OT: VFX Oscar

[peter noble]

I'm glad that Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. I've seen the film twice and totally believed in Gollum. The skin texturing and the perfomance of the creature was just incredible.

The big F.O. battle at the end wasn't half bad either! :)

Peter

[KJ]

Should have won best film as well. Except for Ben Hur (11 Oscars) I hate films that win too many Oscars. The event is fine but it's too commerical thus Chicago got alot thus comes across as too commerical.

Heh 4 best things which happened at the 2003 Oscars! 1) Michael Moore's controversal speech. 2) Steve Martin's bad puns.(Especially about the people he has been in bed with?) 3) "Lord of the Rings getting best visual effects" Oscar! 4) Eminem getting best song!

KJ

[Artemis]

Add to that 'Spirited Away' getting best animated feature.

[Philloz]

Originally posted by Artemis
Add to that 'Spirited Away' getting best animated feature.

Yes, an unprecedented show of taste, that ... I was sure it would go to 'Ice Age' or 'Spirit' ... Hayao Miyazaki's work is never less than outstanding.

[thomas7g]

I think its about time.

Any discussion ob best animated feature needs to include more japanese films. That's where all the great animation is being done. We just need to get them into american theaters. Not a big release, but enough to qualify them for this category. :)

[Artemis]

What especially surprised me after I saw the movie and realized how good it was, was that the marketing was so bad. For a Disney film they had very little advertising in any form, I think I saw 2 previews and 1 TV spot. In contrast they were advertising Treasure Planet all over the place, it made me think that they didn't have much confidence for Spirited Away. Many people I know didn't even hear of it which is a shame. It is definitely a DVD I am going to buy.

[Philloz]

Originally posted by Artemis
What especially surprised me after I saw the movie and realized how good it was, was that the marketing was so bad. ... It is definitely a DVD I am going to buy.

Disney has had the rights to Miyazaki's film catalogue for years, but have never shown much confidence in its commercial potential stateside. In 1998 they gave a half-hearted VHS release to the wonderful "Kiki's Delivery Service," which will finally get a DVD release April 15. "Princess Mononoke" beat "Titanic" in Japan, but they gave it the same weak art-house push that "Spirited Away" suffered, and put out a bare-bones DVD. "Castle in the Sky" (AKA "Laputa") was supposed to come out in 1999, but will finally come out April 15 along with "Kiki" and "Spirited Away"; the films will be available in a three pack DVD set as well as individually.

Miyazaki films available from other companies include the charming children's fantasy "My Neighbor Totoro," which was put out by Fox on DVD at the end of 2002 (just before their liscense on that film ran out) and Manga Entertainments' release of "The Castle of Cagliostro," Miyazaki's first feature film, which was also the feature debut of Monkey Punch's popular manga and anime series characater Lupin III; that film was also the basis for the early laserdisc arcade video game "Cliff Hanger." Still missing in action is "Nausicca of the Valley of The Wind," based on Miyazaki's own manga masterpiece, "On Your Mark" and "Porco Rosso," AKA "Crimson Pig." His next film is entitled "Howl's Moving Castle."