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The girl-empowerment doc which premiered at Sundance could become a CGI animated film.

The post Fox Acquires Animation Rights To ‘The Eagle Huntress’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The top animation prizes at both Sundance and Slamdance were won by student animated shorts from the U.K.

The post British Student Animation Dominates Sundance and Slamdance, Daniels Win Directing Prize for ‘Swiss Army Man’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Legendary director and provocateur Werner Herzog has some thoughts on the future of entertainment.

The post Werner Herzog Believes Animation is More Convincing in Virtual Reality Than Live-Action appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Seventeen animated shorts were selected for the Sundance Film Festival's short film categories this year.

The post Take a Look at Sundance’s 2016 Animated Short Selections appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Don Hertzfeldt's 'World of Tomorrow' has won the top short film at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Film Festival has announced the film and installation selections for their upcoming edition, which will take place in Park City, Utah between January 22 and February 1, 2015. Among the sixty short film selections are 13 animated projects, including new works by indie favorites David OReilly and Don Hertzfeldt, animation-to-fine-art-world crossover Takeshi Murata, and Réka Bucsi’s Oscar-shortlisted Symphony No. 42. Also worth listing are the installations in Sundance’s New Frontier programming. The New Frontier space is dedicated to exploring “the crossroads of film, art, and media technology as a hotbed for cinematic innovation.” The thirteen projects selected for the exhibition include numerous pieces that incorporate animation.

It's been a crazy-fun couple of weeks, starting with a trip with just my husband and I to Las Vegas. The first two days, we stayed at the Luxor (the big black pyramid casino on the strip) and I shopped while he was in meetings. Each night, we got to join his colleagues for fancy dinners like steak and seafood. Then we headed over to one of my favorite areas, Lake Las Vegas, where we stayed at a peaceful, luxurious hotel and went on long strolls in the sunny, 65 degree afternoons. Since I've never been to Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon, we took the short roadtrip and experienced both. Then we came home and played catch-up for a couple of days, until Sundance Film Festival came to town.

As you might have guessed, the Sundance Film Festival is one of my favorite events of the year. Last night, I got to go to a reception with some delicious munchies and then a big group of us "Valley Locals" rode down to Ogden (Utah) in a trolley. (Well, this year it was a Powder Mountain bus, but in the past it's been an actual trolley.) So, after having grabbing some chocolate to go, we rode the bus (it felt a lot like elementary school, with singing and carrying on-- good times) and went to the screening of "Like Crazy." It was about a cute, barely out of college couple, a girl from England and boy from the U.S., who struggle to stay faithful and question whether they're in love when an entire ocean separates them. A looooooong distance relationship story with lots of good conversation-sparkers. Did I love it? No. But I liked it. It was well done and not too cheesy.

Then my husband and I drove about an hour to Park City, where the awesome house deejay Kaskade was getting the entire club of Harry-O's dancing. Seriously, if Kaskade is ever in your neck of the woods, check him out. Fab-u-lous! (Marley would agree. We got to see him in New York.)

On Saturday night, we went to the late night showing of "Life in a Day," which was my number one choice of all the films to see this year. It's the result of an earthwide invitation for people to submit footage (via YouTube) of what was going on on a certain date, July 24, 2010. (Get it? 24-7) And then some really talented film people made a montage of these slices of life. I cried, laughed (loudly), got queasy, got a tickly feeling, felt warm--my emotions ran the whole gamut. I talked about it the whole drive home, and then thought about it all night and talked about it some more (to my husband's delight) this morning. Did I love this one? Heck yeah!

And to keep this perfect weekend going strong, I'm about to go snowboarding with my family!
So ... what ha

I don't get to go out and see movies very often, so when I do, it's a very exciting event. And I like to choose movies I think (or have heard) are best experienced in a theater versus DVD at home a few months later. You know, like action flicks (The Bourne Ultimatum, Inglorius Basterds) or those with killer special effects. Or, from time to time, when I just can't wait for it to come out on DVD (Juno). Well, last week I saw a movie that was so much more than a movie. It was an experience. You might already know I'm talking about James Cameron's cinematic masterpiece, Avatar.

Interestingly, I hadn't really heard much word-of-mouth feedback from this particular movie. Just some basic praise like "cool" and "really creative" plus a lukewarm"Well, the special effects were good but the story itself was kinda lame." However, from the moment I put on my stylin' 3D glasses and scooted down the crowded row with my husband and 2 oldest sons in tow, I could tell I was in for a treat.
This little flick cost more to make than any other movie to date, several hundred million bucks. Apparently, the $500 million price tag you might have heard about is a tad inflated; but rest assured, it cost a pretty penny. James Cameron (who now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) came up with the idea for this movie about 15 years ago and had to wait until technology and resources could catch up with the magnitude of his vision. Then, the movie took over 4 years to produce.
The quality of the film--including the sound effects, music, special effects, acting, and writing--is spell-binding. It's an epic adventure, a love story, a character study, a spiritual journey, and a war--all happening in the fiercely spectacular world of Pandora. It was the most exciting and fun three hours and $8 I've spent in a very long time. I truly felt a part of the movie, and it took me a good fifteen minutes after the credits rolled to catch my breath. Literally.
Avatar is one of my favorite movies EVER! But I also have a special place in my heart for independent films; you know, the ones that might not have $500 million behind them? And that's why I'm so excited that the Sundance Film Festival is going strong here in Utah. On Wednesday night I get to go see happythankyoumoreplease in Ogden. I can't wait!

What are some movies you recommend seeing on the big screen? Have you seen Avatar yet? Are you more of a big blockbuster movie type, or do you prefer indies?