In Contention

Tag: Henry Selick

  • Pixar animators = Renaissance masters?

    I’m not saying it — Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones is. In a brief but gutsy blog post, Jones adds an alternative (but still admiring) view to the past week’s pile of love letters to “Toy Story 3,” focusing less on their storytelling and more on their value as fine art pieces.

    In so doing, he concludes that Pixar and its fellow digital animation studios are artistic innovators equivalent not only to the artists of Disney’s golden age, but Renaissance masters like Leonardo da Vinci:

    If you watch the “making of” features on your DVD of the original Toy Story you will be told the story of a modern Renaissance. The Pixar team did not accidentally hit on a new way to make toys apparently come to life on screen. After seeing earlier attempts at digital animation they actively theorised that it was possible to perfect this technology, and to use it to create “real” animated worlds of an intricacy and vitality that would amaze and move audiences in a completely new way … Toy Story and its successors are colossal artistic achievements.

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  • Interviews with the nominees

    Jeff BridgesAs we head into the big weekend of this year’s hotly anticipated Academy Awards telecast, I thought I’d toss this list up once more, broken down by film. We’ve added to it a bit since the nominees were announced.

    And if you’d like to re-live the season so far, you can see how things have panned out at The Circuit.

    “Avatar”
    James Horner (Best Original Score)

    “Bright Star”
    Janet Patterson (Best Costume Design)

    “Coraline”
    Henry Selick (Best Animated Feature)

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  • INTERVIEW: Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick

    (from left) Henry Selick and Neil GaimanIntrepid publicists worked diligently last month to float the idea that Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” due to it’s healthy critics awards take, was in a position to upset the presumed frontrunner in the animated feature category: “Up.” Of course, at the time, no one in the media helping that story along bothered to point out that, well, the opinions of the critics don’t matter a whole lot when it comes to how the Academy votes at large.

    Left in the cold a bit during that discussion was “Coraline,” which opened way back in February — a full year ago — and maintained a steady course through the spring, summer and, eventually, the awards season.  In fact, given the evidence presented by the Annie Awards, it’s possible that Henry Selick’s film would have a leg up on “Fantastic Mr. Fox” as the true competition in a field many have already chalked up to the Pixar contender.

    I spoke to Selick earlier in the season and Gaiman quite recently about their work on the project.  Gaiman had Selick in mind from the beginning, dating back to his first viewing of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” 16 years ago, while Selick put a lot of trademark care into fleshing out a tangible world from Gaiman’s words.  The result is one of the finest animated films in a banner year for the medium.

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  • An evening at the CCMAs

    Kathryn Bigelow at the 15th annual Critics' Choice Movie AwardsAlright, now that the booze and the hangover have worn off, let’s talk last night’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

    It was a decently produced evening, the venue having shifted from the Santa Monica Civic Center to the Hollywood Palladium, right in the middle of Tinseltown.  The scheme of having 10 tables rounding the stage representing the 10 films nominated for Best Picture was a nice touch.  I was fortunate enough to be at the “Up in the Air” table with Jason Reitman, Vera Farmiga (who I was meeting for the first time) and Anna Kendrick.

    George Clooney was a no-show (working on his upcoming Haiti telethon), though at least that didn’t make for an awkward moment later when Jeff Bridges won the lead actor prize, the first on his way to an eventual Oscar win.

    Anyway, a few notes (since Guy has already given you a thorough rundown of last night’s implications)…

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  • 12/28 Oscarweb Round-up

    Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's This Is It• Pete Hammond can’t let go of this notion that “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” is a Best Picture contender.  A bunch of number 10 slots aren’t going to cut it, Pete.  [Notes on a Season]

    • Adam B. Vary notes the curious absence of Gene Hackman from the silver screen since the 2004 bomb “Welcome to Mooseport.” [Pop Watch]

    • Criminally underrated composer Clint Mansell spills a little on his plans for Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan.” [Little White Lies]

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Field of adaptations

    Amy Adams in Julie & JuliaAs always, the year’s adapted screenplay race is much more competitive than the original screenplay race. But what’s intriguing to note is that of the anticipated “big four” still to be widely screened, three of them are right in the thick of this discussion.

