AWN Oscar Travelogue

Animated Shorts Celebration At DreamWorks

oscartour — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:07:47 +0000

Me on the left with This Way Up director Alan Smith.

written by Rick Farmiloe

I was lucky enough to be included in part of the Oscar Showcase tour this year. Every year the nominees for animated short films are given a tour and luncheon at some of the animation studios here in the Los Angeles area. The organizer of these celebrations, Ron Diamond, invited me to join them at DreamWorks on the last day of the tour. Ron and I are on the Executive Committee of the Short Films/Animation Branch of the Academy, and see scores of animated shorts every year. There is always a wide range of styles and ideas presented in various mediums. It’s always interesting to see which ones will make the final cut for the Oscar nominations. This year the field was exceptionally strong, with every film being quite unique and different from the rest. Meeting the filmmakers and hearing about their thought process and methods of getting it on the screen was extremely interesting and inspiring.

Everyone gathered outside the Campanile Building where the theater is located. There would be a screening for the DreamWorks staff, then a question and answer period with the filmmakers afterwards. It was fun to meet the filmmakers beforehand and mingle around a bit. The director of PRESTO, Doug Sweetland, could not attend this day, unfortunately. This was the last of the tour stops, so they were very friendly with each other by this point. There seemed to be a common bond, regardless of language or background. They were joined together by a love and passion for filmmaking and animation. There was absolutely no competitive vibe among them. They were just all together as filmmakers, celebrating the animated art form. Jeffrey Katzenberg showed, and greeted everyone very warmly, making everyone associated with this tour feel extremely welcome. Jeffrey is one of animation’s biggest fans and supporters.

Jeffrey Katzenberg gives an introduction to the screening.

He introduced the filmmakers to the audience before the showing. The films were shown to a very appreciative and enthusiastic audience. The theater was absolutely packed, with several people standing. Questions were then asked of the filmmakers as to what their inspiration were in making their particular films. Why the style it was made in? How long did it take, etc? The one common thread that ran through the answers was that the filmmakers wanted to keep things simple and direct. They felt the film could only communicate well if it was kept simple. When you only have a few minutes to tell a story, it’s important to not have too many distractions to confuse the audience, thus keeping them involved.

It was also interesting that there was almost NO dialogue in any of the films. This was also a means to keep things simple and communicate to variety of audiences worldwide. There was no language barrier problem because of this choice.

Kunio Kato explains the making of his Oscar-winning film.

The director of LA MAISON EN PETIS CUBES, Kunio Kato said that his inspiration for his film about a man who relives his past through building layers onto his house, was simply the idea of houses building additions on top of their structure. The plot of the man revisiting points in his life came later. Kunio is a painter, who feels through animation he can express his art more fully and communicate his ideas better.

The directors of OKTAPADI (about two octopi in love) felt it was best to keep the idea very simple and have the two get separated and try to reunite. They wanted no dialogue to keep it visual, and short to keep it to the point. They also felt they wanted to keep one step ahead of the audience to keep it unpredictable.

The two directors of THIS WAY UP, Smith and Foulkes, felt they also needed to keep the plot simple and dialogue free. The simple plot of the mishaps that befall them as they try to deliver a corpse in a coffin worked very well and kept audiences interested in what would happen next.

The director of LAVATORY LOVESTORY, Konstantin Bronzit, took a full year to do the storyboards, and two years to make the film, which was hand drawn and very charming. He also stated his preference for having no dialogue to keep things simple, citing Charlie Chaplin as an inspiration.

The question of 2D or 3D came up as well. The two filmmakers who did their films in 2D, Konstantin Bronzit and Kunio Kato were adamant that hand drawn animation is the ONLY way they would ever work. They felt it expressed best the feeling they were trying to get across to an audience, and it made it more personal for them.

It was interesting to find out that some of the filmmakers were going on to other feature length projects, while others were staying in the shorts field.

A luncheon was served afterwards, with some DreamWorks staff attending, where more stories were shared between filmmakers and other attendees. One common thread that tied everyone together was a real love for animation and an excitement at what lies ahead for them as individuals in their careers, and the art form in general. You really got the feeling that these people where in this for the long haul continuing to explore and create great work.

The This Way Up filmmakers get ready for Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D.

There was then a tour of DreamWorks, where we were treated to a screening of some sequences of the upcoming release, MONSERS VS ALIENS in 3-D. The sequences looked amazing, and the 3-D was some of the best I’ve ever seen. We saw some new technology in a hand held 3D virtual camera that can move around an environment with already created animation, giving the director the chance to change camera angles on the spot. I can’t remember exactly what it’s called, but it was really impressive. We then were shown some test animation by Kristof Serrand for a new feature called HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.

The day was winding down, but everyone still had a lot of enthusiasm for everything they were seeing. The Oscars were only two days away, so you could really feel the excitement among the filmmakers. It’s important to note that they just seemed to really enjoy being part of the whole Oscar celebration and not too concerned about winning awards. They were happy to be a part of something pretty wonderful, and just sharing this special time with one another, being supportive and complimentary of each other’s outstanding work. It was pretty inspiring to realize that this art form of the animated short film is very alive and well. Regardless of the medium that is used to tell the story, or the country it comes from, or budget or time, there are still a lot of great stories to be told. It’s nice to know there are such enthusiastic filmmakers out there who feel the animated short film is a vital tool to inform and entertain. Let’s just hope they all get the support and accolades they deserve. From what I observed, the animated short film has a very bright future!

Rick Farmiloe
Animator and Executive Board Member of the Short Films/Animation Branch AMPAS

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Congrats to Kunio Kato and All the Nominees

oscartour — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:37:36 +0000

Kunio Kato (l) with Robot Communications Taki Tsuyoshi.

Congratulations to Oscar winner Kunio Kato, as well as everyone at Robot Communications, especially Taki Tsuyoshi. I’d also like to congratulate all the nominees on their wonderful films. Even though I only had a chance to follow the filmmakers on the L.A. leg this year, I believe the overall tour was again a success.

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Oscar Tour Comes to Close at DreamWorks

oscartour — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:21:11 +0000

The tour members pose outside the Campanile Theater.

