The self-proclaimed “animation geeks” of Pixar were the toast of the Lido Sunday, as the Venice Film Festival honored the studio and its filmmakers with a lifetime achievement award.
“Filmmaking and animation is one of the most collaborative art forms there is in the world, and it is never more collaborative than it is at Pixar,” John Lasseter said in accepting the first ever collective Golden Lion.
George Lucas, who started Pixar before selling it to Apple Computers’ Steve Jobs, presented the honor to Lasseter and directors Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, according to trade reports.
Festival organizer Marco Mueller compared the Pixar talents to “a Renaissance painter’s ‘bottega’ (studio).”
The festival screened the 3-D versions of the Lasseter-directed Toy Story and Toy Story 2, which are set for release in the U.S. in early October.
Lasseter also commented on an upcoming Pixar project called The Bear and the Bow, which will be the studio’s first fairy tale and its first film to feature a female protagonist. The film will be directed by Brenda Chapman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
SOURCE- Animation Magazine
