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20 articles from 2009

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Fantastic Mr. Fox Review

29 November 2009 12:34 AM, PST | FilmJunk | See recent FilmJunk news »

Fantastic Mr. Fox Directed by: Wes Anderson Written by: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (screenplay), Roald Dahl (book) Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe At the beginning of the decade, Wes Anderson was being praised as one of the most unique and talented emerging filmmakers in America. The Royal Tenenbaums was seen by many as his ultimate masterpiece, earning his only Academy Award nomination to date. However, since then, he has arguably become a victim of his own success. Surrounded by copycats and increasingly cynical audiences, he has struggled to break from the mold that he created for himself. Although I enjoyed both The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited a great deal, I can't deny that Wes Anderson's style was starting to feel more like a predictable checklist and less like the mark of an auteur. He was stuck in a rut, »

- Sean

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How the Puppets from Fantastic Mr. Fox Were Made [Slide Show]

13 November 2009 7:00 AM, PST | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »

Once Wes Anderson had decided that his sixth feature film would be a stop-motion animation version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, about a raffish fox who outsmarts three evil farmers, he called on some of the best names in the puppet-making business to put his characteristically precise vision to life. Based in Manchester, Ian MacKinnon and Peter Saunders first teamed up 22 years ago on a stop-motion version of The Wind in the Willows. Since then, they’ve collaborated on countless television commercials and on some of the most successful stop-motion feature films in memory, including Nick Park’s Chicken Run, Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride, and Henry Selick’s Coraline. But despite their experience, they found Anderson’s project to be particularly daunting. “Wes had a very clear idea of what he wanted, and I think he made us challenge all our preconceptions about what stop-motion puppets are, »

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Decade in Review: 2000 Top Ten

5 November 2009 1:07 PM, PST | FilmExperience | See recent FilmExperience news »

What follows is my original top ten list of 2000... or rather the revised version I published in 2002. Let's discuss each year of this decade as it winds down! Who's with me?!? It's always interesting to see which films remained at the forefront of our memory and which fade... both for a variety of reasons, quality being only one factor. New comments are in red.

Please note: This list was based on NYC release dates in the year 2000. Some movies are listed as different years at the IMDb based on when they were released in their home country or in La or whatnot.

Runners Up (in descending order): Une Liaisons Pornographique, Nurse Betty, You Can Count On Me, Before Night Falls, Pola X, Chicken Run, American Psycho, Wonder Boys and Billy Elliott Um... What The Hell are some of these movies doing outside the top ten list? You Can Count on Me »

- NATHANIEL R

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'Wallace & Gromit' Producers Team With UK Museum For Film Made By Children

19 October 2009 3:30 PM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

Aardman Animation, the UK studio responsible for the "Wallace & Gromit" films and "Chicken Run" have announced a new movie in the works. But it won't be directed by Nick Park, Peter Lord or any of the other great animators employed by Aardman. Instead, children throughout Britain will collaborate on every aspect of the project, including character design, plot and sound effects.

Unlike most of the signature Aardman works, this movie will feature hand-drawn animation. The idea was commissioned by UK modern art museum the Tate Gallery with 3 million pounds (nearly $5 million) in funding provided by the charity Legacy Trust. According to Tate director Nicholas Serota, any child will be allowed to participate on the film, which will be in development over the next two years and will involve at least some level of professional input and supervision (likely from Aardman animators).

Kids will be invited to any of the Tate »

- Christopher Campbell

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The Good, The Bad And The Wtf: Mel Gibson's Beaver Tops Corey Feldman's Snuff

4 October 2009 10:41 AM, PDT | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »

Hey people, ready to see Mel Gibson's beaver? Because he has one and we've got photos. If that's not your thing, maybe you'd prefer seeing Corey Feldman shoot himself in the noggin. Or perhaps a Bill Paxton pinball machine. It's all sorts of weird this week. No? Well there's some really bad movie news, too, as usual. Avert your eyes as necessary.

The Good

• H.P. Lovecraft fans, you don't want to miss the documentary Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown that's coming on DVD and Bluray in a short couple of weeks. It's interviews some very cool people, including Neil Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro.

