories it.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is the perfect story for stop-motion animation. The foxes, the badgers, the rabbits...! I hope this project doesn't fall through. I just find it incredibly exciting despite myself.
Oh, my.
Yes! Boy is so wonderful.
I think I've read most of his books at one time or another, and I know I read some of his adult works, but it sort of went over my head in my youth. I remember particularly a story about a man who bet his daughter in a card game, or something like that.
Anyway, yes, Wes Anderson is even better suited to Dahl than even Burton (although Burton is perfect for that particular tale).
when i was a kid i read a handful of his books and liked him a lot but i cant say i've read anything since then.
Quote from: themodernage02when i was a kid i read a handful of his books and liked him a lot but i cant say i've read anything since then.
Same here but I have alot of fond memories of alot of his stories but it really as been a while since I've read his stuff. I didn't read any of his adult stories, any suggestions Bullet?
Quote from: SiliasRuby...any suggestions Bullet?
Yes:
This (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140158073/qid=1099629907/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8821310-0818204?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679729895/qid=1099629868/sr=8-6/ref=pd_csp_6/103-8821310-0818204?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679729917/qid=1099629868/sr=8-7/ref=pd_csp_7/103-8821310-0818204?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) and this (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0141304707/qid=1099629868/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/103-8821310-0818204?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).
I'm sorry, I'm late. Does anyone know if this is going to be live action or what?
Quote from: ChrisTheSpaceManI'm sorry, I'm late. Does anyone know if this is going to be live action or what?
http://xixax.com/viewtopic.php?p=162312#162312
I still think it's dumb to read "this project screams Linklater". Some wishful film geeks have NO idea what they're talking about sometimes.
(sorry if you thought this was new info)
apology accepted for making me think there was new info. now apologize for reviving a thread to pointlessly re-state something you incoherently posted about TWO YEARS AGO and that nobody cared to respond to then and probably won't now. thanks.
yeah, say you're sorry!
Dammit PETE!!! Why did you post? I keep thinking that Dumbfrog is going to appologize... GEEZ!
don't think this has mentioned, found this on the imdb boards. an interview from around the time life aquatic was released
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/02/15/wes_anderson_the_life_aquatic_interview.shtml
You always do a great job with casting. Who else would you love to work with long-term?
I have a number of people that I can think of, but none that I particularly want to say. I would have loved to have worked with Marlon Brando. I can think of a lot of things he'd have been great for. Other names that I would give you are of people who I already have in mind for roles and I don't want to say because I don't want to screw it up. Although, there is a part for Anjelica in this thing we're working on [The Fantastic Mr. Fox] and a part for Jason Schwartzman and about three others. Can't say the others though. Sorry!
Fox Animation Snares Fantastic Mr. Fox
Source: Variety
Variety reports that Fox Animation will turn the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr. Fox into a film that will mix several forms of animation, primarily stop-motion.
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach adapted the book; Anderson will direct and produce with Scott Rudin.
The book tells the story of a fox who uses its wits and cunning to outfox three dimwitted farmers who tire of sharing their chickens with the fox and resort to a shock-and-awe offensive.
The project was originally bought by Joe Roth and Revolution Studios in 2004. When Revolution folded, Fox Animation president Chris Meledandri moved in on the project.
Rudin and Anderson are already collaborating on Fox Searchlight's The Darjeeling Limited, with Anderson to direct; Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman star.
Blanchett, Clooney do 'Fox' trot
Source: Hollywood Reporter
George Clooney is in negotiations and Cate Blanchett is in talks to voice the lead characters in Wes Anderson's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." The stop-motion film, marking Anderson's first foray into animation, is expected to be distributed by 20th Century Fox as a negative pickup.
Produced by Scott Rudin Prods., "Mr. Fox" is an adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's story, centering on a clever fox who must outwit three mean, dimwitted farmers who try their hardest to hurt Mr. Fox and his family. Clooney would voice Mr. Fox, while Blanchett would voice his wife.
The movie is a reuniting of the actors, who recently worked together on Steven Soderbergh's "The Good German" for Warner Bros. Pictures. Anderson will turn to "Mr. Fox" as his next project after he completes his current film, "The Darjeeling Ltd.," which he is editing in New York for Fox Searchlight. The production will be set up in London, in a fashion similar to that of "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," which also used stop-motion animation. Allison Abbate and Jeremy Dawson are producing.
Source: Dark Horizons
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a Wes Anderson-directed Roald Dahl-adapted film featuring the voices of George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, will come out November 6th, 2009. The first weekend of November is a prime spot for any film, so kudos to Fox for grabbing this up.
If I recall correctly, Wes Anderson got always pretty good release dates. Problem is that the studio does not do the marketing they should, and they release it on less than 1000 theatres, and stuff like that, which leads to another box office dissapointment.
Quote from: kal on May 23, 2007, 03:09:27 PM
If I recall correctly, Wes Anderson got always pretty good release dates. Problem is that the studio does not do the marketing they should, and they release it on less than 1000 theatres, and stuff like that, which leads to another box office dissapointment.
That was with Disney. It should be different now that he's working with 20th Century Fox.
2009?
Is this because stop motion takes (what i assume) a long time to do?
Wes Anderson Enlists Bill Murray For 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox'
Source: MTV
It will be five films in a row for the collaboration that is Wes Anderson and Bill Murray. I talked to Anderson about his upcoming animated flick based on the Roald Dahl story and he confirmed his voice cast. "George Clooney is going to be Mr. Fox. Bill Murray has a part. Jason [Schwartzman] is doing a voice. That's our team," he told me.
But don't line up at the multiplex just yet...this one is still a long ways off. "It will take a couple years to do the animating," said "The Darjeeling Limited" helmer, adding that they are about to record the voices. As for the animation, "It's stop-motion. It's like 'Nightmare Before Christmas' or those Christmas specials. These [characters] have fur, so it's not like claymation."
It sounds like Anderson will make this one quite unique (big surprise). "The settings will be very natural. We want to use real trees and real sand, but it's all miniature," he said.
he should reshoot bottle rocket with bill murray in place of a wilson, both the short and the feature.
and hotel chevalier with bill murray in place of portman.
since he LOVES him so much.
I have a friend in London who does animating and model-making, and he's in the process of trying to get hired on 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'. So I'm guessing they're not that far along in production? Or have they been busy recording the voices first, and then they start animating? Anyone?
Jarvis Writing Music for Wes Anderson Kids Movie
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" would be an excellent nickname for Mr. Cocker, don't you think?
Source: Pitchfork Media
The joke goes that we indie rock types only get out to the movies when there's an Anderson (either one) or a coupla Coen brothers attached to the flick. However much truth there is in that statement, we can all agree that Wes Anderson's forthcoming stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox is not one to miss.
Especially now that Jarvis Cocker has signed on to lend a hand with the film's soundtrack. In an interview with Time Out Chicago (conducted by former Pitchfork contributor Brent DiCrescenzo), Jarvis reveals that he's written "three, four songs, and some of that might become bits of the score" for the film.
Cocker got on the subject following a line of questioning about his skepticism towards the Disney corporation, which he explored in the song "Disney Time" from his debut LP. "If you criticize Disney," Cocker points out, "the next step is 'do better.' I get the chance to do it myself and corrupt young minds." This can only end well.
Cocker's label was unable to confirm anything about this just yet.
Of course, Jarvis will take a little time out in Chicago over the weekend to take the stage at the Pitchfork Music Festival. He's got a pair of New York dates lined up after that, and then, presumably, it's back to the foxhole with him to work up more Fantastic new tunes, including that second solo joint. He told BBC6 Music earlier this week that the new album is going to "rock".
For anyone in Canada or who gets CBC, Wes and Schwartzman are going to be on the hour george stroumboulopoulos on wednesday. I assume they're talking about this.
http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/upcoming.php (http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/upcoming.php)
pretty sure this interview is from last year when they were promoting Darjeeling. Worth watching though.
possibly, but on his radio show he said new episodes were airing this week.
Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaatever
I have the screenplay. If anyone wants it PM me.
Will you send me a snippet, like a single page you really like? I want a general idea.
he pm'd me asking me to tell you no.
More like you're pmsing.
SPOILERS...SPOILERS...SPOILERS...SPOILERS...SPOILERS...SPOILERS...
Hmm... not quite sure having read the screenplay... seems a bit of an odd mish-mash. But I'm sure Wes knows what he's doing, and pretty confident I'll like his final product. Fox's dialogue seems to have been written with George Clooney in mind, and imagine Jason Schwartzman is playing the son, Ash. Murray would be awesome as Badger, but can't figure out who Angelica Huston will play. Fox's nephew - Kristofferson - I hope will be played by Owen Wilson. I could totally imagine his voice reading that character's speeches. Kylie (the opossum)'s dialogue seems to be based on Kumar's character in Bottle Rocket... Seems to be a lots of references to film devices throughout the script, lots of characters regularly use terms such as "sub-text," "scene," "plot" and "backstory" in their dialogue. Also, there is a lot of "adult" dialogue throughout the film but with the all purpose "cuss" replacing actual cuss-words. E.g.: "We're all cussing starving to death because of you, you mangy, cussing, little cuss."
And for w/o horse, a little scene to give an impression of the overall tone:
FOX
Did I ever tell you about the time I
learned we were going to have a cub?
ASH
In the fox-trap.
FOX
Right. We were at gun-point, and your
mother --
ASH
-- says she's pregnant.
FOX
Let me tell it, OK? I had no idea how we
were going to get out of this jam, and
then it hit me: what do foxes do better
than any other animal?
ASH
Dig.
FOX
You're stepping on my lines.
ASH
Keep telling it.
FOX
So we dug. And the whole time I put paw
over paw, scooping dirt and pebbles with
your mother digging like crazy beside me,
I kept wondering: who is this little boy
going to be?
ASH
Or girl.
FOX
Or girl, right -- because at that point
we didn't know.
Fox grabs Ash by his shoulders and looks him in the eye.
FOX
Ash, I'm so glad he was you.
Gracias.
Very excited.
Murray Badgers Fox's Anderson
Source: SciFi Wire
Bill Murray is voicing a badger in Wes Anderson's upcoming animated film version of Roald Dahl's children's story The Fantastic Mr. Fox ... or at least he's trying to.
Speaking in an Oct. 3 press conference in New York to promote City of Ember, Murray provided a glimpse into the highly anticipated film, which is written and directed by Anderson.
The story follows Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), who feeds his wife (Cate Blanchett) and children by routinely snatching food from one of three farmers: Boggis, Bunce and Bean. After blowing off Fox's tail in a near-miss, the exasperated farmers set out to put an end to Mr. Fox's poaching ways once and for all. But their efforts cause hardships for other digging animals, among them Badger.
"I'll be playing the badger," Murray said. "Unfortunately, I worked really, really hard, very hard, on a Wisconsin accent, because I thought that would be an appropriate badger voice. And I did the first couple of scenes [with that voice] ... " (Fans of the University of Wisconsin football team know that they're called the Badgers.)
But Anderson--who previously directed Murray in Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou--apparently didn't love what he heard from Murray.
"But I did this Wisconsin badger voice that I thought was so funny," Murray said. "I did the first couple of scenes, and then he goes, 'Nah, I don't think so. I was thinking kind of a sad little road badger.' Who here has seen a badger walking down a road? Anybody? Yeah. That's what I said. But these are these new directors. You've just got to give them their, ... you know, let them hang themselves."
Murray confessed his unfamiliarity with the animation process being used to realize The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson is reportedly employing several forms of animation, including the same stop-motion technique that he (and Henry Selick) used for the animated sequences in the otherwise live-action Life Aquatic.
