Pixar's John Lasseter unveils 'Tinker Bell,' costly star of new Disney Fairies initiative

Cue the pixie dust.

Walt Disney Animation is taking direct aim at little girls with a business initiative called Disney Fairies whose long-awaited star is finally ready for her small screen debut.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, announced the much delayed "Tinker Bell" DVD on Friday, the first original title in a series of company-wide animation initiatives meant to capitalize on the fairy and princess craze among little girls.

"Tinker Bell," the first character to take wing from the Disney Fairy canon, is scheduled for direct-to-DVD release in late October, after being pushed back a year due to reported production complications. In this particular 2008 incarnation, Tink actually has a voice (actress Mae Whitman, although at one point Disney announced that Brittany Murphy would play Tink), and a lovely pair of iridescent wings:

Word has it that Tinker Bell's wings cost a pretty penny, too. At least $50 million, in addition to a key executive's job, two dozen versions of the script and a dozen different directors, according to Variety.

The female character's success should be an interesting test for Lasseter, whose Pixar animated films over the past decade have largely catered to boys. Consider the upcoming robot tale "Wall-E" (June 27), and earlier blockbusters "Cars," "Bugs," and "Monsters, Inc." Somehow Pixar and parent company Disney have managed to largely overlook a marketplace filled with little girls fixated on princesses and fairies.

Disney Animation hasn't introduced any new animated girl-centric titles and characters -- such as "The Little Mermaid" (1989), Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin" (1992), "Pocahontas" (1995) and "Mulan" (1998) -- in close to a decade. (Even "Enchanted," which was live action, was released just last year.)

But Disney's animated princess hiatus is about to change, both with the so-called Disney Fairies initiative and when Disney Feature Animation releases theatrically "The Princess and the Frog" (Christmas 2009) and "Rapunzel" (Christmas 2010).

Until then, it will be hard for parents to avoid the Disney Fairies juggernaut, which the Walt Disney Company promises to incorporate across its many divisions, including Disney Consumer Products, Disney Publishing, Disney Interactive Studios, Disney on Ice, Disney Parks and Resorts, and Disney Online.

And with that, Disney's finally going full-bore with faith, trust and pixie dust.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Cannes '08: Kids from Palme winner 'The Class' get heroes' welcome (video)

The young cast from Festival de Cannes'  unanimous Palme D'Or winner "The Class," directed by Laurent Cantet, were greeted to a heroes' welcome when they returned to the Francoise Dolto school in Paris, where the film was shot:

Related:

Cannes '08: Palme d'Or winner "The Class"
Palme d'Or goes to France's "Entre les Murs"

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Cannes '08: Director Ari Folman on 'Waltz With Bashir' (video)

"Waltz With Bashir" director Ari Folman speaks with France 24 prior to Festival de Cannes:



Related:

Ari Folman's "Waltz With Bashir" commands positive notices
Jurors Sean Penn, Natalie Portman, Alfonso Cuaron on why "Bashir" did not win a prize
"Waltz with Bashir" will dance in U.S. with Sony Pictures Classics

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Cannes '08: IFC Films locks up Italian mob hit 'Gomorrah'

We have spilled more than a few bits on Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah," the Grand Jury prize winner at this year's Festival de Cannes. So we are not displeased to find that U.S.-based film fans will have a chance to see this Italian mobster hit in U.S. theaters (and video-on-demand) through IFC Films.

An IFC rep told us it is too soon to tell exactly when "Gomorrah" will play in theaters, but it will simultaneously air on IFC In Theaters pay cable TV. (See this one in theaters if you can.) IFC also has a deal through Blockbuster Video which will carry "Gomorrah" later on.

"Just when we thought we had seen it all, Matteo Garrone has reinvented the Italian Mafia picture with such originality and invention that it seems entirely new," Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC Entertainment, said in a statement. "We think that this completely fresh take on a well-known genre that includes 'The Godfather Trilogy,' 'The Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas' will take American audiences by storm as it did in Cannes. We look forward to getting it out to the widest possible audience."

