Mark Andrews, like many of Pixar’s feature directors, has a long history at the company. He worked on The Incredibles as story supervisor, and directed the short One Man Band, and co-wrote Jack-Jack Attack and One Man Band. He was promoted to director of Brave when Brenda Chapman was removed, and watched the film go on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. (A nice feather in his cap, even if that win came as a surprise, given that other nominated films are arguably more successful stories than Brave.)
Now Andrews is at work on a new film, and it is an original concept that he is writing and directing. That should come as good news to those concerned about Pixar’s increasing interest in making sequels. At least, we presume he’s making the film at Pixar, as his comment about the project comes at the end of a string of talk about a possible Brave sequel at the company. Read More »
.
Please Recommend /Film on Facebook
Sound is an essential element for almost any film, but animated films in particular benefit from stellar audio design. Most of the featurettes we’ve seen from the Soundworks Collection have been focused on live-action films (or mostly live-action films, such as the Transformers movies) but now we’ve got one that looks at the production of Pixar’s Brave.
One interesting aspect of the audio work for Brave is that, as has been the case for some animated films in the past, some of the work was done prior to the animation — I won’t specify which bits, in order to avoid spoilers, but the fact that I don’t want to spoil anything should indicate just what parts of the film were done in that manner, for those who’ve seen the film. It’s also fun to learn that some sounds done for War Horse ended up in Brave.
Check out the look into Brave‘s sound design below. Read More »
Being a first time director at Pixar isn’t the same as being a first time director in other places. Right off the bat there’s the added pressure of following some of the most critically acclaimed movies in recent memory. There’s also a long road before getting to the top.
Mark Andrews, director of Pixar’s newest film Brave, had already worked on The Iron Giant, Spider-Man and more before joining Pixar in 2000. Since then he’s contributed to The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars and Toy Story 3 in all kinds of different ways. He also co-wrote and co-directed the short One Man Band. So when Brave‘s original director and creator Brenda Chapman left, Andrews was given the call and he was primed and ready to go.
In our one-on-one interview with Andrews, we talked about the pressure of directing at Pixar as well as the Chapman controversy. We also touched on what he changed about the film, why Brave is so different from the other Pixar films and his disappointment over John Carter, which he co-wrote with Andrew Stanton. Read about all that and more after the jump. Check it out below. Read More »
Save for a few of the original directors, few people can give you a better snapshot of what’s going on at Pixar than Katherine Sarafian. The production coordinator turned director of marketing and now producer has been with the company since 1994 and their first film, Toy Story. For the past five plus years, she’s been working on Brave, Pixar’s upcoming feature about a wild Scottish princess whose fate is tied to the family kingdom. Sarafian has been with the production from its inception and has intimate knowledge on the controversial directional change, massive story rewrites, cast changes and more.
Recently, I was at Pixar to see the gorgeous first thirty minutes of the film (read about that here) and spoke to Sarafian not only about those things, but the surprising power of being a producer at Pixar, the marketing of the film (including when we might see a new trailer) as well as the company’s feeling facing their first critical disappointment: Cars 2. Check out the interview below. Read More »
There are a great many questions surrounding Pixar’s 2012 offering: Brave. The film, which stars a willful, red-headed princess named Merida, is not only Pixar’s first period piece, it’s their first movie with a female lead. There was a major, public directorial change early in the production procees, and it’s by far the company’s most visually realistic film to date. Coming from a world where fish, cars, monsters and toys are king, will a realistic female princess struggling with not only her family but her own identity be something audiences will flock to en masse, even if the story is filled with magic, action and humor?
Disney selected a small group of journalists who’d never been to Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA to watch the first thirty minutes of the movie, hoping to alleviate many of those worries. In that aim, they succeeded. Over the next week or so, you’ll be reading interviews with director Mark Andrews, producer Katherine Sarafian, the story artist, production designer and much more. But, for now, here’s a video blog of myself and Cinemablend‘s Katey Rich discussing the first thirty minutes of Brave. Read More »
Pixar’s Brave is set in what appears to be some part of Scotland, many years ago. Well before the existence of pickup trucks, at least. So while we knew that actor John Ratzenberger was cast — he being a member of every Pixar voice cast to date — there was reason to wonder whether or not the practice of animating easter eggs from previous Pixar films had continued.
We’ve rundown these references in the past for other films, but those familiar with every detail of Pixar’s output have probably already wondered how, for example, the Toy Story Pizza Planet truck will end up in the film. A pizza cart, maybe? (Let’s not talk about what the Scottish equivalent of pizza might be, a hundred or more years ago. That scares me.)
Ratzenberger isn’t the only continuing tradition in the film, however. Director Mark Andrews says that all the small touches Pixar fans have come to expect from the company’s films will be in Brave, too. Read More »
This is a must-see. I know some opinions have been divided on Pixar’s upcoming film Brave. Personally, I was captured by the first teaser trailer and then felt as if the clip and full trailer that followed were a bit scattershot. I was left not really knowing what to expect from the film.
Now a Japanese trailer has surfaced for Brave, and I think it is the best look at the film yet. Doesn’t hurt that this trailer features a lot of new footage, and that much of that footage emphasizes the mystic aspects of the story, rather than the comic. (The title, as translated in this case, is even cool: Merida and the Frightening Forest.) Check it out below. Read More »
Disney has released a third trailer for Pixar’s 2012 film Brave. The new trailer is actually more of a extended clip from the movie than a traditional trailer — I know it is being promoted as such, but I’m not sure if this will be screened in theaters. Watch it now embedded after the jump. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Read More »
Cool Posts From Around the Web:
