I have always wanted The Pixar Times to continue evolving over the years. We started out as simply a venue to share the latest in Pixar news. Soon after, we began premiering original artwork (PixArt), a process which is coordinated by illustrator extraordinaire Jerrod Maruyama, and as a team, we started bringing you coverage from special events across the country, such as the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Toy Fair in NY, the Disney Infinity announcement in Hollywood, and film junkets held at Pixar in Emeryville. Today, I am excited to announce that we are adding a weekly column that we hope will provide a space for thoughtful discussion. It’s called The Pixar Perspective.
One of the reasons I am looking forward to this new addition is the writer who will be running the column, Josh Spiegel. Since 2011, Josh has been writing thought-provoking pieces and sharing his wisdom of Disney films on Mousterpiece Cinema, a blog and podcast published on Sound on Sight. I have been following his work for quite some time and have been continually impressed with his ability to address issues skillfully and systematically (sorry, no trolling).
Let us have Josh tell you a bit about himself (in the third person, no less):
Josh isn’t just a Disney buff, a film buff, or a TV buff. He’s a pop-culture obsessive, through and through. His long journey began in Western New York and has taken him to the American Southwest, where he resides with his wife and six–count ’em, six–cats. Among his favorite overall films are Singin’ In The Rain, There Will Be Blood, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Royal Tenenbaums. His favorite Disney movie (non-Pixar) is Beauty and the Beast, but his favorite Pixar movie is Ratatouille, and he thinks the latter is at least five times better than the former.
We have a range of ideas on where we want to take this and what will be covered. The first column will look at the “Disney vs. Pixar conversation” that has erupted recently. The Pixar Perspecitve will launch very soon, so stay tuned.
-Samad Rizvi (Editor-in-Chief)