AWN Oscar Travelogue

Oscar Showcase 08 Skywalker Ranch Photo Gallery

oscartour — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:43:13 +0000

Skywalker Ranch is an awesome experience and in this photo gallery you’ll understand why.

I Met the Walrus illustrator James Braithwaite (foreground cw) Walrus director Josh Raskin, Peter and the Wolf director Suzie Templeton, AWN publisher Ron Diamond and Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page chat in The Inn's dining area. © 2008 AWN Inc.

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No One Wants to Ever Leave Skywalker Ranch, Because…

oscartour — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:54:04 +0000

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.

During the screening, the tour group split into two to tour the main house. Despite having seen the sights last year, it doesn’t diminish the wonder at all, especially when accompanied by a group who have never experienced it before. Adjectives like “awesome” and “insane” wafted through the air. And many of the members had made “guess, where I am right now” calls the night before. When you enter through the large ornately glassed front doors, the Tiffany chandeliers and redwood walls are striking, but the element that instantly draws people in is the showcase featuring precious movie memorabilia like Indiana Jones’ hat and whip, several lightsabers, an AT-AT walker model and Charlie Chaplin’s hat and cane.

I noticed that the original paintings have rotated around the house with a unique Norman Rockwell, depicting a man tenderly holding a woman with a bandaged hand, above the fireplace in the main sitting room and the original Maxfield Parrish moved to the library. New lighting has been added that just illuminates the picture, making the images like they are glowing from within.

As we arrived in the amazing library, we met the librarian Jo, who is doing research for Night at the Museum 2. Hugh was particularly taken in by the wealth of books, lingering behind as long as he could after the group began to move on. As we ventured outside, the next stop was the Ranch store, which sits down a path past Lake Ewok, which is used for fire suppression. I asked the Ranch manager Mike Higgins if they ever had to send out search teams for any wayward guests, and he said no, but they often get injuries and when mating season arrives the cattle can get fairly aggressive. Everyone checked out the gift shop and several of us walked out with a bag full of gifts for love ones and us. Maciek proudly walked out with his Indiana Jones hat; a gift from his producer Marcy.

Returning to the Stag Theatre, named after George Lucas’ hometown movie house, the filmmakers fielded questions from the handful of employees who were able to sneak away from their busy schedules to attend. The questions ranged the usual inquires, but Suzie did reveal that the forest set in Peter and the Wolf featured 1,700 trees. One guest asked about Alexander Petrov and Ron said, “he’s not with us,” spurring James to add — “don’t worry Petrov is alive, he’s just not with us now.”

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ILM’s Valentine’s Gift — A Night at Skywalker Ranch

oscartour — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:51:31 +0000

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.

Next we ventured over to the massive recording stage, where everything from orchestras to bands like Rancid have recorded. Panels on the walls and mathematically calibrated wood buffers allow the sound artists to manipulate the recording space to their liking. Currently Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are mixing at the facility and security is tight. So when we headed to the Foley stage, we were not able to see the artists at work, but were able to look around at the vast collection of objects used to create film soundtracks.

After we all settled into our fabulous rooms (Ron’s features its own kitchen and breakfast nook), we all piled back into the van and headed to diner. Chris said he had checked out this blog and was surprised with the detail. Hopefully that doesn’t put a chilling effect on what people say. This is a rare event and I feel it warrants thorough coverage, because so rarely do animators get such a chance to be in the spotlight. Josh said at dinner that it’s hard to keep a realistic perspective that not every film he makes will lead to flying all over the world “getting high fives for your film.” Talk about getting high fives, James later said that Leonard Cohen loved their film.

A great deal of the dinner conversation centered on film. Josh and I discussed the visual effects nominees and our love for Spider-Man 2, as the best comic book adaptation. Maciek described a Guy Madden short called Sissy Boy Slap Party that I need to see ASAP. Additionally, he believes David Lynch’s Inland Empire is a masterpiece that should make all filmmakers reconsider where film should be going in the future.

Maciek also proudly proclaimed that he does not have a cell phone or a credit card. Josh responded by asking whether he was on Facebook. It’s that find of report that fills the interactions between the Madame Tutli-Putli and I Met the Walrus filmmakers, built from the experience of traveling around on the Animation Show of Shows tour earlier in the year.

