Wednesday, October 07, 2009

At the Diz Co.

Inside the hat building, the last of "The Princess and the Frog" support crew departs on Friday. As for the oncoming Rapunzel, it continues to ramp up toward full-bore, pedal-to-the-medal production. One staffer said to me:

"I saw the new story reels today. The picture has improved a lot since the last time I saw it, twelve weeks ago at the last screening. The directors have done a good job with it.

"Sometimes story reels change but don't get any better. This time it's gotten better ..."

I had an animator show me some animation of Rapunzel's love interest, a swashbuckling kind of guy with a swashbuckling name. (Won't reveal it since I don't think it's out yet, but think "Famous screen swordsman.")

On a separate note, a word about the George Nelson lamps that are in abundance on the second floor of the hat building. They came in with the Pixar management team, and they look like this:

My folks had one of these lamps, a big one, in the living room of our La Crescenta house. They hang in the coffee bistro area of the hat building, also all around the second floor of Disney Toons in Glendale, and they are terrific.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

So...did the Flynn animation look good or not? You didnt say.

(Flynn isnt a secret, its on IMDB)

Anonymous said...

He's part of union that reps animators. Do you think even if he didn't like it he'd say so?

As long as they work that's all he cares about.

Just think: DreamWorks.

Anonymous said...

Hmm. Well, he does make positive comments from time to time about what he sees, but only repeats negative comments if he hears them from artists...

So maybe he's using the "if you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all" rule...

Steve Hulett said...

As long as they work that's all he cares about

Not entirely.

I also want people to make a decent wage, build a retirement, do work that they're proud of.

I won't comment on studios I don't know personally, but of those I do, DreamWorks Animation has the best morale.

Period.

You can slam DWA's product if you like, but I find a lot of DreamWorks' stuff very good.

Re Flynn Ryder: The animation was quite good, but it was done by an excellent animator.

(They haven't finalized costume so Mr. Ryder was wearing the equivalent of a digital t-shirt.)

Re positive comments: If I have nothing positive to say, I say nothing.

Re the Robo Span that has started showing up in large amounts: It's driving me nuts.

If I get crazed enough, I might start screening comments. (Like I don't have enough to do already.)

Nathan Birnbaum said...

"You can slam DWA's product if you like, but I find a lot of DreamWorks' stuff very good."

Insert fart joke here and watch the money roll in.

Sigh.

Floyd Norman said...

And, I might add -- lunch is free.

Steve Hulett said...

Sigh.

Nathan, old top, you are entitled to your opinion.

And I'm entitled to mine.

Anonymous said...

Are there really that many fart jokes in Dreamworks films? Really? I can only think of one, and it was from Shrek 1...

Hmm, doesnt the latest Princess and the Frog trailer have at least 1 fart joke? I think it actually has 3...

Anonymous said...

"And, I might add -- lunch is free."

Not for long. Already slated to go.

Anonymous said...

Nemo fart joke...seagulls:)

Anonymous said...

"And, I might add -- lunch is free."

Not for long. Already slated to go.


Untrue.
FYI that rumor has been traded since at least 1997, but if it makes you feel better...
In any case it's of very little import to the people there that it's free-they like it, but it's not why they work and stay there.

Anonymous said...

Lunch is never free.

Floyd Norman said...

Free I don't need. I'm willing to settle for cheap. The way Disney used to be before they got greedy.

meg said...

I hope that in Rapunzel there isn't fart jokes or stuff like this because it will ruin the movie!

Rapunzel must to be a very classic fairy tale like Cinderella not a sort of Shrek rip off!

Why Disney make movies who are simply Dreamworks rip off?

Anonymous said...

I'm scared with the invention of this new male lead character. It seems that they're trying to sell this movie to the macho, male-driven-pirates-of-the-Caribbean audience who demand swashbuckling scenes every once every 10 minutes. Also, has anybody here heard that Rapunzel uses her hair "like an Indiana Jones whip?" Again, wrong demographics. Can't Disney make a real, FAIRY TALE???

Site Meter