Exclusive: Spire Animation Studios has hired a pair of Pixar alums for key roles, with Ricky Nierva joining as Production Designer and Michal Makarewicz now serving as Head of Character Animation.
In their time at Spire, Nierva and Makarewicz will work closely with Creative Directors, Animation and Story Shawn Krause and Michael Surrey, Creative Directors of Development, Ted Mathot and Karen Disher, story artist Sharon Bridgeman and co-founder and Cco Brad Lewis, first turning their attention to the studio’s first animated feature Trouble that it’s developing with Danny McBride’s Rough House Pictures, as previously announced.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Ricky and Michal,” said Lewis and co-founder P.J. Gunsagar in a joint statement. “Both bring a wealth of creative experience from working at Pixar on many of the studio’s most beloved movies.
In their time at Spire, Nierva and Makarewicz will work closely with Creative Directors, Animation and Story Shawn Krause and Michael Surrey, Creative Directors of Development, Ted Mathot and Karen Disher, story artist Sharon Bridgeman and co-founder and Cco Brad Lewis, first turning their attention to the studio’s first animated feature Trouble that it’s developing with Danny McBride’s Rough House Pictures, as previously announced.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Ricky and Michal,” said Lewis and co-founder P.J. Gunsagar in a joint statement. “Both bring a wealth of creative experience from working at Pixar on many of the studio’s most beloved movies.
- 2/24/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Last year the Annie Awards caused quite a stir when Kung Fu Panda swept Wall-e [1] in every category. Of course, Wall-e still went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but it's interesting to note that this year, with so many great animated movies to choose from, the Annies decided to go back and honour Pixar's Up with their top prize. Needless to say, Up is now a heavy favourite at the Oscars (if it wasn't already), but how did the other categories shake down for the Annie Awards? Pete Docter also received the award for Directing, but it was The Princess and the Frog and Coraline that split many of the other categories. Personally I was just pleased to see Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach pick up the Writing award for Fantastic Mr. Fox. After the jump, you can see all of the feature film categories...
- 2/8/2010
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
"Up" from Disney/Pixar won the top honor at the 37th Annual Annie Awards. The fantastic film received the Best Animated Feature Award beating out "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," and "The Secret of Kells."
(Check my interview with Annie Award-winner Pete Docter for "Up" held at Pixar Animation Studios right here)
Walt Disney Animation took home six other Annies including three for "The Princess and the Frog" and three for its television production "Prep and Landing."
Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards is considered the highest and most prestigious honor given in animation by the animation industry.
The Annie Awards is also a great predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. So yes, "Up" will win that category at the Oscars!
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of...
(Check my interview with Annie Award-winner Pete Docter for "Up" held at Pixar Animation Studios right here)
Walt Disney Animation took home six other Annies including three for "The Princess and the Frog" and three for its television production "Prep and Landing."
Created in 1972 by veteran voice talent June Foray, the Annie Awards is considered the highest and most prestigious honor given in animation by the animation industry.
The Annie Awards is also a great predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. So yes, "Up" will win that category at the Oscars!
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of...
- 2/7/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Following yesterday's Independent Spirit Award Nominations [1], The Annie Awards have also revealed their full list of nominees for this year. This is the annual award ceremony for the International Animated Film Association, celebrating animation in all of its forms. Sometimes these awards can help predict what movie will win the Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, although it's not always entirely reliable (last year Kung Fu Panda swept Wall-e [2] in every category). As we discussed on this week's podcast [3], it's shaping up to be a pretty tight race for Best Animated Feature this year, and if the Annies are any indication, it looks like Henry Selick's Coraline may have the edge. It was nominated for a total of 10 Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, Character Design, Voice Acting, and Music. Check out the list of nominees in all the feature-length categories after the jump. Best Animated Feature Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs...
- 12/2/2009
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
The International Animated Film Society has announced the 2009 Annie Award nominations! "Up" and "Coraline" led the pack in the film categories.
Award recipients will claim their trophies at the 37th Annual Annie Awards scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2010 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Here's the list of nominees of the 37th Annual Annie Awards:
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
* Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs . Sony Pictures Animation
* Coraline . Laika
* Fantastic Mr. Fox . 20th Century Fox
* The Princess and the Frog . Walt Disney Animation Studios
* The Secret of Kells . Cartoon Saloon
* Up . Pixar Animation Studios
Best Home Entertainment Production
* Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas . Universal Animation Studios
* Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder . The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
* Green Latern: First Flight . Warner Bros. Animation
* Open Season 2 . Sony Pictures Animation
* SpongeBob vs. The Big One . Nickelodeon
Best Animated Short Subject...
Award recipients will claim their trophies at the 37th Annual Annie Awards scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2010 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Here's the list of nominees of the 37th Annual Annie Awards:
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
* Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs . Sony Pictures Animation
* Coraline . Laika
* Fantastic Mr. Fox . 20th Century Fox
* The Princess and the Frog . Walt Disney Animation Studios
* The Secret of Kells . Cartoon Saloon
* Up . Pixar Animation Studios
Best Home Entertainment Production
* Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas . Universal Animation Studios
* Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder . The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
* Green Latern: First Flight . Warner Bros. Animation
* Open Season 2 . Sony Pictures Animation
* SpongeBob vs. The Big One . Nickelodeon
Best Animated Short Subject...
- 12/1/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The nominees for the 2010 Annie Awards were also announced today and Focus Features' Coraline topped the list of feature nominees with 10 with Pixar's Up following with 9 and Disney's Princess and the Frog scoring 8. All three films were included in the running for Best Animated feature along with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Secret of Kells and Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Last year the Annie Awards came under some scrutiny as Kung Fu Panda blanked the soon-to-be Oscar winner Wall-e. The reason for the uproar being DreamWorks was one of the org's top sponsors (which they still are). This year Monsters vs. Aliens is the only DreamWorks Animated feature making any noise (4 nominations), but it looks like Sony Pictures Animation has bumped up their contributions to become a "Gold Sponsor". Will there again be uproar if Pixar's Up doesn't walk away with the top prizes or Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
Last year the Annie Awards came under some scrutiny as Kung Fu Panda blanked the soon-to-be Oscar winner Wall-e. The reason for the uproar being DreamWorks was one of the org's top sponsors (which they still are). This year Monsters vs. Aliens is the only DreamWorks Animated feature making any noise (4 nominations), but it looks like Sony Pictures Animation has bumped up their contributions to become a "Gold Sponsor". Will there again be uproar if Pixar's Up doesn't walk away with the top prizes or Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
- 12/1/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.