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Antz
''Antz'' is a 1998 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation (in its debut film) and Pacific Data Images and released by DreamWorks Pictures. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Todd Alcott, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz (filmmaker), Paul Weitz. The film features the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover and Gene Hackman. Some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them. The film involves a worker ant, Z (Allen), who falls in love with Princess Bala (Stone). When the treacherous scheming of the evil General Mandible (Hackman) threaten to wipe out the entire worker population, Z must save the ant colony and strives to make social inroads. Development began in 1988 when Walt Disney Feature Animation pitched a film called ''Army Ants'', about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation. Founded in 1980 by Carl Rosendahl, PDI was one of the pioneers of computer animation. It produced over 700 commercials, contributed visual effects to more than 70 feature films, and produced and contributed to many of DreamWorks Animation's films, beginning with DreamWorks' first animated film ''Antz'' (1998). PDI's final animated film before its closure on January 22, 2015 was ''Penguins of Madagascar'' (2014). History 1980–1987: Early years PDI was founded in 1980 by Carl Rosendahl with a loan of $25,000 from his father. He was joined in 1981 by Richard Chuang and in 1982 by Glenn Entis. Richard and Glenn wrote the foundation of the in-house computer animation software that was to be used for the next two decades. They started work on 3D softwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she remained a regular until she decided to pursue an acting career in 1993. For her first leading role in ''Selena'' (1997), she became the first Hispanic actress to earn over US$1 million for a film. She went on to star in ''Anaconda'' (1997) and ''Out of Sight'' (1998), and established herself as the highest-paid Hispanic actress in Hollywood. Lopez ventured into the music industry with her debut studio album ''On the 6'' (1999), which helped propel the Latin pop movement in American music, and later starred in the psychological horror '' The Cell'' (2000). With the simultaneous release of her second studio album ''J.Lo'' and her romantic comedy ''The Wedding Planner'' in 2001, she became the first woman to have a number-one album and film in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Darnell
Eric Darnell (born August 21, 1961) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing ''Antz'' with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing ''Madagascar'', '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'' and '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'' with Tom McGrath, as well as the spin off ''Penguins of Madagascar'' (2014) with Simon J. Smith. Life and career Darnell was born in Prairie Village, Kansas. He attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas, where he was a writer for the school newspaper the ''Harbinger''. He studied broadcast journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduating in 1983, he spent four years working on experimental films in his basement, which helped him get accepted into the Experimental Animation program study at the California Institute of the Arts. Meanwhile, he directed the music video for the 1989 R.E.M. song "Get Up". After g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Johnson (film Director)
Tim Johnson (born August 27, 1961) is an American film director, film producer, and television director. Johnson is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation films ''Antz'', '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', ''Over the Hedge'', and ''Home''. Life and career Johnson was born in Chicago. He studied at Northwestern University where he earned a BA in English Literature. He also produced two animated films; both of which earned Richter Grant Organization Awards. Upon graduating, he worked for two years as a freelance animator and director. His introduction to computer animation came in 1985 while he worked on the staff at Post Effects in Chicago. He later joined Pacific Data Images in 1988 and two years later co-founded the studio's Character Animation Group. He also directed the first CG Pillsbury Doughboy commercial. Johnson won two Annie awards on ''Antz'' and ''Over the Hedge'', an Audience Award on ''Over the Hedge'', and a Grand Prize for ''The Simpsons "Treehous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a division of Comcast. The studio has released 43 feature films , including several of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, with ''Shrek 2'' (2004) having been the highest at the time of its release. The studio's first film, ''Antz'', was released on October 2, 1998 and its latest film was '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'', which was released on December 21, 2022; their upcoming slate of films includes '' Trolls 3'' on November 17, 2023 and ''Kung Fu Panda 4'' on March 8, 2024. Additionally, two untitled films are scheduled to be released on February 9, 2024 and September 27, 2024. Formed as a division of DreamWorks Pictures in 1994 with alumni from Amblin Entertainment's former animation br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Powell (film Composer)
