Oscar Showcase 08 Disney Photo Gallery

27 02 2008
Tour host Ron Diamond (l) and Madame Tutli-Putli director Maciek Szczerbowski (r) run into John Lasseter on the Disney lot. © 2008 AWN Inc.
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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A Day at Disney with Ed Catmull, Andreas Deja & Other Disney Artists

20 02 2008
The Oscar Showcase tour pulls into Walt Disney Animation. © 2008 AWN Inc.
The Oscar Showcase tour pulls into Walt Disney Animation. © 2008 AWN Inc.


The second day on the Oscar Showcase tour is a day at Disney with a screening for Walt Disney Feature Animation in the morning and Disney TV in the afternoon. Some miscommunication started the day and only the Madame Tutli-Putli team made it to Disney in time, thanks to exec producer David Verrall.

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Oscar Showcase 08 Pixar Photo Gallery

17 02 2008
Suzie Templeton strkes a pose with Invisagirl. © 2008 AWN Inc.
Suzie Templeton strkes a pose with Invisagirl. © 2008 AWN Inc.

During our visit at Pixar we shot a great deal of wonderful pics with Pixar characters and employees, including Brad Bird and Ed Catmull.

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Nominees Have A Date with Brad Bird, Ed Catmull & The Rest of Pixar’s Staff

15 02 2008
Alan (l to r), Marcy, Chris, Maciek, Sam, James, Josh and Hugh field questions at Pixar. © 2008 AWN Inc.
Alan (l to r), Marcy, Chris, Maciek, Sam, James, Josh and Hugh field questions at Pixar. © 2008 AWN Inc.

Like last year, a pattern of the same questions being asked at the various screenings continues. Of course the first question was to Chris and Maciek about the human eyes on the puppets in Tutli-Putli. Marcy said one of the difficulties of working with the eyes was timing out shots. Chris and Maciek found that the performance via the eyes sold some scenes quicker than when it was cut using the eyeless puppets. Josh was asked about the audio footage of John Lennon used in his film, which he said had never really been heard before they made I Met the Walrus. A first for the tour, but most likely not a first for the Madame Tutli-Putli team was about their enigmatic ending. Maciek explained that the intention of the film was less about plot and more like a poem where one scene doesn’t dictate the next, but informs the preceding scene. Chris added that the work of Carl Jung was also influential in setting the mood for the film. A little tidbit about the title is that in Hindi it means puppet, as well as delicate woman, which is a fact that the directors did not know before they were informed of it by a Hindi speaking member of one of their audiences.

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Guess Whom the Nominees Ran Into at Disney & ICM?

22 02 2007
The Disney leg of the Oscar Tour poses for a pic in front of the studio. Courtesy of Disney.
The Disney leg of the Oscar Tour poses for a pic in front of the studio. Courtesy of Disney.

Officially one week of the Oscar Tour is up and we’re nearing the home stretch. Today was less crazed than yesterday, but still wonderfully eventful nonetheless. The day was a home coming for Roger and Don. Every time we turned a corner someone was ecstatic to see them. After Tenny Chonin, head of artistic development at Disney Features, introduced the screening, Don took us on a special tour of the old animation building across the street from the new animation complex (you know, the building with the big hat on it). On the way, even, someone crossing the street lit up when he saw Don and pleaded him to come back to work soon. He has been like the Zen master of the group. His peaceful nature is just unforgettable. I had thought before that it must be a pleasure to work for him and after today I think many of the Disney employees confirmed my feeling.

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