Dorothy of OZ - Snapshot

This is a promotional shot of Dan Aykroyd during the studio recording for Dorothy of OZ.  He plays the Scarecrow.  In the background you can see a still image from the storyboard animatic I have been helping edit.

Dan Aykroyd

As opposed to live-action films where you shoot the footage first and then cut it all together, in animation you record the voices first, then animate the footage.  This allows the animators to match the animated performance of the character with the voice. 

I think of two of my favorite voice performances in animation and wonder what effect they had on their respective animators.  One is Jane from Tarzan.   Minnie Driver's incredible performance allowed supervising animator Ken Duncan to have tons of fun with her on-screen.  And perhaps my favorite voice performance in animation to date would have to be Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove.   Patrick Warburton is out-of-his-mind fantastic as Kronk, and supervising animator Tony Bancroft had a field-day with him.

We have also been getting some great performances from Dan and the rest of the OZ cast.  The animation studio is working to get some iconic magic like the above mentioned films as well.  It's due out in 2012... hmmm, isn't that when the Mayan calendar runs out... let's hope it's releases earlier in the year, before any of that takes place.

The Passing of a Legend

One of my heroes just died. Charlton Heston passed away at age 84 this past evening. He was most definitely one of the few remaining true stars of the silver screen - a group of people that has almost completely left us. He had class, high morals, and he was even married to the same woman (Lydia) for 64 years.

His acting accomplishments are well documented, but I have to say that I believe it takes a larger-than-life man to play the roles of Judah Ben Hur (for which he won an Oscar), Moses and John the Baptist. The man that can pull off all of those roles in one lifetime without it going completely to his head deserves everyone's respect.


Some of my favorites of his other roles include: George Taylor in "Planet of the Apes", Stewart Graff in "Earthquake", Capt. Matthew Garth in "Midway" and Robert Neville in "The Omega Man" - a movie that Will Smith just remade entitled "I Am Legend". He also had the small but important role of Henry Hooker in one of my all-time favorite westerns, "Tombstone".

He was a man's man, not just because of the roles he played, but because of what he stood for. He was an Air Force veteran, a social activist in his latter years, and in 2003, he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this nation's highest civilian honor.

As I said, there aren't many genuine Hollywood stars left. I am however thankful he came along to fill the need Hollywood had for a true hero.

Charlton Heston has left an opening for the next genuine Hollywood hero. Who can possibly fill it?

Blanchett to Join 'Indiana Jones 4' Cast

The Hollywood Reporter has announced today that Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in the next highly-anticipated installment of the Indiana Jones franchise.

The film is set to start shooting in June '07 and release in May '08. I have been looking forward to this next "Indy" film for years, and adding Cate Blanchett to the cast is only major icing. She makes everything she is in better.

Click HERE to read the HR press release.