Laika’s “The Boxtrolls” Screens At 71st Venice Film Festival

http://youtu.be/z3eHd87dx6M

Laika’s  third big, stop motion feature, “The Box Trolls”  screened out of competition last Sunday at the 71st Venice Film Festival and in theatres later this month, (September 26th).

Based on Alan Snow’s “Here Be Monsters”, the cardboard wearing Boxtrolls live beneath the streets of Cheesborough, only coming up from underground at night to collect items they need to build machines for their underground city. Ben Kinglsey, Elle Fanning, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Richard Ayoade all star in feature, with Anthony Stacchi (“Open Season”) and Graham Annabel (story artist on “Coraline” and “ParaNorman“) co-directing, and produced by Travis Knight and David IchiokaContinue reading... “Laika’s “The Boxtrolls” Screens At 71st Venice Film Festival”

“The Wilderness of James” to World Premiere at SXSW

The Wilderness of James

The iOPIF feature, “The Wilderness of James“, that shot in Portland in 2012, is to have it’s world premiere at SXSW this year.  Michael Johnson (formerly from Kamp Grizzly), wrote and directed the feature,  it stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Road”, voice of Norman Babcock in “ParaNorman”), Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”), Isabelle Fuhrman (“Orphan”), Evan Ross (“Jeff Who Lives At home”), and Danny Devito (“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”).
Johnson grew up in Portland and graduated from the University of Oregon before moving to Los Angeles to start his career.  Continue reading... ““The Wilderness of James” to World Premiere at SXSW”

ParaNorman Nominated For 8 Annie Awards

 

http://youtu.be/Gzjhej9pVuY

It’s gratifying to see ParaNorman (Focus features + Laika) nominated eight times for an Annie Award, including Best Picture.

In Individual Achievement nominations there are seven categories in which ParaNorman talent gets a nod:

Animated Effects; Andrew Nawrot, Joe Gorski, Grant Laker, Character Animation; Travis Knight, Directing; Sam Fell, Chris Butler, Character Design; Heidi Smith, Production Design; Nelson Lowry, Ross Stewart, Pete Oswald Ean McNamara, Trevor Dalmer, Storyboarding; Emmanuela Cozzi and Writing; Chris Butler.

The 40th annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation, will take place on Saturday, February 2, 2013. Continue reading... “ParaNorman Nominated For 8 Annie Awards”

Oregon Vendor Spotlight: Cambridge Precision Machining

http://vimeo.com/48827953

In this week’s video (above), the Oregon Film Summer Interns visit Cambridge Precision Machining in Tigard Oregon.

Cambridge Precision Machining recently experienced a 20% increase in revenue due to work manufacturing the tiny joints and parts of the armature skeletons for LAIKA’s stop-motion animated feature “ParaNorman.” Based on referrals, they are now getting additional work from as far away as Great Britain.

You can view the four previous videos in the series here: “Shop Adorn” , “Local Nursery Supply Chain” , “PG&L and Bend Oregon’s ATI” , and Koerner Camera Systems.   Continue reading... “Oregon Vendor Spotlight: Cambridge Precision Machining”

Governor Kitzhaber Declares Today “ParaNorman Day”

 

 

Showing his continued support of Oregon’s film and television industry, Governor John Kitzhaber issued an official Proclamation today declaring August 17, 2012 “ParaNorman Day”.  Below is the language of the proclamation.

 

 

 

WHEREAS:          Oregon has a longstanding and honorable tradition of encouraging the entertainment arts and the abundantly talented individuals whose creative work delights, informs and educates our citizens; and

WHEREAS:          The handcrafted, stop-motion animated 3d movie “ParaNorman” is the second feature film produced by Oregon-based  animation studio LAIKA; and

WHEREAS:          LAIKA is deeply committed to creating an environment that supports and celebrates the art and artistry of animated filmmaking; and

WHEREAS:          The lead character Norman is a young boy of ingenuity, empathy, courage and optimism and thus embodies character traits Oregonians hold most dear; and

WHEREAS:          “ParaNorman” was produced entirely in Oregon and will be released nationwide by Focus Features on August 17, 2012;

 NOW,               

THEREFORE:     I, John Kitzhaber, Governor of the State of Oregon, hereby proclaim August 17, 2012 to be

PARANORMAN DAY

in Oregon and encourage all Oregonians to join in this observance.

Continue reading... “Governor Kitzhaber Declares Today “ParaNorman Day””

Nike Brings You the “ParaNorman” Shoe #weirdwins

You all know the connection between LAIKA and Nike so it’s no great surprise the Nike has released a “ParaNorman” shoe tied to the release of the film.   Regardless this is pretty cool!  We found the news in this morning’s Portland Business Journal but the gallery showing the shoe can be found here on examiner.com

According to this website – there are 800 pairs of these shoes up for grabs if you submit a “weird” picture of yourself on twitter. Continue reading... “Nike Brings You the “ParaNorman” Shoe #weirdwins”

ParaNorman in Theaters on August 17 – We’ll Be There. What About You?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1RXm81AsNo

After two plus years hand crafting frame by frame, Oregon based animation studio LAIKA is set to debut their second film “ParaNorman” in theaters this coming Friday.  We at the Oregon Film Office will be at the Regal Lloyd Center theaters with a block of tickets  to celebrate the release.  In fact we hope to see you there at 11:50 AM for the first showing!  An opening weekend of any feature film often determines the financial success of the film so let’s all find a way to make it to a nearby theater and see this great Oregon Film.   Continue reading... “ParaNorman in Theaters on August 17 – We’ll Be There. What About You?”

ParaNorman in Theaters on August 17 – We’ll Be There. What About You?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1RXm81AsNo

After two plus years hand crafting frame by frame, Oregon based animation studio LAIKA is set to debut their second film “ParaNorman” in theaters this coming Friday.  We at the Oregon Film Office will be at the Regal Lloyd Center theaters with a block of tickets  to celebrate the release.  In fact we hope to see you there at 11:50 AM for the first showing!  An opening weekend of any feature film often determines the financial success of the film so let’s all find a way to make it to a nearby theater and see this great Oregon Film.  Continue reading... “ParaNorman in Theaters on August 17 – We’ll Be There. What About You?”

ParaNorman Gearing up for August Premiere


We are getting closer and closer to ParaNorman’s August 17th premiere, and there are all kinds of exciting things going on around the country and around the net as the anticipation builds.  This is a brief run-down of some of the things going on in the next two weeks.

  • If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve probably already seen one of the two ParaNorman Olympic spots; “Champions Will Rise” & “Nailed It”.  If not (or you just want to see them again) you can view them on IMDB:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1623288/videogallery
Continue reading... “ParaNorman Gearing up for August Premiere”

ParaNorman Impresses at Comic-Con 2012!

The annual Comic-Con convention took place in San Diego, CA this past weekend, and LAIKA/Focus Features’ ParaNorman was there in full force.  In addition to Norman and the larger-than-life-sized Zombies (seen above) roaming the halls of the convention, there was also a ParaNorman ice cream truck and plenty of free ParaNorman swag being handed out.   Attendees were also treated to a live ParaNorman panel in Hall H (appropriately held on Friday the 13th) that offered a sneak peek of the film, behind-the-scenes footage, and a better idea of what to expect when the film premieres August 17th, 2012.   Continue reading... “ParaNorman Impresses at Comic-Con 2012!”