Suzie Templeton, director of Peter and the Wolf, has taken some time to answer The Six Questions. Like many of the other nominees, she is passionate about filmmaking, not about receiving awards. However, she hopes the Oscar experience gives her a chance to expand the scope of her work.

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.

SF’s Dolby Laboratories in Potrero Hill hosts tonights screening of the Oscar-nominated shorts for SF’s ASIFA chapter.  As if I’d had any doubts that I was among serious animation fans,  chapter president Karl Cohen’s next announcement, that the Balboa Theater will be screening some Gumby shorts in honor of the recently-deceased Art Clokey earns an audible gasp from the audience.  This group loves animation, and lives animation.

David's photo op beside the skyline backdrop and the parking lot / floodable water tank.

By Dan Sarto

Our Paramount Tour started with coffee and sunglasses, our group basking in the welcome warmth of the sun after having spent the last few days in the cold, wind and sporadic Southern California drizzle. Like Sony and Fox, Paramount is a huge studio, complete with large soundstages and even larger cinematic and television history. As our electric cart motored off, our tour guide expertly peppered us with interesting studio facts and a brief rundown of some of the classic films made here at the studio.

We stopped at one point to take a picture with the iconic Hollywood sign balanced on the hills far behind us.  We drove past huge sound stages and production buildings, as well as a New York backlot that like Fox, you’ve seen in more shows and commercials then you realize. 

Directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski talks about the inspiration for the train in their film Madame Tutli-Putli at the PDI/DreamWorks Q&A.

At 20th Century Fox, I Met the Walrus producer Jerry Levitan talks about interviewing John Lennon when he was 14 years old.

Hugh Welchman

Hugh Welchman, who is nominated for producing Peter and the Wolf, has answered the Six Questions. From concept to today, he has been involved with this film for seven years! It’s a major part of his life and he’s happy that the Oscar nod will allow more people to see the labor of love. Here’s what he had to say:

With a late 5 o’clock screening at ICM, many of the nominees couldn’t make it to the Q&A. Peter and the Wolf producer Hugh Welchman, Madame Tutli-Putli producer Marcy Page and her exec producer David Verrall were able to meet the agents. I Met the Walrus director Josh Raskin and his producer Jerry Levitan arrived right after the agents left because they went to the old ICM address by mistake.

After the ILM Q&A, the studio hosted a dinner for the nominees, where we sat with animation supervisor Hal Hickel, who is nominated for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Chris was impressed with the seamless work that Hal was involved with on Iron Man combining practical effects with CG. As for CG, Maciek feels he couldn’t work in CG, because he needs more hands on, tactile interaction with his art. He likes work environments were artists are talking and working out issues, not hidden behind iPods for five hours of straight work. In turn, Sam feels freed by the ability to create elaborate worlds with more control inside the computer. It just goes to show how the artistic experience differs from one person to the next.

At the ILM Q&A, director Josh Raskin explains where I Met the Walrus’ interview with John Lennon originated from.