TSC Annex: An Evening With Andrew Stanton

Tuesday, September 6
7:30PM – 9:00PM
Jackman Hall

Soak up insights from Academy Award-winning director Andrew Stanton, as he offers a behind-the-scenes look into his process of problem-solving a story with his latest film, FINDING DORY. Following his 45-minute presentation, Andrew will sit down for a moderated interview and Q&A with legendary Canadian director/producer, Ivan Reitman.

Andrew Stanton has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studios since 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the company’s elite group of computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative he currently leads the initiatives of and oversees all features and shorts development of the studio. Stanton wrote and directed the Academy Award®-winning Disney•Pixar feature film WALL•E, for which he also received a Best Original Screenplay Oscar®-nomination. Stanton most recently directed Disney•Pixar’s FINDING DORY, the highest-grossing domestic animated feature of all time.

Stanton made his directorial debut with the record-shattering FINDING NEMO, an original story of his that he also co-wrote. The film garnered Stanton two Academy Award® nominations (Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Film), and FINDING NEMO was awarded an Oscar® for Best Animated Feature Film of 2003, the first such honor Pixar Animation Studios received for a full-length feature film.

One of the four screenwriters to receive an Oscar® nomination in 1996 for his contribution to TOY STORY, Stanton went on to receive credit as a screenwriter on every subsequent Pixar film – A BUG’S LIFE, TOY STORY 2, MONSTERS, INC., and FINDING NEMO. Additionally, he served as co-director on A BUG’S LIFE, and was the executive producer of MONSTERS, INC., and MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, and Academy Award®-winning films RATATOUILLE and BRAVE.

In addition to his multi-award winning animation work, Stanton made his live-action writing and directorial debut with Disney’s JOHN CARTER, released in March 2012.

A native of Rockport, Massachusetts, Stanton earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Character Animation from California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts), where he completed two student films. In the 1980s, he launched his professional career in Los Angeles animating for Bill Kroyer’s Kroyer Films studio, and writing for Ralph Bakshi’s production of MIGHTY MOUSE, THE NEW ADVENTURES (1987).

IVAN REITMAN has been the creative force behind films beloved by audiences around the world – from raucous comedies like ANIMAL HOUSE, STRIPES, and GHOSTBUSTERS, to more sophisticated delights like DAVE, SIX DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS, and TWINS.

2016 has been a busy year for Reitman. As well as producing BASTARDS in conjunction with Alcon Entertainment, he produced the Paul Feig reboot of GHOSTBUSTERS for Columbia Pictures through his newly formed Ghost Corps company.

Rounding out this prolific year Reitman is also producing BAYWATCH starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron for Paramount Pictures.

The career that has brought so much laughter to us began in Canada, where his family emigrated from Czechoslovakia when he was four-­years-old. Reitman studied music at McMaster University, but soon turned his talents to film and theater.

Shortly after graduation, Reitman delved into film production – first with the extremely low-­budget horror comedy CANNIBAL GIRLS, starring Canada’s Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin, followed by the live television show GREED with Dan Aykroyd as its announcer. Reitman then headed to New York City and produced the Broadway hit THE MAGIC SHOW, starring McMaster friend Doug Henning. He continued producing for the stage with the off-­Broadway hit THE NATIONAL LAMPOON SHOW, where he brought together for the first time the then-unknown John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Joe Flaherty. Reitman returned to Broadway to produce and direct the musical MERLIN, earning him Tony nominations for directing and producing. While in New York, Reitman reapplied his talents to filmmaking when he joined forces with the National Lampoon and brought us the groundbreaking sensation ANIMAL HOUSE. Following the success of that film, Reitman returned home to Canada to direct MEATBALLS, still considered one the most successful films ever made in Canada.

The string of hits continued with STRIPES and the GHOSTBUSTERS series, which teamed Bill Murray with Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis; DAVE, starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver; LEGAL EAGLES, starring Robert Redford and Debra Winger; SIX DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS, with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche; EVOLUTION, starring David Duchovny and Julianne Moore; and a series of films that revealed an untapped comic persona for action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger: TWINS, JUNIOR, (both co-starring Danny DeVito) and KINDERGARTEN COP.

Reitman’s list of producing credits is equally extensive. He produced the family features BEETHOVEN and BEETHOVEN’S 2ND, as well as the HBO telefilm THE LATE SHIFT, which received seven Emmy nominations. Other producing endeavors include HEAVY METAL, HOWARD STERN’S PRIVATE PARTS, the animation/live action film SPACE JAM (which teamed Michael Jordan with the Looney Toons characters), and the teen comedy hits ROAD TRIP, EUROTRIP, and OLD SCHOOL, starring Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson.

In 1984, Reitman was honored as Director of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners and the next year received a Special Achievement Award at the Canadian Genie awards. In 1979, and again in 1989, for the films ANIMAL HOUSE and TWINS, Reitman was honored with the People’s Choice Award. In November of 1994, Reitman became the third director honored by Variety magazine in a special “Billion Dollar Director” issue. At the end of 2000, Reitman’s films ANIMAL HOUSE and GHOSTBUSTERS were honored as two of this past century’s funniest movies by the American Film Institute. He currently heads The Montecito Picture Company, a film and television production company, with partner Tom Pollock.

More recently Ivan Reitman completed: the family hit HOTEL FOR DOGS, THE UNINVITED, I LOVE YOU MAN, POST GRAD, CHLOE, and the Oscar®­-nominated UP IN THE AIR, starring George Clooney and directed by his son, Jason Reitman. In 2011, he directed the comedy hit NO STRINGS ATTACHED, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. In 2012, he produced the wry HITCHCOCK, starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren and in 2014, Ivan directed the sports film, DRAFT DAY with Kevin Costner.

Reitman has been married to former Quebec film actress Genevieve Robert for more than 40 years. Together, they have three children and live in Santa Barbara, California.

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