During our recent set visit to Pixar Animation Studios for Monsters University, we had a chance to sit down with producer Kori Rae to talk about the behind-the-scenes production of the studio’s newest animated film.  During this roundtable interview, Rae talked about the inherent challenges of creating Pixar’s first prequel, getting to explore existing characters more thoroughly, other variations of the film that were discussed and her various roles within Pixar.  Since casting was part of her responsibilities for Rae on Monsters University, she also talked about getting Helen Mirren to sign on, searching for Billy Crystal’s younger counterpart to voice Mike Wazowski in grade school and just how they go about crafting roles for John Ratzenberger.  Hit the jump for the full interview.  Monsters University, also featuring the voices of John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, opens June 21st.

Mother’s Day is this weekend, and the lovely folks over at Pixar are marking the occasion with a new Mother’s Day-centric promo for Monsters University that offers up some new footage from the college-set prequel.  The video shows a humorous and rather accurate look at how moms react when their children go away to college, and I’m really loving all the great character designs that we’ve seen from the film thus far.  If you missed any of Dave’s coverage from his visit to Pixar, be sure to check out his review of seeing 40 minutes of footage of the film, set visit recap, and interviews with director Dan Scanlon, supervising animator Scott Clark, and production designer Ricky Nierva and character animation director Jason Deamer.

Hit the jump to watch the new promo.  The film features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day and many more.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

A couple of additions have been made to the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival, and they’re sure to make superhero movie and Pixar fans very, very happy.  Film Independent and LA Film Festival have slated a pre-festival screening of Zack Snyder’s highly anticipated Man of Steel to take place on June 12th, two days before the film opens in theaters.  Granted this isn’t exactly a super early screening, but interest in Man of Steel is at a fever pitch so fans aren’t likely to complain about catching the pic in advance.  Only Festival pass holders will be admitted, so head over to the official website to order your tickets.

Additionally, Pixar’s Monsters University has been added to the festival lineup, as has a discussion with innovative filmmaker Spike Jonze  Other films slated to screen at the festival include The Way, Way Back, Only God Forgives, and Fruitvale Station.  Monsters University will be unveiled on June 18th, three days before it hits theaters.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.  The 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival runs from June 13th – 23rd.

During our recent set visit to Pixar Animation Studios for their upcoming film Monsters University, Production Designer Ricky Nierva and Character Animation Director Jason Deamer took time out of their schedules to participate in this one-on-one interview.  The pair talked about the film’s technical and creative challenges, establishing a broad sense of scale in the monsters’ world, re-imagining old characters, creating new characters, how  character animation inspired plot and vice versa, and just how much of the human world we might be seeing.

Monsters University features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day and many more.  The film opens in 2D and 3D starting June 21st.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

During our recent set visit to Pixar Animation Studios for their upcoming film Monsters University, supervising animator Scott Clark took time out of his busy schedule to participate in this one-on-one interview.  Clark talked about what exactly it means to be a supervising animator, his favorite scenes to work on, the film’s biggest technical challenge, believability vs realism and his favorite characters.

Monsters University features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day and many more.  The film opens in 2D and 3D starting June 21st.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

Last night I had the opportunity to check out a late showing of Pain & Gain during which I encountered a few thoughts that I couldn’t shake: 1) I wish Michael Bay would make more films like this and less of the transforming car variety. 2) Why can’t Dwayne Johnson be in every movie? 3) This is probably the craziest “Based on a True Story” movie I’ve ever seen. I’ve heard Bay say that some of the most extreme elements of the plot are also the most true to the original story. This is good to know because had someone written a lot of what shows up in the film I would likely call it too farfetched for my suspended disbelief to withstand. Make no mistake, this is a wild, entertaining ride that utilizes layers of action, crime, comedy, sex, and even a touch of sadism to keep you invested from beginning to end.

My mini-review aside, this week’s Top 5 includes the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World, Pain & Gain interviews with Michael Bay, Mark Wahlberg, and more, a recap of our visit to Pixar for Monsters University, news that Zack Snyder could take the helm of Justice League pending Man of Steel‘s success, and the first entry in a new interview series from Steve: “Breaking Down the Movie” with The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance. As is customary, a brief recap and link to each of the above is ready and waiting after the jump.

Disney has released a new trailer for the Monsters, Inc. prequel Monsters University.  The pic focuses on the college years of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman), and this new full-length trailer reveals the film’s plot.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike and Sully joining a fraternity of outcasts, as all of the Greek houses must compete against each other in the Scare Games, which carry dire consequences for the losers.  The film looks like it could be Pixar’s most purely fun movie yet, and early reactions from the screening at CinemaCon had many praising the pic’s heart.  If you missed any of Dave’s coverage from his visit to Pixar, be sure to check out his review from seeing 40 minutes of footage, 35 things to know about the film, and his interview with director Dan Scanlon.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens June 21, 2013.

During our recent set visit to Pixar Animation Studios, we were treated to an absolute deluge of behind-the-scenes information for the upcoming animated film, Monsters Unviersity.  Director Dan Scanlon kindly took some time out of his busy schedule for a roundtable interview in which he talked about making Mike’s story the central arc, re-imagining familiar characters as younger versions of themselves, introducing new characters into the universe, college movies as source materials, possible Blu-ray extras and a lot more.