The Oscar Showcase tour came to an end on Friday with a visit to DreamWorks. The filmmakers were clearly tired from their long week and a half, but their excitement hasn’t wavered. Ron invited Academy board member Rick Farmiloe to join us for the day to experience the tour with the filmmakers. The day was a bit of a homecoming for Farmiloe, who served as a story artist on the original “Shrek.” At Disney, he animated classic characters like Lefou in “Beauty and the Beast” and Abu in “Aladdin.”

For the first time, the “This Way Up” filmmakers were able to join the tour. Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes have been busy though, spending much of the week meeting with execs around town on feature projects. Alan said they met with the Hensons, former Fox exec Chris Meledandri, and Sony’s Hannah Minghella. Accompanying the famed commercials directors, their most recent work was seen during the Super Bowl — the Coca-Cola “Avatar” spot — were writer/producer Chris O’Reilly and producer Charlotte Bavasso, who I had met two nights prior at the AWN/Acme Filmworks party. She said the party at Ron’s house was especially nice, because she was tired of restaurant after restaurant every night that she has been in L.A.

Jeffery Katzenberg meets the Oscar shorts filmmakers.

DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg introduced Ron to the standing room only crowd in the Campanile Theater on the DreamWorks lot. He said it was a great year for animation and that he was particular proud of the success of “Kung Fu Panda,” as well as “Oktapodi” directors and DreamWorks India employees Julien Bocabeille and Thierry Marchand. Ron thanked the crowd for coming out and making the filmmakers, who came from all over the world, feel welcome.

During the screening, DreamWorks exec John Tarnoff took the filmmakers to get a hands on demonstration of the studio’s newly developed virtual-set camera system, which like the system used at Sony on “Surf’s Up,” allows the filmmakers to layout shots in previs like a live-action photo shoot. The system can be scaled so that the camera can be used for helicopter shots and the like. The studio has also begun developing a game engine system that can light and provide effects in realtime over the previs animation allowing the filmmakers to get an even better idea of the shots and layout they are selecting. One surprise use the system is for location scouting. Modelers have been using the cameras to virtually walk through their sets and make sure their models are perfect from every angle. The system will get its big screen debut on “Monsters vs. Aliens,” where the technology was used extensively in action sequences. Alan and Adam were quite envious, and hoped that one day systems like this one would be available on smaller houses.

The Q&A brought forth many of the same questions that were asked at the other screenings. John Tarnoff broke the ice asking what the most interesting question the filmmakers have been asked. Alan said the most annoying question was why did you use animation.

Alan, Adam, and Chris put on their 3-D glasses for a sneak peek at Monsters vs. Aliens.

After lunch, the filmmakers were treated to 20 minutes of “Monsters vs. Aliens” in 3-D stereoscopic. Head of character animation Dave Burgess was asked if 3-D makes animating more difficult. He said that cheats that once were used no longer work, because the depth of field needs to be so precise. Alan asked if they have to spend more time on background characters that were previously no more than decoration. Dave said that their new crowd simulation software helps in this area, giving the crowds more life. Dave also revealed that they finished animation six weeks ago, and he is eagerly awaiting the first test screenings. He told me that it was nice to finally watch the footage with a group of people who haven’t be entrenched in the process.

After the screening, the filmmakers broke up into smaller groups to accompany animators to their offices to get a look at what they are working on. I joined Rick Farmiloe, FX, and Konstantin in a visit to Kristof Serrand’s office to see footage from “How to Train Your Dragon.” We had the chance to see early animation test and scene work featuring the main character Hiccup and his dragon. Hiccup, his dragon and other characters’ designs have changed over the course of the project and we saw the different stages as well. The most impressive peek was at one of the fully rendered characters. The hair work on the character’s large bushy beard and long mustache was another step forward in realism. Konstantin was curious how much animation each animator is required to finish in a week. Kristof said the average is supposed to be four seconds, but it depends on what they are animating. For instance, this week he is doing simple reaction shots so he might get as much as 10 seconds done, while in weeks with heavy action shots he might only get two seconds done. As he was showing us some of the wonderful dragons, he pointed out that the snake-like movement of a long-necked two-headed dragon was particularly hard to animate. He made the observation that what was easy in 2D is tough in CG, and visa versa.

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My Day at Sony with the Nominees

oscartour — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:44:55 +0000

Introducing myself to Oktapodi director Julien Bocabeille.

written by Bill Kroyer

Wednesday I had the pleasure of joining Ron Diamond and the players in the traveling Oscar Tour on their visit to Sony Pictures Animation. The Oscar-nominated directors of the animated short films “Oktapodi,” “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” and “Lavatory Lovestory” had a chance to tour the studio and answer questions from the animation crew.

Not lost on the Sony audience was the fact that there is not a single spoken word in the five nominated films, a condition that emphasizes the international make-up of the nominees and the universal appeal of the films. The top Sony animation executives, including Hannah Minghella and Barry Weiss, hosted a luncheon following the screening.

Konstantin stands out in any panel... with or without a bright orange shirt.

For Konstantin Bronzit, the director of “Lavatory,” this visit to Los Angeles is his first taste of America. Coming from St. Petersburg, Russia, he was enjoying not only a 70 degree increase in temperature but a 100 degree reversal in glamour. His Russian studio has over 200 employees and does every kind of production for the state, including film, TV shows, commercials, and their version of Public Service Announcements. Konstantin apologizes for his spotty English, but he has a sharp wit and was being touted as the stand-up comic of the group for his hilarious turn on-stage Tuesday at the Motion Picture Academy. His wry humor surfaced again in the Q&A with the Sony staff. When the filmmakers were asked how they financed their films, Konstantin said; “With us, the government pays for everything.” And after the perfect beat, he added: “But the pay is not so much.”

I saw Konstantin at a party later that night and he was clearly awed by the crowds, the food, the music, and the revelry. “Do Americans party like this all the time?”

Who would have thought that glamour and revelry would be synonymous with animation?

Walking over to the animation studio with the Oktapodi director (background) and La Maison's Kunio Kato (foreground).

“Oktapodi,” as you may know, had six directors, and they achieved two remarkable feats; making a great film and getting six people to agree on how to make it. From the sound of it the six were equal contributors, a situation that created great angst at Oscar nomination time. The rules of the Academy allow a maximum of two names to be placed in nomination, so only two of the guys are formally named on stage. In addition, those two get tickets AND one added guest ticket to the show and the Governor’s Ball, the swanky, exclusive affair that follows the telecast. That meant four total tickets, excluding two of the directors. The good news was the Academy sprung for the extra two tickets to the show. I never found out how they chose the lucky guests.

