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Short Film’s Latest (& Mostly) Silent Era
“…on this day in 2006, the company that brought the world the blockbuster hits Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004) was sold to the Walt Disney Company, their longtime distributor, for a staggering $7.4 billion.”
–Walt Disney announces $7.4 billion purchase of Pixar, History.com
Pixar is an ever-evolving, multi-generational animation game-changer for both in short & feature films. This animation studio, part of Walt Disney, has produced some of the greatest animated movies of all-time. Not all, of course. Let’s not be hyperbolic with no memory of the illustrious past in this industry. However, Pixar’s uniquely subtle style for five to six-minute shorts is something to marvel at with a great deal of satisfaction and happiness.
Bet you didn’t expect that director commentary in the middle of an analysis of Pixar’s animated storytelling techniques. It changes the way you view the whole video, right?
Just call it the eternal magic of movies, real and imagined.
Setting the Stage for Star Wars
Star Wars isn’t going anywhere, folks.
It’s Thursday and the following interview with Mark Hamill on the practical “Death Star” set is a nice throwback and early sobering assessment of what Star Wars was and was going to be to movie fans as the original trilogy was just beginning to change the world forever.
While Mr. Hamill’s drawing of a cinematic line between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz sounds as ridiculous as two suns on Tatooine back in the ’70s, what time has proven is that there is, in fact, a link between that famous yellow brick road and the ultimate good vs. evil battle in a galaxy far, far away…
and that link is movie magic.
When films welcome and embrace that powerful escapist sensation, that’s when we, the fans, are granted permission and encouraged to travel to far-off worlds and galaxies we never knew were possible to reach within ourselves.
Sometimes in less than 12 parsecs.
The Battlefont of Our Generation?
How did this happen?
The man who directed the cinematic masterpiece Titanic just accepted something so pedestrian as the leading brand image of what continues to evolve as his ultimate cinematic universe. We still have no answer, despite an ordinary man’s quest to solve an extraordinary mystery. It’s been a few weeks since we learned of this person’s mission that’s driven by unmistakable, relentless anguish. He’s considered a hero in some circles. Not many circles, but more than one.
We’re still waiting for a press conference from Avatar director James Cameron so he can confront this ever-pressing issue.
The late Steve Jobs (RIP) would probably be happy that we’re discussing fonts with such intensity.
Maybe not about the Papyrus font, but still…
This Is Us
How can we best tell our story to the world?
According to Steven Spielberg, we can best tell our story by projecting it with the people in it…along with a little imagination and uncertainty.
Spielberg, a forthcoming HBO documentary, is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, I (and most likely everyone else on the planet) cannot wait to see this in-depth look into everything Steven Spielberg. The man is a cinematic and storytelling trailblazer. On the other hand, the fact that an in-depth documentary about Steven Spielberg’s life has been filmed, produced and is ready for showtime HBO means that he’s lived a full life and that it’s now time to just reflect…?
Fortunately, the greatest filmmaker in history (my humble opinion) isn’t slowing down one bit.
Ready Player One, directed by the man, the myth and the legend, is set for release with high-anticipation next year. Then, of course, the famed director has another Indiana Jones film. Plus, he has at least a couple more Jurassic World’s to produce and guide during the next several years.
That’s the good news. Now here’s some more. We won’t just be entertained by Steven Spielberg’s imaginative movies about virtual reality, genetically modified dinosaurs causing chaos in the modern world or an adventurous professor from the mid-20th century. Moreover, we’ll be entertained by stories about, well, ourselves. That’s the true storytelling genius of Spielberg.
He suspends focus on himself in order for all of us to believe in ourselves in ways we never thought possible.
And an accompanying John Williams score doesn’t hurt either…
Spielberg premieres on HBO on Saturday, October 7th.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 