"I have no idea," Murray whispered. "I don't know what it is. I don't know. I've seen some pictures of it, but I think it's old-fashioned, because it's taking them a very long time. But ... they're very excited." The Fantastic Mr. Fox will be released on Nov. 6, 2009.
Goddamn, BILL MURRAY and WES ANDERSON TOGETHER AT LAST.
from AICN interview with Henry Selick...
AICN: That's great. We'll spread the word on that for sure. We're getting the cut sign. Thank you so much for chatting with us, and for bringing Coraline with you. You know, this just popped into my head, back at the end of 2007, I spoke with Wes Anderson, and he mentioned that for the animated film he's working on now, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, that he'd originally asked you to be a part of that. Obviously you were busy.
Henry Selick: Yeah, he's doing stop motion. He's directing from Paris through his iPhone, shooting movies of himself as the characters for the animators to work with.
AICN: It seems like it would have been a natural fit for the two of you, since you'd worked with him before [Henry created the rare fish species in THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU].
Henry Selick: Oh, I was very interested in doing it and working with him, but when CORALINE got green lit, I had to go with it. This is my baby. [laughs]
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39977
Of course he is! Also: Wes Anderson has a video iPhone.
Who's Got Some Anderson Fox?
Source: The Playlist
This weekend on Sunday, the first test screenings for Wes Anderson's animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" took place in Paramus, New Jersey.
Normally, the usual suspects like /Film or AICN would have an early report emailed into them from some fan, but it's mostly crickets out there. What gives? No word? We're just intensely curious.
The only "report" we've read so far comes from the always unreliable IMDB message boards (that seriously contain some of the world's thickest people and most ludicrous arguments... we digress).
I'm a big Wes Anderson fan as it is, and Fantastic Mr Fox is such a great story that it would be very hard to screw it up, but from what I've seen so far, he's really done an incredible job. The film itself isn't out until the end of this year, and, at the moment, is only half finished. The version that I saw was as part of a viewer survery group, and only about 50% of it had been animated by that point, with the rest filled in with animatics and the odd inclusion of Wes Andersons voice popping up every now and again for a line that hadn't been recorded yet.
Regardless of that, the film was very good. Even on an ungraded film reel, it still looked absolutely fantastic. I've had a quick scout about on Google, but I couldn't find one solitary screenshot of the film, so I'll do my best to describe the characters. It's done using stop-motion animation, and all of the models and backgrounds are intricately detailed. You can see the individual hairs on the foxes faces move about in the wind on close ups, and the action scenes that they had completed were both good to look at and fun to watch.
The plot itself doesn't deviate from the book that much. At the moment they've changed the ending slightly from the book, but from the feedback we gave in the discussion at the end, it wasn't particularly popular (although I personally thought it was quite good), so they may do something completely different with it. Other than that, there's not too much I can say. The forms they got us all to scene was pretty strict with regards to what we could talk about, but if you've read the book, and watched a Wes Anderson film, you can easily put together what it's probably going to be like. I can say that I laughed a lot though. It's a funny film. Bill Murray is his usual brilliant self as Badger, and somebody who's name I can't say is brilliant as Farmer Boggis. Or is it Bunce? The one who makes the awesome cider.
So who's the ultra-secretive voice behind Farmer Boggis? Someone not announced yet? George Clooney and Cate Blanchett are playing Mr. And Mrs. Fox, yes? (Jason Schwartzman and Anjelica Huston also do voice work in the film). What about the music? We know that Alexandre Desplat is composing the score and Jarvis Cocker from Pulp has been writing some of the songs. No reports/word there?
That's all we have for now. Hopefully more informative reports will surface soon. "Fantastic Mr. Fox," is scheduled to open in theaters on November 6.
http://www.usaaudiences.com/MrFoxInvite.php
A few release dates have been bumped around. The most notable for us is Wes Anderson's animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" that has moved from a November 6 released date back a week until November 13 release. Nothing major and nothing worth panicking about if you're an Anderson acolytes.
Jarvis Cocker & Wes Anderson in Interview Magazine
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/jarvis-cocker/1/
excerpt pertaining to TFMF...
COCKER: I wanted to ask you something, actually. It's an obvious question, I suppose, but on your film that you're making right now, Fantastic Mr. Fox, you're using old puppets—well, do you call them puppets? What do you call them?
ANDERSON: I think puppets more or less covers it.
COCKER: So you're used to working with live actors. How have you found the experience of working with things that will do exactly what you tell them to do?
ANDERSON: Well, as it happens, they won't. As you know, the voices are recorded before it's animated, and that process is more familiar to me—working with actors in that way. So when we're recording the voices, there can be the same sort of excitement that working with actors normally has—there can be the same surprises and spontaneity. But then when it comes time to animate it, I'm working with people who each bring their own interpretations to it, even if we have very carefully determined what is going to happen in the scene. Sometimes I'll do a video version of myself doing what I think the puppet ought to do, and then I'll discuss it with the animator—and there are many different animators working on different stages all at once. But in the process of going one frame at a time to bring the puppet to life, the animator will sort of sculpt things out, and they have somehow trained their brains to sync in this ultra slow-motion way so there's a performance that they're giving. And so you can find in that process that you're very slowly being pleasantly surprised over the course of several days or weeks and saying, "Oh, look at what's happening here . . ." Or you can slowly see the shot falling apart right before your eyes and see that it's not working. So there's no real corollary in live-action movies, but it's interesting anyway—and fun.
COCKER: So the animators are kind of the nearest thing you get to actors in that process, basically.
ANDERSON: They're the nearest you get to working with actors, in a sense, yeah.
COCKER: Have you met the animators, the people who do the job?
ANDERSON: Yes, I work with them.
COCKER: Well, let me ask you this: Many of the characters in this story are animals—there are very few people. Do any of the animators resemble the creatures that they're animating?
ANDERSON: Well, it doesn't necessarily work that way because there are different animators with different levels of experience who will get different kinds of shots. And, you know, some of these animators can bring great subtlety into the expressions on the faces of these puppets, which are covered with fur but have little metal bones that move under their skin. There's an animator named Kim, for example, and she has great talent with the most emotional moments and details of the performances. And then there's another one named Jason, and he is particularly skilled with the main character—I think he understands what makes that character funny. That's the role that George Clooney voices, and I feel like he might be the one who is most connected to George in the performance. And then there's another animator named Brian, and it might just be partly the shots that he has ended up with, but his scenes have a bit more of a magical feeling. He brings something surreal to them. Now, I might be projecting some of these things onto these animators because of the material they're working with, but that's how I've started to see them. We have something like 29 units going at once, so we have a large number of animators working on all those sets, and they're each bringing something different.
COCKER: You wouldn't get that with CGI, would you?
ANDERSON: No, you wouldn't. But maybe you'd get some special computer programmers . . . I don't know. I almost doubt it.
COCKER: I guess the way you're doing that film with the stop-motion animation is kind of something that's not done so much anymore.
ANDERSON: No, it's not.
COCKER: I suppose the way that we recorded this album is somewhat similar to that. Generally speaking, when people make records now, they do it all on Pro Tools and then kind of pick the bit they want and then repeat it 25 times, or just pick 10 seconds from here and 10 seconds from there and put it together that way. And then I kind of thought that if you're going to bother being in a band nowadays and making a record, then the only real reason to do it would be to capture what happens when five people all play together at the same time—and the kind of discrepancies and the different sort of a performance that you get when you do that.
ANDERSON: A bit of what happens live.
COCKER: Yeah. So, basically, we're both working on outmoded, archaic forms.
ANDERSON: Yes, we're leftovers. Dinosaurs—but youngish for dinosaurs.
COCKER: Happy dinosaurs. Very happy.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi205.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fbb52%2FThe_Playlist%2Fmore%2F2009%2Ffantasticmrfox-first-look.jpg&hash=6493753adaa0dbbe28e0fa4025a732f48849d6cb)
Huh. Not what I expected. But at least it might make money.
Doesn't mean a thing until we see them in motion.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi205.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fbb52%2FThe_Playlist%2Fmore%2F2009%2Fmrfox2small.jpg&hash=6e83a4a7c61e68aa8ef4ae0c971c8a8fef15de69)
:bravo:
For some reason I always thought this was an animated film. These stills look GREAT.
as long as it doesn't look like THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34xFbymBuP0) mexican gem....
click the photos for high res http://www.filmsactu.com/news-cinema-fantastic-mister-fox-les-2-premieres-images-6957.htm
that's beautiful!
Every time I see those pics, I can't help but think of "The Mouse on the Motorcycle."
Does anyone remember those specials? They were SOOOO good when I was a kid
Definitely can't wait to see this trailer (or well...the movie...durh.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3funeDWFr9g
haha I used to love those. In retrospect, they're kind of creepy.
that's a part of my childhood i definitely did not need to be reminded of.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfilm.com%2Fwp%2Fwp-content%2Fimages%2Fzz581bf41f.jpg&hash=43cdb1802cc2df174ce6b3394cc0049ec30f1d57)
The Bunny second from right was featured in 'inland empire', he did amazing. I'm NOW looking forward to this.
http://www.fantasticmrfoxmovie.com/
lots of new photos.
First look: 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' is not for children only
USA TODAY
Imagine if Beatrix Potter's cuddly storybook menagerie took a crash course in prep-school chic and picked up a few hints on guerrilla warfare along the way.
That's pretty much what happens when the grisly delights found in Roald Dahl's irreverent tales for children are melded with the fastidious aesthetic of director Wes Anderson in the stop-motion-animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which opens Nov. 13.
Anderson, 40, feels he was destined in a way to do a screen adaptation of the 1970 adventure, which recounts the relentless efforts of three nasty British farmers to halt the crafty critter (voiced with daredevil gusto by George Clooney) who brazenly poaches their poultry.
"It was the first book I ever owned," says the auteur behind The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. "My brothers and I loved Mr. Fox and all the digging. We were obsessed with underground forts and tunnels."
The earth does indeed move onscreen, thanks to the farmers, who use tractors in their manic pursuit, as well as the foxes and their subterranean neighbors (moles, rabbits, badgers and mice) as they burrow to elude capture. With the magic of animation, Anderson is able to present a side view of the tunnel, as if peering through glass at an ant farm.
The much-expanded plot has been tweaked to include many elements found in Anderson's other films, including a dysfunctional clan and a male rivalry. The four Fox children in the book have been whittled down to one handful: Ash (Jason Schwartzman, channeling his Max character from Rushmore), a petulant social misfit who wears a superhero cape and resents his cousin Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson, Wes' brother) for being good at everything.
Schwartzman, a veteran of three Anderson features, proclaims Mr. Fox as "the ultimate." "It's funny, but also visually beautiful. Instead of adapting his style of directing to animation, he brought animation to him. He made a Wes film."
Quote from: theyarelegion on July 21, 2009, 03:01:21 AM
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hah, awesome.
Damn now I just want to play me some Starfox.
It's nice to see that Futura Bold and his fashion sense are still intact.
my initial response is that i don't like it, but then I think this looks different for wes and the excitement goes up. i find myself relieved that this doesn't look like another wes anderson film with talking animals instead of bill murray. and it looks like an action film in a way so I think this is going to be good, maybe even great.
Wes Anderson's 'Mr. Fox' to open London Film fest
LONDON - London Film Festival organizers say this year's event will open with the world premiere of Wes Anderson's animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox."
The stop-motion animated film is based on Roald Dahl's children's book about a community of burrowing animals who battle a trio of evil farmers. It features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Michael Gambon.
