IN CONVERSATION WITH… PETE DOCTER AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX ON MARCH 23 Pixar Animation Studios’ Academy Award-winning director joins Richard Crouse for a special onstage conversation
Toronto – TIFF welcomes Pete Docter, Academy Award®-winning director and Vice President, Creative at Pixar Animation Studios, for a special on stage conversation on March 23at 7 p.m. where he’ll discuss his extraordinary past projects — including Up, Monsters, Inc., WALL•E and Toy Story. Host Richard Crouse and Docter will also discuss the director’s new film Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out, featuring an all star cast of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan.
Following the In Conversation With… appearance, TIFF presents a screening of Up, introduced by Docter and producer Jonas Rivera. Tickets for these two events go on sale on March 4 for TIFF Members and March 11 for public.
Starting at Pixar in 1990 as the studio’s third animator, Docter collaborated with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton in developing the story and characters for Toy Story, Pixar’s first full-length animated feature film, for which he also was supervising animator. He served as a storyboard artist on A Bug’s Life, and wrote initial story treatments for both Toy Story 2 and WALL•E. Aside from directing his two films, Up and Monsters, Inc., Docter also executive produced Brave and Monsters University. Upon joining Pixar, he animated and directed several commercials, and has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature-winner Up and nominee Monsters, Inc., and Best Original Screenplay for Up and WALL•E.
Docter’s interest in animation began at the age of eight when he created his first flipbook. He studied character animation at California Institute of the Arts where he produced a variety of short films one of which won a Student Academy Award. Those films have since been shown in animation festivals around the world, and are featured on the Pixar Short Films Collection Volume 2.
For ticket information visit tiff.net. TIFF prefers Visa.
Read Michael D. Reid’s Times – Colonist wrap of The Victoria Film Festival HERE!
“Festivals like this make people aware there are things other than superhero and comic book movies,” said Richard Crouse, CTV’s Canada AM film critic, back for his fifth time.
“Hollywood is only in the business of giving people what they want, so every time you buy a ticket to Guardians of the Galaxy after seeing it 25 times you’re tacitly saying ‘This is all I want to go and see.’ What you need to do is support smaller, more interesting films, particularly if you’re ever going to complain that Hollywood’s all out of ideas.”
Before Crouse interviewed James and Mark McKinney onstage last weekend, he did the extensive research he’s known for.
“By the time I get onstage I’ll know more about Whoopi Goldberg than Whoopi Goldberg does,” said Crouse, who’s reading books and watching her movies before interviewing the actress and comedian at the Banff Centre next weekend.
Richard interviews Josh Duhamel & Dean Winters on “Battle Creek”
JOSH: Being the committed actor that I am. I wanted to go see it and feel it and talk to some of the local cops to see what kind of stiff they really deal with. See how they felt about this show. It was a lot more informative than I expected it to be. I expected to wander around. I didn’t tell anybody I was going until I got there. I had somebody call the police department and they took me out on a ride along with their undercover guys, their drug enforcement guys, the gang unit. There is some real stuff happening in this town. Nobody would ever suspect because it sits right in between Detroit and Chicago and they get a lot of riff raff fleeing either city and hiding out there. They get a lot of crime you wouldn’t expect in what seems to be a very all-American town.
Josh: It was actually very… he puts in in the back of this car and I can’t really tell you what we did or bought…
DEAN: CRACK
JOSH: He put me in the car, in the backseat. He drives this old crappy Suburban with a cracked woindow and a windshield wiper that never stops, but he’s a cop and he has these CI’s these Confidential Informants he uses to get information. He could put these guys away if he wanted but they help get the big fish. He’s building a case against this guy and I’m in the backseat and he introduces me to this heroin addict who is an informant for him. “This is my friend Milt.” That’s who I play on the show. We bought drugs and did the whole thing. A ew weeks later he sent me a text saying they had gotten the guy they were trying to get.
I’d never been in that situation. It’s pretty real when you’re actually in it. It doesn’t feel like TV anymore.