They did ask me about the logistics of arriving at the Oscars. I think they were concerned that the nominees got to enter through the red carpet and the peon ticket-holders were banished behind the bleachers. I assured them that everybody goes through the same metal detectors. There is a red rope that separates you from the nominees - but you can still walk side by side. Until Joan Rivers grabs you…

Hannah Minghella made a point of reminding the artists to enjoy the moment. Being nominated, and enjoying the people and festivities that accompany that honor, are to be savored and remembered.

This seems especially poignant this year, when the race for the statuette seems too close to call. It’s a great list of films, each with a unique style and tone. Any one of them would be a worthy representative as best of the medium, and we never know how a close a vote separates the winner from the…I’ll just say “other nominees.”

Congratulations to the filmmakers, and thanks to Ron Diamond and the AWN crew who make these artists welcome and made to feel a part of the Hollywood film community.

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Sony Day, aka Visiting Emud’s Work

oscartour — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:22:12 +0000

The nominees meet their latest Academy guest Bill Kroyer (r).

Well, the second to last tour stop brings the filmmakers to Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks. For Emud, it was a return to his workplace where he is on the Disney live-action/CG flick, “G-Force.” He was thankful that Sony gave him ten days off to tour both in San Francisco and L.A.

We arrived and were greeted by a dapper looking Don Levy, marketing master for Sony, who had to leave us early to hand out an award at the publicist’s awards that afternoon. For each stop of the L.A. leg, Ron invited a different member of the Academy board. At Sony, the filmmakers had the pleasure of meeting Bill Kroyer. FX was particularly impressed with meeting someone who worked on “Tron.” Bill shared a story of “Ice Age” director Chris Wedge entering x-sheet data into the computer on the film. Bill said he was glad that Chris stuck with computers after the job.

Before lunch the filmmakers joined top execs from the studio for a screening of the shorts. The filmmakers had a chance to meet with Bob Osher, the president of Sony Pictures Digital Prods. and COO of Columbia Pictures; Hannah Minghella, president of production at SPA; Debbie Denise, evp of production and exec producer of Imageworks; and Barry Weiss, svp of animation production.

After the screening, the filmmakers sat down with the top brass for lunch in their newly renovated office space. Bob Osher paid the “Oktapodi” directors a big compliment, saying their film should be shown to all students, so they could learn how to tell tight narratives with universal stories. Osher chatted with Quentin, Emud and Olivier about the hectic schedules during Oscar season while he was at Miramax. He said with night after night of parties one became close to a select group of people that he saw day in and day out. Sounds kind of like the Oscar Tour. Whether it was actors or other nominees, they shared a good deal of time together in a short period of time. This intense experience brought them together then when the awards were over, you didn’t see them again. He said it was a strange experience. Afterward, everyone always needed a vacation, he added.

In talking with Eric, Osher revealed that he was recently in London to meet with the filmmakers at Aardman. Originally it was supposed to be a visit to Bristol, but snow prevented that from happening. Osher said that their new relationship with the “Wallace and Gromit” makers is fantastic. This story was spurred by Emud relating his tale of driving down the California coast with the other “Oktapodi” directors during the recent heavy rains. They had planned to go to Big Sur, but had to turn around due to mudslides. A possibility he did not tell the others before leaving, so they could enjoy the rainy ride without worry. During their trip, the French directors had a chance to have their first root beer float, which was an American treat they described as drinking medicine.

The filmmakers check out Surf's Up art.

After the lunch, while the screening for the artist was taking place, the tour took a quick spin through the facilities. The filmmakers checked out concept art from “Surf’s Up” in the studio lobby then we swung into the production space to check out storyboards and concept art for Sony’s next projects “Cloudly with Chance of Meatballs” and “Hotel Transylvania.” FX particularly liked the environment designs for “Hotel,’ which had a dark, but illuminated color palette. The next stop on the tour was the layout department where the filmmakers had a chance to see Sony’s preparatory camera system, which allows the artists to use a real camera to layout shots for animated productions. Because the program of shorts was an hour shorter than last year, the filmmakers didn’t have a chance to play the camera this time around. The last stop of the tour was Emud’s cubicle. The entire tour crammed into his workspace so he could get a picture of them all.

Emud at his desk.

Many of the Q&A questions were the same from previous screenings. However, one person did ask about funding. For the “Oktapodi” directors, it was part of their tuition at Gobelins. However, music was up to the filmmakers. At first they had made a deal with a professional composer, who said he’d do the work for free, however, they would have had to pay for the instrumentalists. Because they couldn’t afford it, a second option had to be used. Emud contacted a music student from his days at UCLA named Kenny Wood, and he agreed to do the music for free. For Konstantin, funding came from the Russian government. Kunio received funding from his studio Robot, which usually produces commercials. His film was their third short.

Another new question was what was the biggest challenge on the projects. On “Oktapodi,” animating the octopi was a tough task, and decisions needed to be made on the number of legs and suction cups in order to get the short done in time. Konstantin joked that his toughest challenge was convincing his producer to make what was originally supposed to be a colorful film in black & white.

In answering the common question of why his film has a French title, Kunio from Japan promised that he’d never name another film of his in French again, so it would save confusion.

New friends Konstantin and Kunio.

After the tour, the filmmakers went their separate ways to rest up before the AWN/Acme Filmworks party at Ron Diamond’s abode. Before heading off, Ron gave some help to Taki and Kunio with the Academy on seating logistics at the Oscar ceremony, just in case Kunio wins and needs his interpreter to accompany him on stage. Ron also helped Konstantin contact the Academy about getting better seats for some of his crewmembers who are currently sitting in the balcony.

Kunio asked Olivier if the “Oktapodi” crew had worked on any other projects at school together. At Gobelins, which is three-year program, the students work on individual animation exercises for the first two years. Then in the third year, around December, they are split into groups and must work out how they as a group will make decisions together.

FX and Quentin had a chance to have their portfolios reviewed by Sony recruiting then Emud took his fellow “Oktapodi” directors to see some of the work he had been doing on “G-Force.” Bill Kroyer met up with a friend to sneak off and see CG tests for the “Smurfs” film. Instead of shlepping back to Encino from Culver City, Konstantin was happy to join Ron on his shopping stops for the party.

