5 things to learn about Cars 3 from the producers and directors.
The “Cars 3” Long Lead Press Days, held at Sonoma Raceway, including presentations by filmmakers, a press conference with (left to right) Producer Kevin Reher, Co-Producer Andrea Warren and Director Brian Fee, and raceway activities, held on March 28, 2017 in Sonoma, Calif. (Photo by Marc Flores)
When I was in San Francisco a few months back I had the pleasure of being able to interview BRIAN FEE, KEVIN REHER, ANDREA WARREN the producers and director of Cars 3. Here’s what I learned.
When you write sequels you are posed with finding a new story. To find a new story you have to find what the problem might be. Therein lies the story. We found when trying to come up with a story for Cars 3 that Lightening McQueen is aging. So all good athletes must age out and that was our dilemma. We love our characters to be imperfect. Because that is where the story lies.
So, I think all of us, probably has that feeling that they know what it’s like for someone younger to come in. You can start to feel like you are no longer valid anymore. It seemed like an honest thing to latch onto. ~Brian Fee
On working with Owen Wilson:
It’s exhilirating to work with other writers and actors. It almost becomes improv as they get into character. A few times in the movie they would be in the sound booth and Owen would say this doesn’t make sense to me. Wouldn’t be be saying or doing this instead. What ends up on the screen may not have been on the page originally. He also records many variations of certain scenes too. It’s as close to improv as you get in the animation world.
SIMULATED SPEED — Tech-savvy trainer Cruz Ramirez (voice of Cristela Alonzo) is armed with cutting-edge tools—like a racing simulator—to help turn racers-in-training into champions. But Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) isn’t a fan of Cruz’s high-tech techniques and decides instead to return to his roots—bringing his skeptical trainer along for the ride. Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 3” opens in U.S. theaters on June 16, 2017. ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
What did Nathan Fillian and Keri Washington bring to their roles in Cars 3?
Nathan just kind of came in and sat down and charmed us from the start. That’s just who he is. We knew right away he was the right guy for the role. He’s one of those guys that will give you 7 versions that are all perfect and you just have to use one and leave 6 perfect takes on the cutting room floor. Nathan flew himself up to Pixar to meet with us. Because he loves animation and he wanted to see Pixar.
So Keri comes in and it’s her first time working in animation. She comes in apologizing for not learning her lines. Which is unnecessary because we don’t have to memorize lines in animation. She comes in and starts throwing out lines like a veteran. She loves it because there’s no hair and make up. I don’t like to watch their faces when they’re doing their lines. I like to just hear it. There was one point where she was delivering these intense lines and I look up and she’s shooting daggers at me with her lines. I was like, uh professional. There she is. She’s got it.
What’s the Message in Cars 3?
On the message of the real movie for me is, is buried in McQueen’s story. And it is finding purpose in life. And, that changes throughout your life, you know. What is important to you when you’re twenty is no longer probably necessarily what’s important when you’re forty five. And we go through these changes where life does have new meaning and that’s the discovery McQueen’s on.
CARS 3: Lighting and Final Image – The Lighting department is responsible for integrating all of the elements – characters, sets, effects, etc. – into a final, rendered image. The Lighting process involves placing virtual light sources into the scene to illuminate the characters and the set. Technical artists place the lighting to draw the audience’s eye to story points and to create the correct mood. The lit images are then rendered at high resolution. 24 lit images, of over 2 million pixels each, are created for each one second of the movie. ©2017 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
What about Easter Eggs?
Did you know they hide Easter Eggs in Pixar movies? Me neither. Well they do and now I need to go rewatch them and look for them. At one point they were looking off to the side and in the woods they’ve hid a moonshine still. I was like what is that? It’s a moonshine still. They just put it in there. Sometimes I have no idea what’s hidden in these movies. We also put a frisbee on a roof in every Pixar movie. Just look for stuff it’s there. There’s a nod to Coco which is the next Pixar movie to come out.
Let’s see the trailer for Cars 3!
Like CARS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PixarCars/
Follow CARS 3 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pixarcars
Follow CARS 3 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixarcars/
Subscribe to the Disney/Pixar YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyPixar
Visit the official CARS 3 website here: http://movies.disney.com/cars-3
CARS 3 opens in theatres everywhere on June 16th! You are going to want to see it and the short Lou at the front of it. So get those tickets and get ready to go on June 16th!
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