IFC also locked up Cannes darlings including Arnaud Desplechin’s "A Christmas Tale"; Steve McQueen’s "Hunger," which won the Camera d’Or; "The Chaser," a seriously bloody Korean serial killer thriller by Na Hong-jin which played in the midnight official selection and is being adapted for Leonardo DiCaprio by Warner Bros.; and Josh Safdie’s "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," which closed the Director’s Fortnight.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: In one of five interweaving tales in "Gomorrah," two teenagers, with excess hormonal bravado, steal a cache of guns and pull off dangerous heists. Credit: Courtesy Cannes Film Festival.

Sydney Pollack: Scattered pictures of the smiles you left behind

With news of the passing of Sydney Pollack, it seems only right to pause for a moment to take in Pollack's Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand classic "The Way We Were." If you don't have the DVD at home (For shame, hard-hearted reader!) here's a clip:

One of the best "Sex and the City" episodes pays tribute to Pollack's film by replacing Katie and Hubble with Carrie and Big:

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Cannes '08 to Oscars '09? 'Waltz With Bashir' will dance in U.S. with Sony Pictures Classics

The bad news: Director Ari Folman's critically acclaimed "Waltz With Bashir" got lots of respect, but no outright love from the Festival de Cannes jury on Sunday.

The good news: Now that Sony Pictures Classics' Michael Barker and Tom Bernard confirmed today that they bought Folman's film, North American audiences, and select Latin American movie fans, will have the opportunity to see "Waltz With Bashir" in theaters, perhaps even on Academy screeners, sometime soon.

Folman's striking film is an animated autobiographical documentary about a former Israeli Army soldier who tries to recount his long-forgotten mission in the first Lebanon War in the early eighties. In an attempt to conjure lost memories, the solider travels around the world interviewing old friends and comrades about what they remember. Using only rudimentary Flash animation, Folman unleashes a pastiche of incredible cinematic scenes that are as innovative as they are devastating.

We grabbed a quick comment from Barker, who was en route from Cannes, to confirm the purchase and also elaborate on a potential awards campaign for "Bashir" in the 2009 best animated film Oscar race.

Barker's reply:

"The experience of watching 'Waltz with Bashir' reminds me of what it was like when we saw 'The Battle of Algiers' for the very first time. It is one of the great anti-war movies told in a new way, this time with ingenious animation. It is overwhelming. Our past success with 'Triplets of Bellville' and 'Persepolis' has shown that there is a substantial audience out there with an insatiable appetite for high quality animated features for adults. Ari Folman's 'Waltz With Bashir' will shake people up as it reaches for the stars with its bold ambition."

It still remains to be seen whether Israel will submit "Bashir" as its official Oscar selection or if Folman's film will meet the Academy's particular animated film submission requirements. But given SPC's familiarity with Oscar rules, and its established Academy pedigree, it seems safe to say that "Bashir" will be at least submitted for consideration in one category or another.

But that's not all, folks. SPC also acquired North American rights to "Tyson," James Toback's intimate portrait of Mike Tyson; Bent Hamer's "O' Horten," which I like to refer to as '"Amelie" for geezers,' but is actually a lovely look at a newly retired Norwegian train engineer; and the Dardenne brothers' "Lorna's Silence," about the exploitation of illegal immigrants in Belgium, which won the Cannes jury's screenwriting award.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Image: Courtesy Cannes Film Festival.

Cannes '08: Italy celebrates 'new generation' of filmmakers

Italian filmmakers won the first and second runner-up prizes at the Festival de Cannes to nobody's surprise Sunday.

If anything, pundits suspected that directors Matteo Garrone ("Gomorra") and Paolo Sorrentino ("Il Divo") could chalk up additional wins, particularly a best actor prize for their shared leading man, Toni Servillo. At the awards news conference, after the prizes were granted, Garrone even took a moment to share the spotlight with his fellow Italian:

"I'm also very happy to be here alongside Paolo Sorrentino, because he's someone I have a great deal of respect for, even if our styles differ. Our taste and passion for filmmaking unite us. Lastly, the fact that two Italian films are award winners is important on an international level. I am proud to be one of those two directors."