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My Day at Disney with the Nominees

oscartour — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Oktapodi's Julien Bocabeille and I talked over lunch.

written by Bob Degus

For more than a decade, I’ve been a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Film and Feature Animation Branch. Each year I look forward to our fall screenings where we get to see the finest short animated films from around the world and select the five nominees. It’s like attending the best film festival in the world.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending the day with the filmmakers of three of the nominated shorts — “Oktapodi,” “Lavatory Lovestory,” and “La Maison en Petite Cubes” — as they were welcomed into and toured the “birthplace” of American animation – Walt Disney Studios.

The idea is the brainchild of fellow Academy Member Ron Diamond, who, each year, takes the nominated filmmakers to meet their animation colleagues and peers at the major animation facilities, in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Watching this years filmmakers, who traveled from as far away as France, India, Japan and Russia, be greeted, honored and celebrated by 140 plus of Disney’s animators was a singularly emotionally moving experience for me and rates near the top of my experiences associated with the Academy Awards.

We were all impressed with the artwork.

The day started quite profoundly with a visit to Disney’s Animation Research Library. This facility is located in Glendale, CA and unfortunately is not open to the public. It houses – literally the entire history of the art of Disney animation, and is used by the current generation of Disney animators to look at the original paper frame by frame drawings and back grounds from the classic Disney films as well as related art objects.

We got to see some of the original drawings from Disney’s first feature “Snow White,” and even more exciting was seeing some from “Steamboat Willie” and Oswald the Rabbit. Here was the next generation of 21st century animators looking at original paper pencil art from some of the first animation ever made. For those who don’t know, long before computers, a pencil was an orange-yellow stick with lead in it once used to draw art on something called paper.

Stopped to pose for a picture in front of the original Disney Animation Building.

From the Research Library we traveled to Disney’s main studio lot and their Animation Building. After a break for coffee, the Oscar nominees were introduced to the packed theater of Disney animators and the nominees’ films were screened.

Since we had all already seen the films, we toured the main lot, and saw the original “Hyperion Building” physically moved from Silverlake, where Disney started, to Burbank, (the current location of the studio) and the original Burbank Animation Buildings (now offices).

Taki (l) and Kunio (m) check out the multiplane camera.

We had a quick stop at the famous multi-plane camera, no longer used, which gave the Disney films their classic look. The camera had multiple planes or levels that allowed the animators to create perspective similar to that of a live-action camera.

We rushed back to be in time for the screening ending and the nominees answered questions from the Disney animators. After, we all were treated to a lunch where one-on-one conversation could occur.

We then toured the main animation building where Disney has two upcoming films in production, one of which, “Princess and the Frog,” marks Disney’s return to classic hand-drawn animation.

What was fascinating for us to learn was that just like on “Snow White,” the animators were again using paper and pencils (see above pencil definition) to draw the animation. However, unlike the older films, those pencil drawings are now digitally scanned into a computer and various computer stations at the facility use the scans and act as what would have been called the ink and paint department, creating what we think of as color animation cels, or the in-betweening department (lead animators draw the key or main frames of action and then junior animators fill in the missing action). And effectively, the computer also acts as the camera would have.

Almost all of the details of both films are housed in that animation building, from the story department to production design to what clothes the characters will wear to editorial.

Posing for a picture on the outside of Mickey's hat.

Toward the end of our time together we got to go inside “Mickey’s hat”, and for me that was certainly a high-point of the tour – and I think it would be for anyone living in Los Angeles, as we drive by it so often on the freeway.

The day ended with the Disney animators inviting us to join them for their brief work in-progress screening of about 16 shots that were completed and needed approvals to move onto the next stage in the process.

For obvious confidentiality reasons they asked us not to discuss what we saw at the screening, but I can say that some of the shots were what was called “color finals” meaning the director and other team members were to approve them if they felt they were perfect, others were pencil drawings to approve final movement and then those shots could go to the color department, and the third group was rough sketches of shots at their beginning.

At one point in the screening a color shot was about to be approved as “final” and one of the animators shouted “Wait! There’s a “pop” in the shadow on the final frame of the shot.” And sure enough when they looked at that shot very slowly frame by frame, they discovered that a shadow disappeared one frame or one-twenty-fourth of a second early.

That is the attention to detail that goes into making not only the Disney animated films, but also those of the Oscar nominees.

As to who will win on Sunday for your Oscar pool? There is always an incorrect perception about the Oscars that there is one winner and the other four lose. I really felt yesterday, seeing these nominee animators and their American Disney colleagues together in the same room — that whatever the outcome on Sunday is — they are all winners. It’s not a cliché, because their films, touched and moved a large group of people to become a nominee, and that is what cinema is ultimately about.

The Oscar shorts tour theatrically each year and are eventually available on DVD. I urge you to find the screenings in your city. You will not be disappointed.

Bob Degus
Los Angeles

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Another Sold Out Year at the Academy

oscartour — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:41:40 +0000

The nominees - Oktapodi's Emud Mokhberi (l-r), Oktapodi's Thierry Marchand, Lavatory Lovestory's Konstantin Bronzit, La Maison's Kunio Kato, This Way Up's Alan Smith, This Way Up's Adam Foulkes, and Presto's Doug Sweetland

The screening at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is always an exciting event for the nominees. Sell out crowds are eager to see the films and are always very receptive. The screening is also a big press event with the nominees juggling interviews and photo ops with news outlets from around the world.

Doug Sweetland in one of his many interviews of the night.

The event also gave me a chance to meet the other directors — Doug Sweetland of “Presto” and Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes of “This Way Up.” Their time was tight as they were shepherded around the reception to meet with various people. After the screening, Doug got a chance to sign autographs for some young fans of Pixar, who were eager to know his favorite Pixar film (which was Toy Story 2).

One unfortunate part of the night involved the “Oktapodi” directors. The Academy rules only allow two nominees for a film in the Animated Short category. Because of the rule only the nominated directors were allowed to pose for the official nominee photo and participate in the Q&A after the screening. Luckily, Ron Diamond encouraged the other four directors to pop in before the photographers left, allowing them to be featured in other outside press.

Quentin, Olivier, Julien and FX get their chance in front of the flashes with the nominees.

