In Contention

Tag: Ron Clements

  • The nominees react

    Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy HeartThroughout the morning and early afternoon we took statements from or hopped on the phone with 44 of today’s Oscar nominees.  Their reactions…

    Maggie Gyllenhaal, supporting actress, “Crazy Heart”:

    The thing is, you know, I’m so proud of the movie and I always have been, more proud of it than any of the work I’ve done so far.  But because I wasn’t getting nominated for anything, I wasn’t expecting it.  My phone was ringing so early and I thought, “Wait, maybe!”   I was staying at my brother’s in LA.  He said to me, “Your phone is going to be ringing all day.”  He made me a cup of coffee and then we watched the sun rise.  It was pretty mellow.  But this wouldn’t be happening for Jeff [Bridges] or me if it wasn’t for Scott [Cooper].

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  • 11/23 Oscarweb Round-up

    Bill Murray on the set of Fantastic Mr. Fox• Dave Karger cusses with “Fantastic Mr. Fox” star Bill Murray. [Oscar Watch]

    • Owen Gleiberman whines about the snubbing of inferior documentaries, fails to recognize the solid slate of short-listed films we ended up with. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Nicolas Rapold talks to the principals of “The Last Station.” [New York Times]

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  • SHORT TAKE: “The Princess and the Frog” (***)

    The Princess and the FrogIt’s a little difficult to argue with the nostalgia that Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” conjures.  As effective as Pixar has been for over a decade and as exciting as the computer-generated leaps have been in animation, there is something to be said about a well-crafted, traditional piece of animated feature filmmaking.

    Filmmakers Ron Clements and Jon Musker stretch back to the “Black Cauldron” days of the studio after all, and they were largely responsible for two of the biggest Disney animated hits of the pre-Pixar era, “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin.” “The Princess and the Frog” isn’t in that league, however.  It’s an effective story and a clever twist on a classic tale, a twist that works quite well, in fact.

    That having been said, the vibrant animation and striking color palette the film’s animators are working with make “The Princess and the Frog” a truly beautiful fixture in this year’s healthy slate of animated feature films.  Working with the bayou particulars of New Orleans goes a long way toward servicing those visuals, of course, but the sheer energy of the piece, an organic extension of those particulars, is what makes it feel so comfortably familiar.

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  • 8/3 Web Round-up

    Steven Miessner• Steven Miessner, the Academy’s white-gloved “keeper of the Oscars,” dead at 48. [USA Today]

    • Steve Weintraub talks “The Princess and the Frog” with directors Ron Clements and John Musker (at Comic-Con). [Collider]

    • The unmade films of Stanley Kubrick, including “Foucault’s Pendulum,” “Napoleon” and “Perfume.” [Empire]

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