Brad Lewis leaves Pixar.......Joins Digital Domain

In June I reported that Digital Domain were building a huge studio complex in Florida and branching out into film production. They were putting most of their money by employing two ex-Disney staff to make them stand out in the feature animation world and now they have taken that one step further by employing Brad Lewis from Pixar for their new 'Tradition Studios' company in Florida

Brad joined in Pixar in 2001 and became the Producer of "Ratatouille" and also wrote and Co-Directed "Cars 2". He had previously been at PDI Dreamworks for 11 years where he was producer for "Antz"

So why leave Pixar just as your Directorial debut hits theatres ? Well it's no secret that "Cars 2" has not been as well received as previous Pixar outings. For a start it was meant to be solely directed by Lewis but John Lasseter was brought on to help with 'developmental problems'. Although "Cars 2" is performing well at the box office and merchandise sales alone will be excellent it has at the time of writing a 34% rate @ Rotten Tomatoes which is the lowest score any Pixar film has ever had. I am guessing that it was an amicable decision for all parties given that Brad's relationship with John Lasseter was reported to be very strong.

I wish Brad all the best at 'Tradition' and I look forward to seeing what he can produce.

Disney Revives Philip K Dick's "King of the Elves"

Disney have announced plans to revive a Philip K Dick short story titled "King of the Elves". They had previously shelved the animated feature way back in late 2009 but have today announced  "Horrible Bosses" writer Michael Markowitz will now be penning the script.

The story tells of a band of elves and one dwarf that live in the Mississippi Delta who name a human as their king after saving them from a troll.

"Bolt" Director Chris Williams will act as Producer for the project which has been revived, after many changes to both writers and directors over the past 2 years, thanks to John Lasseter. Disney have also confirmed that "King of the Elves" will be a computer animated feature and not hand drawn and is slated for release at the end of 2013. 

I look forward to Disney's take on a Dick short story. I am a huge fan of his work and I applaud Disney for taking what some may view as a bit of a gamble.

John Carter Of Mars - First Images

Andrew Stanton is a two time Oscar winning Director from Pixar. Both Wall-E and Finding Nemo won Oscars for best animated feature and he was also co-wrote Toy Story 1, 2 & 3, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Wall-E and Finding Nemo. He was the second animator to be hired at Pixar (after John Lasseter) and is part of Pixar's Brain Trust, which often review and participate in the film making process of non-Pixar films made by Walt Disney Pictures. To say the man is a talented film maker would be an understatement, but Disney are taking somewhat of a gamble with Andrew's next project.

Mr Stanton is currently on loan to Disney and is in the director's chair for his first live action film, "John Carter of Mars", based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs serialisation from 1912. This film is based on the first story to feature the character John Carter from the novel "The Princess of Mars". This is one story that film makers have wanted to bring to the big screen for decades and has its roots as far back as 1931 when MGM tried to turn it into animated rotoscoped cartoons but they failed to impress test audiences.

The rights to the story have been banded about since the 1980's between Disney, Paramount and back to Disney in 2007 again. As recently as 2005 Robert Rodriguez was lined up to direct the story using digital sets from his Sin City movie.

With Disney back in the frame in 2007 they 'loaned' both Andrew Stanton as director and Mark Andrews as writer from Pixar. Principal photography started in January 2010 at Shepperton Studios and finished in Utah in July the same year. The film stars Taylor Kitsch as 'John Carter', Lynn Collins as 'Dejah Thoris' and a strong supporting cast including James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe, Dominic West and Samantha Morton. Michael Giacchino will be composing the score.

This will be a heavy effects laden movie, as you can see from the concept art below but even I was surprised at how long this one is taking to make. The official release date is March 9th 2012 in the US so that gives Disney plenty of time to get it right.....and they will need to as this story is one that Burroughs fan-boys will be keen to see and, if not done right, will certainly make their opinions known !

Here is the official press release from Disney:

From Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter”—a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Click on the Book Cover to read an excellent interview with Andrew Stanton in the LA Times. 

Pixar Gets Motoring Again

When it comes to Pixar releases most people agree they are head and shoulders above the rest. Not one of their films has ever bombed but it would be fair to say that the weakest film from them was Cars...and even that was better than most of Dreamworks efforts.

Despite this Pixar have decided to visit the motoring world again with Cars 2. This time the action takes place away from Radiator Springs and heads overseas where Lightning McQueen and Mater compete in the first World Grand Prix. Add in some spying and espionage and I think this could be a lot better and funnier than the original.

With a cast that includes Owen Wilson, Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer and a release date of 24th June for the US and 22nd July for the UK, get a taste of what's in store with these two trailers. The first is the second trailer released by Pixar and the second is the same trailer, scene by scene...but animated in Lego......and why not ?