I asked Gobelins’ Eric Riewer who made the decision that Emud and Thierry would be the nominees. He said the school chose who they thought would represent the film the best (those who spoke the best English), but the ultimate decision was up to the crew. Because of this not all the directors will get to go to the Governor’s Ball as well.

During the Q&A, which was hosted by “Marley & Me” director David Frankel, the nominees were asked what came first — and image or the story. For Kunio, it was the image of little cubes making up a house. Konstantin joked that for his film “Lavatory Lovestory” it was inspired by his excessive need to go to the bathroom. For the “Oktapodi” crew, the story of two octopi came first then the look, which focused on making the octopi cute with big eyes so they could be expressive and instantly likeable.

Doug said that gags were his inspiration, especially the extended string of gags that were found in Droopy shorts. Doug added that his original pitch for “Presto” had the magician getting a Dear John letter from his rabbit, spurring him to snatch up a fan rabbit to use in the act. To tell a more economic story, the characters were changed to a classic adversarial duo. Smith & Foulkes said their story came from the faces of their two undertaker characters and then what new evils they could inflict on them.

In a big shout out to tour host Ron Diamond, Doug said that shorts collection like the Animation Show of Shows, which toured college towns, were a big influence on him, because they inspired him to believe that you could make short animation and go to school to learn how.

A pose with the big gold guy.

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L.A. Leg Kicks Off at Disney

oscartour — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:24:53 +0000

The tour poses for a pic with the Animation Resource Library archivists in front of background painted for a Donald Duck promotional tour.

As the tour swings from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the Oscar Travelogue switches chroniclers from Barbara Robertson to me, Rick DeMott.

Walt Disney kicks off the L.A. leg. For a touch of morning inspiration, we gathered at the Animation Resource Library. Having traveled with the Oscar Tour for the past two years in both San Fran and Los Angeles, it feels strange coming in midstream. I missed out on the bonding that took place in the Bay Area as the filmmakers from around the globe were getting to know each other. For the “Oktapodi” crew, the tour was the first chance for them to be together since graduating from Gobelins. Julien Bocabeille and Thierry Marchand, who both work for DreamWorks in Bangalore, India, joined FX, Olivier, Quentin and Emud, who already had a taste of the tour last week. Joining the six “Oktapodi” directors were Konstantin and Kunio, who having met for the first time in San Fran, have clearly bonded quickly, despite not speaking the same language.

No flash photography was used in the production of this photo.

Earlier in the week the archives requested the filmmakers send in their preferences for artwork. Julien was the only one to reply and we were treated to his exact scene choices from “Alice in Wonderland.” The animation archives are referred to as the Morgue, which is an interesting name considering the temperate controlled vaults are kept at 60 degree Fahrenheit and 50% humidity. The consistency is what protects the artwork, which is mainly paper based. We learned that before moving to the Flower street location, which used to be a production facility starting with “The Little Mermaid,” the archives were housed in the Ink & Paint building on the studio lot.

After we gazed over gorgeous Mary Blair concept artwork and posed for some pictures, we were taken into the vaults where the legacy of Disney animation is housed. In addition to being temperature controlled, the vaults have inergen fire suppression system, which pumps nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide into the room, removing the oxygen, to put out the fire while not killing any human remaining in the room. There is a backup water system, but the archivists don’t want to think about that option.

This row is just a portion of the art the ARL has for Sleeping Beauty.

The archives are confidential and not just open to anyone at Disney, we were told. However back in the day, Walt Disney himself let friend Ray Bradbury have the run of the place. Previously, cels, which were referred to as production residue, were tossed, or sold for a few dollars at the amusement parks. Inside these hallowed vaults we saw a corridor and a half of box after box of artwork from “Sleeping Beauty.” In one vault there were maquettes from various productions including cracked maquettes of the orchestra and ballet hippo from “Fantasia” that were found in a storage cabinet on the lot along with the actual “Pinocchio” marionette used as reference for the film. In a special light protected cabinet, the filmmakers were impressed by the collection of production puppets from “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Like many of the archival techniques over the years, standards have changed for protecting the “Nightmare” puppets. At first they were in acid-free boxes, but the clothing was melting into the paper. Now they’re housed in plastic airtight cases, which protect them from any further deterioration.

Konstantin Bronzit looks up Jack Skellington.

Kunio and Robot producer Taki were happy to see artwork once owned by Chiaba University in Japan. The collection was donated to the school from Disney for an exhibition and when the school wanted to sell the artwork, Disney asked for the first offer, setting up an endowment for Chiaba. Now they hang on the walls of the vaults behind protective UV screens.

The filmmakers are amazed to be seeing original artwork for Disney classics.

Then the surprises came. First we were treated to production artwork from “Snow White,” featuring the princess herself. The archivists no longer thumb through the decades old paper but use small putty knives to flip the pages. Satisfied and amazed with that unique experience, we couldn’t have guessed what was coming next. We traveled down the hall to another vault where we had another amazing sight for us. The archivist opened up the folder and then we saw it — the wheel of a steamboat. An audible hush came over everyone there. We were witnessing page after page of artwork from “Steamboat Willie.” Julien, particularly, stared in awe at what he was seeing. He gazed closely, with his hand over his mouth, upon irreplaceable animation history, which only a lucky few get to see. But that wasn’t it. Next we got a look at the character that started it all — Oswald the rabbit from the 1928 short “Sagebrush Sadie.” That experience will be hard to top. As we left, the archivists had printed out copies of the picture taken at the beginning of the tour for us to take home as a memento.

This year Ron Diamond, tour champion, invited an Academy executive board member to join the tour. At Disney we had the pleasure to be accompanied by producer Bob Degus, who at one time has held every position in film possible, including Oxberry-animation cameraman. He might be best known as the producer of “Contact” and “Pleasantville.” After the Animation Resource Library, he was impressed. The look on his face, as well as, the filmmakers said it all. Even though I’ve done it before, the Oscar Tour never gets old, and always has wonderful surprises. Bob will be sharing he own thoughts of the tour later in the week.

Can't pass up the photo op at the corner of Mickey Ave. and Dopey Drive.

