Phil Lord, who developed the story and co-wrote the screenplay for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, responded to animation jokes made by Amy Schumer at the 94th Academy Awards.
“Super cool to position animation as something that kids watch and adults have to endure,” Lord said on Twitter, in response to jokes made by presenters at the Academy Awards, including Amy Schumer who said in her monologue that the only nominated movie she watched was Encanto which, because she has a toddler, she’s seen “190 times.” Encanto ultimately won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in a category that included Flee, Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca and The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
Super cool to position animation as something that kids watch and adults have to endure
— Phil Lord y Betancourt (@philiplord) March 28, 2022
Along with Schumer’s comments, actors Lily James, Naomi Scott and Halle Bailey presented the award for Best Animated Feature, and were prompted to read a script that included remarks about animated films making up “some of our most formative movie experiences as kids,” with some children watching them “over and over and over and over and over…” Scott added, “I see some parents who know exactly what we’re talking about.” Each actor has starred in one of Disney’s live-action adaptations, with James starring in Cinderalla (2015), Scott starring as Jasmine in Aladdin (2019) and Bailey set to star as Ariel in 2023’s The Little Mermaid.
Along with co-directing The LEGO Movie in 2014, Lord co-wrote Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with frequent collaborator Christopher Miller, which itself won the Best Animated Picture category during the 2018 Oscars. The two will return as co-writers and producers for its upcoming sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), for which they have teased unique animation styles for each dimension. “In the first look you get just a taste of what we’re going for,” Lord and Miller said when the sequel was first announced. “Every dimension looks and feels radically different from all the others. They all look like they were drawn by a different artist.”
In a recent interview, both Lord and Miller explained how Oscar-nominee The Mitchells vs the Machines helped them develop the unique visual style for Across the Spider-Verse. “[Production designer Lindsey Olivares]’s artwork emphasizes your imperfections, things about yourself you want to cover up, like bigger ears,” Lord said. “She celebrated the individuality of the characters instead of trying to shave off those things. We have a movie where that choice has been made over and over again, taking the little things that make people wonderful.” Lord added, “It’s been fun to have the confidence to go even harder and push the medium even further and take Miles [Morales] to places you couldn’t imagine.”
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) arrives in theaters Oct. 7, 2022, with Part Two releasing in 2023.
Source: Twitter
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