Anderson said Monday he was happy the movie was making its debut in Britain. It was shot at London's Three Mills Studios and features several British actors.
The 53rd London Film Festival runs Oct. 14-29.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" opens in Britain Oct. 23 and in the U.S. on Nov. 13.
Interview w/Jason Schwartzman
Source: AICN
Beaks: It was just announced that THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX is going to have its worldwide premiere at the London Film Festival. Have you seen the movie? And if so, can you give us an idea of what to expect from it? The pictures really have people freaking out. In a good way, I think
Schwartzman: I've seen the film, and I'm proud to be a part of it. I think it looks really beautiful. Wes didn't change his style of filmmaking and writing to suit the genre or the concept of the film. He brought it to him. It's just the new Wes Anderson film, but with puppets instead of live actors. It's stop-motion. It was really fun to be a part of it because Wes tried as hard as he could to not have all of the actors recording their voices separately in studios at various times. He really made an effort to get the actors together in groups, and literally act out the scenes with each other. To have overlapping [dialogue], and just weird exchanges. He'd have a gentleman with a boom mic running after us, following us doing it all. So, for example, the scenes in the movie where we dig? That's actually all of us on the ground digging - like digging in the real dirt. And if we were eating, we'd go "Rawr!" and have real stuff in our mouths. I play George Clooney's son, and there's a scene where we're talking to each other or having an emotional scene, and those scenes really are the two of us in a room acting and looking at each other - as opposed to being done separately and pieced together later. Of course, there are exceptions. Meryl Streep is in it, and I never got to act with her. But for the most part, most of my scenes were done with the actors I'm working with.
It's really beautiful. I was thinking about this yesterday, and I think it will appeal to the kid in adults and the adults in children. It crosses at a certain point because the dialogue is really funny, so adults will love it. But they'll also love it because maybe they loved the book. And, also, animation just does something to the brain where it makes you feel young. And I feel that kids will love it because it is animation, and they are young. But they'll also just love the dialogue and the physical action. There's a lot of physical humor in it that I feel Wes wouldn't have been able to do with live actors due to the constraints of the universe and physics and gravity. (Laughs)
For me, it was exciting because, though I did so much of the movie with the actual actors, it did take three years to make. So over time, new lines were being written, or a new scene idea would come about, and I'd get a call from Wes where he'd say, "Would it be at all possible for you to record a some new lines tomorrow?" So I'd go to the recording studio, and Wes would be on the phone - because he lives in France. So he'd be on the phone coming through my headphones, and I would talk into the microphone, and... in front of me on a music stand would be five or ten lines I was supposed to say. But out of context, and not in script form. So he would explain it to me verballly. "This is a scene where you've just come out of a tree." He'd describe it, but it would not be something I know. He would explain it, and then we would just do it. And what was exciting for me when I saw the movie was... when the lights came down and the movie began, I was like, "Gosh, I almost have amnesia! I don't remember any of this stuff!" I was really mesmerized and able to watch the film from a distance, which I'd never been able to do before.
I know it was definitely hard to make - they're never easy, the stop-motion ones. They've been making it for the last three-and-a-half years or maybe longer in London. Basically, they built these sets, and before they could start working on the scenes - which could take, because they're complicated, up to three weeks to shoot - they would take a still image that is the exact camera angle that they'll use, and... every time they'd do an angle, they'd take a still image and send it to Wes. And he'd give his notes back by email or phone, and say things like, "Could you lower the poster in the background an inch?" He'd go back and forth with these notes until they felt it was finally ready to shoot. It's not a very fluid process. I told him, "It's almost like you're directing in stop-motion." But the work is really beautiful. It's a beautiful movie.
Beaks: This sounds incredible. I knew he was being meticulous about the way he shot it, but I had no idea he was going into this extreme amount of detail.
Schwartzman: It's so weird, but, even though it's animated, there's so much spontaneity in the movie... the animators were having to animate based on all of this crazy, improvised stuff. It's a real combination of the written and the ethereal, which is what you get when you have live actors together. It feels really alive when I'm watching it because I know it's not a lot of static things put in motion; it has real breath in it, real life.
You'll have to wait until November 13th to see THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX. For now, you need to check out Schwartzman's cruelly aloof Mark Taylor Johnson in FUNNY PEOPLE (which opens Friday, July 31st).
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41866
TRAILER: http://movies.yahoo.com/premieres/14824491/standardformat
yikes.
I do not like.
even putting aside that this was cut by the "generic trailer dept.", it still looks not good.
I watched it without sound so I didn't know what the content was but the look just seems cheap and low budget. I don't like the look.
It looks like someone did a parody of a Wes Anderson film in stop motion form.
The kids will like it and it will make plenty of cash (I hope)
Awful trailer, but I really like the look of it. Looks exactly like a Svenkmajer film done in Wes Anderson's style, which is what he said he was going for.
It looks better than the Darjeeling Limited so I'm happy.
I'm already bothered by the 'whistle with the clicking sound' and it will probably go on throughout the movie a lot. It looks innovative and maybe its funny but I'm not sure it will be any good and I'm also not sure that kids will love this. It will be another Wes Anderson disappointment for most.
Oh, don't be too hasty, kal. My response to the trailer hasn't been overwhelmingly favorable, but I see some promise there. The dialogue, especially.
The animation is REALLY strange, and the Foxes look like sticks. I think what was most immediately off-putting, was hearing the voices with the puppets. It's not that I don't like the voices.... it was just totally strange and bizarre. Hopefully it is something I can get use to, and it should be, but hearing voices so familiar applied to strange animal puppets in a style so familiar, i dunno, there's something alienating about that.
But, like I said, there is something there. It feels warm and fuzzy, like nostalgia.
I'm the only one that liked it.
It's a kid's movie. I would TOTALLY take a kid to this.
I loved the look of it. I really hope to like this movie a lot. The way some of those shots are made, including the ones with the floor on the same level as the bottom of the screen, like kid's drawings, really worked for me. I actually want to see it even more than I did before.
Well godDAMN
Thank you for the last two Posts
I LOVE the look of it, and I'm thinking maybe the only deterrent for the film is "I'm Lookin' for a FOX" playing in the background
(maybe next is Hendrix?)
Also, I like the voice acting and humor already
so basically what I'm saying is I didn't think XIXAX would have whiny fans who didn't think the movie looked like "how they thought it would"...how DID you think it would look? NORMAL?!?!?
THIS IS WES ANDERSON PEOPLE!!!!
Just because it looks like FUN and hmm A KID'S !)&$*$in' MOVIE doesn't mean it SUCKS
Anyways. This movie does not look like it sucks. Pull your heads out of your asses.
[get assaulted by Blume]
[NOTE: all the previous being said is the juvenile side of my fandom and interest in film...otherwise, yes, you're all entitled to your opinions and they are valid and well thought-out. The movie just looks Kick-@$$ to me.]
Hear hear. Looking at the trailer again I'm looking forward to it more.
im down... yeah, it looks a little Chicken Run-y, but i liked chicken run.. and i like Anderson...
cant wait.
first of all, it'll get its ass kicked by where the wild things are.
secondly, the animation itself is just not "funny". not even in a matter-of-fact way.
BUT I LOVE WES.
not long ago in the Alice in wonderland thread, polkablues stated a perfect assessment of Tim burton and his relation to that upcoming movie. i added that i was worried Wes Anderson might eventually go through the same circumstances, as I'm sure many others have hypothesised as well. after watching this trailer, i gotta say it looks tired and a little obvious for Wes. while I'm not totally convinced of what I'm about to say, i can't help but think more and more that Wes Anderson is falling down a slippery slope. in the same way that burton affected mainstream so predominantly in the 80/90s that essentially ruined his aesthetic, turning goth into bubble gum, looks like Wes is maybe going through the same vicious circle now. in part because he won't change his style, but also because of the influence he had on others. the more i look at Wes the less i see the "baroque" moniker originally given to him. now I'm hard pressed to not see an aging hipster in a once cool persona. in turn, i think he played a major role in creating that hipster movement; good or bad as that is. this isn't more evident to me then right now as i watch this trailer.
i couldn't help but sigh at the awkward silences in it. i think when Wes puts in long beats between dialog with actors you get to observe their reactions, which makes it funnier because the actors are always thinking and evolving the moment, even if they're silent. however, in the case of Mr. fox the same approach comes across like a detached freeze frame of a puppet, i don't read anything off of it. it is the trailer, and i haven't seen the film itself so I'll give em a grain of salt. I'm still a little worried. i think the low budget art in his films (mainly done by his brother) is kinda cute as the backdrop to a larger whole, but when it's all you're looking at (ie. Mr. fox) you can't help but imagine Wes has actually transformed into max fisher and made a feature. which doesn't work because the detached laughing at the character all the while feeling endearment toward the amateur spirit is what makes it work. the layer of smiling at a wild imagination is gone when you remove the essential realism. all you're left with is the crappy kinda cute art, void of the vulnerable yet defiant auteur character.
that's how it appears upon viewing this small clip. i hope i am wrong.
while some might say "It's the SAME OL' WES at it AGAIN!", I tend to disagree.
I feel he is taking a leap by making the movie this way with this sense of animation.
Not to mention, he is a co-director.
This movie has an "Autumnal" feel to it, which consistent with the storybook style that we tend to acquire at a young age around the time we had this book read to us, and it fits in with the release date.
Also, from a writing standpoint, this is for KIDS, and the plot's simplicity opens this movie up for more fun and less complexity that former "Wes" hits.
As for the aesthetic around being affected so and Wes not changing, sure he is! It might be slow, but there are changes there, guaranteed. I mean, people are forced to grow, and only the stubborn flail (TIM BURTON, where you at?!)
Anways, good luck for Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Oh wait...you don't need Luck when you've got....SKILL.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Source: EW
Since it's technically a stop-motion-animated kids' movie, this adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book would seem to be a major departure for Wes Anderson, best known for his funny-sad stories of eccentric dreamers (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou) and alienated families (The Royal Tenenbaums). But Anderson approached Mr. Fox as if he were making a live-action ensemble film. ''There are things in this that you don't typically find in animated films, like characters cutting each other off and being really raw and human,'' says Jason Schwartzman, who voices the pint-size son of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) in a story about a family of foxes digging their way out of trouble when local farmers set out to get rid of them. Anderson, a big Dahl fan, modeled Mr. Fox on the notoriously prickly author himself. ''I always saw him as Dahl,'' says the director. ''He has this darkness about him.''
Anderson refused to pander to children — or the conventions of animated filmmaking. He bypassed the usual recording booths for real locations such as a farm in Connecticut. ''Rather than having perfect technical recordings,'' says Anderson, ''I wanted to have the actors in a place where maybe they're inspired by the atmosphere.'' According to Schwartzman, those instincts were dead-on. ''Wes not only makes movies, but he makes real experiences for the people making them,'' says the actor. ''How often do you get to work with all these great people, eat and live together, and run around and dig in the ground with a guy chasing after you with a microphone?''
Quote from: modage on July 30, 2009, 01:00:45 PM
TRAILER: http://movies.yahoo.com/premieres/14824491/standardformat
yikes.
I missed this. It looks interesting and I've never been interested in the other similiar stuff - Chicken Run/Nightmare, etc.
Behind The Scenes Featurette here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/)
it keeps getting worse!
Quote from: picolas on September 02, 2009, 09:18:35 PM
it keeps getting worse!
really? I thought for something that was mostly put out for kids it had an air that didn't really insult their intelligence...i think we're all gonna have a love-hate relationship with this film.
