The film at this week’s studio screening was Wes Anderson’s latest, Moonrise Kingdom. It was very funny and gorgeously shot, and I appreciated the absolute sincerity of all of the performances. A film with an ensemble cast like this can become cheap or silly if it’s clear that the actors are in on some kind of joke (I’m looking at you, Ocean’s Twelve). The two child leads were great, and while I wouldn’t immediately label Moonrise as Anderson’s best work, I think I can confidently place it in the top half of his seven features.
Later in the afternoon, we went to a sculpting class taught by Ron Pekar, a former college professor and sculpting instructor to various animation studios and other organizations. Ron’s work is featured in many places, and his most well-known is probably the twelve-foot bronze of the equine mascot Traveler on the campus of the University of Southern California. Since this was the first class, Ron had us start simply – we sculpted a mushroom.
Ron’s class was fun, and I’m looking forward to working on more advanced stuff in the coming weeks. Tomorrow is the story pitch meeting with all the interns and mentors, so everyone will finally know what we need to get working on to make our short happen.
fighting in a sack 