Oscar winner Kunio Kato poses with Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway.

For Kunio Kato, the Oscars were a whirlwind experience. Here are some exclusive pics from his big night.

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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.

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The Oscar tour poses for a shot in front of the giant Luxo Jr. statue outside Pixar.

Time to take a quick trip back in time for some great additional pics from the Pixar visit in the Bay Area last week.

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From France to Skywalker Ranch - four of the six Oktapodi directors - Olivier, Francois, Emud and Quentin.

On Friday the 13th, the Oscar tour made stops throughout the Lucas empire, including Skywalker Ranch, Big Rock, and ILM. Here some the great pics from the adventures.

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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.

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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.

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Oktapodi's Emud Mokhberi, Robot Communications' Taki Tsuyoshi, Ron Diamond, Ed Catmull, Lavatory Lovestory's Konstantin Bronzit, Oktapodi's Olivier Delabarre, Oktapodi's Quentin Marmier, Gobelins' Eric Riewer, Oktapodi's Francois-Xavier Chanioux, and La Maison's Kunio Kato.

Every year Pixar host the Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short. It’s always an exciting chance for the filmmakers to interact with the artists at the studio. Follow their day in pictures.

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Day 2 kicks off at Pixar.

written by Barbara Robertson

Long day, but a good day for the Oscar nominees. We started at Pixar where, first thing, right after taking pictures of each other in front of the giant Luxo lamp outside the front door and the monsters inside the Pixar’s enormous lobby / café / foosball court, they met Pete Docter, director of Pixar’s next feature, UP, matte painter Paul Topolos, and the Presto visual effects supervisor Tony Apodaca. Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, and president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios walked into the lobby to introduce himself and welcome everyone. And then we were swept into Pixar’s huge theater. Doug Sweetland, director of Pixar’s nominated short Presto introduced Ron and Ron introduced all the nominees in our travelling band.

The lights dimmed a little. Everyone in the audience went “oooooh.”  The lights went out, the ceiling became a starfield, and everyone said “aaaaaah.” The Pixar person sitting next to me explained, “It’s a tradition.” And the red curtain lifted.
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Tour host Ron Diamond (l) and Madame Tutli-Putli director Maciek Szczerbowski (r) run into John Lasseter on the Disney lot. © 2008 AWN Inc.

On Feb. 20th, the day belonged to Disney on the Oscar Showcase tour. Here is the photographic evidence.

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The Oscar nominees (l to r) Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis, Hugh Welchman, Suzie Templeton, evening MC director Curtis Hanson, Josh Raskin, Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse. © 2008 A.M.P.A.S.

On the evening of Feb. 19th, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hosted a screening of the animated and live-action shorts. Check out the pictures from the star-studded event.

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