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Saturday
- November 3, 2001
- Monster Friday Opening for Monsters,
Inc.
- Monsters, Inc. Characters
in Newspaper Reading Ads
- Academy Lecture to Examine Japanese
Anime
- News Link of the Day -
Bay Area Artists Behind Monsters, Inc.
Monster Friday
Opening for Monsters, Inc.
(by digitalmediafx.com) Disney and Pixar's Monsters, Inc. opened
huge on Friday, bringing in $17.4 million on its opening night. If the
pace continues, Monsters, Inc. will easily surpass $45 million
for the weekend. The opening blew away Shrek's Friday opening last
May of $11.5 million.
Monsters, Inc. also received outstanding ratings from those who viewed the movie on Friday night. According to Cinemascore ratings, audiences gave the movie an average of an A+ rating, making Monsters, Inc. the highest rated movie of the year, surpassing the even the audience ratings for Shrek. The news isn't a suprise to Disney and Pixar, however, as last may test screen audiences gave Monsters, Inc. the highest test screening ratings of any past Pixar movie.
Several reports from people in attendance indicate, in general, two rounds of applause during screenings. The first was after Pixar's animated short - "For the Birds" - and the second at the conclusion of Monsters, Inc. Many people that stayed for the credits expressed disappointment that Pixar didn't attach any outtakes from the movie.
Monsters, Inc.
Characters in Newspaper Reading Ads
(by
digitalmediafx.com) Characters from Disney / Pixar's animated Monsters,
Inc. movie are now popping up in ads promoting newspaper reading.
The ads are similar to the campaign also
done with Shrek characters last May. The ads are for the Newspaper
Association of America's literacy ad campaign.
Other animated films that have participated in past campaigns include Chicken Run and Final Fantasy.
The Monsters, Inc. literacy ad capaign is currently running in newspapers nationwide. Under an image of Mike and Sulley reading the Monstropolis Times, the ad reads, "Encourage your little monsters to read a newspaper every day!" The body copy continues, "There's nothing scarier than being uninformed. Even monsters know that knowledge is power. Which is why Monsters Inc. employees Mike and Sulley stay on top of their game by reading a newspaper every morning...since, of course, they work nights." The ad closes with the tagline, "It all starts with newspapers."
"These movie tie-in ads have garnered a terrific response from our members and their readers," commented NAA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John E. Kimball. "Because they're designed to run around the same time as the movie's release, they're very timely — and with these great characters, they're also a lot of fun."
Academy Lecture
to Examine Japanese Anime
(by digitalmediafx.com) The origins, history and influences of Japanese
animated films will be examined by a panel of commentators when the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents the Seventh Marc Davis Lecture
on Animation on Wednesday, November 14, at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel
Goldwyn Theater. The program will be the first time that the Davis Lecture
has focused on the animation industry of a particular country and that
industry's effect on world culture.
Confirmed to participate in the program are Jerry Beck, animation historian and author; Mark A. Z. Dippé, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor and director of "Spawn;" Kunihiko Ikuhara, director of "Sailor Moon" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena;" Eric Goldberg, director of "Pocahontas" and two segments of "Fantasia 2000;" Frank Gladstone, a member of the DreamWorks SKG animation department; and Fred Patten of Streamline Pictures, a distributor of anime in the U.S.
In addition to discussion, the evening will include numerous film clips from such seminal films as "Akira," "Ghost in the Shell," "Princess Mononoke," "Perfect Blue," "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" and "Pon Poko."
The Marc Davis Lecture on Animation, named for the animator who was one of Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men," was established in 1993 to provide a forum for established film animators and other experts in the craft to share their experiences as well as to explore with colleagues the challenges of creating animation for the screen.
Tickets for the Seventh
Marc Davis Lecture on Animation are $5 for the general public and $3 for
Academy members and students with valid identification. They may be purchased
in advance at the Academy during regular business hours, by mail, or on
the night of the event, if still available, when the doors open at 7 p.m.
The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Please
note that this event examines many different styles and genres of Japanese
animation. Some excerpts may be too violent or explicit for children.
For more information, call 310-247-3600.
News Link of the
Day - Bay Area Artists Behind Monsters, Inc.
According to KPIX News:
"It looks like
a college dorm. But in fact, it's the most successful film animation studio
in the world. And Emeryville's Pixar may have another hit on its hands
with Monsters Inc..."
Click here for the full story.
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These news articles and all digitalmediafx.com content are ©copyright 2001 by Joe Tracy and may not be reused for any purpose without expressed written consent of the author and Digital Media FX. All rights reserved.
