As a fan of many of their movies, I’ve been wanting to go to Pixar, for some time now.  And since you have to either work there, know someone who works there, or get an invite to go there, I jumped at the recent opportunity to make the trip to Emeryville, Calif.to do interviews for their latest feature film, Monsters University, and had a great time while I was there.  The film follows Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal), who arrives at the campus with the dream of becoming a Scarer while James “Sulley” Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) feels like he doesn’t have to put in the time or work to succeed because he was born with his talent.  When their journeys both prove to be a bit more complicated than they anticipated, they find help and friendship in the unlikeliest of places.

At the film’s press day, actor Billy Crystal talked about how easy it was to get back into the character, how great it is to play off of actor John Goodman during their recording sessions, what kind of student he was in college, why Mike Wazowski is the favorite character he’s played, how much his grandkids love it, why they never made a sequel to the original film, and finding satisfaction in every medium he works in.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

As a fan of many of their movies, I’ve been wanting to go to Pixar, for some time now.  And since you have to either work there, know someone who works there, or get an invite to go there, I jumped at the recent opportunity to make the trip to Emeryville, Calif.to do interviews for their latest feature film, Monsters University, and had a great time while I was there.  The film follows Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal), who arrives at the campus with the dream of becoming a Scarer while James “Sulley” Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) feels like he doesn’t have to put in the time or work to succeed because he was born with his talent.  When their journeys both prove to be a bit more complicated than they anticipated, they find help and friendship in the unlikeliest of places.

At the film’s press day, director Dan Scanlon talked about how this particular story idea came about, how he got the gig directing his first feature, who he went to for advice, the technological advancements made with the film, how close to completion they were still making tweaks and changes, making sure the film never got too scary, how the supporting characters grew bigger than they ever expected, and how they incorporated some of the familiar characters from Monsters, Inc.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

Joss Whedon’s contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is now playing in theaters.  The micro-budget film was completed in just twelve days at his house, and stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, and Nathan Fillion.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review and all our previous coverage which includes clips, posters, and images.

During the recent L.A. press day, I landed an extended video interview with Fillion.  He talked about making Much Ado, the complicated dialogue, if he agrees to whatever Joss Whedon asks of him, Twitter, what he geeks out over, his thoughts on the Star Wars sequels, the idea of appearing as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in another movie as a cameo, and more.  In addition, he talks about his voice role for Monsters University and his Pixar fandom, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and his appreciation for star Logan Lerman, Justice Leage: The Flashpoint Paradox, and reveals he’ll be at Comic-Con next month for Nerd Machine.  Hit the jump to watch.

Monsters University will be here soon, and I like what I’m seeing.  I like it so much that I’ve seen enough.  Even though we post plenty of trailers, clips, and featurettes on the site, I don’t watch all of them if I’m already interested in the film.  That stuff is for the people who need more convincing.  So if you’re still unsure about Monsters University, we have seven clips and 13 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage featuring the cast from Pixar’s upcoming prequel recording their lines.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and behind-the-scenes footage.  The film features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, 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 in 3D on June 21st.

After their last two movies, some wondered whether the Pixar magic had run out.  All streaks had to end, and the animation studio was now coming back down to Earth.  But judging by the positive CinemaCon buzz and the latest trailer for Monsters University, Pixar may be back on top.  Although prequels always carry the question of, “Don’t we know where this is going?” that doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyable, and Monsters Univeristy looks like it has the potential to be loads of fun.

I’m pleased to announce that we’re giving away four admit-two passes to the Atlanta screening of Monsters University.  Hit the jump to find out how you can see the movie early and for free.  The film features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, 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 in 2D, Disney Digital 3D, and RealD 3D on June 21st.

Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) are inseparable now, but that wasn’t always the case.  In Monsters University, Mike arrives at the campus with the dream of becoming a Scarer while Sulley feels like he won’t have to put in the time or work to succeed because he was born with his talent.  When their journeys both prove to be a bit more complicated than they anticipated, they find help and friendship in the unlikeliest of places.

During a press conference with Billy Crystal and John Goodman, the two talked about what it was like to create younger versions of the characters they first brought to life in Monsters, Inc. in 2001, why the friendship of Mike and Sulley resonates, feeling like misfits themselves, how much things have changed since the last time they worked with Pixar, working with director Dan Scanlon, and what used to scare them.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

If you enjoyed the recent final trailer for Pixar’s Monsters University but want a little more footage, then you’ll enjoy these three new clips from the Dan Scanlon-directed picture.  Featuring Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sulley (voiced by John Goodman), the clips reveal a look into the undergrads’ adventures in Greek life on campus.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  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 in 3D on June 21st.

Disney-Pixar has released the final trailer for Monsters University. The prequel shows how Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) became best friends during their time at college. I’ve been a bit wary about the prequel, but this trailer put those doubts to rest. The film looks incredibly funny but also has heart. This goes along with the positive buzz I’ve been hearing, and it looks like Monsters University could be the movie that gets Pixar back on track to the high quality we’ve come to expect from them.

Hit the jump to check out the 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 in 3D on June 21st.

Pixar has released the first clip from Monsters University.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) 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 clip shows the roommates Mike and Sulley and how their bunk-bed situation has led to an awkward first moment involving shedding and humble stable boys.  It’s cute and funny, and it’s a hopeful sign for the rest of the picture.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  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 in 3D on June 21, 2013.

Disney has released a new trailer for Pixar’s upcoming prequel Monsters University.  While the Hangover Part III-style trailer does boast a good deal of new footage (showing off more fantastic monster designs in the process), the central focus is on a new track called “Roar” composed by Axwell & Sebastian Ingross of Swedish House Mafia.  It’s a rather dance-y track that director Dan Scanlon commissioned in order to capture the college feel in the film, but I’m interested to see how it works alongside Randy Newman’s score for the animated pic.  Newman himself collaborated with international drum corps The Blue Devils on the music, so we should expect something a tad different from his Monsters Inc. score.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  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.

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.