Corvallis' Brad Bird Cops 2 Oscar Noms
Brad Bird has been nominated for two Academy Awards. No surprise, Ratatouille, the story a rat who becomes the greatest chef in France, was nominated for Best Animated Feature. But Bird's screenplay, written with Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, a rarity in Academy Awards history. But not for Bird.
In 2004, The Incredibles won Best Animated Feature in 2004 and the script was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Only two other times has a script for an animated feature been nominated: Shrek, in 2001 for Adapted Screenplay, and Toy Story, in 1995 (Joss Whedon was lead writer for that effort, so it's not a big surprise that the script was so brilliant).
So far, none of these have won (in 2004, it was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — an typicallly brilliant Charlie Kaufman script; Gosford Park in 2001; and American Beauty in 1995). This year, Bird's competition is Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, Mchael Clayton and The Savages. Will Academy voters be willing to pick a "cartoon" over "real" movies? Doubtful, but in this case, the old cliche is true: To be nominated is an honor. And to be nominated twice for best screenplay, that's getting into Coen Brothers/Woody Allen territory. This confirms that Bird is one of America's greatest contemporary filmmakers. I mean, when this movie — with this title — was announced, no believed he could pull it off. Wow; did he ever. (And he has yet to strike a wrong note, in my opinion; The Iron Giant is still one of my absolute favorite movies ever.)
And the guy's a Corvallis High grad! Incredible. Good luck to him, and I cannot wait til his next movie.
Go Sparts!
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January 22, 2008 |
T.A. Barnhart | Comments (5 so far)
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Comments
Posted by: Pat Ryan | Jan 23, 2008 12:16:00 PM
I'm an admitted Philistine when it comes to gourmet food, and any time I'm travelling west of the 405 for "Dinner", I try to stop at a Vietnamese place in Hollywood to tank up prior to encountering the tiny overpriced portions of Haute Pacific Rim Cuisine, prevalent in NW Portland.
That said, I loved this flick. They've create an animated film that glorifies aspiration, craftsmanship, skill, teamwork, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Definitely in the top 10 of movies that I've seen in the past year.
Posted by: Elizabeth | Jan 25, 2008 2:31:46 PM
How cool that he's an Oregonian! That gives me 2 reasons to root for the movie: the OR connection & supporting my friend Lou Romano (an animator at Pixar & the voice of Linguine).
Lou & I attended a children's theatre program together in San Diego, when he 1st dazzled audiences as the Lion in the Wizard of Oz and has gone on to a great career both in front of & behind the camera (drawing board) @ Pixar!
Posted by: seviyeli sohbet | Sep 6, 2008 9:48:52 PM
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Posted by: RaidersRock | Jan 22, 2008 10:19:33 PM
Spartans are okay, but Raiders rock!