Wednesday, September 30

• Three Additions to Cast of Pixar's John Carter of Mars

  The Hollywood Reporter writes that three more actors will star in Pixar's first live-action movie, John Carter of Mars. Thomas Haden Church, James Purefoy, and Mark Strong have joined a cast that already includes Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Taylor Kitsch, and Lynn Collins.

  The story involves John Carter (Kitsch), a Civil War veteran who is transported to Mars. But this isn't the barren red planet we know; this Mars is a violent society involving "12-foot-tall green barbarians," according to IMDb.

  Church will portray a warrior with a desire for power, Purefoy a captain, and Strong the ruler of a people called the Thems. Directing the movie is Andrew Stanton, who also co-wrote the script. Stanton has already helmed several Pixar features, including Wall-E, Finding Nemo, and A Bug's Life.

  The movie is still in pre-production and is scheduled for a 2012 release.

  
  

  Posted 09/30/2009 by Rich Z

  Related: Samantha Morton | Taylor Kitsch | Willem Dafoe | Andrew Stanton | Lynn Collins | James Purefoy | Thomas Haden Church | Mark Strong | John Carter of Mars

Sunday, June 14

• Wolverine Stars Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins Reunite in John Carter of Mars

  In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, actors Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins didn't share much screen time. However, that's going to change in John Carter of Mars.

  Variety reports the two Wolverine stars will reunite in the Disney movie. It will be the live-action debut of Wall-E director Andrew Stanton, who also co-wrote the script.

  Kitsch will play the title character, a Civil War veteran who is mysteriously transported to Mars. There he finds the dying planet is experiencing its own racial war. Collins will play the Princess of Mars.

  John Carter of Mars starts shooting early next year.

  
  

  Posted 06/14/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Taylor Kitsch | Andrew Stanton | Lynn Collins | X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Monday, February 23

• The Academy Awards Wrap-Up: WALL-E Director Andrew Stanton

  

  After winning for Best Animated Feature Film, director Andrew Stanton was asked if the character development and depth of WALL-E was a sign of where animated movies were heading:

  To be honest we were trying to go that deep with the first movie we made at Pixar. Toy Story was an attempt to just show that it's a movie and we just happen to be using animation as a medium to tell it. It's like saying because it's in black and white suddenly it means it has to be a cop movie or mystery. It's very odd. We have just been trying to make the most sophisticated film that we can with the very deep characters, and we assume that if it's well told then any age will understand it. So, that's been sort of the same attack on every film.

  While Stanton already has an Oscar, he was no less pleased with the Oscar for WALL-E:

  WALL-E really was the most unique personal film I could have made, and I really expected it to speak to a minority, not a majority, because I felt I had gotten away with that with Nemo. So, to get this kind of response, it just really gives you a lot of confidence to listen to that little voice inside you again the next time.

  For more with Stanton, read our pre-Oscars interview.

  
  

  Posted 02/23/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Andrew Stanton | Wall-E

Tuesday, February 17

• Interview with Wall-E Director and Writer Andrew Stanton

  Pixar's 2008 release about a robot janitor left to tidy up a polluted earth was a hit with parents and kids, not to mention the critics. This Sunday, Wall-E is up for six Academy Awards -- Best Original Screenplay, Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.

  What's it like to garner that many nominations for an animated movie? Wall-E's director and writer Andrew Stanton told us, along with details about how he managed to get some sleep the night before the Oscar nominations were announced. See our interview with Stanton.

  
  

  Posted 02/17/2009 by reelz

  Related: Andrew Stanton | Wall-E

Friday, June 27

• An Interview with Wall-E Director Andrew Stanton
  

  Pixar director Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo) doesn't try to guess what the audience wants to see. Instead, he trusts his own instincts and invites the audience along for the ride. Hopefully Stanton and the audience are able to connect by the movie's end -- and judging by Stanton and Pixar's unending string of success, it seems to be working.
  
  Brent Simon spoke with Stanton recently about Wall-E, which is drawing rave reviews (including Brent's perfect 10 review of Wall-E). Check out ReelzChannel.com's interview with Wall-E director Andrew Stanton.
  