Suzie mentioned that Rosto and she will be teaching an animation workshop together. Before becoming an animator, Suzie ran a co-op café in South Hampton. Hugh said after graduating from school he had jobs selling fish and hardwood flooring. For Peter and the Wolf, Hugh explained that they tried to work 14-hour days, but it was too tiring for the animators, so they went back to 12-hour shifts on a 24-hour cycle.

Though all the filmmakers (except for Sam who has Lucie along) have been away from their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, this is probably a Hallmark holiday dinner that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

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Love for Pixar on Valentine’s Day

oscartour — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:49:13 +0000

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.

Find the funny looks in this group picture at Pixar. © AWN Inc.

Our first and only screening today was at Pixar, where we were treated to an amazing tour of the behind the scenes of where few outsiders get to traverse. The Animation Pit, where the artists work, is filled with intricately decorated offices, a haven for toy lovers. When more office space was needed, traditional cubicles were brought in, but the artists hated them. So after a little research, for the same amount of money, they were able to bring in little huts called tough shed, which have been transformed into mini-offices in the middle of the wide halls.

The first stop on the backstage tour was Ratatouille animator Andrew Gordon’s office, where we piled in for a demonstration of Pixar’s proprietary animation software Mendie. Andrew showed off the ease of the program, which he said is easy for traditional 2D animators to pick up on. Through direct manipulation of the CG characters, the animator can move individual joints or use stock poses to save time. Deformation of the skin can be applied easily. For the clothes, the animators work closely with the sim artists to make sure the folds of the shirts move naturally with the characters. The artists have access to all the takes from the production along the process. Using Ratatouille as an example, Andrew showed us animatics to the final render of a scene he worked on. Andrew said that he uses various reference techniques to help him bring to life his creations, from videotaping himself acting out the scene to drawing out thumbnail sketches in TV Paint.

Pixar animator Andrew Gordon (center) poses with the nominees in the secret Lucky 7 room in his office. Courtesy of Pixar.

Capping the presentation, Andrew literally pushed a hidden button that opened up a secret room in his office, featuring a fully stocked bar called the Lucky 7. Celebs that come to visit the studio always stop in and the pictures on the walls stand as evidence. Recently, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly director Julian Schnabel dropped in. But Andrew didn’t tell us if he was there for the Thursday 2 pm scotch tasting event.

Some other facts that came out along the way were that some frames take as long as 36 hours to render, Pixar burns its own negatives and that the overall gender divide is 50/50 — however in the animation department the scales tip in favor of men. As we walked the halls, we were all impressed with the detailed maquettes that are produced for the characters. It was our lucky treat to run into one of their creators, Jerome Ranft, in the hall who is working on a project for 2012 for which he wished he could show us, but was not allowed to. For aspiring stop-motion animators, he said that floral wire works really well in armatures for puppets. One hall was dedicated to art from Pixar’s Annie-winning short film, Your Friend the Rat, which features 3D, 2D and stop-motion animation. One of the models where tiny rats take over the globe is on display. However, some of the rats have jumped ship and fallen off to the case floor.

Next up, we were invited to see John Lasseter’s office, which is like a museum of toys. Featured prominently on the wall is the giant head of the Cat Bus from Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro. No one probably has more Cars toys than Lasseter. Next to Lasseter’s office is the office of Steve Jobs, whose work space could not be any more different. The slick minimalist style is in stark contrast to Lasseter’s treasure trove of collectables. We learned that John and Steve have less time to mingle with the artists, which is sad, because they brought an excitement to the studio, often dropping in on artists’ working to give encouragement.

In the hall before the screening, we had a chance to catch up with For the Birds Oscar winner Ralph Eggleston, who is just wrapping up work on Wall*E. Standing in the huge atrium as you enter the building, the busy Brad Bird came racing through, but was lured to stop by our videographer Guy’s HD camera. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, Brad dropped into the screening and promised to meet up with the filmmakers afterward.

Roger Gould, co-director of the Pixar short Boundin’, warmly introduced Ron to the audience in the Pixar Main Theatre. Ron presented the assembled directors and producers, before the films rolled. Having seen all the films already, the filmmakers snuck out to spend the 90 minutes playing ping-pong and air hockey in the commons area, as well as catch up on some work and chat with the Pixar artists who mingling around during lunch. Topics of discussion included the importance of doing adaptations right so not to alienate the already established audience. Marcy mentioned a Beatles documentary pitched to the NFB as a possible project for Maciek to animate on. In regards to animating The Beatles, the vet in the area, James, said, “give it a whirl.”

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Ron’s Oscar Tour Pics from Skywalker Ranch & Pixar

oscartour — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:13:45 +0000

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.

Before the Ranch, we had dinner with ILM. Rick DeMott (r to l), Roger Allers, journalist Barbara Robertson, ILM animator Steve Rowlins & Clone Wars' Athena Yvette Portillo. © AWN Inc.

Geza Toth (l) and Mike Thurmeier eat some breakfast before the Ranch tour. © AWN Inc.

The nomiees (and me) chat over breakfast at Skywalker Ranch. © AWN Inc.

Oscar Tour members pose for an artsy shot in the Skywalker Ranch library. © AWN Inc.

Roger gets a closer look at what appears to be a gorgeous original Maxfield Parrish painting at Skywalker Ranch. © AWN Inc.

Marcy Page stands for a snapshot on the Skywalker Ranch porch. © AWN Inc.

Roger Allers and Don Hahn welcome everyone to Skywalker Ranch. © AWN Inc.

The nominees head past the vineyard on their way to Skywalker Sound. © AWN Inc.

On the Foley stage, the nominees chat with the artists working on the Clone Wars TV series. © AWN Inc.

It's off to Pixar. © AWN Inc.

Pixar's Kumiko Hidaka (r) lays out the itinerary for Roger. © AWN Inc.

Monster, Inc. director Pete Docter chats with Roger Allers while Mike Thurmeier talks with Gary Rydstrom in the background. © AWN Inc.

Pixar artists get a chance to chat with the nominees over lunch. © AWN Inc.

Roger Allers enjoys a conversation with Pete Docter. © AWN Inc.

Everyone poses for a group pic! © AWN Inc.

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Nominees’ Skywalker and Pixar Experiences

oscartour — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:49:53 +0000

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.

Mike Thurmeier poses by the Skywalker Ranch fire engine. © AWN Inc.

Because none of us were all that anxious to leave the Ranch, Ron had to prod us to get our bags to the door. We congregated in front of “The Inn” where we had stayed the night and were greeted by the Ranch’s manager and Candy, our tour guide. First, she took us to the Ranch’s private firehouse. The nearest fire station is 20 minutes away so George bought his own. There has never been a fire, however the Ranch station has attend to many traffic accidents along the windy Lucas Valley Road, which actually wasn’t named after the man behind Skywalker Ranch.

Next, we headed over to the main house, which was a mile away, along mossy brink-lined roadways that gently flowed through the trees and green hills. Ron told us an interesting story about the long horned cattle that were grazing on top of the hill. Apparently, George wanted cattle to roam the property, but was unsure what cattle to purchase. So he had life-sized cutouts made of the various breeds and had them taken to the top of the hills so that he could see which ones looked the best. Now that’s serious previzing.

Mike Thurmeier with two former Blue Skyers. © AWN Inc.

At the main house, we meet up with two former Blue Skyers, who of course of have forgotten their names. I’ll have to ask Mike when I see him at the end of next week. I know one of them was the original designer on the Scrat character. Candy led us through the elegantly decorated building with its early Rockwell paintings and gorgeous stained glass. The library, which offers its researchers for any film, is filled with books on any subject one could think of. Right in the center is an intricate stained glass dome. I have to get

the picture from Ron, in which, Roger strategically placed the camera directly under the middle of the dome while we all circled around and waited for a timed snapshot.

Throughout the tour, everyone was skirting from wall to wall trying to take in every piece of precisely chosen artwork and furnishings. A greenhouse, which is automated to control the temperature within by opening windows, looks down over a brick courtyard where there are offices below the above structure. Out the cafeteria, outside, is a huge barbeque, which is used in the summer quite often.

Geza Toth checks out some original lightsabers. © AWN Inc.

Next we headed over to the sound studio, where we strolled by Lake Ewok and past the vineyard, which makes its own wine that is distributed through the Coppola label. When we arrived at the sound studio, Candy turned the tour over to John, the manager of Skywalker Sound. On the big sound stage, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra was recording classical music for a CD. Hung on the walls throughout the buildings is George’s amazing collection of movie posters. Roger mentioned that he loves to collect old movie posters too, but doesn’t have enough walls in this home to display them all. Don joked that he needs to invest in more real estate. In a brick-lined central meeting area, there was a huge, vibrantly colored poster of Jackie Coogan’s Treasure Island. In the center of the room was a green garden and in the center of the garden stood Tick Tock from Return to Oz.

On one of the mixing stages, Christopher Boyes was mixing sound effects for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. We had run into him the night before as we arrived at the Ranch and he remembered Mike from the nominee luncheon. He too had a very negative experience with the Interrotron and Errol Morris’ aggressive questioning. On the other stage, sound mixers were hard at work on a trailer for Ratatouille, which we didn’t get to see because it was top secret. We also got to see the foley stage where they were working on Clone Wars, but that too is top secret and we were foiled yet again at seeing something that no one else has seen before. We went down on the stage and talked with the foley artists. Roger said he’s so impressed with foley artists because they are like actors and marvels at their precise timing. One overriding impression that I got from all the nominees was their love and appreciation for art in general. They’re professionals, but they were fans first and they are still great admirers today.

And as they say, all good things must come to an end. But it wasn’t that bad, because we were now off for Pixar. Along the way, Tamas was snapping dozens of pictures. He promised us that we could get some of them to share. I sat in the back of the van with Marcy and asked her how she left San Francisco to go work at the NFB. And it turns out to be a romantic tale. She meet composer Normand Roger while she was teaching in San Fran and asked him if he would compose the music for the film she was working on. She went to Canada to mix the film and found love in the process. After returning to the States, her music man asked her to move to Canada where she would come to work for the NFB. As we talked, she told me that she’s actually getting a chance to animate for a documentary she is working on. The budget can’t afford to purchase a certain clip so she is drawing a sequence to fill the spot. Art will find a way I guess.

So often in this industry the path takes us down roads we never thought we’d travel, yet we find ways to make the journey as close to our dreams as we can. I’m reminded of a conversation I had with Don at the ILM dinner. I was telling him about how my wife just couldn’t understand how I could write TV scripts and have them completely changed by the studio. I said it’s just the way the industry is and at this early point in my career if one gag that I wrote still remains, it’s still a part of me in there. I’m learning from the experience and it’s making me a better writer. Don told me it was great to hear that I had a day job at AWN and still had the chance to express myself creatively in other ways. I guess there is an innate understanding in all those who spend their lives creating — it’s not a choice we make, it’s a need we must fulfill.

Pixar's Gary Rydstrom chats with Marcy and Geza. © AWN Inc.

Okay, that ends the Hallmark section of this post just in time for our arrival at Pixar. Our host Kumiko Hidaka greeted us as we arrived. As we waited for the screening to begin, we were joined by Lifted nominee Gary Rydstrom and Monster, Inc. director Pete Docter. Gary quickly had us laughing about his nerve-wrenching experience pitching his new project that morning. He has a welcoming personality that puts one instantly at ease. One is drawn in by his humor, which is fast and witty with a touch of self-deprecation and sly cynicism. Which of course made me like him instantly. As we sat down in the auditorium, someone asked if he was excited to watch his film with an audience and he commented that it was actually painful. The crowd at Pixar was much more receptive to the shorts than any of the other studios. The comedies all received the biggest laughs of the tour thus far. And with the home court advantage, Gary got the loudest response from the crowd as he was introduced. It’s funny; now that I’ve seen all the films on the tour three times I’m beginning to notice new things that I never saw before. The cat climbing the wall in the background trying to get the bug in The Danish Poet. The mix of irritation and determination as the girl strikes the last matches in Little Matchgirl.

As for the questions from the crowd, Mike had wondered before the screening, which would be the first question asked — what was the inspiration for Little Matchgirl or was The Danish Poet based on a true story. He picked one of them, but check back later to find out which one when I do a recap posting on all the questions asked during the San Fran leg of the tour. Following the screening, Pixar provided lunch for us and we were visited by some of the artists. It was nice to sit down with Gary and Bob Peterson, who did story on A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. Currently, he’s working on Pete Docter’s new project. Gary was very complementary of Mike’s work on No Time for Nuts, especially jealous of all the sets he had. Marcy brought up a conversation that we had with Mike about the montage sequence in No Time for Nuts, which quickly transports Scrat from location to location. During the first edit, the sequence wasn’t as funny as they liked, but Mike and co-director Chris Renaud were afraid to cut too much. So in frustration they just shortened each shot to five frames and the sequence began to work. From that point they added to each shot accordingly until it felt just right. Bob wondered whether there was a budget for a lion in the coliseum sequence, but Mike said they didn’t have the time or money to build new characters, so they had to work with what they had.

Gary said that when Torill Kove, who directed The Danish Poet, came to Pixar for the Animation Show of Shows screening, she said that she has a knitting group where they just come up with stories much like the one in The Danish Poet, which tells the story of how random choices can affect our lives in ways we could never think of. He asked Marcy if she’s ever been to one of the group meetings and she said Torill wouldn’t let her because she doesn’t knit. She couldn’t even come to listen. Gary liked the quirky humor of The Danish Poet and admired all the details worked into the backgrounds and sides of the frame. Marcy said that it was the first production for the animator who worked on the backgrounds and when Torill let him loose to experiment, he turned in way more than was needed and they had to cut a lot. It’s funny, with so many people talking about Torill during the tour, it seems like I already know her. You know if I didn’t follow my producer Kristi from college to California and went to New York instead, she would have never helped me get the PA job at Acme Filmworks where I worked for Ron who gave me the job at AWN, which brought me to this point where I will meet Torill next week.

The nominees have a fun lunch with Pixar artists. © AWN Inc.

After Gary mentioned some the audio touches in The Danish Poet, Marcy asked Gary, who worked 20 years in sound, if the sound was worked out early on. He said that he began working out the sound design during the storyboard stage. Because he didn’t have a background in animation per se, Gary said he used sounds to communicate his ideas to the animators. He was worried when he first started that he didn’t know enough animation terminology, but found that just telling the animators, he goes “whiz, bang, whoop,” was enough for them to get the what he wanted. He also found that when it came to rhythm and timing his sound training came in handy when working in animation.

Mike really appreciated the design work on the little alien in Lifted, whose head twists like gelatinous material. Gary’s original intention was to twist the character and form creases like a bendy toy. But the creases were a tall order and in the end a widget had to be created to get the look he desired. He also wanted the ability to change eye size and move the eyes around. He found it ironic that details that were common in classic 2D animated shorts are harder to pull off in CG. Mike commented that they have been trying for a while to figure out how to show a character moving so fast that you see multiple limbs. Blue Sky finally found a solution that they are using on Horton where three identically animated characters are added to the scene and the shutter speed is changed. Gary commented that what someone would just draw in traditional animation now takes a team of scientists in lab coats to figure out.

As the Pixar employees went back to work after lunch, the nominees gathered for the studio tour. Because Roger and Don have seen the studio before, they opted to take the van to Oakland to see if they could get an earlier flight back to Los Angeles. So Mike, Marcy, Tamas, Geza and I followed our tour guide Randy as he laid out the Pixar philosophy. Everyone was bit disappointed in the tour, feeling it was very sterile and overly rehearsed. Mike wished we could have seen some of the artists working and I think everyone felt the same way. Marcy did find something new and revealing in the section of the tour where Randy discussed the story problems on the original Toy Story. It was interesting to see how the filmmakers recognized that Woody wasn’t working as a ventriloquist dummy. There also seems to remain some hostility toward the executive regime that tried to force “edginess” on this family film.

When we arrived at the airport, everyone said their good-byes. You could tell that Mike was happy to be on his way home to see his wife. He admitted that being away from her while she was so close to having the baby made him far more anxious than he thought it would before he left. We all look forward to seeing pictures of the new baby. But that’s not to say he regretted coming. While we were waiting to leave for the airport, he called his co-director Chris to tell him what he has in store when he joins the tour in L.A.

While Ron and I waited stand-by, we chatted with Geza and Tamas, who were very sick of airports and airplanes at this point. Geza apologized to me for speaking Hungarian to Tamas, which I told him he shouldn’t be. Though he isn’t as comfortable with English as his native language, Geza’s wit is not lost in translation. When I asked him what software he used on Maestro, he said, “for the script, Microsoft Word 2003.” With a sly grin he then told me he used 3ds Max. With the Hungarian government funding their trip, Geza and Tamas plan to make the best out of the experience, requesting a big American car with a GPS system to use while they are in California. The two really want to throw a party on the beach where they will cook Hungarian fish soup for all their guests. Geza seems somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention. This is the biggest drama of his life he said. Though he likes to take life a bit slower than the fast paced Oscar extravaganza, he doesn’t seem to be dreading the experience either.

