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Buzz at WonderCon: Talking With the Creators of Pixar's Up

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:30:07 -0800

I enjoy learning pretty much anything related to the wizardry that goes on at Pixar which is why I jumped at the chance to chat with director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera at WonderCon all about Pixar's forthcoming film, Up.

We spoke directly after the two men previewed clips from the movie to a large and enthusiastic crowd and later that evening I watched a special screening of the first 45 minutes of the film. I don't want to give anything away because I know how much I enjoyed my first peek, but I'll say there is much more to this movie than the trailer implies.

The footage I viewed contains everything we've come to expect from Pixar: outstanding animation, charming characters, and big laughs. And like Wall-E, the movie touches on some adult concepts. In fact, the entire audience (including myself!) was crying within the first 15 minutes.

We talked about this sophisticated nature of Pixar's storytelling compared to other animated films and lots more during our roundtable with the guys. To check out the interview, read more.

Warning: The following interview may be a bit spoilery so if you don't want to know a thing about this movie before watching it then look away friend, look away!

On animating humans vs. robots (or cars, or fish, etc.):
Docter: It's a good question because especially on this film we made a concerted effort from the onset to make it more caricatured and stylized and so you'll see [the movie's main character] Carl moving in a much more stylized way than say Mom in Toy Story. We just felt like this is a world where you have a house floating into the sky - it's gotta have a sense of caricature and simplicity to it that supports that reality.

On making nearly all Pixar characters so freaking adorable:
Rivera: It's just really about draw and draw and draw and draw and get those designs where we think they're just really super appealing. In our medium . . . humans are really, really hard to make look real and if they look too real they start looking dead and creepy and weird and so we found that mooshing the shapes and caricaturing them - Carl's only three heads high and so forth - and really playing with proportions to make them appealing almost made them look more real.

On whether or not they feel an inordinate amount of pressure after the success of Wall-E:
Rivera: I do!
Docter: Where I feel the most pressure is the other guys that I work with. Before we show it to you guys or the rest of the world I have to make [Wall-E director] Andrew Stanton and [writer/director Ratatouille] Brad Bird laugh or cry or whatever. You know, that's a tough order. But that's I think a part of the success of the films.
Rivera: I mean, this is the tenth film we've done and, you know, everyone's really liked the films so far that we've done so you do definitely hope they like it as much because you're so close to it. I mean honestly we've been in there for four years and have been looking at this every day and somehow you go home and you're like, "Man, dogs talk and . . . I don't know. Is this good? I don't know?"
Docter: Yeah, is this just weird or is it funny. . . .?

On telling surprisingly sophisticated stories through animation:
Docter: I think that for me when I sit down in a movie theater and the lights go down, I want to see something that speaks to me that I can recognize about myself and about the world. So we don't really think of these as, "Oh, we're making little kid movies" or " oh, we're making animated movies." We're just making movies and they happen to use this amazing technology that Pixar's developed and we get to work with these incredible artists, but first and foremost we're just telling stories that speak to us.

On what goes into research at Pixar:
Docter: Actually this film has a lot born out of Peter Pan in terms of the styling. One of the great things about working at Pixar - a bunch of us go down to South America and do some research and as we were walking around we were like, "Hey that looks like Peter Pan!" We actually got to hike up one of these tabletop mountains.
Rivera: That's how big of dorks we are. We're in the jungle saying "That looks like Peter Pan!"

Images courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Which Oscar-Winning Movie Do You Want to See Next?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:30:18 -0800

Not even Oscar host Hugh Jackman got to see all the nominated films before Sunday's big night. He even found a pretty hilarious way to work the fact that he hadn't seen The Reader into his opening bit.

Mr. Jackman is not alone, as I'm sure most of us still need to see some of the movies that took home awards on Sunday. I managed to get to most of them, but there are a couple I still need to see - and others I can't wait to see again! So tell me: what Academy-approved flick do you want to see next?

Source

What Are Your Favorite Scenes From This Year's Oscar-Nominated Movies?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:30:48 -0800

I keep thinking about this great scene in The Wrestler between Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei's characters in a bar. I won't give it away for those who haven't seen the movie yet but it involves some funny dialogue between the two about the decade they agree was the best. It's a small, intimate moment rendered so perfectly that you completely forget you're watching two actors - it feels more like overhearing a conversation at your local dive bar.

