Mob of Angry Pixar Creatives Replaces Bob Peterson on ‘The Good Dinosaur’

Earlier this week, a rumor began floating around that Bob Peterson, director of Up, would no longer be directing Pixar’s latest (and thankfully, non-sequel) feature, The Good Dinosaur. Well, it turns out the rumors are true – Peterson is off the project. Pixar’s president, Ed Catmull, offered a few words of explanation on the sudden change:

“All directors get really deep in their films. Sometimes you just need a different perspective to get the idea out. Sometimes directors … are so deeply embedded in their ideas it actually takes someone else to finish it up. I would go so far as to argue that a lot of live-action films would be better off with that same process.”

That description of Peterson as so “deep in [his] film” that “a different perspective” was needed almost makes him sound a little unhinged. Like he chased the rabbit too far down the Good Dinosaur hole and had spent the last several months locked in a supply closet, constructing a crude time machine to get a more accurate representation of what dinosaurs really looked like. But apparently Peterson still has some degree of sanity, as this move isn’t a firing – Peterson will still remain with the studio.

And until The Good Dinosaur can find itself a new director, the combined forces of John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Mark Andrews, and Peter Sohn will be tasked with continuing the film. Sohn was already co-director on the film, and the remaining three were responsible for all three Toy Story films and Brave. So either The Good Dinosaur will be the greatest Pixar film to date, or a colossal, jumbled mess.

The film takes place in a world where that fateful asteroid never struck the Earth and dinosaurs remained the dominant species, and will follow Arlo (Lucas Neff), an Apatosaurus who embarks on an adventure with a young human boy named Spot. John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Greer, and Bill Hader will play the rest of Arlo’s dinosaur family.

The Good Dinosaur will be in theaters May 30, 2014. [Los Angeles Times]

Diana Agron, Robert De Niro, and Michelle Pfeiffer – The Family

Those three new character posters of The Family (aka Malvita, the upcoming action comedy movie directed by French Filmmaker Luc Besson, come from France:

(Click on a poster to enlarge.)

THE FAMILY

Some call it organized crime. Others call it family.Plot:
“A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of CIA Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Giovanni Manzoni (Robert De Niro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children, Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D’Leo) cannot help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the “family” way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down.”

From left to right you may recognize Diana Agron, Robert De Niro, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In theaters: September 13, 2013.

“Beneath The Harvest Sky” Trailer — Indie Drama starring Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen, TIFF Entry

source:   beneaththeharvestsky.com, tiff.net

added: Wed, Aug 28th '13

If you think Maine is all about clam chowder, maple syrup and their jagged coastline -- well, think again? In this trailer for the new indie drama "Beneath The Harvest Sky," The Pine Tree State gets painted in a completely different light, exposing the seedy underbelly of a dying industrial northern town that's facing a rising drug problem.

Here, Irish actor Aidan Gillen (better known as Littlefinger on HBO's Game of Thrones) puts on his best New England accent, playing a two-bit crook who offers his potato-farming son to join his growing drug-dealing business. A tempting proposition since his son (played by up-and-comer Emory Cohen) spends most of his free time griping about his questionable future to his equally unhappy best friend (Great Gatsby's Callan McAuliffe). However, accepting such an offer will undoubtedly change the lives of everyone involved.

Written and directed by former-documentarians Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, "Beneath The Harvest Sky" will be premiering at next month's Toronto International Film Festival. 

synopsis:
The story of Casper (Emory Cohen) and Dominic (Callan McAuliffe): two best friends that are fiercely loyal to one another, as they come of age in a small farming town in Maine. During harvest break, Casper is drawn into smuggling drugs across the Canadian border with his outlaw father, Clayton (Aidan Gillen). Meanwhile, Dominic works his final potato harvest, hoping to earn the money he needs to buy a car and take them away towards a better future. But with Casper's life unraveling before their eyes, their friendship and loyalty are put to the test as they are forced to mature and make very adult decisions that will forever alter the course of their lives.

directed by   Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly

starring   Aidan Gillen, Emory Cohen, Callan McAuliffe

release date   TIFF 2013