“Have you ever wondered what makes a Christmas story a Christmas story?”
Here’s the fundamental problem with Disney+ shorts an almost christmas storyProducer Alfonso Cuarón responded to his and director David Lowery’s attempts to resolve questions about whether Die Hard Is it a Christmas movie. The 24-minute animated short is the third and final installment in Cuaron’s holiday series from 2022, and is based on the true story of an owl rescued from the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree in 2020. Based on a script by Lowery and Jack Thorne, Moon (Cary Christopher), their little owl, seeks to reunite with his family and teach him what Christmas is.
Ultimately, Oscar winner Cuarón believes the definition of a Christmas story doesn’t have to be broken down into an exact science. Die Hard It may have all the trappings and themes of a Christmas story, but its indescribable Christmas feel doesn’t need to be qualified by paper snow and themes of reconciliation.
“Ultimately, Christmas is the end of darkness and the beginning of light. It is a celebration of hope and possibility, and a time for reflection before we start anew. hollywood reporter. “in the case of Die HardBruce Willis is trying to do the right thing and I fully support it die difficult As a Christmas story. I can’t define why and I don’t need to.
In 2018, Cuaron published his semi-autobiographical story ” Romanswinning three Oscars in the process, including Best Director. Since then, several other filmmakers have explored their childhoods on screen, such as Steven Spielberg (fabelmann family), Kenneth Brenner (Belfast) and James Gray (doomsday time). But Cuaron refuses to call himself a trendsetter, instead attributing the wave to the pandemic, age and the need for introspection in a disconnected technological age.
“If I think, ‘Okay, they saw Romansand then they immediately wrote something and shot it very quickly,” Cuarón said. “We’re bombarded with so much information at a rate we’ve never experienced before. So seeking asylum is an instinctive thing, trying to understand who you are or where you come from, and all of these movies are happening more or less at the same time. Not a coincidence.
Below, in recent times with THR for an almost christmas storyCuarón also discusses his collaboration with Lowery and Lowery’s inspired choice to use corrugated cardboard as a visual building block. He then expressed his concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of filmmaking.
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So the original plan was to make three Christmas-themed short films on Disney+ three years in a row?
The original plan wasn’t even specifically for Christmas. It was supposed to be more about a celebration of different cultures at the end of the year. Their scope became Christmas just because of the directors involved.
Were these three ideas chosen at the same time?
No, when I called Alice Rohrwacher and asked her to do [2022’s] About the Christmas short, she said, “Well, yeah, but I don’t have a story. If I think of something, I’ll tell you.” She called me the next morning and said, “I have this story.” [Le Pupille]”. But she didn’t even have to tell me the story, because, whatever Alice was trying to do, I wanted to see. The second short story, shepherd,based on [Frederick Forsyth’s] I had always wanted to adapt the book, and when I learned that Ian Softley was already working on adapting the book, we joined forces. And for an almost christmas storyI heard the true story of this little owl that got stuck in a tree that was eventually cut down and placed in Rockefeller Center. So I wrote the story set at Christmas and Jack Thorne wrote the script. We then contacted David Lowery, who rewrote the script and created his own vision.
an almost christmas story
Disney+
You and David Lowery didn’t do much with traditional animation. Is this relative unfamiliarity part of the overall appeal?
Well, in a lot of ways it’s not unfamiliar because both David and I have worked in animation. I mean, I’ve already done an animated movie. people don’t quite realize gravity About 80% of it is animation. David also uses animation through the effects he’s done in different movies, but we never completely Respect the form of animation itself. So it’s something that David wants to try and I’d like to try as a director at some point.
You and David were both friends of Guillermo del Toro, so I initially thought you were both inspired by the use of stop-motion animation since he has recently used that technique in his films. pinocchio Movie. But I was surprised to learn an almost christmas story It’s not actually stop-motion animation. Is that part of the CG animation?
