AFI Fest 2009 Line-up
The complete lineup for the 23rd edition of the American Film Institute (AFI) Fest presented by Audi has been announced. Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” has already been announced as the opening night gala. The Weinstein Company’s “A Single Man” will have its US premiere at the festival’s Closing Night Gala. Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus” has been selected as the Centerpiece Screening Gala presentation.
The film festival, which will debut it’s groundbreaking “See a Film on Us” initiative featuring complimentary tickets to all films including a limited number of seats at each Gala Presentation, will be headquartered at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel between October 30 and November 5. AFI FEST will then move to Santa Monica for the final two days of screenings presented in association with the American Film Market (AFM).
AFI FEST 2009 will mark the return of Werner Herzog to the Festival after Herzog’s celebrated panel appearance two years ago. Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” is a loosely interpreted re-imagining of Abel Ferrara’s gritty classic starring Nicolas Cage as a rogue detective who is as devoted to his job as he is to scoring drugs. Complicating his tumultuous life is the prostitute he loves (played by Eva Mendes). The film also stars Val Kilmer.
Fantastic Mr. Fox Trailer #2
Fox Searchlight Pictures has unveiled a brand new trailer for Wes Anderson’s upcoming stop-motion feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
In the film, Mr. and Mrs. Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers – Boggis, Bunce and Bean – who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost.
Brand New Fantastic Mr. Fox Featurette
Fox Searchlight just made a brand new featurette for “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” available giving us some clues as to how director Wes Anderson and his crew used old-school stop-motion animation to bring the Roald Dahl classic to life.
Plot summary: Mr and Mrs Fox (Clooney and Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox’s wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers – Boggis, Bunce and Bean – who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr Fox at any cost.
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is both written and directed by the Oscar nominated filmmaker Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited). The film features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker and Helen McCrory.
Fantastic Mr. Fox Poster
The poster for Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is now online. The stop-motion animated film, based on the classic Roald Dahl book of the same name, features the voice talent of George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, Helen McCrory, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Brian Cox.
Synopsis: “Boggis and Bunce and Bean, One short, one fat, one lean. These horrible crooks, so different in looks, were nonetheless equally mean.”
Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, and all their fox babies live under a hill under a tree, along with Badger, Rabbit, Weasel, and all of their families. To make ends meet, every night, Mr. Fox steals a meal from one of the three crooked farmers–Boggis, a chicken farmer, Bunce, who has a little bit of everything but only eats duck liver, and Bean, who farms turkeys and apples and subsists solely on apple cider. With his keen sense of smell, and the farmers’ distinctive diets, Mr. Fox has no problem evading them.
Fantastic Mr. Fox Featurette
A brand new behind the scenes featurette for Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated film “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” has been released.
Synopsis: Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, and all their fox babies live under a hill under a tree, along with Badger, Rabbit, Weasel, and all of their families. To make ends meet, every night, Mr. Fox steals a meal from one of the three crooked farmers–Boggis, a chicken farmer, Bunce, who has a little bit of everything but only eats duck liver, and Bean, who farms turkeys and apples and subsists solely on apple cider. With his keen sense of smell, and the farmers’ distinctive diets, Mr. Fox has no problem evading them.
Fantastic Mr. Fox Trailer
Check out the first, official trailer for “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” animated film based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name.
Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr. Fox’s wild animal instincts and he soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief, landing him and his family in a lot of trouble.
The movie features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker and Helen McCrory. It is produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin and Allison Abbate.
The film will be made using the same stop motion photography technique used in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach.”
The Fantastic Mr. Fox Photo Gallery
Take a look at these photos from Wes Anderson’s first animated film “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” based on a Roald Dahl book.
Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr. Fox’s wild animal instincts and he soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief, landing him and his family in a lot of trouble.
The movie features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker and Helen McCrory. It is produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin and Allison Abbate.
