ILM offers a behind-the-scenes look at the progression of RANGO from director Gore Verbinski and starring the voice of Johnny Depp. The animated film is nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards.
RANGO won 5 Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature, Member’s Favorite Film, Editing in a Feature Production, Writing in a Feature Production and Character Design in a Feature Production.
“Like” it on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Rango
The now Academy Award®-nominated RANGO, from director Gore Verbinski and starring the voice of Johnny Depp, saddles up for a one week limited engagement at the ArcLight Hollywood beginning this Friday, January 27th. The original animated comedy-adventure from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies a Blind Wing/GK Films Production that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West, was this morning nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film.
Rango is the winner of the National Board of Review and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature, while top critics’ groups around the country have declared Rango the Best Animated Film of 2011, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
The incomparable Johnny Depp voices Rango, a chameleon living as an ordinary family pet who dreams of being a fearless hero and is challenged to become just that when he inadvertently becomes the sheriff of a lawless desert town called Dirt. Story by John Logan Gore Verbinski and James Ward Byrkit, Written by John Logan, Directed by Gore Verbinski, the visionary behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Rango delighted audiences of all ages, earning more than $230 million worldwide. The film also features the voices of Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant.
Year’s Highlights Included Studio’s First Billion Dollar Release,
Successful Re-launch of Mission Impossible Franchise,
the Coen Bros. Biggest Release Ever & Paramount’s First Original CGI Animated Film
Paramount Pictures announced today it ended 2011 in the No. 1 position among all studios, having achieved the highest total combined gross of any studio for the year, earning a record $5.17 billion worldwide. The studio, which released a total of 16 new releases domestically this year, placed first in the North American market share with $1.96 billion, while also amassing record grosses at the international box office with $3.21 billion.
“This achievement reflects the combined efforts of our entire team across the globe and the careful process by which we select the projects and partners we believe in,” said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey. “We produce pictures that aspire to entertain audiences around the world, while at the same time we have sought to find innovative ways to reach movie-goers in this changing entertainment environment.
“This year our studio reached some key milestones, including the release of three vibrant Paramount franchise pictures and our first original CGI animated film. Our studio had its first ever $1 billion worldwide grossing film in Michael Bay’s hit ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’; we successfully re-launched our ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise with Tom Cruise, JJ Abrams and Brad Bird; our latest installment in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise had another $100 million dollar success; our first original animated film ‘Rango,‘ from director Gore Verbinski, earned rave reviews and more than $100 million at the domestic box office; and we released global phenomenon ‘Super 8,’ directed by JJ Abrams, who will now direct the newest ‘Star Trek’ for 2013. We also benefited from our distribution partnerships with DreamWorks Animation and Marvel and I want to thank them both.
“Film President Adam Goodman and his team in production and development, and Vice Chairman Rob Moore and his team in marketing and distribution, did outstanding work and truly delivered. “As we prepare to celebrate Paramount’s 100th year in 2012, we are all grateful to be part of this wonderful institution as it continues to prosper,” added Grey.
In 2012, Paramount’s release slate highlights include “World War Z,” a zombie thriller starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” the next installment in the global franchise starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum, a new chapter in the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, and “The Dictator,” starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Larry Charles, the team behind “Borat.”
The 2011 box office results seen from the studio were built on a wide reaching range of titles, including the following (with current domestic grosses): “True Grit” ($85 mil this year, $171.2 million total), Ivan Reitman’s “No Strings Attached” ($70.7 mil), Jon Chu’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” ($73 mil), Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” ($123.5 mil), Marvel Studio’s “Thor” ($181 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 2” ($165.2 mil), JJ Abrams “Super 8” ($127 mil), Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” ($352.4 mil), Marvel Studio’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” ($176.7 mil), Craig Brewer’s “Footloose” ($51.7 mil), the third installment in the hit “Paranormal Activity” franchise ($104 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss In Boots” ($145.8 mil), Sundance prize-winner “Like Crazy” ($3.4 mil), Martin Scorsese and GK Films’ “Hugo” ($50.2 mil), Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult” ($12.8 mil), Brad Bird’s “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” ($142.8 mil) and Steven Spielberg’s “Tintin” ($51.4 mil).
