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Christopher Plummer Talks THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Pixar’s UP, BEGINNERS, Michael Powell, and a Lot More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 29th, 2011 at 12:08 pm

It’s not too often you get to interview a living legend, but sitting across from Christopher Plummer in a hotel room in New York City a few weeks ago, I was smiling like a kid on Christmas.  That’s because before I understood what a movie was, I had already seen his work, as I grew up watching The Sound of Music with my family every holiday season.  And while most eighty year olds might slow down, Plummer has delivered some of his best work these past few years.  If you haven’t seen Mike Mills‘ Beginners, Michael Hoffman‘s The Last Station, Terry Gilliam‘s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus or Pixar’s Up (he voices Charles Muntz), I strongly suggest checking them out.  I’ll be shocked if Plummer doesn’t get nominated for an Oscar for Beginners.

The reason I got to speak with this great actor is for David Fincher‘s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Plummer plays Henrik Vanger, a wealthy old man who’s been haunted by the disappearance of his beloved niece for the past forty years.  As most of you know, Dragon Tattoo is the first in Stieg Larson’s Millennium trilogy and it centers on a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig) who’s hired by Vanger to investigate the mysterious disappearance.  Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant young hacker who teams up with Craig.  During the interview, Plummer talked about the last few years, acting in films and in the theater, working with Fincher, voicing Charles Muntz in Up, how he almost played Prospero in Michael Powell‘s unrealized adaptation of The Tempest, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.

Bangerter Homes Builds Replica of Carl and Ellie’s House from UP

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 10th, 2011 at 8:19 pm

I’m not sure how aerodynamic it is, but the folks at Bangerter Homes have done a pretty cool thing and built a life-size replica of Carl and Ellie’s house from Pixar’s Up.  The builders got Disney’s OK before going ahead on the house and now the 2800 square foot replica can be yours for the surprisingly-reasonable price of $399,000.  Granted, you’ll have to move to Harriman, Utah, but assuming the house can fly (and if it can’t fly then what’s the point), you could just take it all the way to Paradise Falls.

Hit the jump to check out the house, which even includes details like the mural Ellie painted in the living room.

Weekend Box Office – CARS 2 Scores $68 Million Win; BAD TEACHER Overachieves with $31 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: June 26th, 2011 at 9:28 am

After posting a strong start on Friday, Cars 2 went on to finish the weekend with an estimated $68 million from its 4,115 locations.  That was more than double what its closest competitor, Bad Teacher, took in; but not quite enough to get the sequel higher than fifth place on the list of All-Time Pixar Studio champions.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Cars 2	$68,000,000	$68
2	Bad Teacher	$31,000,000	$31
3	Green Lantern	$18,350,000	$89.3
4	Super 8	$12,100,000	$95.1
5	Mr. Popper’s Penguins	$10,300,000	$39.4
6	X-Men: First Class	$6,600,000	$132.8
7	The Hangover Part II	$5,865,000	$232.9
8	Bridesmaids	$5,372,000	$146.6
9	Pirates of the Caribbean 4	$4,700,000	$229
10	Midnight in Paris	$4,480,000	$28.5

Director Tom McCarthy Talks WIN WIN, THE MILLION DOLLAR ARM, Working for Pixar & Making UP, More

by Ron Messer    Posted: April 11th, 2011 at 9:31 am

After three weeks of rave reviews in selected cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Dallas and Phoenix, Win Win expanded to a host of new cities this weekend.  It paid off with $5,398 per theater, (in the top 5 averages over the past 3 days) and $1.22 million overall.  We’ve spread out our interviews with the film’s Oscar-nominated stars Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and newcomer Alex Shaffer through the platform release because highly praised independent films which actually exceed that hype are rare and deserve all the extended support that sites like the one you’re reading can provide.

That brings us to our fourth installment: an interview with the film’s Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor and Up).  For a writer, director and actor who is so meticulous about his work on both sides of the camera, he was surprisingly open about his process in all three disciplines.  Hit the jump for the interview’s audio and transcript, including a look inside Pixar, the latest on The Million Dollar Arm, how Patricia Clarkson one-upped him on The Station Agent and his memories of an indie film trailblazer.  Continued after the jump.

US Postal Service Releasing Pixar Stamps in 2011

by Jason Barr    Posted: December 28th, 2010 at 3:10 pm

Pixar Animation Studios classics like Toy Story, Up, Wall-E, Ratatouille, and Cars will soon be commemorated with their own unique stamp designs in 2011.  Citing Pixar’s “exciting, contemporary characters and strong themes involving family and friends,” the United States Postal Service will begin circulating the “Send a Hello” stamps on August 19th, 2011.