Sometimes a movie contains a scene so well-done it has the power to stick around in our minds for years and years. Like one of the most romantic scenes in Wall-E: Eve and Wall-E's dance among the stars. So. Freaking. Cute. Not to mention beautiful. And Happy Go-Lucky contains an intense scene between the main character and her driving instructor that's so unsettling it will take me a long time to shake it off.

Sometimes I think there should be an Academy Award category for Best Scene! What do you think? Which scenes from this year's Oscar-nominated films stick out to you the most?

The Wrestler photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Wall-E image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, and Happy Go-Lucky photo courtesy of Miramax

Buzz Gift Guide: The White Elephants of the Entertainment World

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:30:48 -0800

Welcome back to my Buzz Gift Guide series for all the entertainment lovers in your life. Yesterday was all about the box sets, and today I'm covering the wonderfully schmaltzy world of white elephant gifts. Just so we're all on the same page, the estimable UrbanDictionary defines this category of gifts as "presents never actually useful in real life."

Take this Edward Cullen doll inspired by Twilight. It's totally awesome (or, you know, "awesome") and I want it for my desk, which is probably the best you can hope for in a white elephant gift. And while we're on weird dolls, this Rodney Dangerfield doll will surely produce that satisfying look of bewilderment on the recipient's face at your next white elephant exchange. It cracks me up that the product description proudly boasts that it does 11 whole minutes of stand-up.

Also in the world of weird entertainment-related gifts is the Ugly Betty poncho.

Gifts that fall into more a quirky and cute category here include this adorable little Wall-E plush doll that makes sounds, and this design-your-own-speakers kit.

Edward Cullen Doll (Pricing info TBD)	DIY Eco Speakers ($18.00)
Ugly Betty Poncho ($39.95)	8'' Mini WALL-E Plush with Sound ($12.95)	Rodney Dangerfield animated doll ($59.99)

Check out HolidaySugar for all of our holiday coverage and gift guides.

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:30:31 -0800

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to my picks below, you can also add Priceless starring Audrey Tautou and Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson to your queue.

Wall-E
Squee! Pixar's Wall-E is out on DVD! The more I think about this movie, the more I'm impressed with what the creators managed to pull off. First of all, they managed to make a desolate, post-apocalyptic Earth seem like the ideal setting for a love story that will give anyone with a pulse the warm fuzzies. They also managed to give a robot that can't really speak the most adorable, expressive puppy-dog eyes this world has ever known. It's quite the feat, and if you weren't able to catch this gem in the theater, you might want to bring it home ASAP.

Even if you did see this on the big screen, the DVD has plenty of special features that have me pretty excited as well. They include: several all-new animated shorts, deleted scenes, a ride through space with Wall-E, and a feature on the history of Pixar.

Two more coming up, so read more.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
This second installment of the Traveling Pants franchise made me a convert. There was just something about the sequel that captivated me, and I'm excited to re-watch it in the comfort of my own home. Maybe it's because I could better relate to the girls now that they're out of high school and thrust into a more adult world that offers up new complications. Or it could be the bounty of handsome men cast as love interests to the ladies. Either way, it's quality entertainment.

Specials include a featurette titled "Go Jump Off a Cliff: How the Exhilarating Final Sequence - Not Originally in the Script - was Inspired by Fan Reaction to the First Movie," additional scenes, and a gag reel.

Tropic Thunder
Gather up your least politically correct friends and settle in for some belly laughs (as well as awkward and uncomfortable moments) with this DVD. Tropic Thunder, directed by Ben Stiller, follows a bunch of actors (nearly every Hollywood stereotype is represented here) who head out to make a Vietnam War movie that quickly gets out of control. For the most part, the satire is funny, though there are head-scratching moments to be sure.

I have a feeling the behind-the-scenes features might be as funny as - if not funnier than - the actual movie. They include a featurette titled "Blowing S#%t Up," deleted and extended scenes, and an alternate ending.

Buzz News Roundup, 7/14

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:00:18 -0700

Army Wives will be back for a third season, with 18 episodes scheduled to air sometime in 2009, Zap2it reports.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms will star together in a "bachelor-party comedy" titled Hangover.
Jordana Brewster will guest-star on Chuck as Jill, the college girlfriend who legendarily broke Chuck's heart, reports Entertainment Weekly.
The success of Wall-E has apparently sparked new talk of a Hello, Dolly stage revival, Variety reports.
ABC and FX topped GLAAD's annual "responsibility index," Reuters reports, while NBC and Fox, among others, received failing grades.
ComingSoon has the news that Jon Heder will star in another Napoleon Dynamite-type oddball comedy, titled Loudermilk.
Gio wins? Ugly Betty's Christopher Gorham has been cast in the CBS midseason series Harper's Island - though ABC still insists we haven't seen the last of Henry, TV Guide reports.
ComingSoon writes that Fox has acquired the screen rights to the recent NYT bestseller One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War.

