By Zoe Chevat

 Bright and early on Wednesday morning, the directors and producers from three of this year's Oscar-nominated animated shorts joined AWN and tour organizer Ron Diamond on the Sony Pictures studio lot. The nominees, some still recovering from jet lag, were nonetheless eager to see what another full day in Hollywood had in store for them. After a quick promotional video on the studio lot's history and its decades of hand-changing, the group was off, blue windbreaker-clad guide speeding us through screen legend past and present.

First up was the restored Deco facade of the Columbia Pictures building, once home to the plush, all-white office of famed producer Louis B. Mayer. Its lobby serves an equally illustrious purpose now; showcasing the studio's 12 Oscars, from 1934’s It Happened One Night up to 1987's win for The Last Emperor. Such splendor does not sit idle, either. As we were informed, this particular building, like many other administrative offices on the lot, has been used in the studio's productions. Take away the sign over the doorway, and you might recognize Peter Parker's high school from the first trilogy of Spider-Man movies. As one might expect, the lot is full of such pieces of film history both classic, and esoteric. We paused at the original MGM studio gates, kept in pristine condition, and protected by the city of Los Angeles as a historic landmark. Just past the familiar wrought-iron and gold were a couple things even more familiar to some; shooting cars from the Ghostbusters franchise, and the studio's recent Green Hornet.

 

 

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.

 

 

By Lauren Brown

Friday is here and we continue at Pixar with the third and last day of our Bay Area tour. It is another gorgeous day as we drive onto the Emeryville campus. The campus has beautifully kept lawns with a soccer field and the sun hits the brick buildings in a beautiful way.

 

 

By Lauren Brown

 On our way up PDI/DreamWorks to George Lucas’ Big Rock Ranch we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was another beautiful day in the Bay Area and we walked around a bit to stretch our legs. We were able to get some great photos overlooking the bay and the bridge. It was Marc Betrand and Patrick Doyon’s first time crossing this iconic American landmark. Bonnie Thompson said that she had been on it before, but it was quite a long time ago. Marc Bertrand said that he thought the bridge was very impressive and enjoyed the time we spent there.

 

 

By Lauren Brown

This morning we visited PDI/Dreamworks in Redwood City. Victor Fusté, our host, greeted us at the entrance. Victor currently works in the pre-visual development training department. The lobby area of PDI had a life-size model of our favorite Kung Fu master, Po the panda, and it was a big attraction for a couple of the filmmakers. Patrick Doyon, Marc Bertrand, and Bonnie Thompson took pictures with the life-size Po. Bonnie Thompson said “it was a must” in order to impress her grandkids.

 

 

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.

 

 

Written by Dan Sarto

Every year for many years now, on the Saturday before the Oscars, DreamWorks Animation hosts a fantastic brunch at the famous Campanile.  A lively mix of executives and creative riff-raff, the crowd feasted on delectable comfort food, boozing it up while speculating who the winners and losers would be the following evening.  Many noteables were in attendance. Check out some of the festivities.

 

 

Written by Dan Sarto

No Oscar Tour would be complete without the famous Nominee Cake!  As the 2011 Tour winds down, so do the nominees and assorted guests, at least for one evening.  Held again this year at Ron's house, the party was fun, intimate and warm, despite the rainy weather outside.  And of course, we all got sugared-up feasting on the nominated films - literally!

 

 

Written by Dan Sarto

The final day of the 2011 Oscar tour was the busiest of all – morning at the Disney ARL, lunch, 2 screenings and several tours throughout the afternoon, followed by the AWN-Acme Oscar party Friday evening.  You could sense the animators were getting a bit antsy, greeting the same questions with the same answers for the umpteenth time, their smiling faces showing traces of exhaustion and anxiety as they silently counted down to the Oscars on Sunday.  No rest for the weary however as things really were just getting started.

The third day of the LA Oscar tour actually began with a morning stop at CAA in Century City before a small gathering of agents and producers in their lavish screening room. However, the most memorable part was discussing animation over coffee with the directors. Bastien Dubois (Madagascar, carnet de voyage) divulged that he rotoscoped himself for the various characters, and how he came upon the idea of shooting stop-motion for the cars section after discovering a group of small kids playing with toy cars. He then hit the toy store and set up a course for them to play in while he shot two cars per kid. Meanwhile, when I asked Jakob Schuh (The Gruffalo) what he's learned from his studio visits, he divulged that the 3-D demo at DreamWorks made him rethink the whole concept of stereoscopic moviemaking. If they could make a photograph dramatically pop out, then there are some definite possibilities worth exploring, he suggested.