I work with kids, so I always look for a movie that isn't just ultra-sheen crap for them. This seems like one I hope they'd like, which is why I also look forward to "Where the Wild Things Are"...basically movies that opens up their boundaries some.
Sadly, a movie that is TOO different could collapse their search for unique things to a non-existent status. Basically, I'm sick of "Shrek" and "Bolt".
(ALSO: Does anyone else think that when we see Mr. Fox head-on that his face sort of resembles Billy Murray???)
It's still too early to tell for me. I remember when Chicken Run was coming out, I had problems with the animation. I never thought I would get past the awkwardness of the animation, but it was fun and entertaining and I easily forgot about those worries. It's a little unfair to already be judging Fantastic Mr. Fox because a good story could do a lot.
touche, i guess i just imagine the worst. truthfully i'd feel this way about any wes anderson flick at this point.
I loved chicken run, i hope it's as good.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/ (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/)
anybody watch "The World of Roald Dahl" yet?
Quote from: AntiDumbFrogQuestion on September 14, 2009, 12:58:38 PM
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/ (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/)
anybody watch "The World of Roald Dahl" yet?
Trailer #2 up at that link. Are all of you haters still hating, because this trailer looks amazing. I'm more excited about this than I was for Darjeeling, at least now Baumbach is collaborating again.
trailer #2 (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/) is heaps better in that it doesn't seem to be aimed at kids/idiots/ppl who LOVE whistling and clicking.
Quote from: :P on September 30, 2009, 07:11:45 AM
trailer #2 (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/fantasticmrfox/) is heaps better in that it doesn't seem to be aimed at kids/idiots/ppl who LOVE whistling and clicking.
:kiss:
wheww/wheww :yabbse-wink:
click/click
Fur flies on 'Mr. Fox'
By Chris Lee; Los Angeles Times
To be clear, Wes Anderson did not set out to direct his new movie via e-mail. ¶ Even if that's precisely how the writer-director's stop-motion animation version of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book "Fantastic Mr. Fox" -- a jaunty visual joy ride that features voice characterizations by George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Jason Schwartzman -- ultimately came to be, Anderson never intended to become an in-box auteur. ¶ That choice was made all but inevitable, however, by the Oscar nominee's unorthodox decision to hole up in Paris for most of the shoot's one-year duration while principal photography commenced across the English Channel at London's venerable Three Mills Studios. He wasn't working on another project, and nothing Paris-centric demanded he be there; Anderson simply "didn't want to be at Three Mills Studios for two years." ¶ The move did little to endear Anderson to his subordinates. "It's not in the least bit normal," director of photography Tristan Oliver observed at the production's East London set last spring, when production on "Mr. Fox" was about three-quarters complete. "I've never worked on a picture where the director has been anywhere other than the studio floor!" ¶ Moreover, Andersonhad no idea that his ignorance of stop-motion (the animation technique in which a stationary object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames) and exacting ideas concerning the film's look would so exasperate his crew.
"Honestly? Yeah. He has made our lives miserable," the film's director of animation, Mark Gustafson, said during a break in shooting. He gave a weary chuckle. "I probably shouldn't say that."
Reached by phone in Paris this summer, a day after production had wrapped, Anderson, 40, sounded taken aback when informed of his underlings' grumbling. To hear it from the Houston native, a self-described "novice" in stop-motion, he ignored the majority viewpoint in pursuit of something specific: a cool-looking, detail-saturated, retro-leaning stop-motion movie. Even if that meant bucking conventional animation wisdom by avoiding the modern technology that pervades the genre these days.
"It's not the most pleasant thing to force somebody to do it the way they don't want to do it," Anderson said. "In Tristan's case, what I was telling him was, 'You can't use the techniques that you've learned to use. I'm going to make your life more difficult by demanding a certain approach.'
"The simple reality is," Anderson continued, "the movie would not be the way I wanted it if I just did it the way people were accustomed to doing it. I realized this is an opportunity to do something nobody's ever seen before. I want to see it. I don't want afterward to say, 'I could have gone further with this.' "
Targeting adults
With its autumnal palette, woodland tableaux and fur-covered puppets, "Mr. Fox's" conspicuously handmade style of stop-motion represents a departure from the computer-enhanced slickness of Henry Selick's critically hailed "Coraline" and yet is several large steps more refined than Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken."
Tonally, "Mr. Fox" shares the most with another children-targeted movie coming out this fall, Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's " Where the Wild Things Are." Although both films are nominally intended for kids, their central themes, art direction and dramatic dialogue seem more intended to connect with grown-ups; specifically, the kind of urban sophisticates who compose Anderson's and Jonze's core fan base. That neither-fish-nor-fowl quality presents a challenge to marketers for both movies.
"It's got to be a movie for kids because it's based on a children's book," said Anderson. "It's an adventure. And I feel it's like the kind of movie I would have been interested in as a kid. At the same time, it doesn't cater to children. I guess it's for whole families."
"Mr. Fox," made on a medium-size budget, will make its North American debut at the AFI Fest's opening night at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Oct. 30 and go into theatrical release next month. Befitting its title, the Fox Searchlight-distributed movie expands upon the fantastical narrative template set by Dahl's 1970 illustrated children's classic.
After a scrape with death, the maverick livestock thief and self-professed "wild animal" Mr. Fox (Clooney) promises his wife, Mrs. Fox (Streep), that he'll settle down and be more present for their oddball son, Ash (Schwartzman). But the lure of stealing chickens, ducks and hard apple cider from nearby farms proves irresistible to Foxey, who secretly comes out of retirement. The angry farmers whose stock Fox has been pillaging, meanwhile, cook up a scheme to put the kibosh on his antics once and for all -- resulting in Fox (and those he loves most) retreating underground as fugitives.
Execution is everything, of course. And Anderson devotees will be relieved to discover that Mr. Fox and his wildlife buddies share a certain sensibility with the rest of Anderson's eccentric outsider characters like "Rushmore's" Max Fischer. The animals wear corduroy suits and monogrammed pajamas, play a fictional sport called Whack Bat, listen to transistor radios and exchange pleasantries with an old-timey solicitousness that's also prominent in such Anderson films as "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Darjeeling Limited."
Although Anderson took certain liberties with the book -- namely, fleshing out Foxey's dicey status as paterfamilias -- the director performed his due diligence on Dahl. A lionized British literary giant behind such children's classics as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The BFG," the author died in 1990.
A lifetime fan of Dahl and his work, Anderson acquired the rights to "Mr. Fox" from Dahl's widow, Felicity "Liccy" Dahl, in 2001, then began writing the screenplay with Noah Baumbach, Anderson's co-writer on "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." (That movie also features stop-motion animated sequences by Selick, who was originally attached to co-direct "Mr. Fox.") In 2004, the duo was invited to spend several weeks crafting the script at Dahl's Buckinghamshire home, Gipsy House. There, Anderson also exhaustively documented the tiny hut where the author plied his craft.
"We wanted to make the movie an homage to Dahl," Anderson said. "Mr. Fox's study is based on the hut where Dahl used to write. Both the main farmer, Bean, and Mr. Fox are inspired by Dahl as much as they're inspired by what's in the book."
"Mr. Fox" went into production after the director released his picaresque road movie "The Darjeeling Limited" in 2007. With Clooney in place ("He sounds like a hero," Anderson says), Anderson assembled the rest of his ensemble cast. Among them: the director's go-to man, Owen Wilson, in a cameo as Coach Skip; Willem Dafoe as the malevolent Rat; Irish actor Michael Gambon as Fox's nemesis, farmer Bean; and Bill Murray, Anderson's de facto muse who has turned up in all but one of his movies, as Badger, Mr. Fox's lawyer. (The director also installed his brother Eric Chase Anderson as one of the leads and celebrity chef Mario Batali in a small role.)
"We recorded with George and Bill Murray and my brother in Connecticut at a friend's farm," Wes Anderson recalled. "We'd go outside and record in the forest and by a pond. Then we'd go inside and record in an attic, a basement, a barn. Meryl we recorded in France. Willem in New York. Michael Gambon in London. Different people, different places."
Up until just before principle photography was set to begin in early 2008, the director had been physically present for every step of the production. But all that was about to change.
Doing it his way
In keeping with the stylized nostalgia that looms large in almost all his films, Anderson knew he was after a particular lo-fi aesthetic. And despite giant leaps forward in computer-generated imagery in recent years, he put CGI and green screen off-limits for "Mr. Fox's" animators. Materials such as plastic kitchen wrap would stand-in for water, cotton balls would be puffs of smoke and green terry cloth, grass. Even though it was much more difficult for fabricators and animators, everything had to be shot "in camera" rather than be added digitally later. As well, the writer-director stipulated that the animal puppets have real fur -- long verboten in stop-motion circles for the material's discontinuous, blown-by-the-wind look on film.
"With older stop-motion movies, you always see the technique. There's some charm in that," the director explained. "That's why I like puppets with fur. The techniques are rudimentary, and they're appealing to me."
But when it came to implementing his ideas, Anderson exited London, stage left. "I thought I'd make the script and cast it and record the actors," he said. "I'd work with some people to design it, get it to look a certain way. But at a certain point, I'd hand it over to the people that animate it. And they'd give it back to me and I'd work on the music and kind of spruce it up."
Not everyone on-set was ruffled by the notion of an absentee director. "Mr. Fox's" unflappable producer Allison Abbate is a veteran of many stop-motion productions, including Selick's epochal "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Tim Burton's Oscar-nominated "Corpse Bride." She pointed out that it wasn't unusual in the genre to issue directions from off-set.
"Tim wasn't here that much during 'Corpse Bride,' " Abbate said at Three Mills Studio last spring. "He doesn't need to be. Making stop-motion is like watching paint dry."
Unwilling to relocate to London for the shoot, Anderson and his editor, Andrew Weisblum, devised a system of communicating with the London-based animators via computer. The animators would send short digital film files of what they were working on and in return receive detailed e-mail instructions about what to change. "The e-mails are really thorough and very specific about certain gestures, how he wants a look to happen," said Brad Schiff, one of nearly 30 animators who worked on the movie.
As well, for reference, the director would send short films of himself enacting certain scenes. "It's kind of embarrassing," Anderson said, laughing. "For most of these things, the performance is just a few seconds. Somebody hearing a noise and looking at their watch. The simplest way to relate how to do it is to make these little movies."
Despite a near-total ignorance of stop-motion production design, Anderson instructed Emmy-winning art director Nelson Lowry to steer clear of certain visual tropes that have come to characterize modern animation -- to basically turn his back on modern technology that would have made the animation process easier.
"We avoided wild animated flourishes of fantasy," Lowry said. "Normally, an animated film allows you crazy camera angles shooting through a wild landscape. Instead, this feels like a dry adult drama."
Animation director Gustafson (who has extensive claymation experience, having created the " California Raisins" TV series and served as supervising director for episodes of Eddie Murphy's animated series "The PJs") admitted he found some of Anderson's directive's bewildering. "There's lots of things I lobbied against in this movie," he said.
"He's pushed it further than I would have been comfortable pushing it," Gustafson continued. "He definitely doesn't have some of the reservations that I have from working with this stuff for years. But that's good. I came here to be challenged. And he's certainly challenged me."
Not everyone could muster a magnanimous word for Anderson's M.O. -- especially his on-set absence. "I think he's a little sociopathic," cinematographer Oliver said. "I think he's a little O.C.D. Contact with people disturbs him. This way, he can spend an entire day locked inside an empty room with a computer. He's a bit like the Wizard of Oz. Behind the curtain."