Photo courtesy of Lifetime

Box Office: Hellboy and Friends Kick Box Office Butt

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:15:15 -0700

Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army won the weekend box office with an estimated $35.9 million, not only handily beating the current competition, but also surpassing the first Hellboy's opening weekend earnings ($23.2 million). Yippee! I'm happy for that ragtag group of superheroes.

On the other end of the spectrum was Meet Dave, which Variety described as "one of the worst opening grosses ever for an Eddie Murphy pic." The details are even more painful. Consider this: It cost $60 million to make Meet Dave and it only earned an estimated $5.3 million over the weekend. That's not a pretty picture.

Hancock remained a draw (fun aside: at the movie theater over the weekend, a group of young boys sped past me while one yelled, "Hurry up! I don't want to miss a single second of Hancock!"), coming in second place, followed by the 3-D action flick Journey to the Center of the Earth. Pixar's Wall-E came in at No. 4 followed by Wanted to round out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Hancock Is a Box Office Superhero

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:30:27 -0700

A surprise to no one (but still a delight to me, since I find this Will Smith movie to be pretty fun), Hancock won the crown at the box office over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. According to Variety, the movie "is the eighth Smith film in a row to open at No. 1 domestically, as well as his fifth - and most successful - Fourth of July outing." It is also Smith's second-biggest opening after the record-breaking opening of I Am Legend in December. Over the long holiday weekend (5.5 days), Hancock raked in approximately $107.3 million.

So, in case anyone doubted it before, Will Smith = box office gold.

Elsewhere in the top five box office hits, Wall-E stepped into second place over the weekend, followed by Wanted and then Get Smart. Kung Fu Panda rounded out the group in fifth place. Kit Kittredge came in at No. 8, performing less well than studios had hoped.

Within the indie market, The Wackness did exceptionally well in its per-location average, and the Dr. Hunter S. Thompson documentary, Gonzo, also "enjoyed a solid debut."

Next weekend will bring us yet another movie deemed "male-skewing" by Variety: Hellboy II: The Golden Army (though I not-so-secretly cannot wait to see it!). Overall (with the exception of Wall-E), it looks like next weekend's top five at the box office will be pretty "male-skewing" (Hellboy II, Hancock, Wanted and Get Smart, with The Incredible Hulk still not too far behind).

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Should Wall-E Be Nominated for Best Picture?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:30:24 -0700

Wall-E has been showered with praise from critics and audiences alike. These kinds of accolades haven't really been heard since, say, There Will Be Blood, or I dunno, Juno - both of which were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year.

Now there's a a campaign afoot to get Wall-E out of the Best Animated Film category and into competition with the big guns. Vulture argues that Wall-E should be the second animated film (so far we've only seen Disney's Beauty and the Beast) to be included in this category because it's exactly the kind of movie that the Academy wants to consider for Best Picture: it's both well-reviewed and beloved by audiences.

Hollywood Elsewhere argues against this, stating that "the electric segregation fence must be respected and fortified" and that animation can't really hold a candle to the "unfettered dignity that comes from simply aiming a camera at real people and real locations and making it all sing."

Where do you stand? Do you think Wall-E deserves to be in the Best Picture category in February, or should everyone be happy with a Best Animation nod?

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Box Office: Cuteness Will Always Triumph

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:30:12 -0700

The cutest robot to hit the screen in a long time, Wall-E, proved irresistible to audiences over the weekend, earning the top spot at the box office with an estimated $62.5 million. According to Variety, this is the third best opening for a Pixar film after The Incredibles ($70.5 million) and Finding Nemo ($70.2 million).

The Angelina Jolie-James McAvoy action flick Wanted nabbed the No. 2 spot with a respectable $51 million, and Get Smart stayed strong in the third spot earning $20 million over the weekend.

While most had adorable robots on the brain this weekend, some were still looking for some big panda fun and kept Kung Fu Panda going strong at No. 4, beating The Incredible Hulk which landed in the fifth spot.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures