Thompson on Hollywood

Back to the Future: The Adventures of Andre and Wally B

Back in 1984--two years after Tron, Lucasfilm backed what we can consider to be the first Pixar short, The Adventures of Andre and Wally B, written and directed by Alvy Ray Smith, animated by John Lasseter, with sound by Ben Burtt and help from the big Cray computer. Delightful. Steve Jobs bought this unit of Lucasfilm and turned it into Pixar two years later.

By Anne Thompson
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February 21, 2011 1:52 AM
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Oscar Animated Shorts Preview: The Lost Thing, Day & Night Are Best of Five

Depending on where you live, some combination of the Oscar-nominated shorts (animated, live action and documentary) may be playing in a theater near you, thanks to Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures (trailer, clips and detailed release info below). Four out of five of the animated shorts are quite strong.

By Anne Thompson
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February 19, 2011 11:22 AM
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Oscar Video Exclusive: How Pixar Made Day & Night Short

The frontrunner in the Oscars' animated shorts category is a popular one from Pixar, Day & Night which played in theaters in front of Toy Story 3 last year.

By Anne Thompson
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February 17, 2011 10:35 AM
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Academy Nominees Luncheon: 2011 Class Photo, Meeting the Coens, Keeping It Short

What becomes a legend most? A diminutive best actress nominee sitting at the center of a group photo on last year's best actor winner's lap. At last year's nominees luncheon, Jeff Bridges was hanging with genuine affection with old pal Sandra Bullock.

By Anne Thompson
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February 7, 2011 11:52 AM
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Toy Story 3 Tops Quentin Tarantino's Best of 2010

Quentin Tarantino has posted his favorite movies of 2010, all twenty of them. Unlike many critics, Tarantino has no problem with citing movies that are popular hits. And he's seen his share of obscurities as well. Tarantino is an Academy member, though not a typical one. His taste is catholic, ranging from specialty and foreign films to raunchy comedies, animated family fare and big-budget actioners. His most surprising choices are two critical and box office studio failures that are as well-directed as they were commercially misguided: James Mangold's Knight and Day and Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. Wow.

By Anne Thompson
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January 2, 2011 11:44 AM
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Beauty of Pixar Reel, Stamps

Leandro Copperfield cuts together some 500 scenes from Pixar movies--he sampled one a day for eleven days. The splendid result, The Beauty of Pixar, is below. I was taken aback when a critic I respect, LA Weekly's Karina Longworth, dissed Pixar recently on Twitter. When asked why she voted for Tron: Legacy over Toy Story 3 as best animated movie in the Village Voice/LA Weekly poll, she responded: "Tron is animated in the same sense that Mary Poppins is. And fuck Pixar, basically."

By Anne Thompson
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December 29, 2010 8:41 AM
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Michael Arndt Digs Into Toy Story 3 and the Genius of the Pixar System

After studying writing as an assistant to Matthew Broderick, among other gigs, Michael Arndt finally wrote Little Miss Sunshine, which impressed quite a few people, screenwriter Robert Towne among them. (He gave Arndt an adaptation to do, which never got made.) Arndt won the original screenplay Oscar for that first produced screenplay. From there he went on to earn a rare solo credit on what many consider to be one of the year's best films, Pixar's Toy Story 3. We sat down for a long dig into the details of how to write a sequel to a beloved franchise at Pixar, which consistently turns out smart blockbusters, year after year: no mean feat.

By Anne Thompson
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December 7, 2010 8:29 AM
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Oscar Watch: 33 Animated Shorts Qualify for Oscar Consideration

Cartoon Brew has the full list of 33 qualifying animated shorts from around the world, as well as photos and website links to such films as Pixar's gloriously witty Day & Night, which will undoubtedly wind up in the final five:

By Anne Thompson
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November 26, 2010 6:31 AM
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Clip Alert: Tangled, Disney's Last Animated Fairy Tale?

As Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull pull Disney Animation into the future, they've made one bold decision: no more fairy tales, at least for the time being.

By Anne Thompson
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November 22, 2010 6:06 AM
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Starry Night at Governors Awards Fete: Coppola, Wallach, Brownlow and Controversial Godard

Walking into the second annual Academy Governors Awards reception, I was gobsmacked by who was milling in front of the photographers at the entrance. 12-year-old Elle Fanning posed with her Somewhere co-star Stephen Dorff and The Ghost Writer's Olivia Williams; George Lucas was chatting up Godfather stars Robert Duvall and James Caan, as Sofia, Francis Ford Coppola and his wife of 48 years, Eleanor, greeted Peter Fonda.