The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is planning three programs featuring U.K. studio Aardman Animations and its Oscar-winning and nominated Wallace and Gromit shorts.
On Aug. 7, as part of the Academy’s Marc Davis Celebration of Animation series, Aardman Animations co-founder David Sproxton and Wallace and Gromit cinematographer Dave Alex Riddett will discuss the making of the studio’s Oscar-winning shorts The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave, as well as the Oscar-nominated shorts A Grand Day Out and A Matter of Loaf and Death.
The program, to be held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, will include the world premiere screening of the restorations of all four films, the result of a collaborative effort between the Academy Film Archive and Aardman.
The Academy will also present matinee screenings of all four shorts for families, as well as a stop-motion animation workshop for children ages 8 to 13, on Aug. 9 at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.
And at upcoming CG conference Siggraph, the Academy is hosting a session on Aardman — which also won a best animated feature Oscar for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit — featuring Sproxton and Riddett, who will discuss Aardman’s history, present clips of the studio’s work and discuss evolving production techniques and future prospects of stop-motion animation. The session will be held Aug. 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Lionsgate is releasing Aardman’s latest feature, Shaun the Sheep Movie, in North America on Aug. 5.