Awww. Now that's ama il prossimo tuo come te stesso. Not to say that everyone in Italy is all that pleased with the country's new cinematic ambassadors. After all, the two directors, each in his own way, hold corruption in their homeland up to unflinching scrutiny. One commentator even accused Garrone and Sorrentino of washing Italy's dirty laundry on the Croisette.

Others back in the boot, however, are celebrating Italy's double victory in Cannes. One reporter for the daily newspaper La Repubblica in Rome wrote:

"In an industry that seemed to be fading ... suddenly two directors who have yet to turn 40 have shown that a new generation of filmmakers is born looking at our country's reality, its shadows and shames, without fear."

And to that we say, congratulazioni.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: Paolo Sorrentino ("Il Divo") with Matteo Garrone ("Gommora"). Credit: WireImage

Cannes '08: Kenneth Turan: 'As always, some of the most satisfying films were not found in the official competition'

Times film critic Kenneth Turan on this year's award winners, some overlooked gems, and cherished revivals:

CANNES, France -- What a difference 21 years makes.

In 1987, the last time a French film won the Palme d'Or, the audience at the Palais du Festival was so angry at the choice of "Under the Sun of Satan" that it hooted furiously and the director, Maurice Pialat, yelled right back.

But when Laurent Cantet's masterful "Entre les Murs" won the top prize at the Festival de Cannes on Sunday night -- one of only two unanimous votes, jury president Sean Penn revealed -- the audience erupted in ecstatic rhythmic applause, which only increased as most of the 24 middle-school students who made up the cast joined the director onstage.

Click here to see the rest of Turan's Cannes wrap story.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Cannes '08: Jurors Sean Penn, Alfonso Cuaron, Natalie Portman on why 'Waltz With Bashir' was overlooked

Festival de Cannes jury news conference question:
How come Ari Folman's "Waltz With Bashir," the amazing film from Israel, didn't get nothing? There was a huge buzz around it, and it's such a surprise, bad surprise.

Sean Penn, jury president:
"The only thing I would say, I was happy to find out that buzzes mean nothing; this jury was entirely  un-influenced, and I can tell you that I would agree with you, but we had so many prizes to give. There were several people that agreed, most certainly--myself included--it's a film worthy. As I said during the ceremony, there were things that called out, and there were times where we felt that we had almost certainly a certain category fulfilled and then something else would come and provoke us in a different way. There’s not a good answer for this question from me, because while I don't believe that I particularly argued for it, ultimately, I think it's a wonderful movie. I also believe that it is a film that is going to find its audience with or without us."

Alfonso Cuaron, juror:
"It was a film that was well cherished by the jury."

Natalie Portman, juror:
"I think it speaks to the quality of films in competition this year, that a film as good as "Waltz With Bashir" didn't make it, that we had such a good selection. I very much admired the film."

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: Israeli writer and director Ari Folman poses at a photo call for the film "Waltz With Bashir," courtesy Lionel Cironneau / Associated Press.

Cannes '08: Palme d'Or winner 'The Class,' others include 'Gomorra,' director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, actor Benicio Del Toro, 'Hunger'

Choosing from 22 competing films in the Festival de Cannes' official selection, Jury President Sean Penn, with the help of nine jurists, including actress Natalie Portman and director Alfonso Cuaron, unanimously gave the Palme D'or to Laurent Cantet's "The Class," about a teacher who is challenged by his students in a tough junior high school in Paris.

In his acceptance speech Cantet noted he was disappointed that the film business has not been especially open to making films that are slightly offbeat. But with "The Class," he said, he was able to accomplish something ideal to him.

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Photo: Jury President Sean Penn with director Laurent Cantet and students from Palme D'Or winner "The Class" at the 61st International Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2008, in Cannes, France. WireImage.