Peter Sohn: Last News

Terry Flores Pixar vice president and creative director Peter Sohn will talk about his new animated film “Elemental” at the VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy, which runs from Oct. 15-20. Sohn will attend the conference in person to discuss the creative journey he took to bring the story to the screen.   “I’m so excited to welcome Peter Sohn to VIEW Conference 2023,” says conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Peter is a true force of nature – a multi-talented storyteller, film director, animator, actor; you name it. In bringing his unique energy and wisdom to VIEW Conference, he is certain to leave our global audience feeling energized and inspired.”

Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon to Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.The biggest prize is the Palme d’Or, which was originally introduced in 1955. Past winners have included Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and Jane Campion’s The Piano.This year’s festival runs from Tuesday May 16 to Saturday May 27.

For Elemental, Pixar’s creative team quickly realized that they needed a new approach to streamline their animation process. While each department generally worked alone, an early collaboration was needed to animate characters that were comprised of so many visual effects. 

Pixar’s Elemental will have its world premiere screening at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on May 27.

Pixar Animation Studio title Elemental has been announced as the closing film of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, running from May 16 to 27.

When director Peter Sohn and producer Denise Ream began working on Elemental, they started with the idea of elements coming to life. This led to the creation of Element City, a sprawling metropolis filled with residents made of fire, water, earth and air. The story follows Ember (Leah Lewis), a fire resident working in her parents market, whose fiery temper leads her to a chance meeting with Wade (Mamoudou Athie), a sappy water resident working as a city inspector. While fire and water do not mix well, Ember and Wade find themselves forming an unlikely friendship. As Sohn and Ream were working on the project, they soon discovered how difficult it was to animate fire and water to give them emotional performances, without turning them into humans. Elemental premieres in theaters on June 16, 2023 with new animated short Carl’s Date.

Michaela Zee editor Domee Shi and six of Variety’s animation honorees gathered at this year’s Variety 10 Animators to Watch event, presented by Nickelodeon, on Thursday night. The in-person awards ceremony and cocktail reception took place at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, Calif., where fellow creatives and representatives in the animation space celebrated this year’s class of rising storytellers. The honorees in attendance included Fawn Veerasunthorn, Arthur Fong, Shea Fontana, Sergio Valdivia, Natasha Kline and Juston Gordon-Montgomery. Pixar Animation Studios filmmaker Shi received the 2022 Creative Impact in Animation award.

Wilson Chapman editor America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty,” “Superstore,”) will star in “Elio,” an upcoming Pixar animated film set to release in Spring 2024. The movie was announced during the D23 expo presentation on Friday. “Elio” tells the story of the titular 11-year old boy, who is struggling to fit in until he suddenly gets beamed up by aliens and is chosen to be the galactic ambassador of earth. Ferrera voices Olga, Elio’s mother, who is working on a top secret project to decode alien messages. Yonas Kibreab voices the titular character. Ferrera is best known for her Emmy winning role as Betty Suarez in “Ugly Betty.” In addition, she starred from 2015 to 2021 in the critically acclaimed NBC sitcom “Superstore,” and also directed several episodes and co-produced. Other notable roles include the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” and this year’s Apple TV+ miniseries “We Crashed.” Next year will see her star opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated “Barbie” live-action movie. As a voice actor, Ferrera previously voiced the character Astrid in the three “How to Train Your Dragon” films for Dreamworks Animation.

Anna Tingley You can officially go to infinity and beyond straight from your home, beginning next month. Disney has announced that “Lightyear” will release on its streaming platform Disney+ on Aug. 3.Pixar and Disney’s newest film, which was first released in theaters on June 17, serves as a prequel to the franchise’s first four “Toy Story” films, which kicked off with the original more than 27 years ago.

Patricia Heaton isn’t impressed with Pixar’s “Lightyear” casting decision.

Wilson Chapman editorDisney-Pixar’s “Lightyear” sees Chris Evans voicing a new version of one of the company’s most famous characters, Buzz Lightyear. First introduced in 1995’s “Toy Story,” Buzz was made famous thanks to Tim Allen’s voice performance across the franchise’s four films, and Evans admitted that taking on the title role was a daunting prospect“The first time you have to do that iconic line, ‘To Infinity and Beyond…,’ you kind of just do a shameless Tim Allen impression.

Pixar has unveiled the title and plot of its 27th feature film – the one that will follow next month’s hotly awaited Toy Story spin-off, Lightyear – with a classic Pixar trope given a breath of fresh air.The film is titled Elemental, and is currently bound to hit cinemas on June 16, 2023. It’s being directed by Peter Sohn, who’d previously helmed 2015’s The Good Dinosaur (and before it, the short film Partly Cloudy).

Pixar has dropped the concept art for its next feature, Elemental, which will hit theaters on June 16, 2023. Disney already had the Father’s Day weekend date reserved for an untitled Pixar film.

Jordan Moreau Since the ’90s, Pixar has made animated films exploring questions like: What if toys had feelings? (“Toy Story”). What if cars had feelings? (“Cars”). And what if feelings had feelings? (“Inside Out”).

The second trailer forDisney and Pixar's Lightyear dropped on Thursday, and shows legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear take on time travel and his enemyEmperor Zurg.The animated sci-fi action adventure film is a Toy Story spin-off and follows the origin story of Buzz, after he’s marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth with his commander and their crew.Featuring Chris Evans, 40, as the voice of the famous toy, the film tells the story of Buzz as he attempts to find a way home through time and space. New trailer:The second trailer for Disney and Pixar's Lightyear sees legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear take on time travel and his enemy Emperor ZurgThe trailer stars off as Buzz's ship is stranded on an unknown planet, after which we see him as he earnestly records an audible mission log.

To infinity… and beyond!

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterPixar Animation Studios is promoting “Turning Red” producer Lindsey Collins and director Domee Shi into leadership roles at the company.Collins has been named into a new position, as senior vice president of development.

“There’s a starman waiting in the sky.”

A new trailer for Chris Evans‘ Pixar movie Lightyear just dropped, featuring him in the title role.