Paramount Teams with Deluxe to Debut Pilot Program Providing “For Your Consideration” Online Screeners to the Visual Effects Society
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 11, 2011 – Paramount Pictures announced today that it has teamed with Deluxe Entertainment Services Group to provide “For Your Consideration” online screeners for the 2011-2012 awards season, making it the first major studio to stream its awards films online. The studio will present its awards contenders, including RANGO, SUPER 8 and LIKE CRAZY, and potentially additional titles later this season, via Deluxe’s proprietary platform. The Visual Effects Society (VES) will be the first recipient of the online screeners, receiving them as early as October 14th.
The Deluxe solution allows Paramount to securely stream films backed by unique watermarking of the content tied to the individual recipients with DVD quality picture and a controlled window of availability. Content can be played back on a variety of PC and Mac devices, including the iPad and iPad2, as well as home entertainment systems with compatible HDMI cable connection.
“We are excited to present these films for online streaming and are hopeful that this will be a quality experience allowing us to offer more opportunities for our filmmaker partners to reach appreciative viewers,” said Paramount’s President of Domestic Marketing & Distribution Megan Colligan.
“We are delighted Paramount chose Deluxe’s digital screener platform. By continually expanding and customizing our services we are able to best support the rapidly changing needs of our entertainment industry clients,” said Michael Alvarez, President Deluxe Media Management.
“As the leading technology artists in the entertainment industry, we at VES are pleased that Paramount thought to come to us first to inaugurate this process,” said VES Executive Director Eric Roth.
Both Paramount and VES highly encourage films to be seen in the best possible environment – a theatre. Understanding this is not always possible; using Deluxe’s service provides members with an additional method to screen films in a secure and timely manner.
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company’s labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.
About Deluxe
Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., is a leading provider of a broad range of entertainment industry services and technologies to the worldwide entertainment industry including the Hollywood studios, broadcast/cable/satellite providers, digital distribution, gaming as well as content owners and creators. Services for content creation in features, television and commercials are offered in production, post production, digital distribution, multi-platform development, marketing services and asset management. They include motion picture film processing and printing; EFILM® and Company 3® digital intermediates; post production and subtitling services; titles design and digital VFX; DVD compression, encoding and authoring; advertising distribution and syndication services; digital cinema services, and 2D to 3D conversioning. Laboratory and post production facilities are located in North America, Europe, and Australia. Deluxe Digital Studios offer home entertainment services in North America, Europe and India.
SOURCE: Paramount Pictures Corporation
Hollywood, CA, September 06, 2011: The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, have announced that “Rango” will receive this year’s Hollywood Animation Award at the festival’s gala ceremony on October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
The Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies feature film is directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West. The screenplay was written by Oscar®-nominated screenwriter John Logan with the story by John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Ward Byrkit. Produced by Verbinski’s Blind Wink Productions, Graham King and John Carls, “Rango” also marks the first animated feature film for award-winning special effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).
The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. “It is a great pleasure to recognize “Rango” as the recipient of our animation award. This piece of cinematic treasure borders on surrealism and “Rango” will be a classic for generations to come.”
Past recipients of the Hollywood Animation Award include “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “Toy Story 3,” “UP,” and “Wall-E.”
About “RANGO”
From the director of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” comes RANGO, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of “Rango” (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt, a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures, the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt . . . until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, “Rango” starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be. With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town, and himself in the process.
About Starz Entertainment, LLC:
The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® brands with approximately 19 million and 32.9 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation and is attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group (NASDAQ: LSTZA).
In many ways, the western is a dead genre, but I like to think of it as the genre that just won’t die. Like trying to put down the toughest, meanest gunslinger in the old west, the western film keeps popping back up in the least expected times and places… but, not always in the traditional style we’re used to seeing. Call it survival of the fittest, but the western is far from dead, as is apparent with Jon Favreau’s new COWBOYS & ALIENS, which opens this Friday, July 29th, combining the western with the science-fiction, creating a crossover with twice the fun. In honor of the opening of this rare hybrid, we’re looking at our favorite Western Crossover films this week in Top Ten Tuesday.
This modern ode to the western from Korean filmmaker Jee-woon Kim is less of a hybrid than an over-the-top, good time cinematic high that doesn’t quit. Just about every element of this film is derived from the handbook for making western films, but injected with enough steroids to make the average bat boy a contender for breaking Hank Aaron’s homerun record. Horse chases, gun fights, speeding locomotives and thieving outlaws, everything you want in a western is here for the taking, with a generous bonus of Asian action-adventure flair.