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• Nerdcore has previewed its 2010 calendar, and it's horror-themed! If you're unfamiliar with Nerdcore calendars, each month is a pin-up of a nude model posing in a geek-friendly situation. Previous years had themes like classic gaming, heroes & villains, and sci-fi. For the horror calendar, »

- Arya Ponto

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'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer Looks Pretty Good At The Very Least

30 July 2009 1:45 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

A few months ago, a good friend of mine saw a test screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox (no 'The') and described it as very much the union between Roald Dahl's story and Wes Anderson's style. Now, it looks like the trailer up on Yahoo! and after our jump confirms as much, and I actually find myself genuinely charmed by it -- like, 'now on my radar' charmed.

This tale of a sly fox (voiced by George Clooney, natch) taking on some grumpy farmers reminded me a great deal of Chicken Run, if it were inspired less by The Great Escape and more by Ocean's Eleven, and while it does look perfectly family-friendly, it really does seem to be a Wes Anderson film through and through -- only Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman are all talking animals in stop-motion. (Hell, it's probably the most animated Murray's been in years! »

- William Goss

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Fantastic Mr. Fox Gets Set Photos

24 July 2009 12:35 AM, PDT | cinemablend.com | See recent Cinema Blend news »

Wes Anderson has never been the type to indulge his movies in overly modernistic technology. All of his films take place in an unknown Wes Anderson era, where attention to visual detail is far more important than special effects. That.s what makes his venture into stop-motion adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox so fitting. Over the last week, the first pictures from the movie have been leaking, and boy, do they look interesting. Far more crisp and polished than the stop-motion movies I.m used to (see: Chicken Run), the pictures look straight out of a computer-animation. It.s impossible to judge a movie based on photos, but it.s pretty easy to get intrigued nonetheless. Now USA Todayhas brand new exclusive set pictures from Wes Anderson.s Fantastic Mr. Fox that give a small glimpse into the filmmaker.s process. They also have a few pictures from the movie »

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Fox's Frank finds enchantment with director

23 June 2009 9:43 AM, PDT | Corona's Coming Attractions | See recent Corona's Coming Attractions news »

Enchanted director Kevin Lima has agreed to receive a paycheck from Fox 2000 for services provided on Frank, the studio's new romantic comedy that takes liberties with Mary Shelley's creation. The project was developed by Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but it won't be written by him.

The idea centers on a whizkid young medical student who's a loser in their social life. Taking some advice from her guidance counselor the prodigy creates her own Bff by assembling different pieces of the corpses stored in her school. Suddenly I understand why Kirkpatrick didn't want to write the screenplay for this one. He's still going to be cashing a check as an executive producer on it though so responsibility, thou art Karey Kirkpatrick's!

Radar Pictures is developing the project for the studio with Chris Chase and Ted Field producing. More responsible ones! Get them! »

- Patrick Sauriol

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Branagh's Wallander Leads BAFTA Craft Awards

18 May 2009 5:05 AM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »

Kenneth Branagh's TV drama Wallander is leading the British Academy of Film and Television Arts craft awards - scooping four prizes for achievement behind the scenes.

The BBC series, which stars Branagh as a Swedish detective, was honoured in categories including original music and production design. It comes less than a month after the show was named best drama at the Academy's TV awards.

Cult sci-fi show Doctor Who garnered two trophies for best visual effects and best editing for fiction/entertainment, while Aardman Animations, the makers of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, was handed this year's special award. »

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Fox Searchlight To Distribute Fantastic Mr. Fox

11 May 2009 2:53 PM, PDT | ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news »

20th Century Fox hasn’t been very fortunate in the past few years with its theatrical releases (X-men 3, anyone?), which is why they may have decided to release the animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox under their indie division Fox Searchlight.

