shovel buddies is a 2016 american drama comedy film written by jason mark hellerman , directed by simon atkinson and adam townley .

it stars alex neustaedter , kian lawley , bella thorne and anton starkman .

the film had its world premiere at south by southwest on march 14 , 2016 .

the film was scheduled to be released through video on demand on october 11 , 2016 , by awesomeness films and 20th century fox .

shovel buddies

shovel buddies plot is unknown at this time . we will update shovel buddies plot as soon as possible .
be sure to keep your eyes peeled for shovel buddies , out next year .
awesomeness films has lined up its next film just days before it premieres shovel buddies at sxsw .
the release date of shovel buddies is set to october 11 , 2016 ( on vod ) . : )
shovel buddies does not yet have an official release date . stay tuned for updates about the film’s cast and additional details .
awesomenesstv is making its film festival debut with the monday , march 14 , premiere of shovel buddies at south by southwest .
shovel buddies is one of several feature - length films currently in development from awesomenesstv , which is behind the 2014 vod release expelled .
shovel buddies is a shallow small - town drama that strives for a dark quirkiness , but ends up burying any authenticity with tackiness .
shovel buddies trailer - 2016 drama starring bella thorne , alex neustaedter and kian lawley subscribe for more : urltoken about shovel buddies : after the death of their best friend , jimmy enlists childhood friend dan , little brother lump , and crush kate to fulfill his last request .
no release date for shovel buddies has been announced , though a release from awesomenesstv states that shooting for the film began in late may .
a brand new poster for shovel buddies has been released . the poster was released by one of the movie’s star kian lawley via his instagram .
young adults don ' t want filters ,
says awesomeness films president matt kaplan on the dark coming - of - age drama ' shovel buddies . '
click through our slideshow for the full scoop on the shovel buddies , introduced by the ones who know them best : bella , kian , alex , and anton .
the 18 - year - old actress was attending the premiere of her new movie shovel buddies in austin , texas and wowed in a shimmery figure - hugging frock .
awesomeness films has released the first trailer for shovel buddies , a dark coming - of - age movie starring bella thorne , kian lawley , alex neustaedter and anton starkman .
in fact , fans are already # shipping them . the duo are set to star in awesomenesstv’s new movie “shovel buddies” , fresh off the # 1 hit that was “expelled” .
shovel buddies centres around a group of friends who go on an adventure to fulfill the final wish of their pal who died of leukemia - to be buried in his favourite football jersey .
bella thorne and youtube star kian lawley have landed roles in awesomenesstv ' s shovel buddies , a 2013 black list screenplay about four teenagers who embark on an all - night adventure to honor the memory of their recently deceased friend .
shovel buddies is a movie starring bella thorne , alex neustaedter , and kian lawley . after the death of their best friend , jimmy enlists childhood friend dan , little brother lump , and crush kate to fulfill his last request .
now , awesomenesstv and film 360 will bring one of 2013’s black list entries to fruition . the teen - focused entertainment company and the production studio have teamed up to produce shovel buddies , which was # 8 on the 2013 black list .
awesomenesstv , which recently announced a film - focused partnership with youtube , has already produced several movies that will bring online stars to the big screen . among other projects , the multi - channel network and digital media studio’s upcoming feature film pipeline includes a coming - of - age story called shovel buddies , which was revealed in march . two months later , shovel buddies now has a principal cast : awesomenesstv announced that kian lawley , bella thorne , and alex neustaedter will portray the film’s three main characters .
a group of friends attempt to successfully complete a list of tasks assigned to them as the
shovel list
by their dead friend .
shovel buddies , written by jason hellerman , follows four teenagers as they attempt to complete the bucket list of a friend who has died of leukemia . “along the way , ” reads a press release , “they learn more about themselves , their own relationships and the true meaning of friendship . ”
film 360 initially approached big frame , the talent management company owned by big frame , with a plan to create a version of shovel buddies based around teenage digital stars . big frame brought the film to brian robbins of awesomenesstv who will produce it alongside film 360 . british filmmakers simon atkinson and adam townley will direct .
