The New York Times is reporting that a studio executive told the paper that Up director Pete Docter played a crucial role in the painstaking process to get the Up house recreation built in Utah. When Blair Bangerter, the designer of the Utah house, came up with the idea to bring the home to life, it was widely assumed that Disney, who has been known to strongly protect its properties, would reject the offer. However, Docter learned of the plans and apparently stepped in. [Read more…]
D23 2011: A Conversation With The Pixar Creative Team Panel (Update: Video Footage Added)
In celebration of 25 years of Pixar magic, the top creatives from the studio sat down for an informal chat at the D23 Expo on Saturday. On hand for the event were John Lasseter, Jim Morris, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Mark Andrews, Dan Scanlon, Pete Sohn and Ronnie del Carmen. Scheduled but missing from the panel was Lee Unkrich. The “nine young men” told stories about Pixar’s past and reminisced about their time with the studio. Each Pixarian was asked to recall their favorite memory while working at the studio. Some of the stories were new and some famiilar. From the first SIGGRAPH convention to the production of the first Cars film, each panel member had a great story to tell. [Read more…]
D23 2011: The Art of Brave Panel
D23 Expo goers were given a rare and wonderful opportunity this past Sunday when Pixar presented “The Art of Brave.” The panel, hosted by production designer Steve Pilcher and shader art director Tia Kratter, offered a glimpse into the production and visual development process of the studio’s next animated feature. This really was something special. It was like personally being walked through an “Art of…” book with the artists themselves. They revealed beautiful concept images and pencil sketches featuring everything from landscapes and environments to characters and costumes. From what was shown, it is clear that this will be one of Pixar’s most beautiful films to date. [Read more…]
Video: A Day In The Life of John Lasseter
What does it take for an individual to oversee Pixar, Disney Animation, Disney theme parks, and direct Cars 2? Given that many of us would have a hard time managing just one of these tasks, the incredibly busy John Lasseter needs a regimented schedule in his life to accomplish all of the above. Walt Disney Studios has released a video detailing one day in the life of the director, and we can safely say that he does more than we can knock out in a week! Check out the 25-minute documentary below for the closest look at the life of John Lasseter that we have seen yet. [Read more…]
Pixar Story Artist & Animator Draw Covers For Marvel Comics
When Disney bought Marvel a few years ago, imaginations around the world ran wild with ideas of collaborations between the two companies. Since Pixar is also a subsidiary of Disney, many fans had hoped to see some sort of collaboration between Pixar and Marvel Comics. Comics based on Pixar properties are currently being published by Marvel, but many of those that have been announced had previously been published through BOOM! Comics. USA Today has debuted a few special cover images for some established comic series that are running an “I Am Captain America” theme and has noted that a few Pixar employees are helping out by contributing their own artwork. Read on for a look at the covers! [Read more…]
Video of the Day: John Lasseter Shows Off Hawaiian Shirt Collection
In early April, Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle toured Cars 2 director John Lasseter’s closet and found exactly what was to be expected – an absolute ton of Hawaiian shirts. The Hawaiian-shirt-aficionado’s closet of 374 unique designs is organized by theme, with Pixar and Disney obviously accounting for a large part of the collection. However, the displayed shirts only represent a sample of Lasseter’s entire collection, as he says he likely owns well over 1,000. Check out the fun video and also find out just how much fun the Lasseters can have on April Fool’s Day! [Read more…]
What Will Lee Unkrich Do When He Hits 100,000? [Update: We Know]
![What Will Lee Unkrich Do When He Hits 100,000? [Update: We Know]](https://pixartimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lee_unkrich.jpg)
About two years ago, Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich made a promise that he would do something fun when he cracked the 5,000 follower mark on Twitter. He was certainly a man of his word, as he shared a video of himself smashing his face into a cake. The video is just one example of a long line of entertaining tweets we have gotten from the Academy Award winner over the past few years. While that happened back in 2009, it seems even further back since now he is approaching a milestone that is far, far bigger: 100,000 followers. [Read more…]
Get To Know ‘La Luna’ Director Enrico Casarosa
On Thursday morning, news broke on Pixar’s brand new short, La Luna, a film that is set to play in various festivals throughout the year. The short film’s director and head of story, Enrico Casarosa, may not have directed a film for Pixar up until now, but he has spent quite a bit of time working in the animation industry. Disney/Pixar has released an official bio on Casarosa, which you can check out here! [Read more…]
Cars 2 Production Designer Harley Jessup Talks Animation World
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars, recently produced a series of videos entitled “Production Design in the 21st Century,” where they spoke to production designers within the film industry. Harley Jessup, who is the production designer for the upcoming Cars 2, sat down to talk about his career leading up to joining Pixar for Monsters, Inc. and goes on to share some thoughts on how the animation industry works. Click here to view the full video. [Read more…]
John Lasseter Named One of the Most Influential People in the World
TIME released its annual ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ list and Pixar’s own John Lasseter made the cut. As Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Disney, Lasseter is one of the most powerful people in film. Even with his executive positions at the two companies, he has somehow managed to find time to direct the upcoming Cars 2. Read on to see what TIME had to say about the Hawaiian-shirt-loving man. (EDIT: Thanks to PogieJoe, who alerted us that Pixar voice actor extraordinaire John Ratzenberger wrote the blurb on Lasseter.) [Read more…]