Monsters University features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day and many more.  The film opens in 2D and 3D starting June 21st.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

During our recent set visit to Pixar Animation Studios for Monsters University, we were treated to the first 40 minutes of footage from the film.  This first act had the task of reintroducing audiences to younger – and less mature – versions of Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James “Sulley” Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman).  The majority of this time was spent allowing viewers to acclimate themselves to these new looks at familiar characters; it isn’t until nearly the end of the first act that a host of new characters are introduced by their names and individually bizarre personality traits.  While I had some reservations about a Monsters, Inc. prequel heading into the visit, this footage preview turned me right around and got me excited for the full film; I can’t wait to see it!  Hit the jump for more and be aware that spoilers follow.

As we stepped onto the campus of Monsters University, we were greeted by the school’s cheerleading squad who were accompanied by the drum section of their marching band.  Music and cheers filled the air as we walked to the center of campus where a huge tailgating party had been set up for the annual homecoming game against Fear Tech.  In the quad, all manner of student organizations were out in force trying to sign us up for the Yearbook Club, the Greek Council and the Art Club (or maybe it was just a guy named Art…).  As soon as we set foot inside the doors to the main hall, we knew we had arrived … at Pixar Animation Studios.

In what was too short a time at Pixar, our group was whisked on a whirlwind behind-the-scenes journey of their latest animated feature (and The Blue Umbrella, the short that will be preceding it in theaters).  Monsters University, the studio’s first prequel, will re-introduce fans of Monsters, Inc. to the college versions of Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman).  Hit the jump for 35 things you need to know about it!

Shortly before world premiering Monsters University at CinemaCon, I was able to speak with director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae on the red carpet.  We talked about the way the story changed during development, how many versions of the film they went through, how John Lasseter kept reminding them that it was “college fun,” and more.  In addition, they also showed they have a sense of humor, because I may have started the interview off by asking whether it was tough to get Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton back for the sequel to Monsters Ball…

Finally, while I had to miss the screening of Monsters University due to my interview schedule, I spoke to a number of people that saw it and they all said it was great and is exactly what they expect from a Pixar movie.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.  Monsters University hits theaters June 21st.

Even though Monsters University is only a few months away, Pixar has been keeping the voice cast under wraps.  Today, EW is reporting that Nathan Fillion, John Krasinski, and Bonnie Hunt will be voicing new monsters in the upcoming prequel.  Fillion and Krasinski are newcomers to the Pixar world, but Hunt has been a longtime collaborator with the studio having voiced characters in A Bug’s Life, Cars, Toy Story 3, and Monsters, Inc. (although she’ll be voicing a new character).

Hit the jump for descriptions of Fillion, Krasinski, and Hunt’s characters, along with some new images.  The film also features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

Disney/Pixar has released a number of nifty “class portraits” for its upcoming prequel Monsters University that introduce the film’s numerous fraternities and sororities.  The pic focuses on the college years of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman), and as we’ve started to learn more about the film, it’s become clear that Greek Life figures heavily into the pic’s Revenge of the Nerds-esque plot.  These new images introduce the A-list frat Roar Omega Roar (RΩR), the jock frat Jaws Theta Chi (JOX), the “Mean Girls” sorority Python Nu Kappa (PNK), the Goth sorority Eta Hiss Hiss (HSS), the athletic sorority Slugma Slugma Kappa (EEK), and the misfit fraternity Oozma Kappa (OK), which boasts Mike and Sully as members.  We also get a look at the Greek Council members Claire (Aubrey Plaza) and Brock (Tyler Labine), and as a fellow Greek myself, I’m excited to see Pixar’s take on the interplay between fraternities and sororities.

Hit the jump to check out the class portrait images of each fraternity and sorority along with descriptions of each house.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

A couple of new TV spots have landed online for two upcoming animated films.  The new spot for Pixar’s Monsters University shows a bit of a new footage and makes excellent use of Andrew W.K.’s “Party Hard,” as we’re treated to a montage of clips from this monster-infused look at college life.  The prequel focuses on the budding friendship between Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman).  The film opens in 3D on June 21st.

The other TV spot shines some light on Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s sequel Despicable Me 2.  We recently saw a new full-length trailer for the follow-up, but this TV spot primarily centers on an elaborate fart joke constructed by those adorable minions.  Featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, and Al Pacino, the film opens in 3D on July 3rd.  Hit the jump to watch both TV spots, which debuted during the Kid’s Choice Awards.

Much like at other colleges around the country this past weekend, the basketball team of Monsters University was anticipating its placement in the big dance during Selection Sunday.  Unfortunately, MU didn’t make the cut and the players didn’t take the news all that well. Thankfully, a local student managed to capture their reaction on video and posted it to his Tumblr page along with a few new snaps from around the campus.

Featuring the vocal talents of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, David Spade, Alfred Molina and Ricky Gervais, Monsters University opens June 21st.  Hit the jump to watch the video and view some new images.