Searchlight has had a recent string of hits including, Napoleon Dynamite, Juno, The Wrestler and this year’s Oscar powerhouse Slumdog Millionaire, so this could turn out to be a very shrewd move for the studio and the filmmakers. It also gives audiences a chance to see what the directors and producers can do on their own without a lot of meddling by Fox, which takes a more “hands off” approach with Searchlight.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on the novel of same name, written by Roald Dahl and directed by Wes Anderson. Dahl also wrote the classic stories Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. »

- Paul Young

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Oprah Endorsement Causes Chicken Run at KFC

7 May 2009 7:16 AM, PDT | TheInsider.com | See recent The Insider news »

A promotion by Oprah Winfrey of KFC's new grilled chicken caused some restaurants to run out of the grilled birds, but rumors of riots were exaggerated. "Some customers were upset because they couldn't get their chicken, but there was no riot," a KFC spokesperson told the Associated Press after reports of a scuffle at one New York City KFC outlet appeared on the Internet. Oprah made coupons available for free grilled chicken meals on her Web site for 24 hours beginning on Tuesday. Customers at the New York City location ran out of grilled chicken after Oprah's promotion caused a flood of people to head to KFC. KFC introduced its new Kentucky Grilled Chicken about three weeks ago. The new menu item is being promoted as containing less fat, calories and sodium than the fast-food chain's traditional deep-fried chicken.

[Read full story on The Insider]

»

- TheInsider

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Oprah Helps Fuel Chicken Run

7 May 2009 4:00 AM, PDT | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news »

Cluck, cluck. Customers found themselves out of luck after showing up for free meals at a New York City KFC - part of a promotion touted by none other than Oprah Winfrey. Feathers were definitely ruffled when the fast-food chain ran out of its new grilled chicken, but reactions never got as hard-boiled as rumored. "Some customers were upset because they couldn't get their chicken, but there was no riot," KFC spokesperson Laurie Schalow assured the Associated Press after reports of a scuffle surfaced on the Web. Coupons for the special offer were made available on Oprah.com for 24 hours »

- Stephen M. Silverman

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Aardman Animations Sets Up Pirates! and Arthur Christmas with Sony

28 April 2009 2:50 PM, PDT | FilmJunk | See recent FilmJunk news »

Back in 2005, Nick Park and the folks at Aardman Animations won an Oscar for their work on Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. A year later, their follow-up film Flushed Away disappointed at the box office and prompted Dreamworks to sever their partnership. Since then we haven't heard much from the British studio, save for one new made-for-tv Wallace & Gromit adventure, but they did land a deal with Sony Pictures and now they're finally ready to tell us about some of projects they've got cooking. One of the films is a holiday-themed feature called Arthur Christmas, which "tackles the question of how Santa delivers all his presents in one night". Sarah Smith and Barry Cook (Mulan) will direct the movie, which will be computer animated, based on a script by Peter Baynham (Borat, Bruno). The other project, which I'm a bit more interested in, is a stop motion animated project called Pirates! »

- Sean

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Chicken Run Creators Take on Pirates! and Arthur Christmas

28 April 2009 6:00 AM, PDT | WorstPreviews.com | See recent Worst Previews news »

Sony Pictures and stop-frame animation house Aardman Animations are moving forward with two animated features, "Pirates!" and "Arthur Christmas." "Pirates!" is based on "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists)," the best-selling series of books by Gideon Defoe and is intended to be a swashbuckling adventure with a rich vein of surreal and broad comedy. The story follows a group of pirates who journey to London, meet Charles Darwin and a talking chimp named Mister Bobo, and an enemy looking to wipe them out. Aardman co-founder Peter Lord is directing and will use stop-motion animation, the company's signature style seen in films such as "Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of Were-Rabbit" and "Chicken Run." "Christmas" will tackle the question of how Santa delivers all his presents in one night. Sarah Smith and Barry Cook are directing from a script by Peter Baynham (Borat). The film will be produced entirely using CGI. »

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Aardman starts work on "Pirates" and "Arthur Christmas"

28 April 2009 | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »

Aardman Features has started production on "Arthur Christmas" and "Pirates!" with Sony on board to release both.   "Pirates!" is based on Gideon Defoe-written book "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists)." Peter Lord, director of the outrageously funny "Chicken Run," will direct the film. The story follows a cheerful but unlucky pirate band who strive to win the Pirate of the Year trophy.   Jeff Newitt co-helms the film and Defoe is writting the screenplay.    CGI project "Arthur Christmas" apprently reveals Santa Claus' high-tech operation. Aardman and Sony Pictures Imageworks are working on the animation for the film which Sarah Smith will direct. Peter Baynham ("Borat") and Smith write the screenplay.   Sony and Aardman signed a a three-year, first-look deal in 2007.   »