Informed of Oliver's discontent, Anderson said: "I would say that kind of crosses the line for what's appropriate for the director of photography to say behind the director's back while he's working on the movie. So I don't even want to respond to it."
Whatever the hullabaloo, the writer-director voiced no regrets about his process. To Anderson, directing boils down to precisely one thing: what you see on the screen.
"Even when I was there [in London] during shooting, I spent most of the day in my office on the computer," Anderson said. "There are thousands of decisions to be made. Each has to do with a rectangular image. If you can judge it, you can make a decision about what to do.
"That's how I directed the movie," he continued, matter-of-factly. "It's not that complicated to figure out."
thanks for posting that, mac.
that does seem to be a kind of bizarre approach, doesn't it? i wonder if any of these people said to him that they'd prefer to have him around. notice that they didn't say that their lives would have been less complicated, etc. if he actually were there?
There will be an advance screening of THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 10 at 7:30pm.
Tickets are available here. (https://tx1.lacma.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=35)
Wes Anderson Interview
Director discusses Fantastic Mr. Fox.
by Joe Utichi, IGN UK
Wes Anderson, arguably the godfather of the quirky American indie thanks to the likes of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, takes his first steps into the world of stop-motion animation this week with the release of Fantastic Mr. Fox. Based on Roald Dahl's classic children's book, it's the tale of a wily fox and his adventures thieving food from three of the meanest farmers around; Boggis, Bunce and Bean.
With a stellar voice cast including George Clooney, Bill Murray and Meryl Streep, the film received its world premiere last week at the London Film Festival. On the eve of its global rollout, IGN sat down with Anderson to learn more about his passion for Dahl and making the switch to stop-motion.
IGN: Why did you want to do this book, particularly?
Wes Anderson: It was the first [Roald Dahl book] I ever owned and I particularly thought the digging was something nice for movies. I loved the drawings that were in the book I had. And I do love this character. Beyond that it was just one that hadn't been done, and it seemed like a great chance. I love stop-motion where the puppets have fur, and with all the animals I thought this would be a good opportunity to explore that.
IGN: You spent some time in Roald Dahl's hometown while you were writing, what was that like?
Anderson: The place where we went is called Gypsy House, which he bought later in his life, but it's where he wrote many of his best-known books. Mr. Fox was written there, certainly. We were interested in the idea that we wouldn't just base it on the book; we'd base it on him. He'd written memoirs for children - which is an odd thing, not many people have written autobiographies meant for children - so from that point of view we were always very aware of him and aware that kids reading his books didn't just know the books, they knew him. We tried to get as much of his personality into the character, and we also had his manuscripts. In fact, we had the manuscript for Fantastic Mr. Fox, which had a different ending which we used in the movie. That's a great luxury - to be able to say, "Here's an idea we can use - it's not in the book, but it's from him."
IGN: You donated some of your suit fabric for Fox's costume - did you identify with that character specifically?
Anderson: Not particularly. The reason I used the material from my suit was that I really liked it, and I thought he'd probably like it too. I just thought Corduroy might be good for Mr. Fox!
IGN: You've blended your style of filmmaking with Dahl's style of storytelling - did you find it was a comfortable fit?
Anderson: Yes, but for me I didn't, in advance, have an idea of how I expected it to turn out. I knew I wanted to do it in stop-motion and I knew I wanted the animals to have fur - to not be Plasticine or something like that. I wanted it to be autumnal and originally I thought I wanted there to be mud everywhere and it wouldn't be very colourful. That stayed - not the mud, but there's almost nothing blue or green in the movie. I thought it would be nice with this sort of handmade feeling. What it really ends up like is the result of a thousand little decisions rather than one overarching thing.
Me and the production designer, Nelson Lowry, tried to design things one way or another but what we figured out was that the more realistic we could make things the happier we were with them. If I was travelling I might see a building or something and I'd take a picture on my phone, send it to Nelson and we might change something about it but we tried to base it as much as we could on research and photos and things. The style is set by how authentic can we get it. How realistic can we get it to look with our resources in miniature, and that's the look of the movie, basically. Given that the grass is going to be made of towelling and the smoke will be cotton wool, that's the range, I guess, that we're working in.
IGN: The animation is really pared back to basics; you've embraced the "invisible wind" effect of animators' fingers on the puppets' fur.
Anderson: Yeah, animators always think that's a bad thing, like it's bad form. But I think they really got into it on this one. They became comfortable with it because there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Also, the stop motion I've loved was always a bit primitive - King Kong and the Brothers Quay - you see these objects that you recognise and you're very aware it's handmade. The other thing was that, to me, it was more important that the animation have energy and personality and be funny. I wanted it to be fun and upbeat rather than perfect. This kind of animation is particularly suited to that - we can work more quickly if that's our goal and we can focus on it and make it our priority. I don't think we could have made the movie if it had been a Coraline level of precision and smoothness. It would have been a $100m movie rather than the $30m we ended up spending.
IGN: Did you enjoy exploring the world of animation and figuring out those particular challenges?
Anderson: It was great. What's nice is there's a chance to invent. Everything there is an opportunity, because you can't just say, "Oh we'll use a table that we find." You have to make one. Everything is manufactured, so everything is a chance to see, is there a way to make that funny, to connect it to a character or to find some sort of motif. Also, because it moves so slowly, every aspect is in slow motion, so things kind-of develop.
IGN: Presumably you don't have the luxury to go back and make changes after a certain point in that process because of the time involved in animating shots. Do you have to make all of those decisions ahead of time?
Anderson: You certainly try to. If something is going really wrong during a shot, then we'll stop. Sometimes you can find a place - you can go back a bit and say, "OK, let's take it from frame 63," and they'll rearrange everything and try and make it match and sometimes there'll be a little bump when you see it, which is OK, it's not the end of the world. But to go back three seconds may mean to go back two days, depending on how many puppets they're moving around. It's a big deal and definitely something you want to avoid. Also there are other solutions a lot of the time. It could be adding another shot or ending a shot early, or we can try something with sound or add some elements we can composite into the shot. There are always different possibilities.
If anyone gets the Sntk. for this, can you send it along?
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F_W_hPHI-p3O8%2FSvhSyCKcSEI%2FAAAAAAAACPw%2FL83_zRk1muQ%2Fs400%2Fchaos-reign-fantastic-antichrist.jpg&hash=32ea56d198ed3494145fcfe2545e2019d0305754)
I told you all that this was inevitable several months ago in my review of Antichrist.
The Fantastic Mr. Ratner, polka?
Watch This: Wes Anderson Acts Out 'Mr. Fox' Storyboards
Source: Cinematical
In this month's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson makes his first foray into animation with an adaptation of Roald Dahl's story about an upwardly mobile fox (George Clooney) whose drive to steal chickens threatens his family and community. While it's Anderson's first non-live action project, Mr. Fox nonetheless shares qualities with his other films, including a meticulous attention to detail, stylish design, and idiosyncratic characters. So how did the live-action auteur tackle the challenges of stop-motion filmmaking, especially considering that he spent much of the production in an entirely different country than his crew?
HitFix has a fun little glimpse of the director at work that shows us how Anderson collaborated with his animation team to bring the characters of Fantastic Mr. Fox to life. From his base in Paris, Anderson shot video storyboards of scenes and character movements by acting out scenes and blocking himself. He then emailed the videos to his crew in London, who took their visual cues from Anderson's performances. The end results, when viewed side-by-side with Anderson's versions, are near identical.
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-11-awards-campaign-2009/posts/exclusive-watch-wes-anderson-act-out-the-fantastic-mr-fox
those 2 videos just doubled my interest in the film. i think i will have to see it in theaters if i can.
I didn't like this. At all.
Huh. Well critics sure are loving it (92% on RT).
Aw, I thought it worked!
Vacation is over. Back to work.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi35.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fd179%2Fpolkablues%2FFantasticMrRat2-1.jpg&hash=eee933e2d58f1d2d4929559f27fb663c0dd8db26)
And here I thought these covers were starting to be overplayed, but that may be my favorite. Awesome job.
haha that's the best one.
Ratner never tires of these.
http://twitter.com/BrettRatner/status/5790567442
to be honest I don't really get the ratner stuff (I guess I just don't give a fuck whether he's a good, bad, shitty person or director any way or the other) but this one would be hilarious even without knowing anything about brett ratner.
dude... get a fucking job off this guy. seriously. if you ever wanted your foot in the industry door this is your opportunity, granted ratner's a loser and all but who cares. so many people in Holywood are egomaniacs and he's loving the attention you're giving him. he said he'd hire you, and he probably would. capitalize while this shit is hot in his mind.
i'm not joking man, send him an email or something. just don't forget i was the one that gave this encouragement when you make it lol.
I second the notion. Congrats.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is by far my least favorite of Anderson's films. I wanted to enjoy it but have a hard time finding anything good to say about it. I didn't think it was funny, the music choices were obvious (I Get Around and Street Fighting Man, really?), and thought it was visually disappointing. Unlike Henry Selick's incredible stop-motion work, the scope of this film was extremely limited. The designs looked flat and they seemed more like miniatures instead of a real environment. I also found the scale of them to be strange, they looked tall and thin but appeared to only be inches high.
It's not a terrible film, I just thought were it not for Anderson's name or the voice cast it wouldn't be a very notable one. Logically, the film didn't make more sense than your standard Dreamworks animated film. They wear clothes and speak like humans but still eat like animals? I realize it's been done in hundreds of animated films but Pixar will at least put some thought behind what their characters limitations are. I can appreciate Anderson for at the very least trying something different but found myself bored throughout and further appreciated Darjeeling and Life Aquatic even with their flaws.
Quote from: modage on November 17, 2009, 12:24:52 PM
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is by far my least favorite of Anderson's films. I wanted to enjoy it but have a hard time finding anything good to say about it. I didn't think it was funny, the music choices were obvious (I Get Around and Street Fighting Man, really?), and thought it was visually disappointing. Unlike Henry Selick's incredible stop-motion work, the scope of this film was extremely limited. The designs looked flat and they seemed more like miniatures instead of a real environment. I also found the scale of them to be strange, they looked tall and thin but appeared to only be inches high.
It's not a terrible film, I just thought were it not for Anderson's name or the voice cast it wouldn't be a very notable one. Logically, the film didn't make more sense than your standard Dreamworks animated film. They wear clothes and speak like humans but still eat like animals? I realize it's been done in hundreds of animated films but Pixar will at least put some thought behind what their characters limitations are. I can appreciate Anderson for at the very least trying something different but found myself bored throughout and further appreciated Darjeeling and Life Aquatic even with their flaws.
what about the 'message?' towards kids or whatever, is there anything to be said about that?
I haven't seen it but it is pixar's fault isn't?? in this day and age, in the pixar age, anyone who's going to get into animation must really think twice about the whole thing because let's face it, the bar is way fucking UP.
Does the so called 'bar' dictate creativity? Maybe it does.
I think it's pretty obvious Anderson is ditching the whole philsophy, or day and age you're talking about
Quote from: Neil on November 17, 2009, 03:33:17 PM
Does the so called 'bar' dictate creativity? Maybe it does.
I think it's pretty obvious Anderson is ditching the whole philosophy, or day and age you're talking about
And what, replacing it with pretense? i think Alexandro's post should be taken to mean a bar of quality and not a bar of aesthetic or pallet (ie. stop motion vs computer). please correct me if I'm wrong Alexandro.
