I'm so excited about this I can't describe it! I love the Nick Park movies but Wallace and Grommit are pretty gosh darn special. If you haven't seen the excentric inventor and his earstwhile canine companion you are surely missing out!
From hollywood reporter...
'Wallace & Gromit' gets Toronto fest slot
By Etan Vlessing
TORONTO -- Oscar-winning animator Nick Park's first feature-length Wallace & Gromit film will receive its North American premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.
"Wallace & Gromit -- The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," directed by Park and Steve Box, is set to receive the red-carpet treatment at Roy Thomson Hall ahead of its theatrical release by DreamWorks SKG.
The feature, which follows the two stop-motion characters as they attempt to thwart a vampire rodent running riot in a vegetable contest, is voiced by Peter Sallis as the cheese-loving Wallace, Helena Bonham Carter as the contest hostess and Ralph Feinnes as her snobby suitor.
Park also will take part in the festival's Mavericks sidebar this year. Others on board for the informal sessions include Ivan Reitman, who will bring clips from his upcoming "The Trailer Park Boys: The Movie"; documentarian Albert Maysles ("Gimme Shelter"), and performance artist Laurie Anderson. Anderson is presenting her latest short film, "Hidden Inside Mountains."
Festival organizers also said Liza Minnelli will be in Toronto for the world premiere of the newly restored "Liza With A 'Z,' " TV's first-ever live concert film. NBC screened the 1972 Bob Fosse-directed special only once before the negative disappeared into a vault.
"This will be the world premiere of a TV special in a way that has never been seen, or heard, before," Showtime entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt said. Showtime will air the digitally remastered and restored NBC TV special in 2006.
Appearing in Toronto's Dialogues program is Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin and actress Isabella Rossellini, in town for the world premiere of "My Dad is 100 Years," a short film about Italian director Roberto Rossellini on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Maddin directed and Isabella Rossellini wrote and starred in the film.
The Dialogues program, which showcases films that inspired contemporary directors, will also feature British musician Nick Cave and his longtime collaborator, Australian director John Hillcoat. Their latest film, "The Proposition," will receive its world premiere in Toronto. They also will jointly present Hillcoat's 1988 classic "Ghosts of the Civil Dead." Cave worked on that film as actor, composer and writer.
Chinese director Tsai Ming-liang, in Toronto for the North American premiere of his latest movie, "The Wayward Cloud," will present Wang Tianlin's 1960 Hong Kong classic "The Wild, Wild Rose," an adaptation of the Bizet opera "Carmen."
In addition, U.S. filmmaker Larry Clark ("Kids") and colleague Michael Almereyda will introduce William Eggleston's 1973 classic "Stranded in Canton," which was shot entirely on an early Sony handicam.
Finally, Canadian documentary maker Stuart Samuels is presenting the Canadian premiere of his latest work, "Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream," a feature about early horror films from the late 1960s and '70s.
Festival organizers will make additional lineup announcements in the coming weeks.
From hollywood reporter...
'Wallace & Gromit' gets Toronto fest slot
By Etan Vlessing
TORONTO -- Oscar-winning animator Nick Park's first feature-length Wallace & Gromit film will receive its North American premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday.
"Wallace & Gromit -- The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," directed by Park and Steve Box, is set to receive the red-carpet treatment at Roy Thomson Hall ahead of its theatrical release by DreamWorks SKG.
The feature, which follows the two stop-motion characters as they attempt to thwart a vampire rodent running riot in a vegetable contest, is voiced by Peter Sallis as the cheese-loving Wallace, Helena Bonham Carter as the contest hostess and Ralph Feinnes as her snobby suitor.
Park also will take part in the festival's Mavericks sidebar this year. Others on board for the informal sessions include Ivan Reitman, who will bring clips from his upcoming "The Trailer Park Boys: The Movie"; documentarian Albert Maysles ("Gimme Shelter"), and performance artist Laurie Anderson. Anderson is presenting her latest short film, "Hidden Inside Mountains."
Festival organizers also said Liza Minnelli will be in Toronto for the world premiere of the newly restored "Liza With A 'Z,' " TV's first-ever live concert film. NBC screened the 1972 Bob Fosse-directed special only once before the negative disappeared into a vault.
"This will be the world premiere of a TV special in a way that has never been seen, or heard, before," Showtime entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt said. Showtime will air the digitally remastered and restored NBC TV special in 2006.
Appearing in Toronto's Dialogues program is Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin and actress Isabella Rossellini, in town for the world premiere of "My Dad is 100 Years," a short film about Italian director Roberto Rossellini on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Maddin directed and Isabella Rossellini wrote and starred in the film.
The Dialogues program, which showcases films that inspired contemporary directors, will also feature British musician Nick Cave and his longtime collaborator, Australian director John Hillcoat. Their latest film, "The Proposition," will receive its world premiere in Toronto. They also will jointly present Hillcoat's 1988 classic "Ghosts of the Civil Dead." Cave worked on that film as actor, composer and writer.
Chinese director Tsai Ming-liang, in Toronto for the North American premiere of his latest movie, "The Wayward Cloud," will present Wang Tianlin's 1960 Hong Kong classic "The Wild, Wild Rose," an adaptation of the Bizet opera "Carmen."
In addition, U.S. filmmaker Larry Clark ("Kids") and colleague Michael Almereyda will introduce William Eggleston's 1973 classic "Stranded in Canton," which was shot entirely on an early Sony handicam.
Finally, Canadian documentary maker Stuart Samuels is presenting the Canadian premiere of his latest work, "Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream," a feature about early horror films from the late 1960s and '70s.
Festival organizers will make additional lineup announcements in the coming weeks.
Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.
- - Mae West
- - Mae West