  
  

  Posted 06/27/2008 by reelz

  Related: Andrew Stanton | Wall-E

• Ratzenberger Works the Cocktails

  

  Jill Simonian is a correspondent for Dailies (ReelzChannel TV, weeknights @ 6PM ET), and occasionally shares stories from the field. This week: WALL-E

  No, we're not talking drunken stoopers.

  In WALL-E, John Ratzenberger's character -- "John" -- is a human floating around in space. But Ratzenberger himself has his feet planted firmly on the ground. After putting his friendly-but-know-it-all mailman Cliff Clavin from TV's Cheers to rest in 1993, Ratzenberger quickly –- and affectionately -- became Disney-Pixar's "good luck charm." Since 1995's Toy Story, he's been the only actor to voice a role in every Disney-Pixar movie to date. (After Hamm the Piggy Bank, P.T. Flea, Abominable Snowman, Fish School, Underminer, Mack, Mustafa... finally he gets to play a "John!")

  At the junket for this impeccably-animated sci-fi love story last weekend, Ratzenberger himself told me that "feeling like a rabbit's foot" is a good thing. But when I asked WALL-E director/writer (and Pixar's ninth employee) Andrew Stanton about it, I found out how Ratzenberger pulled off this feat:

  To become Pixar's pet he simply went to cocktails with Toy Story's creative team after the press junket for that movie 13 years ago. As Stanton recalled, the team invited the entire cast to meet at the hotel bar for celebratory drinks that night after their interviews were over, and Ratzenberger was the only actor who showed up. Amazing. Stanton and the rest of the Pixar team appreciated his down-to-Earth personality that night, so they wrote a part for him in 1998's A Bug's Life, and the rest is history.

  Finally! The secret to having a steady gig for the rest of your life! (I guess all that work from Cheers paid off?) Drinks, anyone?

  
  
  Next Showing: WALL-E opens nationwide Friday, June 27

  Posted 06/27/2008 by Jill

  Related: ReelzChannel Movie News | John Ratzenberger | Andrew Stanton | Wall-E | Toy Story | A Bug's Life

Thursday, June 26

• Review: Wall-E
  

  Pixar's Wall-E hits screens in just two days and the early buzz is pretty positive.
  
  Directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life), WALL-E is a Waste-Allocation-Load-Lifter-Earth-Class who has been left all alone on the planet Earth. He's been spending his lonely days collecting knick-knacks until he meets a new robot named EVE and discovers his true purpose.
  
  ReelzChannel.com's Brent Simon got into an early screening and you can hear all about his reaction in his extensive, slightly gushing, full review of Wall-E.
  
  
  
  

  Posted 06/26/2008 by reelz

  Related: Andrew Stanton | Wall-E

Saturday, July 28

• Wall-E footage, animation tests and more   

  Disney/Pixar just finished their presentation for next summer's Wall-E.

  It was met with great enthusiasm. Besides the usual exceptional Pixar visuals, the creative design of the characters, including Wall-E, his romantic interest Eve, M-O and Auto, is different and quite intriguing. Where as Fox's Robots took the standard approach to robot animated characters we've seen a million times before, Pixar's creativity shines through in a very original way.

  We got to see a pretty extended clip from an early segment of the movie where Wall-E was digging through and compacting garbage at a junkyard.

  Finally a ship arrived where it appeared that is future romatic interest was about to be revealed. The film then melted, a playful jab from Pixar at the pre-digital age.

  We also saw animation tests of the four characters mentioned above. The sound designer played a number of effects being used in the movie and also revealed the voices and sounds of the four main characters.

  All in all, the Wall-E presentation was great. It's directed by Andrew Stanton, who previously helmed Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life. Wall-E comes out next summer and, as of the current status, it appears Pixar is on the right track once again.

  
  
  Next Showing: Wall-E releases Summer 2008.
  

  A first look at Pixar's Wall-E

  Meet Pixar's next big star, Wall-E.

  Posted 07/28/2007 by reelz

  Related: Andrew Stanton | Wall-E