Anderson is abandoning the methods of making a modern animated film. that's not only wonderful, it's refreshing and i applaud it. but the point is you still gotta make a good story at the end of the day. please don't mix those two things up, or justify one with the other. that's kinda how i read what you just posted. maybe i'm reading that wrong.
besides the philosophy, day and age ain't the issue. Anderson phoned the fucker in, that's the problem. He could have made this good, but according to modage it wasn't. modage's reasons seem symptomatic of the fact he didn't fucking care. not to echo my previous posts too much but you could sense it in the teaser. it just looks empty. and it was revealed to us why. He wasn't even on set... what a douche. seriously, he had ADD issues with the meticulous nature of the medium, and ultimately got bored while making the film.
wow, maybe it's time to get a new job Wes.
trey parker and matt stone hated working with puppets but at least they fucking grinded it out instead of eating escargot in grand Paris while people were hard at work in England. you know how many people want to make a film, it's crazy. I hope this movie fucking flops and he has to work to get people to invest in his films again. again, what a douche. it's like he was into the idea of stop motion as a hipster fleeting thought more than the actual thing.
And i haven't seen it, but shit the reaction from modage is picture perfect to what myself and others said months ago... look above for reference. Bottom line is that Wes Anderson
was cool. then the unique baroque style he defined became hipster. that fame pushed him and elevated his ego to the point that he became one of his characters. He was a pioneer, and started an entire movement. but just like burtin before him, he even started dressing as his characters, turning himself into a po mo poster child caricature of his art. He shoulda aged with a bit of wisdom and changed up the routine. then he coulda looked more like Wayne Coyne, a weathered genuine person with an impression of his art sensibility... not the walking, talking billboard. alas, he comes across like a wanna be high profile scenester like that "The Royal Ronsons Lookbook" post. both lame and empty.
just watch the special features for life aquatic, look at Bill Murray's reactions to his directing. he pretty much straight forward turns to owen wilson and says "who the fuck is this guy?"
yes. my point was that with pixar churning out walles and ups and whatnot, pretty much anything else can feel like a minor effort at best. I haven't seen Fox so I don't know, I wasn't indicting this particular film of anything, but that's the way I see the animation world in this decade.
truth is the pixar / disney crowd (hey we can include miyazaki of course) rewrote the book for animation and everyone has been forced to up their fucking games a little bit.
Quote from: Alexandro on November 17, 2009, 05:04:52 PM
yes. my point was that with pixar churning out walles and ups and whatnot, pretty much anything else can feel like a minor effort at best. I haven't seen Fox so I don't know, I wasn't indicting this particular film of anything, but that's the way I see the animation world in this decade.
truth is the pixar / disney crowd (hey we can include miyazaki of course) rewrote the book for animation and everyone has been forced to up their fucking games a little bit.
truth, and it's also true that i need to see it as well before i make my final verdict. i just hate everything i've seen or read about it. totally against my work ethic. and even with that i still need to see it... but if it smells like shit, tastes like shit, made like shit, looks like shit....
before you judge all recent animations based on the 2 new movies a year that you watch...
have you not seen anything from Japan and France in the last 10 years? and even Canada from time to time?
Look up Mind Game.
Quote from: pete on November 17, 2009, 07:49:07 PM
before you judge all recent animations based on the 2 new movies a year that you watch...
have you not seen anything from Japan and France in the last 10 years? and even Canada from time to time?
Look up Mind Game.
sorry without a quote or mention i don't know who you're framing that response to. I assume you're talking to Alexandro.
in the small chance you're talking to me, or both of us, i'll say that i do actually watch a lot of animation. i never disregard it.
i absolutely love Japanese animation, the 1% of the time it's actually accompanied by a remotely good narrative. i do watch canadian animation as well, being canadian myself i gotta support it because recently that's all we've been winning awards for... whereas in the past it was all docs.
I was talking to alexandro. and I can't really defend what you're saying about japanese animation since you might watch 12 times as many as I do, but either way, Tekkon Kinkreet I've just found to be so amazing, same with Mind Game. I absolutely loved the Incredibles, but Ratatoulie, Wall-E, and Up have all had weak third acts.
I was only talking about Hollywood, Pete. I threw Miyazaki in there because of his Hollywood / International success and his clear influence on the Pixar team. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a Hollywood movie with big stars based on a popular author's book. So it is fair to compare at least superficially.
I'm aware of the third act problems, particularly in Walle, but still they kick pretty much every other animated film's ass.
what third act problems?
fighting amongst zepplins, fighting in a spaceship, impressing a food critic...etc., they do not live up to the scope of the premise, because in each of the instance they end up being about the villains who really don't matter too dramatically when your hero is a melancholy old man, a lovelorn robot, or an aspiring mouse.
well if they had made it about those things then it might not be too appealing for kids. I think some type of action is needed, physical peril is kind of a staple for these kind of movies.
I'm not going to defend them staunchly but i will say that while you might be right, deviation from the well oiled genre and addressing the "true" nature of the characters might in turn make for a worse ending. i think the point is to make a conflict about something entirely different, and then end with the protagonist over coming the conflict and being changed, so indirectly he/she solves the initial issue as well as the physical peril. and through the growth that has transpired they can find resolution.
if, for example, the old man talked out his issues, or somehow addressed his loss directly, it's a little less metaphorical isn't it? by him acting it out in the physical world, the house symbolizes his dead wife, and through helping the other characters he can let go. also his nemesis represents what will happen to himself if he cannot let go of his sadness. if this sadness takes over his life all he will be left with is obsession, apathy and embitterment. by ridding the world of the antagonist, he himself finds freedom needed to avoid the trap of becoming what he loathes.
otherwise would be a little too literal for my tastes.
Quote from: modage on November 17, 2009, 09:31:19 AM
Ratner never tires of these.
http://twitter.com/BrettRatner/status/5790567442
Was a The Departed one already done? (in reference to the final shot)
You know, they don't have to be quoting about PIXAR in the Mr. Fox reviews...they need to be BASHING DREAMWORKS
Or how about the CG stuff Disney produced sans Pixar?
We showed BOLT to the kids at summer camp this year & I knew that it was the epitome of the crap I don't like to see happen to kids' movies.
Pixar, minus "Cars" which I never want to see, has produced some good stuff.
"UP" was really damn good. Most things were seen and not explained, and it made perfect use of some cliches by turning them on their heads (Dog Henchmen?)
So yeah, it expected the kids to FIGURE OUT what's going on instead of knowing EVERYTHING.
Kind of like how some parts of Mr. Fox look to be.
Or like how "Calvin & Hobbes" used high vocabulary, TRUSTING the kids to know what's going on.
the food critic's monologue is like my favorite part in any pixar movie ever! haven't seen it in a while, but i remember being impressed by the way they effortlessly weaved that subplot into the larger story.
re: fox.. i'm not as savvy a viewer when it comes to animation, so i can't refute any of mod's problems, but i still think fantastic mr. fox works. one of his more focused stories. very funny. a real joy!
Quote from: AntiDumbFrogQuestion on November 19, 2009, 01:19:12 PM
Pixar, minus "Cars" which I never want to see, has produced some good stuff.
"Cars" is a beautiful movie that gets way more shit than it deserves. It was my son's favorite movie for about a year and I've seen it dozens and dozens of times and can safely say it stands up there with the best of what Pixar has given us. It's got a great message, great performances, and some of the most amazing animation I've seen. If you love Pixar you really should check it out.
Quote from: New Feeling on November 19, 2009, 07:08:04 PM
Quote from: AntiDumbFrogQuestion on November 19, 2009, 01:19:12 PM
Pixar, minus "Cars" which I never want to see, has produced some good stuff.
"Cars" is a beautiful movie that gets way more shit than it deserves. It was my son's favorite movie for about a year and I've seen it dozens and dozens of times and can safely say it stands up there with the best of what Pixar has given us. It's got a great message, great performances, and some of the most amazing animation I've seen. If you love Pixar you really should check it out.
i agree the message is pretty great, david vs goliath kinda deal. showing the destruction of middle america in the process. however beyond that it doesn't really hold up imo. it seems like a john laseter just loves cars so that's why he made it. it kinda falls flat, i'm just not into car racing myself. while i give the movie a 6.5/10 it is my least fav pixar.
Quote from: socketlevel on November 19, 2009, 01:43:01 AM
well if they had made it about those things then it might not be too appealing for kids. I think some type of action is needed, physical peril is kind of a staple for these kind of movies.
I'm not going to defend them staunchly but i will say that while you might be right, deviation from the well oiled genre and addressing the "true" nature of the characters might in turn make for a worse ending. i think the point is to make a conflict about something entirely different, and then end with the protagonist over coming the conflict and being changed, so indirectly he/she solves the initial issue as well as the physical peril. and through the growth that has transpired they can find resolution.
if, for example, the old man talked out his issues, or somehow addressed his loss directly, it's a little less metaphorical isn't it? by him acting it out in the physical world, the house symbolizes his dead wife, and through helping the other characters he can let go. also his nemesis represents what will happen to himself if he cannot let go of his sadness. if this sadness takes over his life all he will be left with is obsession, apathy and embitterment. by ridding the world of the antagonist, he himself finds freedom needed to avoid the trap of becoming what he loathes.
otherwise would be a little too literal for my tastes.
you can have an exciting ending without resorting to your suggestions. and they knew that - that was how they made Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles.
Quote from: pete on November 19, 2009, 09:12:49 PM
Quote from: socketlevel on November 19, 2009, 01:43:01 AM
well if they had made it about those things then it might not be too appealing for kids. I think some type of action is needed, physical peril is kind of a staple for these kind of movies.
I'm not going to defend them staunchly but i will say that while you might be right, deviation from the well oiled genre and addressing the "true" nature of the characters might in turn make for a worse ending. i think the point is to make a conflict about something entirely different, and then end with the protagonist over coming the conflict and being changed, so indirectly he/she solves the initial issue as well as the physical peril. and through the growth that has transpired they can find resolution.
if, for example, the old man talked out his issues, or somehow addressed his loss directly, it's a little less metaphorical isn't it? by him acting it out in the physical world, the house symbolizes his dead wife, and through helping the other characters he can let go. also his nemesis represents what will happen to himself if he cannot let go of his sadness. if this sadness takes over his life all he will be left with is obsession, apathy and embitterment. by ridding the world of the antagonist, he himself finds freedom needed to avoid the trap of becoming what he loathes.
otherwise would be a little too literal for my tastes.
you can have an exciting ending without resorting to your suggestions. and they knew that - that was how they made Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles.
agreed, but in my opinion, no way inferior
Quote from: socketlevel on November 18, 2009, 02:49:33 PM
what third act problems?
I actually wrote some lengthy comment on this back when walle won the best film xaxie. Basically I felt betrayed by the movie because the first act was a masterpiece about a robot in love and the second became truncated by the humans subplot and their problems. walle and eva's costar ended up being the captain of the ship, who really is one boring character, probably the most boring character in pixar's history.
meh it's a masterpiece, you guys are crazy
walle is better than most films anyway, I know that. I just saw it again last week, in bluray, projected in an awesome big sony ultimate shit digital projection whatever and it's incredible. but I only saw the first half, i must admit.
Wes Anderson and the Cast of Fantastic Mr. Fox
Source: Ben Mortimer; ComingSoon
"It was not only the first Roald Dahl book I ever read, it was the first book I ever owned," Wes Anderson says of the novel, Fantastic Mr. Fox. "I loved the character of Mr. Fox, this sort of heroic and slightly vain animal. And I also loved the digging. My brothers and I were obsessed with being underground and with tunnels and forts."
For most people, enjoying a book in this fashion might lead them to tell a few friends about it, and maybe buy a couple of copies to give as gifts. For Anderson, it led him to dedicate ten years of his life to turning it into a movie.