Well that wraps up the San Fran leg of the tour. But check back soon for more pictures from the San Francisco studios, more observations from the nominees and other interesting tidbits.

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A Long Day Rewarded With A Night at Skywalker Ranch

oscartour — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:09:39 +0000

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.

The group poses in front of EA artists' personal work. Roger (l to r), Don, Marcy, Bob Nicoll, Mike & Ron. © AWN Inc.

The screening went over well with many of the questions centering on what inspired the stories and distribution channels, which were common questions throughout the day. Marcy Page, who produced The Danish Poet, commented that the short wasn’t based specifically on the story of how director Torill Kove’s parents meet, but from a tale her father told her about how a collection of choices can profoundly affect the direction of one’s life. As the EA employees were leaving to go back to work, I overheard many of them talking about how moving Little Matchgirl was for them. Roger said during the day that he found that men with daughters seemed to be the most moved by the short. Strangely, the EA staff was more interested in the 2D films, asking Marcy about the difficulties co-producing the film of Canada and Norway. She said for this film, because Torill did most of the work herself and Torill’s husband did the music, it made the collaboration much easier.

After the screening the nominees received a nice gift bag with games and various other shwag as well as a chance to tour The Sims floor where many of the animators were hard at work in their cubicles, decorated with unique individual personality. But the tour had to be short due to the tight schedule of jetting over to PDI/DreamWorks next.

At PDI/DreamWorks, we were treated to some artwork from the past productions like Shrek 2 and Madagascar as well as some of the upcoming projects Shrek the Third, Kung-Fu Panda, Creature Feature and How to Train Your Dragon. But the big highlight of the tour was the chance to see the legendary conference room, which Jeffery Katzenberg had special designed for the studio and then sold the conferencing system to HP. The room is set up where an entire wall is a screen that is linked to the Los Angeles conference room, which is designed exactly the same way, giving the impression that you’re in the same room sitting across a conference table from the people in the studio at the other end of California. All the nominees want one now. Apparently, animators who use to roll in at about 10 or 10:30 are coming into work at 7 am just to get a timeslot in the coveted, high-tech conference room.

The crowd at the DreamWorks screening was more reserved than the one at EA, however many of the questions were relatively the same. Check back for follow-up entries to find out in more detail about what was asked and more so what was said by the nominees. After the screening, PDI/DreamWorks treated us to lunch from their commissary, which is free to all the employees at the studio. During the tour earlier, Roger and Don were ecstatic to run into Beauty and the Beast director Gary Trousdale in the hall. Gary took time out of his schedule, working on the TV special Shrek the Halls, to come to the screening as well as join us for lunch. He seemed very happy to have the chance to catch up with Don and Roger. Throughout the day, many of the nominees had chances to catch up with old colleagues and friends at the various venues.

After PDI/DreamWorks, we had a few hours to spare before heading over to ILM. So we hit some of the sights in San Fran. For Mike Thurmeier, it was his first time in San Francisco. The trip from PDI/DreamWorks to downtown San Fran allowed time for plenty of interesting conversation. Some of the wonderful topics (which I will go into in greater detail in future posts) included the reemergence of 3-D, Don’s idea for a third Fantasia, watching films in the theater vs. at home, the secret to how the 2D equipment was saved at Disney and what it was like living in San Francisco in 1969. It was simply wonderful sitting back and listening to the filmmakers talk about other animators that inspired them and the work they admire. But I could fill volumes so I’ll save the nice details for later. How’s that for a cliffhanger?

After riding the trolley to Fisherman’s Warf, which was the first time for both Mike and Don, we went down to the beach along the bay, where we joked that we wouldn’t strip down bare and go for a swim like Aleksandr Petrov did when he was on the Oscar tour in 2000 for The Old Man and the Sea. After taking a spin by the Ghirardelli store, so everyone could buy sweets for their sweethearts, we walked along the Warf area looking for something hot to drink, settling on the very L.A. choice of Starbucks. Again, it was just fascinating to listen to the nominees chat about which festivals they like and don’t like as well as how they got to the place they are today.

