For young animators, no story from last year’s Oscars was more inspiring than Shane Acker’s tale. His student film, 9, not only earned him an Academy Award nomination, but a feature production deal at Focus Features with Tim Burton and Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov producing. The feature is now in production at Luxembourg-based Attitude Studios and the voice cast includes Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau. I really enjoyed 9 and I look forward to seeing the feature, which looks to be something potential unique in the world of 3D animation. As for his Oscar experience, this is what the talented young animator had to say:

I had a great time this time last year. It was great meeting and traveling with the other nominees. We all had such unique films and approaches to animation; it was great to learn from each other’s experiences and to cross-pollinate ideas. Most memorable for me was our trip to San Francisco. I stayed in the Frank Lloyd Wright room at Skywalker Ranch, which was a blast for me because of my background in architecture. In the morning, by coincidence, we all had breakfast with Chris Wedge who was there working on Ice Age 2. How cool is that? Later that day we screened at Pixar and had lunch with most of their directors, which was a rare and unforgettable experience. By the time the week was over we had all become friends, which really took the edge off Oscar Night. I could just relax with my fellow nominees and enjoy the show.

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It’s exciting to able to share with the rest of the community the thoughts and experiences of the Oscar nominees. And it’s a great pleasure to share with you today the feelings of last year’s Oscar winner John Canemaker. The Moon and the Son director tells us why the Oscar Tour was such a special event in the whole Oscar extravaganza. Here is what he had to say:

The Oscar award ceremony is exciting; but the build-up to that evening — the tour of studios and screenings of your films as organized by Ron Diamond — is one of the best parts of the whole experience. Screening your films at Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Sony, Electronic Arts, Lucasfilm and other studios — and the huge AMPAS theatre — to standing room only crowds eager to see your work and ask you questions is thrilling!

Ron knows everyone in the industry and is well-liked and admired. Through his personal contacts, you are greeted at the studios by and dine and converse with and the likes of John Lasseter, Jeffrey Katzenberg and other top execs — a marvelous opportunity afforded to few.

One of the best parts of the whole experience was getting to really know our fellow nominees as we toured the studios, the several parties, lunches and dinners that Ron also planned. We all bonded and were (and are) very supportive of each other.

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Okay, okay, I’ll get off my obsession with Skywalker Ranch. However, I did want to share some pics from the San Fran leg of last year’s Oscar Tour. Ron Diamond provided the images and they represent a great visual chronicle of the fun events the nominees get to experience. See whom they chatted with at lunch or who just happened to be at the Ranch when they arrived.

Shane Acker and Sharon Colman get some reading in after breakfast. © AWN Inc.

The nominees had breakfast with Chris Wedge, who was at the Ranch working on the sound for ICE AGE 2. © AWN Inc.

John Canemaker signs the Skywalker Ranch Library's copy of his Winsor McCay book. © AWN Inc.

Shane Acker goes in for a closer look at some STAR WARS props. © AWN Inc.

Ron Diamond moderates a Q&A with the nominees at EA. © AWN Inc.

John Canemaker talks animation with Pixar's Pete Docter after lunch. © AWN Inc.

Anthony Lucas poses with George Lucas' creations. © AWN Inc.

Sharon Colman couldn't pass up a snapshot with R2 either. © AWN Inc.

This site is a member of Animation blogspot, part of the Animation World Network