William Shakespeare once said that “brevity is the soul of wit“…to all you 21st century entertainment fiends that means that “less is more“. So while some Pixar fans might lament at the idea of the Toy Story bunch being relegated to a series of shorts before Disney/Pixar feature films, it’s not a bad thing. Why? Well it’s because the animation powerhouse is able to cram loads of content and heart into an uproarious 6 minute skit that is almost better than all three films combined. After 3 features, the world may not need another TS feature and I for one am fine with these short and sweet mini-adventures. So as movie goers who saw Pixar’s re-release of Finding Nemo…
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G-S-T Review…Brave
Stories of fantasy and high adventure are certain to contain genre stand-bys like magic, kingdoms a far, fair maidens and the like. Yet in Pixar’s latest (and first true period-piece) this “maiden” is not a damsel in distress by any means. Brave‘s Princess Merida actually has more in common with any number of Hayao Miyazaki’s female protagonists than it does the colorful princesses whose posters grace little girls’ walls. It channels some of the more stand-up kind of womanly characters we’ve seen in the last few decades…even if in this case she is defiant to a fault. With a line like “I am Merida, and I’ll be shooting for my own hand”…
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Hans Zimmer Scoring Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel'
From one great DC hero to another, maestro of Bwaaah, Hans Zimmer looks to trade the depths of Gotham for the heights of Metropolis. That’s right Super-friends, for his next project, Zimmer will be going up, up and away to score Zack Snyder’s Superman film. With his work on the final Nolan Batman in the can (you can listen to samples of it here), Zimmer is free to begin work on the Zack Snyder-directed, Christopher Nolan-produced Superman reboot titled Man of Steel which is slated to soar into theaters about a year from now on June 14th, 2013. Yet, in the long history of many a failed/unrealized Superman project, as…
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Ohhh, Look…Behind-the-Scenes Video From Paramount's 100th Anniversary Photoshoot
2012 has been a continually big year for Paramount Pictures, and rightly so. Celebrating their Centennnial anniversary, the iconic studio began the year by rolling out their brand new logo with fanfare music by maestro Michael Giacchino. Along with some recent additions to the studio’s grand collection (like Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) this week, film fans got some ohhs, and ahhhs in the form of this star-studded “class photo” which showcased an awe-inspiring collection of the studio’s hottest stars then and now…116 to be exact. For film fans, it’s quite a sight to behold. Click the image to see the hi-rez version on Vanity Fair that names everyone in the photo from the…
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Off the Shelf…’The Secret World of Arrietty’
From the world-renowned Studio Ghibli comes this entirely delightful and fascinating feature based on Mary Norton’s novel The Borrowers. Ghibli films are a wonderful mix of immensely detailed worlds and great storytelling and in this adaptation, director Hiromasa Yonebayashi shows us that we don’t have to go very far from our own bedroom to find an imaginative and rousing tale. Sure there is a small touch of special Ghibli magic and otherworldly themes to The Secret World of Arrietty but it’s easy to believe in a story like this when it comes across so realistic and grounded…like right under your floor boards grounded. Arrietty is a real treat that simply shines on this stunningly beautiful Blu-Ray transfer. Right…
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Ohhh, Look…Sound and Scoring Featurette for 'John Carter'
Andrew Stanton’s first foray into live action filmmaking hit theaters hard this weekend (but not enough to take the top spot at the box office). While the visuals transported us to an otherworldly epic so too did the sound and music of John Carter. In this featurette, Oscar-winning film composer Michael Giacchino and Supervising Sound Editor Jonathan Null of Skywalker Sound briefly discuss their process and give us a glimpse into the scoring and sound design for John Carter. Have a look and thanks /Film for the heads up. Enjoy! Sound and music are always underrated so it’s neat to see it highlighted or appreciated even in a video as short as this. How many…
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G-S-T Review…The Secret World of Arrietty
The latest animated feature from the world-renowned Studio Ghibli not only calls on the elements of the great Ghibli films from the past 20 years but more importantly reminds us why we go see their films in the first place. Ghibli pictures are escapism and great storytelling in their most pure and exemplary forms. Moreover, in this adaptation of Mary Norton’s novel The Borrowers, it shows us that we don’t have to go very far from our own bedroom to find an imaginative and rousing tale. Sure there is a small touch of special Ghibli magic and otherworldly themes to The Secret World of Arrietty but it’s easy to believe in a…
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James Newton Howard – Live At The Meyerson Symphony Center
To kick-off the 2012 program in the Masters of Film Music series, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra invited Oscar-nominated film composer James Newton Howard to perform a collection of his favorite and well known cinematic themes. With over 100 films to his name and 27 years experience scoring films he’s a legend in film circles and has become one of the most versatile, dynamic and in-demand musicians in his field. Howard had been asked several times by the Dallas Symphony to come and play a series of his themes.Howard admits, as he told us in our exclusive with him, that he had always wanted to do this and finally decided now was the right time. Listening to…
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Dallas Symphony Orchestra Presents: “Masters of Film Music”
In 2010 the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced a series of concerts that would make any film fan smile. Titled “Masters of Film Music“, the DSO will hold concert events featuring some of the most memorable film scores (through a series of performances conducted by the top living film composers themselves) in Dallas’ renowned Meyerson H. Symphony Center. At G-S-T we’re pretty big into film scores so this is right up our alley and we wanted to share this with you. Also we’re going to cover the events so keep an eye out for write-ups, possible interviews and more. Needless to say, we’re pretty excited! Today the DSO has re-issued a press release…
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FourScore Match-Up #10: "Evolution of the PIXAR Score"
The Pixar catalog has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 25 years. While they have won countless millions of hearts in all age ranges, Pixar has come from being a cutsey little animation company (started by John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs) making commercials to an animation powerhouse. They are gifted story telllers who give such life and depth to inanimate objects like toys, cars and robots. Like anything, with growth comes change and progress. That said, most should have noticed both their stories and musical scores taking a more adult approach. Starting with Randy Newman’s light and airy themes, the soundtracks to the films in Pixar’s resume have blossomed to…