On Saturday February 21 Richard hosted an Edwards Family Legendary Leaders Event at The Banff Centre’s Eric Harvie Theatre with Whoopi Goldberg. She is one of a very elite group of artists who have won the Grammy (“Whoopi Goldberg,” 1985), the Academy Award (“Ghost,” 1991), the Golden Globe (“The Color Purple,” 1985 and “Ghost,” 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC’s “Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel,” 2002 and a Daytime Emmy for “The View” in 2009) and a Tony (Producer of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” 2002). She is equally well-known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse and the battle against AIDS, as well as many other causes and charities. Among her many charitable activities, Whoopi is a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations.
The lively conversation lasted for 90 minutes and covered everything from Goldberg’s early life to finding success on stage with The Spook Show to Hollywood to getting an ill-advised Brazilian wax.
Best supporting actor
WINNER: JK Simmons for Whiplash
Robert Duvall for The Judge
Ethan Hawke for Boyhood
Edward Norton for Birdman
Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher
Achievement in costume design
WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges
Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood
Maleficent – Anna B Sheppard
Mr Turner – Jacqueline Durran
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel – Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier
Foxcatcher – Bill Corso, Dennis Liddiard
Guardians of the Galaxy – Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou, David White
Best foreign-language film
WINNER: Ida – Paweł Pawlikowski
Tangerines – Zaza Urushadze
Leviathan – Andrey Zvyagintsev
Wild Tales – Damián Szifrón
Timbuktu – Abderrahmane Sissako
Best live-action short film
WINNER: The Phone Call – Mat Kirkby, James Lucas
Aya – Oded Binnun, Mihal Brezis
Boogaloo and Graham – Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney
Butter Lamp – Wei Hu, Julien Féret
Parvaneh – Talkhon Hamzavi, Stefan Eichenberger
Best documentary short subject
WINNER: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 – Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Dana Perry
Joanna – Aneta Kopacz
Our Curse – Tomasz Sliwinski, Maciej Slesicki
The Reaper – Gabriel Serra
White Earth – Christian Jensen
Achievement in sound mixing
WINNER: Whiplash – Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley
American Sniper – John T Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, Walt Martin
Birdman – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Thomas Varga
Interstellar – Gary Rizzo, Gregg Landaker, Mark Weingarten
Unbroken – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, David Lee
Achievement in sound editing
WINNER: American Sniper – Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
Birdman – Aaron Glascock, Martín Hernández
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Brent Burge, Jason Canovas
Interstellar – Richard King
Unbroken – Becky Sullivan, Andrew DeCristofaro
Best supporting actress
WINNER: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Laura Dern for Wild
Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game
Emma Stone for Birdman
Meryl Streep for Into the Woods
Achievement in visual effects
WINNER: Interstellar – Paul J Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, Scott R Fisher
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Dan Deleeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill, Daniel Sudick
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Erik Winquist
Guardians of the Galaxy – Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould
X-Men: Days of Future Past – Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie, Cameron Waldbauer
Best animated short film
WINNER: Feast – Patrick Osborne, Kristina Reed
The Bigger Picture – Daisy Jacobs, Chris Hees
The Dam Keeper – Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi
Me and My Moulton – Torill Kove
A Single Life – Joris Oprins
Best animated feature film
WINNER: Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Best production design
WINNER: The Grand Budapest Hotel: Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
The Imitation Game: Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana Macdonald
Interstellar: Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
Into the Woods: Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock
Mr Turner: Suzie Davies, Charlotte Watts
Achievement in cinematography
WINNER: Birdman: Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel: Robert D Yeoman
Ida: Lukasz Zal, Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr Turner: Dick Pope
Unbroken: Roger Deakins
Achievement in film editing
WINNER: Whiplash – Tom Cross
Boyhood – Sandra Adair
The Imitation Game – William Goldenberg
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Barney Pilling
American Sniper – Joel Cox, Gary Roach
Best documentary feature
WINNER: Citizenfour – Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
Finding Vivian Maier – John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
Last Days in Vietnam – Rory Kennedy, Keven McAlester
The Salt of the Earth – Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, David Rosier
Virunga – Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara
Best original song
WINNER: Glory from Selma – Lonnie Lynn (Common), John Stephens (John Legend)
The Lego Movie – Shawn Patterson (Everything Is Awesome)
Beyond the Lights – Diane Warren (Grateful)
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me – Glen Campbell, Julian Raymond (I’m Not Gonna Miss You)
Begin Again – Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois (Lost Stars)
Best original score
WINNER: Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar
Jóhann Jóhannsson– The Theory of Everything
Gary Yershon – Mr Turner
Original screenplay
WINNER: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
E Max Frye, Dan Futterman – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Adapted screenplay
WINNER: Graham Moore – The Imitation Game
Jason Hall – American Sniper
Paul Thomas Anderson – Inherent Vice
Anthony McCarten – The Theory of Everything
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Best director
WINNER: Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman
Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
Best actor
WINNER: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
Steve Carell for Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game
Bradley Cooper for American Sniper
Michael Keaton for Birdman
Best actress
WINNER: Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon for Wild
Best picture
WINNER: Birdman
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
The first time around “Hot Tub Time Machine” stars John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke, grappled with the mysteries of the Red Bull-fuelled space and time continuum as they tripped back in time to the Regan years.