To check out the official USPS release and to catch a glimpse of the five designs, hit the jump.

Exclusive Video Interview with Bob Whitehill – Pixar’s 3D Stereoscopic Artist; Talks TOY STORY 3, CARS 2, BRAVE, and More

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 28th, 2010 at 8:01 am

The first thing I need to say is I’m sorry to Bob Whitehill and Pixar/Disney.  While cleaning up my laptop this holiday weekend, I came across my Toy Story 3 folder and realized I never posted the video interview I did with Whitehill (Pixar’s 3D Stereoscopic Artist) while at Pixar earlier this year.  The video was in the media server, and I had written an intro, but for some reason it never got online.  Again, sorry.

But if you’re a fan of Pixar movies and how they get made, the interview with Whitehill is still worth checking out.  In fact, it might be better now, since most of you have seen Toy Story 3.  Anyway, as the guy who makes the 3D decisions on Pixar movies, Whitehill talked about how they picked their 3D moments in Toy Story 3, how the design of the films always starts on paper, explains a few secrets to look out for in Up, are they thinking about post converting older Pixar movies into 3D releases, and talks a bit about Cars 2 and Brave (which at the time was called The Bear and the Bow).  Hit the jump to watch:

Weekend Box Office – MEGAMIND Wins Second Week On Top with $30.1 Million; UNSTOPPABLE Skids Into Second

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: November 14th, 2010 at 9:33 am

After narrowly beating Megamind for first place on Friday, Unstoppable lost some momentum as it rolled through the weekend. The thriller placed second with an estimated $23.5 million while Dreamworks’ 3D animated Megamind enjoyed a second week at number one and a new estimated domestic gross of nearly $90 million.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Megamind	$30,100,000	$89.8
2	Unstoppable	$23,500,000	$23.5
3	Due Date	$15,500,000	$59
4	Skyline	$11,700,000	$11.7
5	Morning Glory	$9,600,000	$12.2
6	For Colored Girls	$6,800,000	$31
7	Red	$5,000,000	$79.7
8	Paranormal Activity 2	$3,000,000	$82
9	Saw 3D	$2,900,000	$43.6
10	Jackass 3D	$2,300,000	$114.7

THE SIMPSONS Parodies Opening of UP

by Bill Graham    Posted: October 4th, 2010 at 9:41 am

The Simpsons has always used social commentary as a staple of its ongoing success, and the second episode (Loan-a-Lisa) of season 22 was no different. Instead of using any of the main characters to parody Pixar’s UP, they actually utilized Scratchy and his female companion from the recurring Itchy & Scratchy Show and gave it a new twist that is all Simpsons. Hit the jump for the video and a bit more detail.

A Note from UP Director Pete Docter Says Pixar Films “Don’t Get Finished, They Just Get Released”

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: June 8th, 2010 at 11:38 am

I have never actually written a fan letter — I instead live vicariously through the correspondence of filmmakers I admire and their anonymous enthusiasts.  In October 2008, Pete Docter was best known as the director of Pixar’s 2001 effort Monsters Inc. and was hard at work on the soon-to-be Oscar-winner Up, but made time to scrawl a handwritten note in response to a fan.

Letters from animators are always the best, because they include little cartoons in the margins.  Docter’s note is no exception, in which he doodles himself alongside Monsters Inc. characters Mike, Sully, and Boo.  Check out the letter, including scans of the original, after the jump.

Oscars 2010: The Stars of the Best Animated Feature Category Talk About What Being Nominated Means to Them – Featuring FANTASTIC MR. FOX, UP, CORALINE, THE SECRET OF KELLS and THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 8th, 2010 at 8:56 am

One of the best moments during last night’s Oscars was the intro to the Best Animated Feature category.  Instead of the normal presentation where you have the two presenters come out and say the five nominees and then someone wins, the telecast had Steve Carell and Cameron Diaz introduce the stars of the Best Animated Feature Category so they could say what being nominated means to them.  As you might imagine, the answers were very well done and it’s definitely worth checking out if you missed the broadcast last night.  Also, if you were a fan of either Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog or The Secret of Kells, it’s a way to see new footage of your favorite characters.