Having obtained the rights to the book, Anderson began the research process.
"All I wanted to do was make it as much like Dahl as it could possibly be. That was my guiding principle." The director explains. "I can't really guess how Dahl would have expanded the story to make it a movie, but that was what we were trying to do, and as we went along we were trying to use details and specific things that seemed like his personality or objects directly from his life."
To this end, Anderson went to visit Dahl's former home, Gipsy House, in the small English village of Great Misenden. As Dahl's widow, Felicity, showed him round the estate Anderson realized how familiar everything was. "There is a gigantic beech tree at the end of a fox run, which I immediately recognized from 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.' There is a painted gypsy caravan under a tree, which I had seen in dust-jacket photographs."
At the end of the visit, Anderson asked permission to stay with Dahl. Shortly afterwards, he and his screenwriting partner Noah moved into Gipsy house while they wrote the screenplay for the film.
The story the two men wrote added a lot to Dahl's original. While it includes all of the elements from the book, it embellishes them with a strained relationship between Mr. Fox and his family. Despite this emotional complexity, Anderson insists his audience is the same as Dahl's. "I see it as a children's film, but the children's films I loved the most as a child were ones that weren't particularly aimed at anybody".
With the script approved, the team turned their attention to casting the movie. For Mr. Fox, a suave and dashing character, who's also a bit of a cad, Anderson looked to the golden age of Hollywood for inspiration. "I was thinking of, who would be like Carey Grant?" This thought led the director to George Clooney.
"I remember reading the script and saying to Wes, 'I love it, and I'm happy to do it, but I don't know who'll see it.'" Clooney recalled, "Because it's sort of made for grownups, and sort of made for kids, and you never know how that plays. He said, 'don't worry about it, let's just go make a movie and have some fun.'"
As soon as he heard Clooney's work, Anderson knew he had made the right decision in casting him. "When I got back to the editing room with the recordings, only then did I realize how much he brings to his performances just with his voice. I think the animators were really inspired by his voice. I was more excited when I listened to him when he wasn't right in front of me. I thought, 'wow.' There's a lot we're getting here. There's a lot of texture."
With Clooney playing the lead, the next task was to hire the rest of the cast. At this point a decision was made to keep all the animals American. Allison Abbate, the film's producer, explains, "We started with George Clooney as Mr. Fox and that kind of set the rule to keep them all consistent."
For the role of Badger Anderson they cast Bill Murray. Although he denies speculation that the role was specifically written for him, Murray confirms he was Anderson's first choice: "When he thought about who would play the badger he thought about me."
Having got his first choice for Badger, Anderson was equally fortunate when it came to his leading lady. "Who would be the greatest actress we could possibly get?" Anderson asked rhetorically "I guess Meryl Streep. It was as simple as that."
Rounding out his cast were Jason Schwartzman, playing Mr. Fox's son, Ash, and Anderson's brother Eric, who took the role of Kristofferson, Mr. Fox's nephew. In the case of Schwartzman the casting was almost coincidental, he "was in London and he asked me if I wanted to play an animal in the movie," the actor explains.
The casting of Eric Anderson, however, was a little more unusual. "I went to him and said, 'you should do this,' but I think what I may have done was, I think I may have asked him to come where we were recording on this farm, and I just told him," Wes Anderson confesses, "I think I cast him without telling him he was cast. I think he wasn't sure if he was actually in the movie or if he was just there to help us with the recording."
Despite the unusual casting process, the director was certain he had the right man for the role. "I've seen him act. He's had little parts in the movies I've done, but he also, he directed a movie many years ago that he was in one scene in the movie and he's very good in the scene. I thought he was the best performance in his film. He used to do theatre. He's a good actor. Also, he has a particular way that he talks in real life that was suited to this character."
Once the cast was in place, the next job was to record the sound. Conventionally for an animated movie this involves each actor recording their dialogue in a studio. It is done one cast member at a time, and rarely do actors actually meet one another during this process. For "Fox," Anderson decided to make the recording process as close to traditional filmmaking as possible.
"We went to our friend's farm and set up there for a few days, and did the scenes in nature, in different locales in the farm. I'm surprised no-one did it before, because usually these things are done and you never meet the other actors in the movie. You do it in a sound-proof booth, by yourself without any real interaction." Murray recalls, "We did the scenes, not only together, but outdoors, in barns, in milking sheds, in chicken coops, next to streams, on the sides of hills, kicking down gravel streets, in little warrens all around the household. And it was great."
This process was then complimented by recording sessions in the studio, perfecting, not only the lines of dialogue, but even the grunts and growls of the animals. "Sometimes [Wes would say] 'can you make it longer?,' 'can you make it lower in the beginning and end at a higher place?'" Explains Schwartzman, "There was a lot of playing around with the noises and stuff, and when I was eating, I was really eating, like a bagel, or an apple or whatever was around. It's hard to fake-eat. You need something in the mouth a lot of the time, I find."
Murray expands on this: "[Wes would say] 'You've got to do you ripping apart a package of donuts with your teeth,' so we're looking around trying to find something that'll approximate it, and then, all of a sudden you've got four people in the booth; everyone's trying to make the noise themselves. Everyone's like 'how about a burp?,' 'I can do a burp,' 'you're not doing this part.' It was like grade school or something. Everyone was burping or smelling. It was fun."
For Schwartzman, a newcomer to voice work, it was an experience that he relished. "I really enjoyed this process because it's cheaper to have another one, to have another shot at it, because there's not a bunch of people standing around, and lights. Everything costs money in some way. It's cheaper to experiment, or try one, or push it. There was a lot of playing around with the noises and stuff."
While the bulk of the dialogue was recorded before the animators went to work, and, as Abbate puts it, this was where each actor "really established who that character was," it became necessary to have the voice actors back on a number of occasions during the two-year production process.
Abbate continues. "Because you're making it one frame at a time over the course of two years, you do find as you get through it, 'you know what? Now that we've changed things around he should be a little angrier here, so let's get George in to do it a little different,' or you write different dialogue for it, or something happens that will change a little. We on this movie added a lot more with the boys, because the young characters seemed to be working and it was like, 'wow, we want more of that, so he wrote a couple more scenes, so we had to get George in to do that, and it changed things a little bit."
Apart from these recording sessions, the cast had very little involvement with the film for the following two years. "A lot of the work is solitary. It wasn't like we were with him a lot of the time. He had to communicate with 30 different artisans, doing many different things. Hundreds actually. All the time. So we'd see him months apart." Murray says of Anderson, "You'd see him, and he'd still be carrying the ball, this thing would still be alive in him, and he'd be like, 'here's what we've got going,' 'this is going to be really good,' 'this part, this turned out really good' and 'that thing you did, we did this.' So it was like, ok, great. Here's someone who's very attentive to detail and really got it going."
Complimenting the work of the actors and the animators is the soundtrack. Anderson's films are renowned for their use of music, and for the first time in his career, Fantastic Mr. Fox allowed the director to become personally involved with it. "Noah Baumbach and I had written some lyrics and I asked Jarvis Cocker to do the song, so that was the first music we had. We had this French banjo player and we made this song."
The song, which provides comic relief during one of the moments of tension in the movie, inspired subsequent choices of music. "That linked to some other things, and I started listening to music from other children's films, and we ended up having Davey Crockett that we used, and some music from the Disney 'Robin Hood,' and Burl Ives."
After a decade of work, including a two year animation process, the film was complete. For Schwartzman, seeing the movie helped him realize how much the animators brought to the performance. "Even though I wasn't working with them physically, I'm only one half of that family. I didn't do that character. They animated my face and my eyebrows, the way that thing twitches and the way it moves, and that's like, so much of the character too. It was nice in a weird way to collaborate with a group of people and be surprised."
This allowed Schwartzman to experience the film in a way that he hadn't expected. "When the lights went down and I saw the movie for the first time it was like I had amnesia or something. I didn't know what was about to happen. That was such a great feeling to be surprised."
Even for voiceover veteran Murray it was an unusual, enjoyable experience. "Seeing it, you're kind of watching the mouth move, when you watch your own movies, you see your own mouth move, that guy, his body doesn't move the same way mine moves when I talk. And yet, the nice thing is that it's mostly that 'cowboy three shot,' where you cut off at the knee, so you see the body moving, it's just a different body."
Reflecting on the process of making the film, Murray explains. "Spending the time together, our own friendships got deeper, and the people we didn't know so well we sort of bounced around and had fun with. It was really a wonderful time, and it kind of gave it a kick start, because it's a long process making this kind of a film. And just to have all those takes, and all of those performances to listen to while making this kind of a film, it gives you energy."
Fantastic Mr. Fox opens wide on Wednesday, November 25th.
i'll tell you what, i just about expected this to be straight up terrible. but it wasn't at all! i was laughing throughout but the story was still very touching (like a good wes anderson movie whoa) and it looked great, especially the humans. instead of bugging me, the wes andersonisms made me smile. like sitting down with an old, very symmetrical friend.
fuck the haters, this is a solid A
This was a pretty funny movie. It had me chuckling throughout. But I felt there was something lacking. In the best animated movies there will be times when I forget the characters are animated and they feel like they are living beings. I really like it when I can get lost in an animated film like that. In TFMF it always felt like it was voice actors and puppets. I didn't get lost in the characters. I liked the way he would use the limitations of stop motion to his advantage often. The cotton as smoke effects was charming. Too often the characters were stiff and lifeless though.
One thing that has always impressed me about Wes is his palette. The overall visual aesthetics really struck a chord with me in his previous movies - the costumes, colours and cinematography. Especially in The Royal Tennenbaums. Sometimes that's enough to hook me into a movie. Overall I thought Godard's Pierrot le fou was a pretentious mess except for it's visual stylization - in particular it's colours (my apologies to the Godard fans). That alone kept me interested in the film. TFMF's palette of orange, brown and grey didn't really work for me this time.
Anyway, amusing but a slight disappointment.
get yall's asses out to the theatre you crazy fools
I think I'm the only person that I've seen or spoken to that didn't like this. But I'm pretty sure I'm still right.
i didn't like it either. i feel about this film the way royal does about margot's play in the royal tenenbaums--not only am i dismissive and instantaneously disdainful about the experience of having to sit through it, but wes anderson seems to have made the animated film equivalent of a bunch of kids in animal costumes in front of a boat backdrop. it's all so fucking cute, and i disliked almost everything. the oddball whimsy and pornographic attention to quirky (i will never use that word in a positive connotation) details was too much. goes to say that i found fantastic mr. fox to be cloying at best.
Quote from: samsong on December 02, 2009, 02:12:05 PM
quirky (i will never use that word in a positive connotation)
nice. I feel that.
Quote from: modage on December 02, 2009, 09:42:51 AM
I think I'm the only person that I've seen or spoken to that didn't like this. But I'm pretty sure I'm still right.
right?
Nah, everyone I know hates it and I'm the only one who enjoyed it (just so we can all play the misunderstood outsider card...). It's clearly the furthest into 'quirky' he's gone, but the form dictated the content on that one, and at least this isn't pretending to have any kind of a relationship with reality. The most troubling (but of course also the most unique) aspect of Wes Anderson's style is his desire to rarify, organize and sterilize every moment to within an inch of its life. For me, the best things tend to come when there's a tension between this impulse and some messy reality, though this too is potentially problematic and can come off badly (see: the kids' accident in Darjeeling). One thing Fox definitely had going for it was that it was unapologetic and total in its commitment to one mode, style and tone, and that it worked on the terms it set out for itself.
Have there been any discussions anywhere on how true to Dahl's book he was?