    In the case of “Nine,” there is a chance for Anthony Minghella to receive his second posthumous Oscar nomination in as many years, something I don’t think we’ve seen since James Dean. But sometimes the razzle-dazzle of a movie musical can overshadow what craft there might be on the page, so it’s no slam dunk. Michael Tolkin is co-writer on the script, and even though I’ve seen the film, I’m prohibited from offering my thoughts on the work.

    “The Lovely Bones,” meanwhile, is adapted from a beloved novel, looks to feature a more reserved and refined Peter Jackson than we’ve seen in recent years and could see the lovable trio (Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh) back in Oscar’s good graces. We’ll know when we see it.

    The Royals and invited British press get their look on the 24th. Harry Knowles has received his typical peek (as Paramount continues to nurture the relationship as if it’s 2002 and AICN still moves the needle). The rest of the US press corps has to wait until the other side of the holiday on the 27th to judge. Hopefully we’ll still care by then. I heard some scathing criticisms out of an exhibitor screening last week.

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  • Henry Selick to be honored by CAS

    Henry SelickTwo months ago Randy Thom was announced as this year’s Cinema Audio Society Lifetime Achievement Award winner.  Now comes word that Henry Selick will receive the guild’s Filmmaker Award.  Recent recipients have included Paul Mazursky, Bill Condon and Gil Cates.

    The press release, in part:

    Multi-faceted stop-motion filmmaker Henry Selick will receive the CAS Filmmaker Award at the 46th CAS Awards on February 27, 2010 at the Crystal Ballroom of the Millennium-Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.

    “The Cinema Audio Society is delighted to be honoring one of the vanguards of stop-motion animation as this year’s Filmmaker Recipient and, once again we are thrilled we have synergy between our Career Achievement Recipient Randy Thom and our Filmmaker Honoree through their collaboration on CORALINE. We look forward to another year of honoring the best in the Sound Mixing field at this year’s dinner,” said CAS President Edward L. Moskowitz.

  • Sneek peek at the ‘Coraline’ DVD

    Neil Miller over at Film School Rejects has an exclusive clip from one of the special features on the forthcoming “Coraline” Blu-ray/DVD. “This little sequence is called ‘Wrapping Up Coraline,’” Miller writes, “and it focuses on director Henry Selick talking about the final stages of work that went into creating this wonderful little film. He also speaks a bit about the incredible amount of work that was turned in by countless artists and animators.”  Take a look below.  The disc hits shelves July 21:

  • The Academy opens the doors to 134 new members

    Seth RogenThe headline says it all.  After bringing in 105 new members last year, the Academy has just announced a new list of 134 names to join their ranks.

    Actors include Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Jeffrey Wright (woo-hoo!), James McAvoy, Casey Affleck (who should have been brought in after his 2007 nomination), James Franco, Michael Cera and Seth Rogen, as well as, of course, all of the first-time nominees from last year’s season.  I was rather surprised to see Brendan Gleeson only now getting the invite.

    A big huzzah to director Rod Lurie, who made the cut in the directors branch, along with last year’s big winner Danny Boyle and animator Henry Selick, among others.  And another tip of the hat to Clint Mansell (robbed blind for his “Fountain” score two years ago), who joined the composers’ ranks along with Peter Gabriel (another guy I figured would have been in long ago) and last year’s winner in both music categories, A.R. Rahman.

    Neither here nor there, since now we’re getting to inside baseball, but a big shout-out to Paramount’s Megan Colligan, who was allowed passage in the public relations arena.

    Check out the full list after the jump.

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  • ‘Coraline’ trailer debuts

    And very lovely it looks, too. You’d expect a marriage between Henry Selick, Neil Gaiman and Focus Features to be on the classy side of the spectrum, and so it appears to be here.

