Watch It On AWN TV!

At the Pixar Q&A, director Maciek Szczerbowski answers the most asked question about his film Madame Tutli-Putli - how did you do the eyes?

Watch It On AWN TV!

At the Pixar Q&A, directors Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis talk about the journey of the title character in their film Madame Tutli-Putli.

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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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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The nominees cozy up on Valentine's Day on the trip to Pixar. © 2008 AWN inc.

It was a windy day in San Francisco with the filmmakers bundled up to guard themselves against the cold. Having received a much need rest, Suzie was far more energetic about the day’s events versus yesterday. In the car ride over to our first and only screening of the day at Pixar, Chris revealed that Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro saw Madame Tutli-Putli and said that it was a film made by masters. During the ride, Chris and Marcy discussed the treatment he and Maciek are working on for an adaptation of a Maurice Sendak story.

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After a long day of screenings, Mike Thurmeier (l) and Don Hahn relax by the fire at Skywalker Ranch. © AWN Inc.

While you wait for more details from the San Fran leg of the tour. Here’s some more pics to check out from Skywalker Ranch and Pixar, courtesy of Ron.

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Tamas Liszkas (l to r) Marcy Page, Mike Thurmeier, Roger Allers & Geza Toth eating breakfast at Skywalker Ranch. © AWN Inc.

Friday morning I went to sleep at 6:20 am and woke up around 7:40 am. That may have been the most restful hour and 20 minutes of sleep I’ve ever had. The comfortable beds and soft pillows at Skywalker Ranch were hard to leave. The last time I ran on so little sleep was in college during my senior year while we were filming long hours over a weekend on the bedroom set I built. This trip has certainly recharged the creative juices in me.

After a call to my wife and a hot shower, I was ready to meet the others. Marcy introduced me to Tamas, who is representing Maestro. He and Maestro director Geza arrived at 2 am from the airport. Geza was in the breakfast area with Mike and Roger while Ron was near by trying to keep the workmen at his rental house from jack hammering the foundation. Roger was telling them stories of his many adventures abroad. On a river ride in China, he saw bodies strung up on the cavern walls, an ancient burial ritual of the area. Roger mentioned to Geza that he had visited Budapest while he was backpacking across Europe after college. He remembered having the feeling that the beautiful city had an oppressive cloud hanging over it. Geza assured him that his cloud had long gone. At the time, Roger was full-fledged hippie with his red hair grown to his waist, which received many curious stares from the locals. During the trip, for a time, he lived in a cave along the water. It was a very old shepherd’s dwelling, which had formed a smooth flat floor from years of animal dung being stamped down. Marcy shared an interesting fact that she had heard that more people are living in caves in China today than there are people living in all of Canada.

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Canemaker & producer Peggy Stern

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:
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The Oscar Tour group at Skywalker Ranch. (l to r) Ron Diamond, Joe Kennedy, John Canemaker, Sharon Colman, Shane Acker and Anthony and Julia Lucas. © AWN Inc.

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. Read the rest of this entry »