Fahrenheit Digital

One of the great fringe benefits of living in Los Angeles are the many industry events. Tonight we had a screening of the latest movie from Pixar, “Ratatouille.”

I was almost shocked at how good this movie was. All of the characters had tremendous depth. Not fluff characters thrown in or designed just for a quick, cheap laugh. Everyone in this movie felt “real.” The story, of course, is great! Well-paced with moments of emotional seriousness as well as side-splitting laughter. Add gorgeous art direction and cinematography into the recipe and it all reaffirms that Brad Bird is one of, if not THE, best director in the field of feature animation. Undoubtedly filmmaker who understands and capitalizes on the strengths of the medium.

Although you would never guess it from this saccharrin review, I am not what you would label a Pixar “fanboy.” This studio makes great movies, that’s for sure. And the strength of story coming out of Pixar is without question. But “Ratatouille” is the kind of movie that reminded me of what I love about this industry!

I hope all of you enjoy this movie as much as I did.

Pixar Animation Studio

Walt Disney Studios has entered into an exclusive first look deal with comic book legend Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment. POW! will create a variety of content through this agreement. Hopefully we will see the fruits of this creative relationship in its various forms (movies!) soon.

Coming Soon Article

POW! Entertainment

This is a great article discussing the negative effect that the summer blockbusters and studio system are having on the visual effects industry. Compressed deadlines and more complex effects on smaller budgets. Unrealistic expectations from the directors and studios. More and more work being outsourced.

Of course, we are talking about the motion picture industry and we should not forget the key word in that term is “industry.” These are all purely economic choices being made by the studios.

I hope you find the article interesting and informative.

Variety Article