    February still seems to me like a curious month to open this kind of product, but I’m guessing if the film lives up to its promise, it’ll be an early contender for the 2009 Animated Feature Oscar. Dive in:

  • Revealing ‘Coraline’

    Focus Features unveiled 30 minutes of Henry Selick’s “Coraline” today in Beverly Hills in two separate press events, and the material was as stunning as you would expect.

    Based on Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel of the same name, “Coraline” is Selick’s first fully stop-motion feature effort since “The Nightmare before Christmas” 14 years ago.  All of the puppets are hand-crafted, many of them on display during the reception that followed the footage, including this miniature set, featured in one of the scenes revealed today (forgive the crude iPhone shot — I wasn’t expecting such goodies):

    Minature set from Coraline

    Based on these fleeting moments, I’d say the film will be a creative dazzler.  The 3-D really pops without drawing attention to itself, and that’s a breath of fresh air after “Beowulf” failed to capitalize on the by now decades old technology in a similar fashion last year.  (How many “look, it’s in 3-D!!” moments did we really need in that thing anyway?).

    What’s more, the film seems to be carrying Gaiman’s eerie tale across properly, without a lot of fuss and with an eye toward preserving the author’s atmospheric intentions.

    Selick spoke brielfy beforehand and mingled afterward, but I had to leave before getting any face time with him myself.  The film is set to bow in February and will be part of an interesting duo of animated endeavors for Focus next year (along with “9”).  Can’t wait to see the rest.

  • ‘Coraline’ featurette

    Still waiting to find out whether this one will be finished for an Oscar qualifying run in December.

    I must say, I didn’t realize Neil Gaiman sent Henry Selick a manuscript 18 months before the book was published.  Looks like he wanted this to be on the screen early on and had his ideas from the start.  Check it out.

  • Another animated title off the list…

    In response to Brian’s item this week about Focus Features’ animated film slate, I’ve received notification from the studio that “Coraline,” the Neil Gaiman adaptation from Henry Selick (which looks extraordinary, I might add) is set for a February 2009 release.  Obviously, this takes it off the line-up for Oscar contention this year, so update your lists.

    Additionally, though Brian notes that he “has heard that ‘Coraline’ [will be rated] PG-13,” Focus would like it known that the film has not yet been rated.  Just so the air is clear on that.

    The studio also insists that no release date has been settled yet for Shane Acker’s “9.”  However, that doesn’t jive with another report I received earlier this month which indicated the film would be pushed to next year.  According to the studio, since the film is still “in production,” they’re not committing to a date.  Brian, meanwhile, was told at the early screening he attended that the flick was “still on for a Christmas 2008”  release.

    It’s all beside the point for now.  Things shift and slide.  Maybe the studio will find an opening in the holiday season for “9”  and prime it for launch, maybe not.  But none of it takes away from Brian’s point, that it is interesting to see the studio trying its hand at being an animation studio, and one dedicated to unconventional fare at that.

  • Focus gets animated

    I caught an uber-early screening of Focus Feature’s “9” tonight, one of two animated films they have coming out in 2008 – the other being Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline.”

    While it would be a disservice to comment much on the film (at least 10% of it was still storyboards — in fact, I highly doubt I saw a single frame of finished animation) giving that it’s still deep in production, I will say that one thing has become clear: Focus Features are certainly dedicated to making much darker animated films than anyone else in the market. I’ve heard “Coraline” is a PG-13, and I can’t imagine “9” getting a PG.

    It will be interesting to see if Focus can become an animation powerhouse.

    Regarding “9,” I will say this much: we all know what’s going to win Best Animated at the Oscars this year, and it’s not “9.”

  • Strike ‘9’

    I just caught wind that Focus Features’ animated endeavor “9” from writer/director Shane Acker (and based on his Academy Award-nominated short film) has been slated for 2009, removing it from the already thin slate of contenders in the animated feature category. Apparently, this has always been the case, so I’ve either been out to lunch, going on bad information or both. It happens.

    The studio still, presumably, has a horse in the race with Henry Selick’s Neil Gaiman adaptation “Coraline,” should it maintain a platform release pattern that puts in in U.S. cinemas by the end of the year. We’ll see.