Well, yeah, but David wanted to do something really interesting that wasn’t exactly stop-motion. He didn’t want to trick stop-motion animation. He wanted to imitate the animations he had done as a child; he used to animate out of corrugated cardboard boxes. So he wanted to bring that aesthetic and spirit into this animated film, which is why he intentionally made it look incomplete. When you were trying to animate as a kid, you might be more focused on your characters and foregrounds, but less polished and finished on the backgrounds. That’s what he’s doing. If you watch the short film again, you will find that most of the extras in the city are cardboard cutouts, and the cars are also crudely made of cardboard. So David’s choices really ground his film in a very accessible and innocent place.
an almost christmas story
Disney+
Both you and David are able to switch back and forth between family entertainment and more mature, unique material. Did this commonality come up in your conversations?
We never made that explicit, but I think that’s why I’ve always been attracted to him as a filmmaker. When he makes more family-oriented films, he doesn’t talk down to the kids in the audience. He attempts to convey important themes through the prism of innocence.
The short film is the by-product of hundreds of people working by hand, and billions of dollars are currently being invested in artificial intelligence technology to reduce the number of people needed to produce such works. How worried are you about the future of an animated production like this?
Yes, this is indeed concerning. It’s like this technology was developed to get rid of people and labor, so I find it very frustrating and very concerning. There is something incredible about human craftsmanship. It’s the beauty of imperfection and the beauty of completely random last minute decisions. They do not come from precise algorithms; They convey part of our own mentality. I’m not just talking about front-line talent, I’m talking about every craftsman who works on a project. Their energy and emotions are conveyed through their tools. So, yeah, I find it frustrating. I’m not questioning technology [like AI] Sometimes it helps to take shortcuts, but not when those shortcuts come at the expense of people.
an almost christmas story
Disney+
an almost christmas story Asking the question: “What makes a Christmas story a Christmas story?” It almost feels like a response to the annual debate: die difficult It’s a Christmas movie.
(laugh)
How would you define a Christmas story?
Bruce Willis tries to save his wife.
(laugh) perfect answer.
After all, Christmas is a very special celebration at the end of the year. This is the end of darkness and the beginning of light. It’s a celebration of hope and possibility, and a time to reflect before we start again. in the case of Die HardBruce Willis is trying to do the right thing and I fully support it die difficult As a Christmas story. I can’t define why and I don’t need to.
it’s no accident Die Hard End with paper snow.
That’s it!
Since you did that, many filmmakers have made semi-autobiographical works Romans 2018. fabelmann family;Produced by James Gray doomsday time;Produced by Kenneth Brenner Belfastto name just a few. Have you also noticed the waves you seem to be creating?
I think if I thought, “Okay, they saw Romansand then they immediately wrote something and shot it very quickly. This happens a lot, and I guess it has to do with the times we live in. You could also illustrate this point with Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, Licorice Pizza.
Yes, the lead role is based more on producer Gary Goetzman, but it’s certainly a throwback to PTA’s childhood memories in Silicon Valley.
Yes, I would also like to add once upon a time in hollywood To that crowd, even this isn’t about a young Quentin Tarantino. You can clearly see Quentin trying to emulate the feelings and emotions he had during that period growing up. So you always see this: they release a new beauty and the Beast movie and then made five more films beauty and the Beast or pinocchio Or something. It just happened. A lot of filmmakers have a movie about their childhood because that’s when we grew up. As a filmmaker, when you look back on your life, you often see it in narrative form.
Some of these projects were born during the pandemic, so it may have prompted some self-reflection and made them reexamine everything.
You are absolutely right. The other part is age, as we get older we reflect on the past. Furthermore, we are in an age where we are bombarded with so much information and external input, and at a pace we have never experienced before. So it’s an instinctive thing to seek refuge in trying to understand who you are or where you come from, and it’s no coincidence that all of these movies happen more or less at the same time.
In the end, directing is probably still your most satisfying job, but do you find producing rewarding in its own right?
Oh, great. The only reason I want to create is because I’m selfish. I want to see films by these filmmakers, and I want to work with filmmakers I admire. I’m lucky enough to be able to work on projects with filmmakers that I love as an artist and as a human being. So the production was just an opportunity to hang out with them.
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an almost christmas story Now streaming on Disney+.