John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is an English composer best known for his film scores. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over 70 feature films. He is best known for composing and/or co-composing scores for animated films, such as ''Antz'' (1998), ''The Road to El Dorado'' (2000), ''Chicken Run'' (2000), ''Robots'' (2005), the second through fourth ''Ice Age'' films (2006–2012), the ''Happy Feet'' films (2006–2011), '' Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!'' (2008), '' Bolt'' (2008), the ''How to Train Your Dragon'' trilogy (2010–2019), the ''Rio'' films (2011–2014), ''Dr. Seuss' The Lorax'' (2012), and ''Ferdinand'' (2017). His work on ''Happy Feet'', ''Ferdinand'' and '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' has earned him three Grammy nominations. He was nominated for an Academy Award for ''How to Train Your Dragon''. Powell was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions, and has collaborated frequently with other c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mahoney
Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahoney started his career in Chicago as a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company alongside John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, and Laurie Metcalf. He received the Clarence Derwent Award as Most Promising Male Newcomer in 1986. Later that year, his performance in the Broadway revival of John Guare's ''The House of Blue Leaves'' earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Mahoney first became known for his roles in such films as John Patrick Shanley's romantic comedy ''Moonstruck'' (1987), Barry Levinson's comedy ''Tin Men'', John Sayles' sports drama ''Eight Men Out'' (1988), Cameron Crowe's romantic drama '' Say Anything...'' (1989), the Coen brothers' ''Barton Fink'' (1991), and ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' (1994), Clint Eastwood's ''In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brad Lewis
Bradford Clark Lewis (born April 29, 1958) is an American film producer, animation director, and politician. He produced ''Antz'', the Oscar-winning ''Ratatouille,'' and '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World''. He also co-directed ''Cars 2'' and produced ''Storks''. He is a former mayor of the city of San Carlos, California."Mayor Brad Lewis City announcement" , City of San Carlos website; accessed September 1, 2015. Personal life Lewis was born in . He was raised in |
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for an Academy Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 and was named Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2005 (Commander in 2021). After modeling in television commercials and print advertisements, Stone made her film debut as an extra in Woody Allen's dramedy ''Stardust Memories'' (1980) and played her first speaking part in Wes Craven's horror film ''Deadly Blessing'' (1981). In the 1980s, she appeared in such pictures as ''Irreconcilable Differences'' (1984), ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1985), '' Cold Steel'' (1987), and '' Above the Law'' (1988). She had a breakthrough with her part in Paul Verhoeven's science ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of only 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Associated with the method acting technique, having studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Bancroft made her film debut in the noir thriller ''Don't Bother to Knock'' in 1952, and then appeared in 14 other films over the following five years. In 1958 Bancroft made her Broadway debut with the play ''Two for the Seesaw'', winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. The following year she portrayed Anne Sullivan in the original Broadway production of ''The Miracle Worker'', winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Following her continued success on stage, Ban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961) is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the ''Metal Gear'' series, ''Spy Game'', ''Phone Booth'', '' Man on Fire'', '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''Déjà Vu'', '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', '' The Martian'', ''Antz'', ''The Tigger Movie'', ''Chicken Run'', the ''Shrek'' franchise, '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', ''Flushed Away'', ''Arthur Christmas'', '' Early Man'', and ''Catch-22''. He is the older brother of composer Rupert Gregson-Williams. Education Gregson-Williams won a musical scholarship to St John's College School in Cambridge at the age of seven. He was a child chorister at the school and later attended Stowe School, a boarding independent school in the civil parish of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, where he was a music scholar. He next went to the Guildhall School of Music and D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. His films have grossed more than $1.6 billion in the United States alone. Walken has appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''The Anderson Tapes'' (1971), ''Next Stop, Greenwich Village'' (1976), '' Roseland'' (1977) and ''Annie Hall'' (1977) before coming to wider attention as the troubled Vietnam War veteran Nick Chevotarevich in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978). His performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated for the same award for portraying con artist Frank Abagnale's father in Steven Spielberg's ''Catch Me If You Can'' (2002). Since his breakthrough, Walken has appeared in films in various genres, both in lead a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