PTA's new movie is going to BEAT THE SHIT out of this movie. And then he's going to make Wes give up his last name.
^haha. real talk.
Although, one of the things PTA always hit Wes with is, "at least I do different shit!" and now Wes can actually hit back with, "fuck you and your religious flicks. do something animated, bitch."
I'm sorry, this movie had so many good lines and yet could be understood by kids
and the humor was all there
in fact, only one or two scenes went on a TAD too long with speech alone, both involving the same character (not gonna say too much there, figure it out yourself)
and being a guy who works with kids, this movie rocked. Not cuz I'm a snob either! if you were just a regular adult, would YOU want to sit thru "Garfield"? Loved the comics, not the movie...and I read "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in one night, and this was a great adaptation! It had everything, then added some melancholy, which some might not like but.....gahhhhh, review over.
some things are just better left unsaid.
I absolutely loved this. Me and Wes had a falling out with Darjeeling, but I'm happy to see him back in love with resplendent visuals and wholly charming characters. How anyone could not fall in love with this after seeing the opening chicken snatching side-scrolling sequence is beyond me. The film is not just a pastiche of clothing and music nostalgia, but Wes is now incorporating visual nostalgia. Sure, in Tenenbaums, there were a few 70s zooms, but here he's wrangling that feeling of old stop motion films, and mixing with the visual aesthetic of Nintendo. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the side-scrolling scenes, the strategy of their master plans, all reminded me of older video games.
I loved the voice acting, and even though at first they did seem disembodied, I feel that was due to the unfamiliar style of animation. By the end, they truly became part of the character. Jason Schwartzman really blew me away, I loved how softly and intensely angry he would get and by the end he's lighter than a slice of bread. George Clooney is great too, somehow seeming more Cary Grant than usual. For some reason, I thought the entire time that Felicity was voiced by Angelica Huston, not Meryl Streep.
Most of all, I thought the comedy and the pacing and completely erratic behavior of Mr. Fox (and holy shit, the dance sequences just made me smile) were all pitch perfect. I didn't find anything excessively quirky or saccharine or cute (although those dance sequences come close), considering how semi-serious the concept of survival was presented. They are still wild animals vs. humans, and it's Bambi-styled life and death and didn't compromise, which I really liked. And I loved the explanation of Whack Bat.
Overall, this is definitely my favorite film of 2009 so far. And my second favorite Anderson, next to Tenenbaums.
"I didn't find anything excessively quirky or saccharine or cute (although those dance sequences come close),"
heheh I thought at the end it MIGHT have been a bit much, of course it was the END too, and probably more than likely an homage to Bill Melendez and the Peanuts.
what cracked me up was those real quick dances when they got up in the barns.
it just looked like the animators went "ok, they move around a little bit", kind of just giving the quick IDEA of Celebration. It reminded me of when I started using Flash animation and how my friends & I would just half-ass things because the stiffness was so damn hilarious. :)
looks like i'll have to wait for DVD - it's already left theaters here.
it was in the top 10 that one week and stayed in theaters another week and didn't make it again, so i guess most people pulled it for bigger fare.
30 min audio interview w/Wes & Elvis Mitchell
http://media.kcrw.com/podcast/show_itms/tt
Quote from: Gamblour. on December 12, 2009, 09:42:42 AM
I absolutely loved this. Me and Wes had a falling out with Darjeeling,
Funny i had a falling out with life aquatic, and darjeeling i came back in the fold a bit.
still haven't seen this fanstastic though. still skeptical, but a little more open minded then i was.
Saw this just before it ended it's 3 week run in town :yabbse-sad: If this is still playing where you are run to see it on the big screen. Don't walk.
It's completely lovely and imaginative and immaculate, and one of my favorite animated movies. Too bad it bombed so bad. The Wes Anderson backlash is one of the worst ever. Dude is a MAJOR filmmaker.
Also my 4-year-old quite liked it.
*minor spoils*
loved it a looooooot.
mod, i found the use of street fighting man quite brilliant. it's not an obvious choice for that moment at all. it's the bad guys doing their thing. it's like a celebration of the chase! if you have problems with them jumping in and out of behaving wildly i don't know what to tell you.. that's the joke. that's the idea..
so well cast. i'm not sure if streep has done animation before.. her voice is so warm and layered. clooney is a great choice for fox.. schwartzman was wonderful too. and wes finally makes his cameo! he's actually quite good. murray.. hilarious.
i honestly feel like anderson's style is best expressed in animation. it's like all his previous films were trying to do this. or would work as animation too.
one thing i didn't like: zero explanation for the tiny motorbike. or did i miss something? very much a copout disguised as cuteness if not. i also wish they had done more foreshadowing for the wolf.
the use of the name Kristofferson is so good.. i'm a little hazy cause i saw it a couple days ago. it's so passionately well designed i know i'll notice new things each view.
if i had one major beef it would be the sound sync/mix. It was way too flat and made the film feel like a PBS animation show from the 80's. i think this film would have been a lot more funny if the sound mix had some depth.
I liked that the scale of the main character was continually manipulated and that the textures of everything had a sort of dollhouse or storyboard feel... the story was also fun and easily readable for kids. i found this film to be a lot more watchable than darjeeling limited.
Quote from: Reinhold on December 23, 2009, 10:20:01 AM
if i had one major beef it would be the sound sync/mix. It was way too flat and made the film feel like a PBS animation show from the 80's. i think this film would have been a lot more funny if the sound mix had some depth.
You didn't think that fit the feel of the movie? I'm sure it was intentional. The actors were all given different qualities to their voice-recordings. It sounded like he took the actors to different locations to record their v.o.
The bar for awesome acceptance speeches of the year has been set. (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/01/wes_andersons_nbr_award_accept.html)
That was great! Unlike the movie it was funny and just the right length.
Want to prove me wrong? Vote for The Fantastic Mr. Fox at The 2010 Xixax Awards (http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=10984.0)!
Wes Anderson makes indelible endings a trademark
Source: AP
NEW YORK - As the credits of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" began to roll and the Bobby Fuller Four's "Let Her Dance" blared through the theater at a recent showing of the movie, a young girl leapt to her feet and joined the on-screen characters, dancing in the aisle.
Much has already been said about Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated film, a likely Oscar nominee and potential competitor to Pixar's "Up" in the best animated film category. But it's also the latest Anderson film to leave moviegoers — young and old, alike — with a memorable, final flourish.
The endings of his films — from "Bottle Rocket" to "The Royal Tenenbaums" — constitute some of the most indelible final reels in recent moviemaking. Collectively, they almost uniformly conclude in a poetic moment of togetherness, perseverance and, often, a wink of mischief. Emotion soars and music plays
"Anybody who knows my movies, they could probably spot one of my endings," Anderson chuckled in a recent interview at the National Board of Review Awards, where he was honored for achievement.
(Those wary of spoilers to these films, including "Mr. Fox," may want to stop here.)
In a Wes Anderson ending, characters come together — to dance to the Faces' "Ooh La La" at the end of "Rushmore," or get back on the train at the finish of "The Darjeeling Limited."
There's a sense of undaunted spirit, like in Dignan's (Owen Wilson) wink in his slow-motion walk into prison at the end of "Bottle Rocket," Anderson's first film. Or in "The Royal Tenenbaums," when Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) remains undimmed even in death — his gravestone amusingly etched in a blatant lie that he died trying to rescue his family.
Music is often woven into the concluding scenes.
After a film dotted by David Bowie covers, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" concludes with the real thing. Bowie's "Queen Bitch" rings out as Zissou (Bill Murray) elegantly (again in slow-motion) descends a staircase with a boy on his shoulders. In a homage to the cult film "Buckaroo Banzai," Zissou's team assembles around him as he marches down a pier.
In adapting Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Anderson (who co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach), added bookends to Dahl's story. The plot essentially remains the same: The daring Mr. Fox (George Clooney) leads his family and friends into trouble when he picks a fight with neighboring farmers.
After a long battle both with the farmers and within his fractured, idiosyncratic family, Mr. Fox — though scarred — triumphs. His family is still stuck underground, but Mr. Fox discovers how they'll survive. The film ends with the group dancing in the aisles of a grocery store, owned by the same farmers bent on the animals' destruction.
The ending came from Dahl's original manuscripts, not the published version.
"It was only when we had the song did I get, `Here's what the mood is, here's what we're going to walk out of the theater with,'" says the 40-year-old director. "The scene exists because of the song."
The tune, "Let Her Dance," is a forgotten classic by Fuller, and Anderson says the song had been "on our list" since his frequent music supervisor, Randall Poster, played it for him about 10 years ago. The song's sock-hop exuberance — tinged with sacrifice — matches the Fox family's celebration perfectly.
"For me, that's the whole reason for getting into it in the first place," says Anderson. "The feeling when you're walking out of the theater and the whole thing has hit you — and usually there is something musical happening at that moment — and you're taking it all in."
Anderson's endings are almost like distillations of his entire work. Again and again, he meticulously creates characters of wit, audacity and melancholy. They teeter on the edge of keeping it together, but in the end they always do: They preserve the family, they get back on the train.
The consistency isn't intentional, Anderson says. Rather, the hundreds of decisions involved in making a movie "has a tendency of digging into your unconscious in ways that you're not entirely in charge of."
"At the end of it, you step back and you feel like, `Well, I've shown my hand again,'" says Anderson, smiling. "At that point, I'm sort of standing with the characters, looking out at the camera a bit — seeing it from that point of view."
Title: Fantastic Mr. Fox (IMDb)
Released: 23rd March 2010
Further Details:
Fox Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray/DVD Combo ($39.99) releases of Fantastic Mr. Fox for the 23rd March. The only extra material on the DVD release will be a From Script to Screen feature, a Still Life (Puppet Animation) feature, and A Beginner's Guide to Whack-Bat. The Blu-ray/DVD Combo release will include that, along with a 6-part Making Mr. Fox Fantastic documentary ("The Look Of Fantastic Mr. Fox", "From Script To Screen", "The Puppet Makers", "Still Life (Puppet Animation)", "The Cast", "Bill And His Badger"), a Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World Of Roald Dahl featurette, and a digital copy.
ok. time to take back any negatives I might have suggested previously about mr. fox. the film is a delight. and I must admit that due to the brilliance of the20th century fox marketing and distribution department we got this film ONLY dubbed into spanish (although that didn't stop them from advertising it all over the place with posters where CLOONEY, STREEP and MURRAY's names are prominent). And even in spanish, where it was painfully obvious that the mexican actors were ruining every joke, every nuance in the performances, every well written speech, it was obvious that the film was fantastic. The animation is beautiful, the camerawork is as creative as expected from wes, the music choices might be cliche for him at this point, but in an animated film they feel fresher, the color palette makes you feel like you are reading an old illustrated book. and I must point out the writing, because this is anderson's funniest film since tenembaums, and it's mostly a dialogue driven experience where characters say funny and smart things all the time. I loved it. I hope it snatchs that oscar away from up.
Quote from: Alexandro on January 26, 2010, 10:14:59 AM
I hope it snatchs that oscar away from up.
i hope it doesn't!
fate rebalanced.
The fantastic mr. star fox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nReogllZmc
this was adorable.
Quote from: cronopio 2 on July 08, 2011, 11:08:48 AM
The fantastic mr. star fox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nReogllZmc
this was adorable.
I usually hate mash ups and I usually especially hate Wes Anderson parodies, but this shows that if you put the right amount of time into it, even my cold cold heart can be melted enough for it to enjoy something.
oh wes anderson parodies are the worst. like that spiderman wes anderson.