DreamWorks: The New Evil Empire
This Anne Thompson posting is 24 hours old and, by Internet standards, that’s like last week, but those of you who weren’t taken by Kung Fu Panda might find it interesting.
It’s taken from an unnamed writer’s forum and it’s a pretty entertaining rant about one writer’s experience working for DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg on the animated hit.
Here’s a snippet of how it all begins:
First they storyboard the entire film. That is the first step. Not kidding. No writers, no script, just a story, and an entire film drawn on pieces of paper.
Then Katzenberg watches an animatic of the boards and says, surprisingly, “this needs a lot of work. You have a month.”
Then they hire their first writer. And spend that month changing as much of the storyboards as they can, which is about 20 to 30 percent.
If the 30 percent change isn’t the right kind of change, people get fired. Maybe the director, maybe the writer, maybe both.
Sometimes, only the writer gets fired and an additional director is hired to help out. It all depends on who is better - at pointing a finger with one hand while covering their own ass with the other.
Are we to believe a fired writer posting anonymously on the Internet? Probably not, but personally I always side with talent over the suits.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Related Posts: - Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
- Jackson and del Toro to write ‘Hobbit’
- Dear Readers
- Cannes 2008 - Synecdoche
- Non-story of the moment: From Iron Man to Iron Hef?
Craig, you don’t know the power of dark side.
I know that all animated movies these days (at the studios, Pixar included) tend to start with storyboards before a script is written. They have to know exactly what they plan on doing before they begin any animation. And those storyboards get revised. A lot. Animation is animated, as in a visual medium. I’m not sure this writer actually understands the process. It’s not like live action at all.
That said, a successful film (cough, cough Pixar cough, cough) will actually have a lot of effort put into the script and not set to some arbitrary timeline.
And you don’t just fire writers and directors willy nilly. On a good movie.
See Joel, you were the guy I was counting on to light the first torch as we rounded up villagers to go tar and feather Katzenberg.
But you’ve failed me.
I’m still up for a tar and feather. Willy nilly firing is grounds for tar and feather.
We disagree on the level of success of KFP, but we agree that WALL-E is superior. What do you suppose the difference in work environments is?
I can’t believe it’s simply a case of more talented people. I think it’s more a case of talented people being given a greater chance to live up to their potential.
Pure speculation based on studio track record of course.
From what I’ve read and heard in interviews and background stories and from what I’ve seen on the DVDs, the atmosphere at Pixar is just completely different from the studios. Pixar isn’t concerned with creating product that will make a lot of money and fit into a well-oiled marketing plan. They are concerned with making good films based on good stories and characters.
It’s really that simple.
Andrew Stanton spells it out pretty well in his recent interview on The Treatment (see KCRW.com) where he talks about how Pixar really sees it all as making art. His sense is that they are alone in this endeavor compared to the major studios in Hollywood.
Pixar is like the Mac in a PC world.
I’ll happily pick up the ‘torch’ if Joel has dropped it, Craig….
BURRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!
Katzenberg has been famous for this kind of behavior for a couple of decades now. Wasn’t he the inspiration or sorts for Lord Farquaad in Shrek?
Sounds more like Patchworks.
But that’s way better than the hackwork guesswork shithousework that is Foxworks. [*except for The Simpsons.]
That Dreamworks description sounds like a soul-crushing meat-grinder workhouse environment, Though I really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, it was easy to see the all boardroom beats being touched upon as it dutifully rounded all the the bases to stroke each executive degree. (Kowtow Panda?) Still, it was an intricate little cute-wry machine with all the gears meshing perfectly. (Picturing Jeffrey RubeGoldberg, CEO of Clockworks).
WALL-E and other Pixar films are so organic that each seems like its own new exotic newly discovered species. Meanwhile Dreamworks feels like a laboratory titration of sometimes mutant hybrids. Pixar somehow manages to preserve an New-Age auteur aura in the midst of all the giddy team-spirit, compared to Dreamworks more rigid and stifling old-school top-down micromanaging.
Probably been said before, but Dreamworks is to Pixar as Microsoft is to Apple.
[oops, I should carefully read all comments before jumping in. EDIT: "Probably been said before..." like by jennybee.]
I just can’t recommend this enough: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1059955/
I haven’t looked at Disney or Pixar in the same way since. Somebody see it. I don’t know how, but just keep trying.
“Probably been said before, but Dreamworks is to Pixar as Microsoft is to Apple.”
So why do I hate Macs so much?
Thanks for reminding me Daniel. Need to see that doc.
As for Dreamworks, well they’re trying to do something, no matter how soulless and irritating most of it is. The other studios dabbling in CGI these days just seem to be treading water, praying their drek has a good opening weekend and draws the kiddie audience (who will see just about anything).
The only exception to this is Happy Feet, which is 50% studio cookie cutter crap and 50% bad brown acid weirdness. I blame/salute George Miller for that.
gee, thanks Daniel. I’ll rent that as soon as I finish watching the full-length version of Greed and the Jitterbug number from The Wizard of Oz. ;-) Way to add to my list of frustrations, dude.
There’s a new Pixar book out this year, getting great reviews.
The Pixar Touch
I’m with you on KFP Ryan, though in retrospect it feels hollow next to Wall-e. For me, KFP worked in spite of itself perhaps. It made me laugh and it was charming. If anything it’s a testament to the creative types on the ground who do the actual work and pulled it off depsite working in a dictatorship.
Haha, seriously Ryan re:Greed.
Again I pull out my “off-season” card. How else to catch up on all of these old classics, especially when they’re discovering even MORE footage (Metropolis).
It’s been widely reported that Katzenberg has had an enormous chip on his shoulder ever since getting fired from Disney. I think its safe to say that he wants to turn Dreamworks into his own little merchandising powerhouse to make up for lost time, money and ego.
Sheer determination has made him a lot of money, but it doesn’t make for great art.
It’s ironic because one of the only good things about the first Shrek was the way it mocked Disney, and now look who’s taken up the mantle.
Daniel, I was able to find an excellent copy of the Pixar movie this afternoon, so I have to thank you for bringing it up. The fact that it was apparently unavailable only made me more determined to have it.
(strangely enough, I hadn’t seen Craig’s earlier post (yesterday, the 9th0 about Metropolis and Greed until a couple of hours after I made that comment. Have been away for nearly two weeks and haven’t yet had a chance to go rappelling down the sheer cliffs that amassed on the pages of LiC and AD while I was gone. Trippy frisson to scroll down and see how the psychic connections of LiC influence my comments telepathically no matter how far I wander off.)
Awesome. I hope it lives up to my wildly enthusiastic recommendation. The college computer animation class that was in the theater with me seemed to love, so I think I’m safe.
Beware the cliffs…everybody’s posting way too much stuff for this time of year. How to keep up!
Watched it last night, Daniel. Truly one of the best histories I’ve ever seen about the art and business of the movies. Really appreciate the tip on this one. Otherwise would never have known it existed. Wish they’d release it on DVD so everybody could have a chance to see it.
(I think one way for me to catch up on 10 days of posts is to keep my hands away from the keyboard and just read. When unable to resist the urge to comment, pretend that I’m getting charged $5/word for anything I write.)
Ok goddamnit, what’s a brother gotta do to lay his hands on this documentary?
Luckily your VIP stature has you linked in with all kinds of insider connections, Craig. But in some circumstances, nothing beats a a sleazy underworld pipeline. You can expect receipt in the next diplomatic pouch and/or dead drop.
Sir, you’re like the Candy Man…except 78% less pedophilic. In fact, substitute Awesome for Pedophilic and you’re approaching the frontier of the Ryan Adams zone of excellence.