Since we’ve seen them last they (minus Cusack, who is replaced by Adam Scott) have exploited “their knowledge of the future for personal gain.” What they did in the past changed their futures and Nick (Robinson) is now a popular songwriter—he “wrote” “MMMBop” and “Feelin’ Like Teen Spirit”—while Lou became the “father of the internet,” and the creator of the search engine Lougle. Adam’s (Cusack) absence is explained away with a passing reference to an “experiential journey.”
They are rich beyond belief—“That hot tub really turned it all around.”—but soon discover the future isn’t exactly the way their remembered it—wrap your head around that—when Lou takes a bullet from an unknown assassin and Nick and Jacob fire up the hot tub to try and stop the shooting before it happens. They inadvertently end up in the future in a world they don’t quite understand. “Who is to say the past isn’t this present.”
“Hot Tub Time Machine 2” feels like it was written by a group of frat boys in the throws of a raging kegger at the Delta Tau Chi House after a “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” marathon. All the animal house trademarks are here—vomit gags, jokes about sex with animals, a drug trip, testicle terror and homophobic razzing. The only thing missing is Seth Rogen and boy, did he miss a bullet.
Working from a script that feels improvised, the usually funny guys Corddry, Robinson, Duke and Scott are at sea in a movie that abandons the story—the search for the shooter is side tracked for twenty or more minutes while the guys flit through time—in favour of raunchy jokes and random situations. As the cast tries in vain to find the funny you hope that the next trip in the Hot Tub Time Machine will be their last.
“Hot Tub Time Machine 2” is a waste of time—past and present.
“McFarland” is based on the life of Jim White, a hothead football coach who worked his way down from good paying jobs at big schools to taking an assistant coach position in McFarland, California, one of the poorest towns in America.
When we first see White (Kevin Costner) he’s hurling a cleated shoe at the lippy captain of his football team. He opens the kid’s cheek and loses his job. It’s a recurring pattern for the temperamental teacher, and the thing that lands him in McFarland. He and his family are fish-out-of-water in this mainly Latino town where jobs as “pickers” in the local fruit and vegetable fields are valued over athletic or academic achievement.
White soon notices that several of his students have a remarkable ability; they can run like the wind and strengthened by years of picking, have great physical strength and endurance. He puts together the school’s first ever cross-country track team and after a rocky start—placing last in their first meet—and not so hidden racism from other teams—“Bet they can’t run without a cop behind them and a Taco Bell in front of them.”—White teaches the seven runners how to be champions while they teach him a thing or two about dedication, loyalty and family.
There’s nothing in “McFarland” we haven’t seen in a hundred other sports movies. The underdog-pulling-themselves-up-by-the-bootstraps may be a potent source of drama but it is a familiar one, so it’s hard to get too excited about “McFarland’s” story arc, even if it is tarted up with American Dream messaging about the virtues of heart and hard work. It’s not just a sports movie, it’s an ode to what it is to be American—family + heart = success! They even sing the “Star Spangled Banner” at one point.
“McFarland” is a standard issue inspiration coach movie. White—or “Blanco” as his students call him, inspires the runners but, in a twist, they inspire him to let go of his preconceptions about success and family. On one hand the lack of cynicism is refreshing but it feels a bit old fashioned, like an afterschool special with a bigger budget.
IN CONVERSATION WITH… PETE DOCTER AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX ON MARCH 23
