Monday, October 12, 2009

They Dream of Works ...

... that will leave a lasting impression on the movie-going public..

I bopped around the DreamWorks facility this afternoon, and various artists told me various things. To wit:

"We got the accelerated greenlight for The Croods. They've moved up the release date, so we have to get the picture up on boards by next month, so editorial can get working on it. The first act is up. Jeffrey looks at the whole thing after the holidays ..."

And I got told:

"I saw all of Shrek Forever After for the first time. I think it's as good as the first one, which I liked, and a bunch better than II, which I didn't. It's got a nice storyline and Rumplestiltskin is great. He really steals the show. I don't usually look at the pictures twice, but I'd see Forever After a second time, just to see Rumplestiltskin.

And then ...

How to Train Your Dragon is really a darker, more adult picture. I'd put it in Kung Fu Panda's territory, in terms of not being what's thought of as a standard, DreamWorks feature ..."

Wandering around, I'm always kind of amazed at the number of projects happening on the DWA campus. Beside the dozen or so feature projects feature projects going on, there are a bunch of television specials in work.

It's a veritable bee hive there on Flower Street.

17 comments:

James said...

Why the hell can't Disney get the same amount of projects as DreamWorks? You would think that they could.

Anonymous said...

Steve,

You are correct that Croods has a green light. However I believe Puss N Boots was accelerated, not Croods.

Anonymous said...

Why the hell can't Disney get the same amount of projects as DreamWorks? You would think that they could.

As much as I'd love to see the same, I think Disney needs a more bona-fide hit (streak) before we see that.

Anonymous said...

disney is so overdue for a hit. the last one was probably Lilo. Here's looking forward to dec 11th!

Anonymous said...

Trust me, "Dragon" isn't very "dark" or any more "adult" than Kung Fu Panda. It's good, though.

Anonymous said...

C'mon Steve what is JK holding over your head? :)

Anonymous said...

"I think it's as good as the first one, which I liked, and a bunch better than II, which I didn't"
So do people at Dreamworks also pretend the third movie did not happen?

Now we shall never mention it again.

Steve Hulett said...

However I believe Puss N Boots was accelerated, not Croods.

My source says that The Croods timetable has been moved up six months. and they have a deadline of November to finish the first pass.

They have Act I now.

Steve Hulett said...

"I think it's as good as the first one, which I liked, and a bunch better than II, which I didn't"

So do people at Dreamworks also pretend the third movie did not happen?


Some DreamWorksians haven't seen III. At least that's what they're telling me.

(Full disclosure here: I worked on "The Fox and the Hound" for two years. I didn't see the finished film until twelve years after it was released.)

Anonymous said...

So "JK" has to have some shite on Hulett for him to write anything positive about Dreamworks? LMAO.

Actually everything he wrote is accurate-including the stuff he keeps writing about the morale there.

As for Shrek 3, yeah, no one really cared for that one at the studio because unlike 1 & 2 it wasn't as good. IV is as good. It happens. As people in production know it's a stew that changes over time with input from a lot of people. If you think these films are done by rote or to a script, you're wrong, plain & simple.

Floyd Norman said...

Actually, I've to hand it to Jeffrey for having the balls to go forward with gusto, while The Mouse still seems tentative.

You don't gain another winning streak by running scared. Disney needs to work up some courage. They're still playing catch up.

Anonymous said...

If you lay enough chips on the table, one of them is bound to win I suppose....

Anonymous said...

It's called "the shotgun effect." And it usually works.

Anonymous said...

I've noticed there's a lot of ignorant students who post on this blog. These are people with no industry experience, and no real understanding for how things work at a real studio (hint: it's not like in a classroom). I suspect the majority of snippy negative comments come from these folks.

Anonymous said...

I knew plenty of Ignorant people with lots of Industry Experience.

Anonymous said...

"I knew plenty of Ignorant people with lots of Industry Experience."

So say the petulant child.

Anonymous said...

"I knew plenty of Ignorant people with lots of Industry Experience."

Which lovely attitude and past tense explains why you're obviously not in the "industry", lol.

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