Next up, we jetted over the Disney studio to introduce the filmmakers to the packed crowd at the nominated shorts screening. The event was so popular the studio had to add a second screening following the first. Because this year’s films are shorter than last year’s films, we only had 38 minutes to take a quick spin around the Walt Disney lot, stopping at all the great photo ops, including the corner of Mickey and Dopey, as well as the old Animation building and the multiplane camera.

Konstantin listens to Kunio answer a question.

The Q&A tackled many of the same questions that were asked in San Fran. When no one had any questions to start, Konstantin volunteered the answer to why Kunio’s film is titled in French and not Japanese. This of course got a chuckle from the crowd, which was not the first Konstantin conjured. When asked how he got into animation, he said he was born with a pencil in his hand, an experience that made childbirth very difficult for his mother. Many of the “Oktapodi” crew started in computer science, progressing to computer graphic and then to animation. Kunio was a painter first, and then took an animation course and fell in love with the idea of making his paintings move. When asked what it was like to be nominated, they all had about the same answer — surreal. For many of the filmmakers, it’s their first time in the U.S. It must be surreal to come to the States for the first time and tour all the studios and have the artists there tell you they love your work.

After the Q&A, we had lunch with the Disney execs and artists. I sat at a table with Olivier, FX, “Princess and the Frog” producer Peter Del Vecho and Walt Disney Animation Studios EVP Andrew Millstein. Olivier said that their three-minute student film took their six-men crew seven months to complete. In order to finish in time for their graduation jury, the final two or three months were a round-the-clock adventure. At Gobelins, students are put into crews where they all share directing duties, working out every aspect of the film with each other. This gave hope to the Disney execs for their latest short “Tic Tock,” which they hope to have ready in time to play before “Princess and the Frog.” Peter told us that about half the film is animated, and the rest needs to be finished in the next few months. Peter was so pleased to have the filmmakers their he invited the tour to swing by their Sweat Box session, a dailies screening for the department heads, later in the day.

The Oktapodi directors chat with legend Eric Goldberg.

One of the highlights of the lunch for the “Oktapodi” directors was getting a chance to sit down with Disney’s legendary animator Eric Goldberg, who said he really loved their film for its simplicity, timing and staging. He was very happy to receive a copy of the film from Gobelins tireless and enthusiastic spokesperson Eric Riewer. The six directors sat around listening intently to everything Goldberg had to say. They confided in him that story was a challenge, because they wanted to make the gags fresh and avoid the typical happy ending.

After lunch, we were treated to a tour around the studio. For many it was an amazing sight to see animators at animation desks drawing on paper. Currently, 60 animators are working on “Princess and the Frog,” which is pretty much the entire 2D talent. This is one of the reasons the CG short “Tic Tock” moved ahead of the 2D short “The Ballad of Nessie” on the production schedule. As we walked down the hall, we ran into artist after artist who gave us a quick word about their work on “Princess.” Art director Ian Gooding showed us some concept art for the painterly looking backgrounds. He said that for “Princess” the studio is purposely going back to a more hand painted look and avoiding the lavish 3D backgrounds. The entire production is being hand drawn and ink and paint is being done in Harmony. As for layout, 75% of the film is finished, and at any given time there are 10 sequences being worked on in the department. “Princess” directors Ron Clements and John Musker even popped out of offices to get a chance to greet the filmmakers and pose for a pic or two.

Next we moved over to the “Rapunzel” pod, where we got to see boards breaking down the key beats in the film. Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard just had their first story screening for John Lasseter and now they’re working out the details. Visual effects supervisor Steve Goldberg hopped out of a meeting to say hello. They were figuring out how they were going to make the film from how many characters to how they’re going to handle CG hair. Next we saw concept sketches for the men in the film. During a meeting Lasseter observed that it was a room full of men judging what made their prince handsome, so he asked that women from the studio be brought in to give their thoughts on what made a man good looking.

We ended the tour with the Sweat Box. John Musker introduced the various heads of the departments to the filmmakers and then we sat back and enjoyed an unprecedented event for the Oscar Tour, actually sitting in as decisions on a production were being made. There were four color shots and close to a dozen black & white shots for review. They varied in length and were played in a loop without sound. The artists were looking for any flaws in the animation. The only shot to be rejected was one where the voodoo priest Dr. Facilier spreads a deck of cards on a table. One of the artists caught a one-frame shadow pop in the left hand corner. The experience was a rare glimpse into the scrutiny that each shot goes through. Once the shots are approved they move to the next step of production. For the color shots, the directors go from the Sweat Box screening to editorial to see the shot with sound to make sure they work completely.

The Disney experience this year was extra special. And all the filmmakers seemed in awe. It’s wonderful how the studios have opened up and allowed the nominees to see more each year. It certainly is good to be nominated, especially when you’re a short animation nominee.

A great day at Disney.

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Oscar Tour San Francisco Leg Rewind

oscartour — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:36:27 +0000

Ron introduces the boys to PDI's Eric Darnell and Gail Curry.

written by Barbara Robertson

The two and a half day fast forward is behind us, now. The nominees are on their way to Los Angeles for part two of Ron Diamond’s Oscar Tour, although for the second half, I don’t think he’ll be driving the giant white van (generously donated by PDI/DreamWorks), which he, amazingly, managed to squeeze into the only parking place in San Francisco’s Mission District that was big enough and still within walking distance to the ASIFA dinner. Finding a parking place for a Smart Car in San Francisco is hard, but somehow, the reality matched Ron’s optimism that it would all work out.

Now, for a rewind and some impressions from within the bubble.

Emud, Taki, Olivier and Kunio sip on some drinks in the PDI lunchroom.

At PDI/DreamWorks, in the conference wall room, watching the nominees wave at their image on the wall to check lag time while we waited for the system at the other end to come on screen.

During the Q&A, people at PDI, as had people at Pixar before them, asked Kunio why the title of his film is in French and he answered, as before, that the translation into English didn’t capture the meaning, so a French friend suggested a French title. And, once again during the Q&A session, Konstantin’s humor stole the show.

Question: How long did it take you to make the film?

Emud (“Oktapodi”): Between six and seven months.

Kunio (“La Maison en Petits Cubes”): One year. Four months of that for planning.

Konstantin (“Lavatory Lovestory”): Story, one year. Drawing two years. (pause) I’m slow thinking.

Question: What was the inspiration for your film?

Kunio: No special inspiration but I had the visual of a house on top of a house and drew a picture of that key image. I gave that to a scenario writer who made each floor a different stage of life.

