Mon - March 6, 2006

Fourth Oscar for Wallace & Gromit



This is
LONDON

06/03/06 - Oscars 2006 section
Wallace and Gromit scooped an Oscar today for their movie debut The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
They scored the first British triumph of the night with the award for best animated feature film.
It is the fourth Oscar for creator Nick Park and Aardman Animations but the first for a full-length film.
Park and co-director Steve Box took to the stage wearing giant bow ties - and produced matching miniature versions for their Oscars to wear.
"We've brought bow ties for Oscar - for co-ordination," they joked. "We just happened to bring them along."
Veteran actor Peter Sallis, 85, who supplies the voice of madcap inventor Wallace, was in the audience.
Park paid tribute to him: "Peter is here tonight. He has been the voice of Wallace for the past 23 years and you have been an absolute gem, Peter. You have sparkled all the way."
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit also featured the voices of Helena Bonham-Carter and Ralph Fiennes.
It scooped Outstanding British Film of the Year at the recent Baftas.
The film is on course to become the fastest-selling British DVD of all time.
Aardman have won three previous Oscars for best animated short film - for A Close Shave (1996), The Wrong Trousers (1994) and Creature Comforts (1991).
The Oscar win comes four months after a devastating warehouse fire destroyed much of Bristol-based Aardman's history.
Backstage, Nick Park and Steve Box spoke of their delight.
"It's a great boost just to be treated in the animated feature category as a proper film," Box said.
"I think from the earliest days we wanted to make movies. For Wallace and Gromit actually to come here and win, it's just amazing. All our references are from the real movies and from movie history."
Asked why the film has been so successful around the world, he said: "I think Nick's great invention was Gromit because he's a character that doesn't speak.
So many films these days seem to be full of wise-cracking comedians desperate to keep their job. People can experience the film through Gromit's eyes on a kind of deeper level. It rises above words."
The pair were philosophical about the warehouse fire last year which destroyed many of their props.
"It was sad but, you know, these things happen. It was very touching just to see how the English and the people around the world actually treated it as a great loss. I didn't realise it was very valuable to people," they said.
The duo also explained their choice of bow ties.
Designer Paul Smith made theirs - and Box's wife made the mini versions for the Oscar statuettes to wear.
He said: "My wife made these when we were over here waiting. It was kind of a last minute idea. We were very nervous about it because we know how sacred the Oscars are. So we thought, what the heck."

Posted at 09:17 AM    

Sat - March 4, 2006

The True American Religious Holidays 



Last week I remembered an odd David Mamet remark, a throwaway line from a book of essays...




where he referred to America's true religious holidays "...the Superbowl, and the Academy Awards..."

...and this is the first year I had any sort of investment in each.

*This year's Superbowl featured my hometown team the Seattle Seahawks. They lost.

*In this year's 78th Annual Academy Awards, the category of Best Animated Feature includes nominee The Curse of the Were Rabbit

Aardman Studios co-founder Peter Lord, pictured below, honored us with a visit at our Culver City Creature Comforts USA office while he's in town to attend the Oscars.

While we hope tomorrow night he'll have an opportunity to accept one of these...




We didn't miss the opportunity to present him with our own uniquely-American special award. One of these...




I predict The Curse of the Were Rabbit will win.  

Posted at 11:19 PM    

hollywood or bust 



I've accepted a job writing for television, and will be living between Los Angles and Seattle for the next several months. Your TV will never be the same. Wish me luck.






CBS OK's First Animated Series in 13 Years
February 03, 2006
By Nellie Andreeva

CBS has greenlighted its first animated series in 13 years, "Creature Comforts," a U.S. version of the hit British stop-motion animated TV series.

The project hails from Aardman Animations, the creative force behind the Oscar-nominated animated feature "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and boxoffice hit "Chicken Run."

CBS has ordered seven half-hour episodes of the project for midseason 2006-07.

" 'Creature Comforts' is a hit in the U.K. -- it's fun, distinct and unlike anything on TV right now," CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said. "We look forward to developing an American version that captures the same unique sensibilities that made it so popular overseas."

"Creature" has enjoyed great commercial and critical success in the U.K. since it launched on ITV1 in 2003 as a series of 10-minute segments. The show is based on Nick Park's 1989 Oscar-winning short film of the same name, which was co-produced by Aardman, which also spawned a series of popular TV commercials.

Aardman will produce the half-hour stop-motion animated series in Los Angeles and at its Bristol, England, studios.

"We're thrilled to be exploring the American cultural viewpoint, a concept that we've mined to popular comedic effect in the U.K.," said Miles Bullough, Aardman's head of broadcast and development.

In "Comforts," excerpts from real-person interviews are placed in the mouths of a variety of animated animals who end up "discussing" different subjects on the show.

The CBS series will be exec produced by Kit Boss (Fox's "King of the Hill"), Miles Bullough, the Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Aardman's Nick Park, David Sproxton and Peter Lord.

Richard Goleszowski, the director of the U.K. version of "Creature Comforts," also will serve as supervising director of the American version.

"As a long-time fan of Aardman's work, I'm painfully aware that no matter what I say, it would be funnier coming out of the mouth of a plasticine dog with an overbite," Boss said. "I'm thrilled to be given the chance to bring (Aardman's) creatures across the Atlantic and help them to speak American."

"Creature Comforts" recently was awarded the Rose d'Or for best comedy and the Cristal Award for best TV production at the Annecy Animation Festival, as well as the Audience Award at the New York International Children's Film Festival.

CBS had little success with its two previous animation series attempts. "Fish Police" and "Family Dog" both ran for several weeks before being canceled in midseason 1992 and summer 1993, respectively.

Boss is repped by WMA; Aardman's deal with CBS was brokered by Endeavor

my new employer   

Posted at 10:07 PM    

Sat - October 16, 2004

Bush and the Almighty



More film follies. Really an excuse to use special effects. Worth the download just to see the power of religion fortified with home-made hollywood magic.


Posted at 05:51 PM    

debate clip follies



Oh, the things I do to entertain myself. Made with a clip from CSPAN, an AlchemyTV DVR video capture card, Quicktime, and iMovie...



A Cartoonized clip of a famous section of the Kerry/Bush debate.

That's if you have broadband. A slower modem version can be downloaded here

Posted at 01:27 AM    

Sun - October 10, 2004

John Kerry's TV habits



Media Offline
Unlinkable media items

>> John Kerry says that Fox News Channel, which has been portrayed by some as a Republican-leaning news network, has been "fair and balanced" in its coverage of his campaign. In fact, he's a fan of "The O'Reilly Factor," he tells the Oct. 24 issue of TV Guide. "I'd love to do O'Reilly," says Kerry. "I think he's got a very good show." However, the coverage of the Swift Boat ads "became entertainment" on the 24-hour news, he says. In addition, while Kerry admits to having been on occasion "sucked into" reality shows like "The Apprentice" and "The Bachelor," he says that his real TV favorites are The History Channel, HBO's "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and NBC's "Saturday Night Live." But Will Farrell's imitations of President Bush on SNL were "too nice," says Kerry.

Posted at 10:48 AM    

Thu - October 7, 2004

developing a theme and driving it home



Okay, this is funny.

This appeared as the most-linked item in the Blogdex today. When you see it, you'll understand why.

View this clip with a Quicktime plug-in, you probably have one in your browser already.

Posted at 10:34 PM    

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