Then sad news came. Marcy received a phone call from Ryan director Chris Landreth, telling her that legendary animator Ryan Larkin had passed away from brain cancer. Marcy, who produced Ryan and was very close with the director, was very shaken by the disturbing news. When it was time to head over to ILM, we all stood at the corner of Jones and Jefferson. As we waited, I saw Marcy put some money in the cup of a scruffy homeless man sitting near by and thought to myself – what a fitting and poignant tribute to Ryan Larkin.

We arrived at ILM later than planned and we were unable to take the tour before the screening so the filmmakers opted to tour the studio while the films were playing. And as I predicted Roger is already tired of seeing his film. However, there are roughly nine more screenings to go before the end of next week. Kate Shaw, the head of training at Lucasfilm, was a wonderful host and valiantly protected us from an overeager security guard who sprung to the scene drawn to the flashes of our cameras. Seeing the many props from the films ILM worked on, which included Lemony Snicket, Galaxy Quest, a scraped Frankenstein animated feature at Universal and a little film called Star Wars, was a great treat. One of the actually R2-D2 units was a very popular photo spot once again on the Oscar tour.

Slipping in right at the end of the screening, the nominees were bombarded with the most questions due to ILM’s invite of ASIFA-San Fran members to the screening and Q&A. Afterwards, ILM treated us to dinner at a restaurant across the street where we met up with head of Lucasfilm Animation Catherine Winder, ILM animator Steve Rowlins and the new producer on the Clone Wars TV series Athena Portillo. The dinner was another great opportunity to listen in on various stories about the filmmakers work. Athena, who is a big Disney fan, was thrilled to hear about Disneyland’s secret Club 33 overtop the Pirates of the Caribbean ride from Don. Likewise, everyone in my general seating area was thrilled to hear Steve’s tales of working on the Harry Potter films. He candidly spoke about which directors understood animation and which ones didn’t. And I have taken an oath of secrecy to not divulge the answers. If you’re curious if I was able to find out anything about Clone Wars, I must report that I was unsuccessful to even get a hint from either Catherine or Athena. The company secrets are truly safe with them. In future posts you can look forward to the filmmakers thoughts on motion capture, the difficulty of continuity on the Star Wars projects and what recent films the animators didn’t like and what upcoming films everyone is looking forward to.

After the wonderful dinner, it was around 11 pm and the nominees, Ron and I hopped into our van for the long trip to Skywalker Ranch. The fog had set in on the winding country roads. The conversation along the way had turned from the business to more personal tales. Marcy talked of an experience when she was younger taking her film to screen at San Quentin prison. The sensation of the doors locking behind her made her wonder if bringing her slightly erotic film to screen for convicted rapists and murders was a wise decision. However, the inmates turned out to be polite and generally engaged in what Marcy had to show.

As we arrived at the gate to the Ranch, the tired assembly in the van seemed to get a burst of energy. A firewoman at the Ranch’s private fire station was holding the keys to our rooms and she escorted us to the beautiful Arts & Crafts decorated building. Like a group of kids who just arrived at camp, we all excitedly scoped out each others rooms. I got the Orsen Welles room. Marcy is across the hall in the NC Wyeth room .Don is in the Norman Rockwell room, which includes an original Rockwell painting. This year the Winsor McCay room went to Roger and the Frank Lloyd Wright room is being occupied by Mike. And for the life of me (maybe because it’s 5:30 in the morning) I can’t remember which room Ron received. I guess like many other interesting details, you’ll have to check back another day. But like kids on Christmas we couldn’t just go to sleep so we raided the fully stocked kitchen and sat down in the cozy, stone-walled sitting room and Don lit a fire in the fireplace. Ron informed us that Geza and Tamas are on their way from the airport and will be joining us for the Pixar screening and lunch tomorrow. After a bit of unwinding, we all set off for our rooms. Everyone was thankfully for this chance to stay here at the Ranch. It’s an awe-inspiring place. I can see how, like Marcy said, one could easily be distracted here. But I can equally see how someone could be inspired.

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“How Cool is That?”: 9 Director Shane Acker Talks Oscars

oscartour — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:58:20 +0000

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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John Canemaker’s Thoughts on The Oscar Experience

oscartour — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 01:58:26 +0000

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:

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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Skywalker Ranch Pics & More from the 2006 Oscar Tour

oscartour — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 02:41:32 +0000

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.

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