The Los Angeles leg of the Oscar Showcase tour kicked off at Sony Pictures Animation. The group congregated in the lobby where I met the new members of our merry band — I Met the Walrus producer Jerry Levitan, Madame Tutli-Putli executive producer David Verrall and Even Pigeons Go to Heaven producer Simon Vanesse. Not joining us for the first two events of the day was Madame director Maciek Szczerbowski, whose lobster taco from the night before was not sitting well with him. Jerry laughed when Walrus director Josh Raskin revealed that he had been describing him as “a 14-year-old kid with balls of steel.” I leave Jerry’s response to your imagination, because Walrus illustrator James Braithwaite warned Jerry not to say things like that around the human mimeograph as he pointed to me. I like to think of myself as the unofficial stenographer of the animated Oscar nominees.

Ron and I snapped quite a few pictures during the San Fran leg of the tour. Here’s a gallery of some of the pics that Ron took. Keep checking back for more exclusive photos from the Oscar Tour.

(From left to right) Marcy Page, Bonnie Thompson, Marc Bertrand, Patrick Doyon, Brandon Oldenburg and Lampton Enochs.

Dolby Digital in San Francisco and Karl Cohen hosted the last Bay Area Oscar Tour screening for ASIFA San Francisco members.  The filmmakers greeted ASIFA members in the lobby and talk about their films before the screening began. Marcy Page, producer of Wild Life, joined us for the evening. It was a wonderful event and a great end to the trip.

With the screenings so tightly packed, once My Love ended at Skywalker Ranch and the final film Peter and the Wolf began, a sedan raced off with our bags and the prints for the first four films to deliver them in time for the PDI/DreamWorks screening later in the day.

With the screenings so tightly packed, once My Love ended at Skywalker Ranch and the final film Peter and the Wolf began, a sedan raced off with our bags and the prints for the first four films to deliver them in time for the PDI/DreamWorks screening later in the day. After wrapping up the Q&A at Skywalker, the tour crew hopped into the van and headed to EA, where a screening in digital projection had already began. I Met the Walrus‘ Josh had planned to head to New York the next day for the Academy screening there, but the pace of the tour made him reconsider the extra flight, especially upon learning that he was the only one going, considering instead to stay behind and take a relaxing ride down the coast to L.A.

(From left to right) Carol Frank, Ron Diamond, William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg, Patrick Doyon, Bonnie Thompson and Marc Bertrand in front of San Francisco's Mark Hopkins hotel.

By Lauren Brown

The Bay Area Oscar nominated short film tour began this morning in the south bay. For those of you who have not been able to attend a screening event, it is a special opportunity to see the nominated films on a large screen. It is also an opportunity to spend time with the creative talent behind the films. The filmmakers visit a group of Bay Area animation studios and they are able to connect with people that share their love for animation.  This year's Northern California stops include Pixar, PDI/Dreamworks, Lucas Animation, The Walt Disney Family Museum and an evening with ASIFA San Francisco.

This year we have on tour with us, Patrick Doyon and Marc Bertrand, the director and producer of Sunday/Dimanche; directors William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and producer Lampton Enochs of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore; and Bonnie Thompson, the producer of Wild Life, a film by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. They have traveled from as far as Shreveport, Louisiana, Montreal and Ontario Canada.

Here is the last photo gallery from the San Francisco leg of the Oscar Showcase tour. We closed out the event at PDI/DreamWorks, where the Q&A audience asked some new questions and the nominees had a chance to chat with the studio’s artists.

With the screenings so tightly packed, once My Love ended at Skywalker Ranch and the final film Peter and the Wolf began, a sedan raced off with our bags and the prints for the first four films to deliver them in time for the PDI/DreamWorks screening later in the day.

With the screenings so tightly packed, once My Love ended at Skywalker Ranch and the final film Peter and the Wolf began, a sedan raced off with our bags and the prints for the first four films to deliver them in time for the PDI/DreamWorks screening later in the day. After wrapping up the Q&A at Skywalker, the tour crew hopped into the van and headed to EA, where a screening in digital projection had already began. I Met the Walrus‘ Josh had planned to head to New York the next day for the Academy screening there, but the pace of the tour made him reconsider the extra flight, especially upon learning that he was the only one going, considering instead to stay behind and take a relaxing ride down the coast to L.A.

Congratulations to Oscar winners Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman, as well as Peter and the Wolf producer Alan Dewhurst. I’d also like to congratulate all the nominees and I’d like to thank Ron Diamond for the chance to follow all these wonderful filmmakers around on their journey to the big night.

At the Pixar Q&A, director Maciek Szczerbowski answers the most asked question about his film Madame Tutli-Putli - how did you do the eyes?

Friday morning I went to sleep at 6:20 am and woke up around 7:40 am. That may have been the most restful hour and 20 minutes of sleep I’ve ever had. The comfortable beds and soft pillows at Skywalker Ranch were hard to leave. The last time I ran on so little sleep was in college during my senior year while we were filming long hours over a weekend on the bedroom set I built. This trip has certainly recharged the creative juices in me.