Emud: Olivier saw a picture of Octopi in a book by Peter Seve and we thought why not? It would be interesting.

Konstantin: I go to the toilet more often than most people. I just looked at the woman’s eyes who worked there and found the story immediately.

Arriving at Skywalker Ranch at midnight. We each got a folder printed with our names on the front, a map, and a key to our room. We were all very tired, but as soon as we opened the doors to our rooms, we were so amazed that we had to share the experience, running from room to room to see what each one looked like inside. A grand piano in the George Gershwin room. A grand rock fireplace in the John Houston room.

Oktapodi's Emud Mokhberi, Gobelins' Eric Riewer, La Maison's Kunio Kato, Oktapodi's Quentin Marmier, Oktapodi's Olivier Delabarre, Oktapodi's Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Robot Communications' Taki Tsuyoshi, Lavatory Lovestory's Konstantin Bronzit, Presto composer Scot Stafford, Presto's Doug Sweetland, and tour host Ron Diamond.

In the morning, Doug Sweetland from Pixar (“Presto”) and Scot Stafford, who wrote the original music for “Presto,” joined us. The chance to get out, stretch our legs, and walk a little between the buildings in the beautiful open space at Skywalker Ranch, rather than being locked into seats in the van or in a theater or at a dinner table, or on a tour, gave the nominees a chance to relax and move more easily from one group to another. It was fun to see the “Oktapodi” team re-bond with each other after each going his separate way for the last year or so, but also to begin to see some interaction between all the nominees.

Another group shot in front of the Technical Building.

As we walked from the parking lot at the “Technical Building,” past the vineyards, past the lake, Konstantin said to the group, “I will buy it. For filming. I will invite you.”

Quentin laughed, “You can call it Konstantin Farm.”

Inside the building, Glenn Kiser, the head of Skywalker Sound, which has received five Oscar nominations this year,” took us all into the scoring stage, demonstrating how the various panels in the walls and ceilings slide to change echo and decay for recording sessions. Kiser says that the studio is used 60% of the time for classical recording, but a library of 150,000 sound files makes it also a resource for lower-budget films including three that were at Sundance this year.

Inside the Big Rock theater.

At Big Rock, the animators working on the Clone Wars TV series saw a screening in yet another amazing theater. They asked about Kunio’s French title and also what inspired the filmmakers, but not surprisingly for crews working in television, they also asked how much each film cost.

Emud: We were students. We each had a machine and we had four render computers. It’s a mystery how much it cost.

Doug: I consider it a privilege that I don’t know how much it cost.

Kunio: About $50,000.

Konstantin: About $20,000. I had some government funding.

Question: Many of these films are about love. What is it about love?

Kunio: The main reason life is going on is to find love.

Konstantin: Love is all we need. But sometimes, we need toilets, too.

Boba Fett and Darth Vader joins the tour for a snapshot in the ILM lobby.

At ILM, the lunchtime screening in the studio’s huge theater played to a packed house. Once Ron had introduced all the nominees and they were standing on stage, before anyone raised a hand to ask the first question, Konstantin said, “Please, someone, ask Kunio why his title is in French.”

The humble George Lucas and the happy Ron Diamond.

Ron had told everyone that there was a chance they could meet with George Lucas for a few minutes, and sure enough, our host, Kate Shaw, led us to the seventh floor where Lucas has his office. Ron introduced Lucas to each of the directors, and Lucas greeted each nominee in turn, shaking his hand and congratulating him. I think that after spending the night at Skywalker Ranch’s fabulous guest suites, seeing the magnificent library in the main house with its stained glass cupola, and then the multi-building campus in San Francisco, they were unprepared to meet the master of this empire wearing bluejeans and a blue sweater. After the meeting, Francois – who everyone calls FX – said of George Lucas, with some astonishment, “He’s so humble.”

During the afternoon, I was sitting next to Kunio and Taki on the sky bridge that connects the main LucasFilm building and most of ILM’s facility in the park-like campus of the Presidio in San Francisco. By then, we had visited Pixar, PDI/DreamWorks, Lucas’s animation facility at Big Rock ranch in Marin County, and had met with George Lucas in his office at the Presidio. I asked him what he had learned from the visiting all these remarkable facilities and he answered, though Taki, “The work environment is really important.”

Following the screening, lunch, the meeting with George Lucas, and a tour of ILM, we had some down time before the ASIFA screening. It was pouring rain, which drowned any thoughts of walking around San Francisco. Instead, we moved to a nearby wine bar.

I asked Konstantin and Kunio, who were sitting together at the bar, whether they might ever work together on a film. Konstantin said, “But we’re already talking about it.” And, Kunio nodded. “I’m talking about it in Russian,” Konstantin said. “And Kunio is talking about it in Japanese.”

FX, sitting nearby, began teasing Konstantin about his name and they talked more seriously about how to get financing for films.

Then, back to the van and off to Dolby Labs for the ASIFA screening. Because the nominees had all seen all the films several times already, most of them stayed outside during the screening. When it was time to go in, we couldn’t find Kunio and FX. Finally, someone said, “Oh, they’re in the bathroom. Kunio is doing a painting for FX, and he needed water.”

Konstatin entertains the crowd at the ASIFA-San Francisco screening.

At ASIFA, too, the first question from the audience was about what inspired the filmmakers and, as Konstantin said, they knew the answers by heart. By the time they meet the press in Los Angeles as they near Oscar time, these nominees will be well-prepared for that question.

The ASIFA audience, though, asked some new questions and in answering, the nominees discovered some insights.

Question: What was the most interesting thing you learned?

Emud: I had done one-director, one-film. I wanted to go to Gobelins to work with a team. I had to learn how to explain and how to trust what other people do.

Scot: Music can’t really be funny. The funniest thing is to take everything literally.

Kunio: This was the longest film with the largest number of people I’ve worked on. The challenging thing was to share what I’m thinking with my staff. To work in this way, I needed leadership and to keep the team motivated. That was the biggest thing I learned.

Konstantin: There was nothing interesting in the process. Just suffering. Every step trying to get closer and closer and nothing. Many people think you just sketch, sketch, sketch, and then it’s ho ho ho. No, it’s not that way.