THE HURT LOCKER Wins 6 BAFTA Awards Including Best Picture

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 21st, 2010 at 9:34 pm

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts added momentum to The Hurt Locker awards train tonight as they award the film Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound.  Hurt Locker‘s awards in the technical categories are particularly interesting because perhaps Academy-thinking that usually awards those categories to the big blockbuster movies, i.e. Avatar.  But perhaps BAFTA and Oscar voters on the same wavelength and despite the massive box office of Cameron’s tech demo, the Academy could recognize the impressive editing, sound, and achievement in other technical categories (although Avatar won the BAFTA for best visual effects and it’s a lock to win the Oscar in that category as well).

Other nice victories included Colin Firth for Best Actor (A Serious Man), Carey Mulligan for Best Actress (An Education), and my personal favorite: Outstanding British Debut to Duncan Jones for Moon.  He gave a very sweet acceptance speech and I’ve included video of it after the jump along with the full list of winners.

UP soars at Annies…Oscar(s) Next?

by Keith Demko    Posted: February 7th, 2010 at 9:08 am

Kung Fu Panda may have knocked out Wall-E at last year’s Annie Awards, but Pixar got its revenge Saturday night with Up taking the top two awards, for Best Animated Feature and Directing in a Feature Production for Pete Docter.

However, Henry Selick’s Coraline and Disney’s The Princess and The Frog (both of which this writer liked more than Up – hate if you must) topped Up‘s total, taking home three Annies each. And the most deserved award of all? In my opinion it’s certainly Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach for Writing in a Feature Production for the wildly witty Fantastic Mr. Fox.

And Up, of course, is up for an impressive two-fer when the Oscars are handed out March 7, being nominated for both Best Picture and Best Animated Picture (only the second animated movie to score a Best Picture nod, after Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.) There’s always a chance the two could cancel each other out, but I wouldn’t bet against Pixar in at least the animated category.  Hit the jump to see a full list of winners at the Annie Awards.

2010 Oscar Nominations Announced; AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER Lead with 9 Noms Each

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 2nd, 2010 at 6:29 am

Despite opening up the Best Picture race from five nominations to ten, this morning’s announcement of the 2010 Oscar nominations hardly had any surprises.  When the biggest shocker comes from the widely-unseen The Secret of Kells being nominated for Best Animated Feature, then the prediction system worked as it should.  That’s not to say that there’s nothing to be happy or disappointed about.  It’s just that with no surprises, that happiness or disappointment has probably been felt well in advance.  Personally, I’m jazzed that District 9 picked up a Best Picture nomination and I’m really bummed that Peter Capaldi wasn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actor for In the Loop.

But the race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker remains close.  Each film picked up nine nominations and so there’s no clear favorite to win the award.  Right now, Hurt Locker would seem to have a slight edge with its victories from both the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild.  But Avatar‘s box office numbers contribute to its status as does the mainstream acclaim for the film.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees.  The winners will be announced at the 82nd Academy Awards on Sunday, March 7th at 8pm EST on ABC.

Rotten Tomatoes Presents Top Golden Tomato Awards to UP and THE HURT LOCKER

by Eli Mak    Posted: January 11th, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Pixar continues its domination as a critical favourite at the 11th Annual Golden Tomato Awards as Up has won the Golden Tomato Award for a film in wide release. Rotten Tomatoes, the online aggregator of film reviews has more than 200 top film critics whose opinions and judgements are included in the final score that resulted in Pixar picked up its 16th Golden Tomato Award. It was critically acclaimed for making the story of far greater importance than the visuals, remarking “another masterful work of art from Pixar, Up is an exciting, hilarious, and heartfelt adventure impeccably crafted and told with wit and depth”. The Hurt Locker was the best limited release film for 2009 while Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was considered ‘moldy’, as the worst reviewed film of 2009 with an embarrassing 4% rotten tomato rating. Winners in action/adventure, comedy, documentary, drama, sci-fi, thriller, foreign, horror, kids, romance, musical and the user-voted Golden Tomato, after the jump.

WGA Nominees Announced; Nods for AVATAR, STAR TREK, and THE HANGOVER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 11th, 2010 at 12:41 pm

The WGA has announced their nominees for Best Original, Adapted, and Documentary screenplays today and because so many great films were ruled ineligible, these nominees are kind of a joke.  Avatar is getting way more love for its spectacle than its story (protect the Hometree from the Sky People), (500) Days of Summer‘s structure is impressive but the characters and story are completely vanilla, Julie & Julia is half a good movie, and Crazy Heart is a two-hour commercial for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Now here’s a list of movies that were rule ineligible:  Inglourious Basterds, District 9, In the Loop, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, and A Single Man.  I suppose the only bright spot of all this is that The Hangover received a nomination, which is hilarious.

Hit the jump for the full list of nominees.  Winners will be announced on February 20th.

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