Go ahead and laugh, mock it if you will, but the truth is… PAINT YOUR WAGON isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. While some may run away screaming at the idea of hearing Clint Eastwood sing, there are far worse voices in the music industry. This western musical is more western than musical and co-stars Lee Marvin (DIRTY DOZEN) and Jean Seburg (BREATHLESS). While there were other musicals such as OKLAHOMA and SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS that employ the old west, they’ve all been light on the elements that make great westerns. This is where PAINT YOUR WAGON takes its place above the rest.
Mix sci-fi and western – with a dash of comedy thrown in – and you come up with the perfect cowboy movie in BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART III. This time director Bob Zemeckis has Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelling from 1985 to 1885 for one last round-up. McFly faces Biff Tannen’s ancestor, Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, in a final showdown while Doc finds true love with a pioneer woman who loves Jules Verne. While you may feel at times like you’re watching John Ford’s STAGECOACH, Part 3 is deftly filled with nods to both genres with names like Clint Eastwood, the town saloon and a runaway steam locomotive that transforms into a hover-train.
A shotgun wielding hero, the frontier settlers and a band of baddies who gallop into town encapsulates everything a classic western should be… except that George Miller’s MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR is set in a bleak wasteland where the villains are bikers trying to take over the oil fields from the settlers and Mel Gibson’s Max, “a man who wandered into the wasteland,” rides in to save the day on his Pursuit Special vehicle. Can’t you hear the twangy sounds of Clint Eastwood’s HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER resonating throughout?
How many animated westerns are there to choose from? Exactly. Not many. However, RANGO doesn’t make this list on technicalities. Surprisingly, this was one of the best animated films I’ve seen in recent years and definitely captures the essence of some of the best and most unique western films. Filled with stylistic influences and homages to the greats, RANGO takes a lost pet chameleon and throws him into a strange scenario reminiscent of The Man With No Name.
Mexican writer, director and star Alejandro Jodorowsky truly puts the weird in the western with EL TOPO, creating a journey of one legend and his six-year old son. El Topo is on a quest to become the greatest fighter, as he confronts the warrior masters, each one with a unique specialty. This odd-ball twist on the western has the taste of so many old school martial arts films, creating one of the most bizarre and surreal cult spaghetti westerns of all time.
With extraordinary connections like SEVEN SAMURAI inspiring THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, it was only a matter of time before someone melded the samurai film with the western. RED SUN is just that very brilliant melding. Director Terence Young places the western icon Charles Bronson and the eastern icon Toshiro Mifune on the big screen together, a meeting of two cultures toward a common goal against a common enemy. Gunslinger ans samurai paired in a way that is as bold as it is unexpectedly natural.
“Why don’t you make arrangements to take our hovercraft to Medieval World, Roman World and Westworld. Contact us today, or see your travel agent. Boy, have we got a vacation for you.” However, not quite the one the guests of the DELOS Resort had in mind. Michael Crichton’s WESTWORLD pits vacationer Richard Benjamin against Yul Brenner’s “Gunslinger” in the ultimate gun fight. A premise that’s not entirely far-fetched, this twist on the classic westerner embodies a futuristic, adventure crossover. This time, the conflict is between Cowboys and Robots.
Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike takes blending the east and the west one wild step further with SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO. Directly inspired by Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, a stranger crosses paths with two rival clans, both seeking fortune in a small town. The mysterious gunslinger offers his services to both sides, planning to take advantage of the situation the entire time. Being Takashi Miike, he adds his own trademark flair in both the characters and the visual style.
There is no shortage of fandom for this contemporary classic, spawned from Joss Whedon and his TV series Firefly, but its reputation is well-earned. Those who haven’t seen SERENITY would not understand, but this affectionately coined “Space Western” teleports the trademark elements of a good western and character traits into a science-fiction adventure story in space. The heroic cowboy, the bounty hunter, the frontier settlers, the dangerous uncharted territories, the (deadly) damsel in distress… its all there and tons of fun.