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Aardman starts work on "Pirates" and "Arthur Christmas"

28 April 2009 12:32 AM, PDT | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »

Aardman Features has started production on "Arthur Christmas" and "Pirates!" with Sony on board to release both. "Pirates!" is based on Gideon Defoe-written book "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists)." Peter Lord, director of the outrageously funny "Chicken Run," will direct the film. The story follows a cheerful but unlucky pirate band who strive to win the Pirate of the Year trophy. Jeff Newitt co-helms the film and Defoe is writting the screenplay. CGI project "Arthur Christmas" apprently reveals Santa Claus' high-tech operation. ... »

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Aardman starts work on "Pirates" and "Arthur Christmas"

28 April 2009 12:32 AM, PDT | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »

Aardman Features has started production on "Arthur Christmas" and "Pirates!" with Sony on board to release both. "Pirates!" is based on Gideon Defoe-written book "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists)." Peter Lord, director of the outrageously funny "Chicken Run," will direct the film. The story follows a cheerful but unlucky pirate band who strive to win the Pirate of the Year trophy. Jeff Newitt co-helms the film and Defoe is writting the screenplay. CGI project "Arthur Christmas" apprently reveals Santa Claus' high-tech operation. ... »

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Sony & Aardman Add 2 Films To Slate

27 April 2009 10:23 PM, PDT | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »

It's not all about cheese and chickens at Aardman Animations, as they add two new animated movies to their upcomming slate with Sony Pictures. One is all at sea and called Pirates!, and the other will "explain" the festive period in Arthur Christmas.Co-directed by Chicken Run helmsman Peter Lord, Pirates! will follow Aardman's plasticine tradition - erm, hand-crafted stop-motion animation tradition. It is adapted from the best-selling series of children's book by Gideon Defoe, which takes a swashbuckling ride with a group of pirates who sail to London and meet with Charles Darwin and a talking chimp named Mister Bobo, and who must battle it out with a mysterious enemy looking to get rid of them. While it all sounds like immense fun, it will involve substantial amounts of every animator's nightmare: water.Arthur Christmas, in contrast, will go down the same fully CGI route as Flushed Away. That's »

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Sony and Aardman Moving Forward with Two Animated Pics

27 April 2009 | Comingsoon.net | See recent Comingsoon.net news »

The Hollywood Reporter says that Sony Pictures and Aardman Animations are moving forward with two animated features, Arthur Christmas and Pirates! Aardman co-founder Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt will co-direct Pirates! , a hand-crafted stop-motion animated film such as Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit . Arthur Christmas will be produced using computer animation. Pirates! is based on "The Pirates! (in an Adventure with Scientists)," the best-selling series of books by Gideon Defoe. The story follows a group of pirates who journey to London, meet Charles Darwin and a talking chimp named Mister Bobo, and an enemy looking to wipe them out. Arthur Christmas , for which Aardman is working with Sony Pictures Imageworks, will... »

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The Felice Brothers: Yonder Is The Clock

7 April 2009 5:59 AM, PDT | Pastemagazine.com | See recent PasteMagazine news »

Country mice steeped in city vice

Although it may not garner as much attention as the island of Manhattan, there’s an entire state surrounding New York City. Catskill-country natives The Felice Brothers—Simone, Ian and James, plus bandmates/honorary bros Christmas Clapton and Greg Farley—successfully straddle this rural/urban divide, honing their energetic, rustic tunes in both upstate chicken coops and NYC subways. Yonder Is The Clock, with a title cribbed from Mark Twain and a sound like a peppier, less introspective Bob Dylan, offers a simple premise: If you can’t make it to the barn storm, the Felice Brothers will gladly deliver it. All the necessary ingredients are here, from the jaunty accordion that fuels standout track “Run Chicken Run” to the revved-up crowd clapping in the background of “Penn Station” and the mournful banjo punctuating the traitorous tale of “Boy from Lawrence County.” It’s »

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2009 | 2008 | 2006 | 2005 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999

20 articles from 2009

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