Doug: I had been an animator, but, like Emud, to work on the story, I had to question all the time. I’d fight for things I thought were awesome and they’d bomb. And I’d fight against things I thought would bomb and they’d turn out to be awesome.

Question (paraphrasing): Why did you pick the theme you picked?

Emud: We were in school and had between six and seven months to make a short film. It’s easier if it’s comedy. Our group knew we wanted to push technology, and make a fast, cartoony, rhythmic film. They story came out of the brainstorming process. We banged our heads together 120 hours a week. After the fatigue wore off and we all wanted to go off and do something on our own. But now, I want to make another film with these guys.

Kunio: Taki answers for Kunio to much laughter… He always wanted to make a comedy film.

Taki then gives Kunio’s more serious answer: He didn’t pick comedy or drama. The main object was to depict a man’s life in a quiet and uneventful way, so it had to be a serious, quiet drama.

Konstantin: Every time, the story depends on an idea, on finding the only way to realize an idea. I realized all I need is love. But, also, I need toilet. So, I combined Love. Toilet.

Doug: I tried to make a three-minute film, but it’s five minutes, to make it as quick as possible. So, it borrows from classic cartoons, but it has a classic Hollywood reconciliation ending.

Question: What was your inspiration for becoming an animator?

Konstantin: Mickey Mouse

Doug: I just learned that Ron produced the Tourneys of Animation in the late 80’s and I saw that in middle school. Also, Luxo Jr. When I saw universities listed at the end of the films, I realized I could study animation. I had an insatiable appetite.

Kunio: Originally, I wanted to be a painter, not an animator. I took a class in animation and wanted to move my drawings.

Quentin: All the great 2D films.

FX: I was always drawing. I saw a documentary of people drawing lions for “Lion King,” and that inspired me.

Emud: I went from computer science to computer graphics to moving CG parts to animation.

Question (paraphrased): What did you think of the reaction of audiences to your film?

Doug: I went through such a struggle to get this film made. I learned that I’m not funny. I pitched 10 stories in seven months and they bombed every time. Only the last one clicked. So that fact that people embrace this film so well is overwhelming.

Konstantin: When I first try to put comedy in action I learned it’s impossible to calculate how to do it. I suffer. I asked my teacher why I suffer every time I make a film and why I suffer when I show the films. He said, “You are clever minded and understand your mistakes and it looks for you like you are showing your mistakes and you think everyone sees your mistakes.” I thanked him. But I still suffer.

Kunio: I couldn’t help seeing my mistakes in the finished film. So I’m very grateful that the audience appreciates.

Emud: With multiple directors, I learned that if Olivier and Quentin both think something is funny, maybe it is. Our final animation is pretty much like our story reel. We had Chris Wedge come in and look at our story reel and he reacted well to it. The reaction of audiences has exceeded all our expectations. It’s hard to put into perspective when we killed ourselves making it.

When Ron introduced the nominees to the ASIFA group, he said, “Rarely does any other group [of Oscar nominees] come together like this to celebrate their work. We don’t have enough reason in our lives to celebrate and the fact that our community comes together to celebrate these Oscar nominees is really terrific. We had people packed into the theater at Pixar and standing in the aisles and also at ILM. We met with Ed Catmull, Tom McGrath, Eric Darnell, and George Lucas. The nominees met for the first time only on Wednesday and now we’ve become a small community. I think this is really important.”

And, it is.
END

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San Fran Whirlwind - PDI, Skywalker Ranch, ILM, ASIFA, George Lucas

oscartour — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:32:49 +0000

The filmmakers meet the George Lucas.

written by Barbara Robertson

It’s been a busy an exciting three days, but such a wonderful time. Some highlights and pictures. I’ll sketch in details tomorrow.

The tour checks in at PDI.

Thursday: A champagne reception, a screening, and a tour at PDI, plus a live demo of the studio’s amazing video wall during which Eric at PDI made a dinner appointment with John from DreamWorks in Glendale who would be flying to San Francisco on Friday.

Thursday night: Skywalker Ranch

The filmmakers prepare for the awesomeness of Skywalker Ranch.

Outside Skywalker Sound.

Classic Pic in the Ranch Library.

Westward ho for Robot Communications' Taki Tsuyoshi and Presto director Doug Sweetland.

Friday morning: We had boxes of cereal and breakfast bars in our rooms, coffee and milk in the refrigerator, but most of us walked to the “The Inn” for breakfast. Then, we screamed through Skywalker Sound, hurried up the road past vultures sunning their long wings, to the main house where George Lucas has his office and film library, scurried back down the road on a glorious sunny morning, jumped in the big white van, drove to nearby Big Rock where the group animating the television series work, held the first of three screenings and Q&A’s today, and then zigzagged back on Lucas Valley Road to the freeway to make an 11:30 date at ILM in San Francisco.

Outside Big Rock.

Oktapodi's Olivier Delabarre (m) chats with tour master Ron Diamond (l) and his fellow director Francois-Xavier Chanioux about the experience.

Before the Big Rock screening with Ron (l-r), Olivier, and Oktapodi's Quentin Marmier.

Our gracious host Kate Shaw led us all to George Lucas’s office. Amazingly, George Lucas gave the Oscar nominees more than a half hour of his time – more about that later. After, the screening in ILM’s grand theater, which was totally packed, the Q&A, lunch in a private dining room off the main dining room with some of the ILM artists, and a break before the next screening – with ASIFA at Dolby labs.

The directors have loosened up now. They’ve become much more comfortable onstage, more of the Oktapodi directors are now answering questions, and they’ve become friends as you’ll see in the pictures. More words tomorrow.

The arrival at ILM.

The great Kate Shaw (r) gets the filmmakers ready for their tour of ILM.

Oktapodi's Francois-Xavier Chanioux relaxes in the Lucasfilm lobby.

Tired yet?

La Maison's Kunio Kato (l-r), Taki and Lavatory Lovestory's Konstantin Bronzit take in some downtime.

Oktapodi directors Olivier, Quentin and Emud Mokhberi discuss life after ILM.

Can't miss another group shot opportunity.

The ILM wonders begin.

Konstantin takes a pic of the Jurassic Park T-Rex.

Olivier checks out the Judge Doom prop from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

George Lucas poses with nominee Kunio Kato.

George Lucas meets with the filmmakers.

Perfect ending - the wine bar.

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