Mel Brooks’ comical parody of the old west may seem like an unlikely choice, but its so pitch-perfect and hilarious that it had to be the top pick. BLAZING SADDLES has every necessary element of a classic western, but Brooks turns it all into a farce, pushing boundaries and poking fun at the inherent flaws of the genre. Cleavon Little plays the black sheriff Bart, while Gene Wilder plays Jim, his cowardly deputy. The top notch comedic cast runs away with their exaggerated stereotypes while delivering dialogue that is often politically incorrect, but intelligently appropriate.
RANGO is about to show people what he is really made of, and we have tickets to an advanced screening… just for you!
The screening for RANGO will be SATURDAY, February 26th at 11am. The theater is TBA but will be in the St. Louis Area.
SYNOPSIS:
From the director of The Pirates of the Caribbean comes RANGO, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West.
The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt . . . until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be. With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town and himself in the process.
Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and other celebs were on hand to walk the red carpet at Paramount Pictures big premiere of RANGO at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on Monday. The cast spent Valentine’s Day signing autographs and posing for pictures for the waiting fans. Depp appeared in his cowboy hat in keeping with the playful Western theme of the movie.
Here’s an excerpt of what Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski had to say on lizards at the RANGO press conference on February 12th:
JOHNNY DEPP: I always had an affinity for lizards; I’ve always felt somewhat close to them. They’re reptile- feeling somewhat reptilian myself at times. No, the – I mean, what was – oddly, I think, I mean, Gore might even, he might disagree. But I feel like, you know, there was – when we were doing “Pirates” one, two and three, there was a certain, at times when Jack Sparrow had to run – there was this very specific run that I wanted. And it was from seeing – I saw this footage of a lizard running across the water. And it was like the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. And so I said, “Gore, he’s got to be the lizard running across,” and he’s like, “Oh, yeah, absolutely.” You know. So that was the whole thing. It was always – and so whenever we were in that situation, “Okay, it’s time to…you know, let’s…”
GORE VERBINSKI: [INDISCERNIBLE] the lizard.
JOHNNY DEPP: Get – yeah, get in touch with the lizard. And we did it. So I actually think that Rango was somehow planted in Gore’s brain from that run, from that lizard run, you know. And when he actually called me and said, “I want you to play a lizard,” I thought, “Well, God, I’m halfway there.”
Johnny Depp poses for photos at the Paramount Pictures Los Angeles Premiere of RANGO at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
Johnny Depp signs autographs for fans at the Paramount Pictures Los Angeles Premiere of RANGO at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
Abigail Breslin poses for photos at the Paramount Pictures Los Angeles Premiere of “Rango” at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
Johnny Depp and Paramount’s Brad Grey appear at the Paramount Pictures Los Angeles Premiere of RANGO at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011.
Synopsis:
From the director of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” comes RANGO, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt – a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures – the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt . . . until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be. With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town – and himself in the process.
RANGO will be in theaters on March 4, 2011. Visit the film;s official website at: http://www.RangoMovie.com/.
Find RANGO here on Facebook.
This film has been rated PG for rude humor, language, action and smoking.
Check out this advanced look at the Big Game spot for Johnny Depp’s new film RANGO! Cracks me up everytime I see these desert critters scurrying about.
Directed by Gore Verbinski (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) and written by Gore Verbinski, John Logan (GLADIATOR) and James Byrkit, RANGO stars the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Ray Winstone, Beth Grant, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, and Alfred Molina. The score is from Verbinski favorite Hans Zimmer. RANGO will crawl into theaters on March 4th, 2011.
Visit the film’s official site at http://www.rangomovie.com/ to explore the latest interactive content (just make sure to continuously click on all the hilarious objects on the screen for it to work – you can turn on the radio or push the little roly-poly bug down the hole). Find RANGO here on Facebook
Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast talk about voicing RANGO via Yahoo! Movies. It’s a unique behind the scenes look into the “emotion capture” of Paramount’s upcoming film.
Directed by Gore Verbinski (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) and written by Gore Verbinski, John Logan (GLADIATOR) and James Byrkit, RANGO stars the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Ray Winstone, Beth Grant, Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, and Alfred Molina. The score is from Verbinski favorite Hans Zimmer. RANGO will crawl into theaters on March 4th, 2011.
Visit the film’s official site at http://www.rangomovie.com/ to explore the latest interactive content (just make sure to continuously click on all the hilarious objects on the screen for it to work – you can turn on the radio or push the little roly-poly bug down the hole). Find RANGO here on Facebook
Source: Yahoo! Movies
