In Contention

Tag: Megamind

  • ‘Megamind’ trailer

    DreamWorks has already released a couple of trailers for the animated “Megamind,” but the latest (via Apple) is probably the last full-length one we’ll get in advance of the November 5 release.  I really liked what I saw of the film at Comic-Con this year and given that we’re likely to see five nominees in the animated feature category this year due to a rule change broadening what is considered feature length, it could have a fighting chance.  But the competition is stiff, and not just from the usual suspects.  Check out the trailer by clicking the image below or watch the embed after the jump.

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  • Disney tells the Annies where they can stick it

    Remember two years ago when “WALL-E” was on a destined crash course with awards glory throughout the season, then the Annie Awards (the animation community’s annual kudo fest) came along and shut the lovable robot out?  The benefactor was “Kung Fu Panda,” largely considered infinitely inferior to Pixar’s (some would say) crowning achievement.

    The immediate reaction was, “Something’s fishy here.”  And sure enough, a lot of fingers were pointed to a DreamWorks-heavy membership.  Disney, fed up with the unbalanced nature of the voting process, sought rule changes, which it received, but none of it was satisfying enough.

    So you can expect the Annies to potentially be Disney-free from here on out, as the studio has respectfully bowed out of the organization, refusing to support it or submit their titles for competition.  Annie chief Antran Manoogian says the studio’s titles can still compete, though it’s unclear how.

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  • COMIC-CON: ‘Megamind’ inverts comic genre tropes

    The opening Hall H panel of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con belonged to DreamWorks Animation’s “Megamind” from “Madagascar” director Tom McGrath.  The film, set for release November 5, is an “action comedy that takes the whole genre and turns it on its head,” McGrath told the packed hall.

    In the film, Will Ferrell gives his vocal talents to the title character.  Tina Fey plays a television reporter and Jonah Hill, her cameraman.  All three, along with McGrath, were on hand to preview five minutes of 3D footage from the film.

    Another key cast member, Brad Pitt, could not attend.  But the crew got a nice LOL pop out of the audience by bringing a cardboard cut-out on stage.

    Ferrell got into the Comic-Con spirit by donning the blue and black get-up of his character.  It’s the second time he’s been able to play a villain, following 2001’s “Zoolander,” but he said he was attracted to the idea of playing a “bad guy who becomes a good guy.”  No, nothing earth-shattering, but those are the kinds of quotes the panel was offering moderator Drew McWeeny.

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  • Comic-Con 2010 on the way

    Well, the inbox is getting stuffed with this and that regarding breakfasts and panels and viral marketing and yada, yada, yada.  That can mean only one thing: Comic-Con is around the corner.  And as I poured over the recently released schedule over the weekend, I found myself excited for…very little.

    DreamWorks Animation will make its first appearance with the Will Ferrell-starrer “Megamind.” Disney will pretty much take over the place as “TRON Legacy” makes its third trip in as many years to San Diego.  Sony will be in Hall H two days, first offering up action fare with “Salt” (which opens the Friday of the convention) and “Battle: Los Angeles,” then coming back with comedies “The Other Guys” and “The Green Hornet.”

    Warner Bros. will tease “Green Lantern,” “Sucker Punch” and the new “Harry Potter” while Overture will have “Let Me In.”  Lionsgate will break out “The Expendables” and Universal is planning some hijinks for “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” to go along with Hall H presentations for the new Greg Mottola film “Paul” and the more appropriately positioned “Cowboys & Aliens.”

    Oh, and fresh off of giving Edward Norton the heave-ho for, I imagine, deigning to try and make “The Avengers” a better movie than it’s likely to be, Marvel Studios will strut its stuff with “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

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