corpse bride Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm not sure what it is about these animated features (Easy paycheck? No make-up? They can work in their pajamas?), but everyone who is anyone shows up to lend their voice. Case in point: Universal has snagged one helluva cast for The Tale of Despereaux, based on Kate DiCamillo's award-winning children's book.

Story interwines the fates of three misfits: a banished mouse, a rat who loves the light and a young servant girl with cauliflower ears. Joining the pic's cast are -- deep breath -- Justin Long (as the mouse, Despereaux), Dustin Hoffman (as the rat), Tracey Ullman (as the young girl), Kevin Kline (as a cook for the king who is also banished), Robbie Coltrane (as a palace jailer), Ciarán Hinds (as the devilish leader of the sewer rats), Christopher Lloyd (as an old, blind mouse), William H. Macy (as Despereaux's father), Stanley Tucci (as a genie) and last, but certainly not least, is Sigourney Weaver (as the narrator).

Mike Johnson (Corpse Bride) will direct, while Gary Ross (Pleasantville) will pen the script. Currently, Universal is eying a late 2008 release. Though its cast isn't as grand, Pixar hits theaters this summer with their own mouse tale, Ratatouille.

Well, this is weird. For the bulk of my 30+ years on this planet, there's been no such thing as a "televised horror awards" presentation, and now, not 15 minutes removed from geeking out over the newly-announced Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nominations -- I come across the Spike TV Scream Awards nominations! Cool!

Now, with all due respect to Spike TV and their cool new concept, I gotta say the Fango Chainsaw noms are just a little bit cooler. But hey, there's no law that says the horror freaks can't hang their hat on TWO new awards presentations. Frankly I think we could use a few more enthusiastic celebrations of juicy genre filmmaking.

Anyway, the Screams seem to run a lot like the Chainsaws do: Check out all the categories and nominees (after the jump) and then head on over to SpikeTV.com and cast your own votes! This is particularly amusing for the horror nuts -- because we're nothing if not passionately opinionated on which horror flicks rock and which ones suck the proverbial egg. Spike TV broadcasts their Scream Awards on the evening of October 10th.

A few days ago, Slither-maker James Gunn mentioned on his MySpace page that his adorably splattery sci-fi horror rom-com was the receipient of four Fangoria Chainsaw Award nominations. My response was "Hey, cool. Where are the rest of the nominations?!?!?" And now, a few days later, here they are. Neat-o.

Although Fangoria has been doing their annual Chainsaw awards for over a decade now, 2006 marks the very first time the event will be televised, much to the delight of zombie freaks and slasher geeks all over North America. The event will be held in L.A. on October 15th, although the Fuse Network won't be airing it until the 22nd. (Which means if you want to watch the event "un-spoiled," I wish you luck.) Want to throw your own votes into the tally? Fine. You can vote right here, but only between September 1st and 13th (which is a Friday, mwaahaaa!)

After the jump you'll find a complete list of all the 2006 Chainsaw nominees, plus my own predictions on which flicks would win if the event were called Amazing Geek Weinberg's Horror Awards instead of The Chainsaws.

The Animation World Network has put together an Oscar Showcase featuring short clips and still images from all of the animated films nominated for Oscars this year. While the three nominated features (Howl's Moving Castle, Corpse Bride, Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit) are included in the Showcase, what's most valuable to most of us is the presence of all five of the nominated shorts. The clips are infuriatingly brief, but the shorts are hard enough to track down that anyone who provides even a glimpse at them deserves our thanks.

What's fascinating about the clips is how incredibly diverse they are: while Pixar's entry (One Man Band) is visually what we'd expect from them, several of the other nominees feature hand-drawn, 2D animation with amazing personality. My personal favorite, Badgered, is only seven minutes long, and was created with a series of drawings that are almost childlike in their simplicity. In a period when everyone and their brother spends a lot of time talking about the lack of creativity in Hollywood, it's just really refreshing to see the magic that animators are coming up with while we're all looking the other way.

[via Luxo]

More coolness for you New York City residents - in conjunction with the DVD release of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Tribeca Cinemas Gallery will host a free public display of original puppets, sets and artwork from the film, along with an inside look at the stop-motion animation used to create the Oscar-nominated film. The DVD release will kick off with a celebratory screening of the film at 6:45PM February 10, followed by the official opening of the exhibit at 8PM. Director Tim Burton will be in attendance with other behind-the-scenes VIPs from the film (sorry, kids, no Johnny Depp). Following the opening night festivities, the exhibit will be open to the public February 11-20, from 12-8PM daily (except for February 12).

The DVD will include heaps of nifty features, including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and production drawings of the film's Two Worlds; a peek inside Tim Burton's head to learn what inspired him to bring Corpse Bride to life; a tour of the puppet workshop; and other assorted underworldly goodies.

Our good friends over at DV Guru have thrown up a real groovy two-part interview with screenwriter John August that you simply must read right now. August made his mark in Hollywood with his script Go back in 1999, a fun film that tells the story of a drug deal gone bad from three different points of view. From there, August dipped into blockbuster territory, writing for both Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Lately, he's found himself wrapped up in the bizarre world of Tim Burton, penning the scripts for Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride.

Not only is he one of today's most successful screenwriters, but he also offers a tremendous amount of advice for young writers looking to break in. Through his blog and various speaking engagements, August is a man who clearly lives for the craft. In Ajit Anthony's very informative interview, August covers everything from writing and directing to what it's like working so closely with Tim Burton. Oh, and what would a John August interview be without a ton more advice on breaking down doors in Hollywood? Go check out part one and part two now.