15
02
2009
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Photo Galleries, People, ILM, Skywalker Ranch, Tour Destinations, Lavatory Lovestory, La Maison en Petits Cubes, Oktapodi, Presto, Oscar Tour 2009, George Lucas, Big Rock
15
02
2009
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, People, ILM, Skywalker Ranch, PDI/DreamWorks, Ed Catmull, Tour Destinations, Films & Filmmakers, Lavatory Lovestory, La Maison en Petits Cubes, Oktapodi, Presto, Oscar Tour 2009, George Lucas
14
02
2009
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Personal Musings, Photo Galleries, People, ILM, Skywalker Ranch, PDI/DreamWorks, Tour Destinations, Films & Filmmakers, Lavatory Lovestory, La Maison en Petits Cubes, Oktapodi, Presto, Oscar Tour 2009, George Lucas, Big Rock
17
02
2008
 |
| The group poses for a photo at Skywalker Sound. © 2008 AWN Inc. |
Skywalker Ranch is an awesome experience and in this photo gallery you’ll understand why.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Photo Galleries, Oscar Tour 2008, Skywalker Ranch, Madame Tutli-Putli, Peter and the Wolf, I Met the Walrus, Even Pigeons Go to Heaven
16
02
2008
 |
| Group pic at Skywalker Ranch's main house. © 2008 AWN Inc. |
Once arriving at Skywalker Ranch’s breakfast area, after much more sleep than I had on my last visit, many of the tour members were already having a bite to eat before starting the hectic three-screening day. Madame Tutli-Putli’s Chris and Maciek had already enjoyed the Ranch’s bikes, cycling around the beautiful grounds on the brisk February morning. Peter and the Wolf’s Suzie and Hugh took advantage of the one site fitness center. Hugh had a change to be rescued by a fireman from the Ranch’s private fire station when he accidentally locked himself out of the gym in his bare feet. With a 9 am screening set, we headed out to the tech building around 8:30. Some of the late risers like Josh and James used the courtesy bikes as a way to get some exercise and catch up with the group.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, Oscar Tour 2008, Skywalker Ranch, Madame Tutli-Putli, Peter and the Wolf, I Met the Walrus, Even Pigeons Go to Heaven
15
02
2008
 |
| The group poses for a pic at Skywalker Sound. © 2008 AWN Inc. |
At the beginning of our long ride to Skywalker Ranch, Marcy learned that the Oscar nominated shorts were written up in an extensive article in The New York Times. The piece was in conjunction with Magnolia’s theatrical release of the Oscar shorts in theaters. Josh said that Magnolia have been awesome, stating that they were willing to take the legal liability if rights issues were not worked out with the Lennon estate. In the future, Josh and James hope to turn their film into a book that goes into more detail about how Jerry Levitan made the Lennon recordings. Their idea is to make intricate handmade books that feature a DVD of the film. Hugh shared the advertising he had printed for the feature film he produced called Free Jimmy, which has been making the festival circuit and chronicles the adventures of a circus elephant that has heroin sown into its stomach. With Skywalker Ranch on everyone’s mind, the conversation turned to the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars, which it was just announced will be coming to theaters as a feature first before arriving on Cartoon Network in the fall. Chris coined the phrase inter-quel to describe it. Along the way, Hugh had us introduce ourselves for a video diary he is doing for Channel 5 in the U.K., which airs on Friday. So if you’re in England, set your TiVos, we want copies.
As we drove up to Skywalker Ranch, the excitement was clearly growing in the packed van. After watching the Skywalker Sound reel and some animation clips in the impressive Stag Theatre, we met with Randy Thom, who is nominated for his sound work on Ratatouille. He said that Brad Bird likes to experiment with sound before animation is even begun and one sound issue they needed to work out was how much would they use the rats’ real rat voices. As the final film shows, they decided that lesser is better. The voices were actually created by speeding up the actors’ voices. Randy said that for most productions 25-35% of the sound is recorded new and that the rest is taken from their vast library and manipulated to create something unique for the particular project.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, Oscar Tour 2008, ILM, Skywalker Ranch, Madame Tutli-Putli, Peter and the Wolf, I Met the Walrus, Even Pigeons Go to Heaven
15
02
2008
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, Pixar, Oscar Tour 2008, Skywalker Ranch, Madame Tutli-Putli, Peter and the Wolf, I Met the Walrus, Even Pigeons Go to Heaven
19
02
2007
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Photo Galleries, Pixar, Oscar Tour 2007, Skywalker Ranch, Lifted, No Time for Nuts, The Danish Poet, Little Matchgirl, Maestro
17
02
2007
 |
| 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.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, Pixar, Oscar Tour 2007, Skywalker Ranch, Lifted, No Time for Nuts, The Danish Poet, Little Matchgirl, Maestro
16
02
2007
 |
| Don Hahn (l to r), Roger Allers, Ron Diamond, Mike Thurmeier and Marcy Page talking about their films at PDI/DreamWorks. © AWN Inc. |
Thursday was an absolute whirlwind day on the tour. I couldn’t possibly write everything interesting that was said during the course of the day. So I’m going to set out to recap the day in full, but tease you with details to come later.
Roger Allers and Don Hahn meet the rest of us at our hotel and we ventured right down the street to EA. Boy, that seems like days ago and not just this morning. Our host Bob Nicoll showed us the immense campus, which has pool tables and videogame systems set up in a common area for the employees to use. A Starbucks is even opening up in the building so that the employees don’t have to leave to get their caffeine fix in the morning. During crunch times, the studio brings in oil change services, masseurs and dry cleaners to help the employees balance their personal lives with their busy schedules.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Personal Musings, Oscar Tour 2007, ILM, Skywalker Ranch, PDI/DreamWorks, EA, No Time for Nuts, The Danish Poet, Little Matchgirl, Maestro, Jeffrey Katzenberg
