harrisonisdead

This looks very Shyamalan, which means I'm very excited It also appears to be his third movie in a row that takes place almost exclusively within one relatively contained space

WB's problem is that this movie was specifically made for me and they should at least send me the file if it's already finished and they're waiting to dump it in January. I'll sign an NDA and everything. (I wish studios would stand by their weird-ass $150M movies instead of getting cold feet and doing a shocked pikachu face when the guy who did Okja makes a weird, polarizing sci-fi movie. [Even Snowpiercer, to some extent, should offer some insight.] And without those precedents, surely the trajectory of the film would have been obvious way before the final hour. I for one would like to see what would happen if this did get a full WB marketing campaign.)

Hoping we don't have to wait too long before those Trap and Mickey 17 trailers are publicly released. I guess the former is more likely to be imminent considering the movie's only a few months away.

Truly gotta love gimmicky marketing stuff like this

Seems like the US re-release isn't super wide, considering the five closest theaters to me are not showing it. We'll probably know the theater count soon enough.

Between its expansion in Japan and re-release in foreign markets, plus the impending release in China, I'm very curious about how high it'll go. I feel like passing Disney's Wish would be an interesting goal (it's around $50M away). Obviously that's pretty much entirely dependent on China, beyond a few million from these re-releases.

Beautiful poster! Is China the only foreign market to directly translate the title "How Do You Live" instead of "The Boy and the Heron"? I'm still sad about the name change.

Here's Toshio Suzuki's statement, which Nakajima delivered to the press:

https://www.vulture.com/article/best-hayao-miyazaki-animation-sequences.html Outpouring of love for Miyazaki from fellow animators/directors talking about the Miyazaki sequences that inspired them. The directors interviewed include Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life), Genndy Tartakovksy (Samurai Jack), Vicky Jenson (Shrek), Gary Trousdale (Beauty and the Beast), Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt), Peter Ramsey (Into the Spider-Verse), Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2 + 3), Tomm Moore (Wolfwalkers), Shannon Tindle (Kubo and the Two Strings), Peter Sohn (Elemental), and Domee Shi (Turning Red). Turns out if you ask an animator "how has Miyazaki influenced you?" they're bound to have a lot to say.

The style here feels like a marked step up from Dreamworks' other 2D/3D hybrids. They've done a great job of capturing the modern storybook aesthetic and continuing to improve upon it, paving their own path that runs somewhere between the Spider-Verses and Arcanes of the world stylistically. I get the feeling this has a larger budget than The Last Wish, and certainly a lot more than Orion and the Dark. Just looks a lot more polished than either. It's sad to think Dreamworks is moving away from in-house production, but hopefully this is a worthy send-off to that era of their history. I really hope this fulfills the tonal promise of the trailer, and is able to be relatively sophisticated and emotionally sincere kids' fare along the lines of fellow robot movies like Wall-E or The Iron Giant. The trailer almost completely omits the dialogue, so it's hard to say where that will lean, but I have some trust in Chris Sanders. I'm optimistic.

Suzuki: I'm very honored that The Boy and the Heron has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. I'm grateful to the Academy and everyone who nominated us. Miyazaki: *grunts in agreement* Suzuki: This film is a sort of autobiography, isn't it? Miyazaki: Not quite, but there are such elements. That's what I'd say. Suzuki: Having made the film, what were you happy with about it? Miyazaki: Well, I'm glad that I made it all the way to the end. All that's left now is my worn out self. Suzuki: You were working on the film for seven years straight. That's more than ever before. It had a really long production period. Do you have any thoughts on that? Miyazaki: I thought that it would never end. Suzuki: But it did finish. Miyazaki: Yes, because the money kept coming. Suzuki: *laughs* Yay!

This is a very Miyazaki interview. At least we know he isn't shirking awards stuff completely. Granted, this comes after the voting period already ended. At this point I get the feeling Spider-Verse is going to win, but hope isn't completely lost.

Animation director Takeshi Honda was at the Annie Awards to accept his award for character animation on The Boy and the Heron, and he also accepted the storyboarding award on Hayao Miyazaki's behalf. Toshio Suzuki wasn't able to attend the Golden Globes, but he put out a thank you message afterwards. I have to imagine their absence at the BAFTAs just came down to timing and who was actually invited. As for the San Sebastian Film Festival, a video recorded acceptance speech was only possible because it was a non-competitive career award, usually showing up via video is not an option for awards ceremonies. At the San Sebastian ceremony, the festival director asked the audience not to record Miyazaki's message, due to Miyazaki's wish for privacy. He also said that they'd tried to give Miyazaki the award several times prior, and this was the first time he accepted. The company as a whole certainly doesn't avoid the Oscars: Toshio Suzuki showed up for The Wind Rises even if Miyazaki didn't (a few months later, Miyazaki was present to accept his honorary Oscar at the Governor Awards). Suzuki also attended for The Red Turtle, along with director Michael Dudok de Wit. Isao Takahata and producer Yoshiaki Nishimura showed up for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Nishimura also showed up for When Marnie Was There, along with director Hiromasa Yonebayashi and production designer Yohei Taneda. Suzuki and Miyazaki had fully planned to be present at the 2003 Oscars, but the invasion of Iraq happened just a few days before the ceremony, so they decided not to go at the last minute. I wouldn't say that says much about the company's chances of being represented at this year's Oscars.

No movie has ever won both the BAFTA and GG for Animated Feature and lost the Oscar. However, this race remains incredibly tight, it's far from a done deal. The Annie Awards and Critics Choice Awards have also historically been very strong predictors for the Oscars, and Spider-Verse won both of those. Spider-Verse's lion's share of critics circle awards has also only grown, with its total precursor count at 38 wins to Heron's 14. When you get down to the statistics of each movie's precursors, both would have near-definite chances of winning, so something's gotta break. This is a very unusual year. Fun fact: In 2014, much like this year, there was an even split between those four precursors, with two going for How to Train Your Dragon 2 and the other two going for The Lego Movie. Big Hero 6 ended up winning the Oscar. The other two years with even splits were 2012 (Wreck it Ralph and Brave) and 2021 (Encanto and The Mitchells vs the Machines).

I'm just glad Lee Isaac Chung already has his next non-blockbuster project lined up. Even if this ends up being bad, his career can only take so much of a hit when he's got a Bong Joon Ho-produced, Steven Yeun-starring, Eric Roth-written film in the works. That said, I watched Twister a million times when I was a kid, and it's not like I'm that susceptible to nostalgia bait but it really feels like that pulpy, special effects-laden display of blockbuster emotionality is here in ample doses, and I love that all the actors seem to fully understand the assignment: Daisy Edgar Jones' delivery of "she's gorgeous!" and that little finger twirl later on, Brandon Perea's crazed yelling, Glen Powell's whole perpetual vibe. They know exactly what kinda movie they're in. I will be seated.