bella thorne certainly caught our attention when she shared a first - look photo of her new movie character , kate , and now even more pics and details have come out surrounding her new project . the actress is currently filming a new awesomeness tv movie called shovel buddies , with her co - stars kian lawley and alex neustaedter .
si & ad have worked as a directing duo for over a decade , meeting as in - house designers at virgin records . they have enjoyed a prolific career in music videos and commercials , developing their penchant for intricate films which never let the technique get in the way of being touching , charming and filmic . shovel buddies is their debut feature film .
the movie is about four teenagers that set out to accomplish a “shovel list” ( like a bucket list ) of items set by their dead friend , who died of leukemia .
both thorne and sage have worked with awesomeness films before . thorne , who will star in the weinstein co . ' s amityville : the awakening , will be seen in awesomeness ' shovel buddies , which premieres on monday , march 14 , in austin . sage will be in the upcoming awesomeness project before i fall , based on the ya novel by lauren oliver .
exclusive : shovel buddies , a 2013 black list script by jason mark hellerman , will be produced by awesomenesstv and film 360 for day - and - date theatrical and vod release . the film will be directed by english duo si & ad with a likely cast of social - media stars plucked substantially from the stables of awesomenesstv and its big frame talent - management unit .
awesomeness films president matt kaplan acknowledges that shovel buddies is
a little off - center
from the slate that teen - centric awesomeness established in 2015 , which included snervous , a documentary about vlogger tyler oakley , and buddy comedy smosh : the movie . he spoke with the hollywood reporter ahead of the film ' s world premiere about how it fits into the awesomeness brand .
no casting decisions have yet been announced , but awesomenesstv is likely to fill shovel buddies with the online media personalities with whom it is partnered . this is the strategy awesomenesstv used for expelled , which became a vod hit shortly after its december 2014 premiere . big frame’s managers are also co - producing bad night , which will serve as a vehicle for stars jenn mcallister and lauren elizabeth .
of the three leads , lawley’s name will be most familiar to readers of this blog . the 19 - year - old vlogger has amassed millions of fans thanks to his membership with the our2ndlife supergroup , his personal channel , and his recent collaborations with fellow vlogger jc caylen . in addition to shovel buddies , he has also landed a starring role in the chosen , a feature - length thriller .
often when a movie doesn’t meet expectations , i find myself thinking , “well , if they had done it this way , maybe it would have worked . ” however , that is not the case with simon atkinson and adam townley ’s feature directorial debut shovel buddies . the movie has a strong cast and some decent camerawork ( minus one scene shot through the reflection of a mirror ) , but it’s still a total disaster thanks to the ludicrous premise .
shovel buddies tells the story of four friends who come together to do right by their friend sammy , who recently died of leukemia . jimmy ( neustaedter ) finds a letter from sammy asking that he be buried in his favorite football jersey instead of cremated like his parents plan . jimmy enlists his little brother lump ( starkman ) , his other best friend dan ( lawley ) , sammy ' s sister kate ( thorne ) to do honor sammy ' s wishes . philip labes and james c . burns also star .
a while ago i skipped the movie
swiss army man
because i didn ' t feel like watching a movie about a farting corpse . even though daniel radcliffe played this stiff character . i ' m sure there was a deeper meaning behind the whole idea , but i still didn ' t feel like it . when i started watching
shovel buddies
, without knowing what it was about anyway , i noticed this was also a flick with people running around with a death body the entire movie . and…
thus the deal for hellerman’s script , which ended up eighth on the 2013 black list of hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays . the name is a play on the idea of the “bucket list . ” here , a group of four teens whose friend has just died of leukemia strive to do all the items on the friend’s “shovel list” in a single night .
tiene adolescentes , es de adolescentes , esta película es para mi . bueno resultó original y a la vez lo que esperaba . me aburrió que haya tantas cosas confusas . no me gustó que hayan incluido snapchat xd me gustó la idea de la shovel list y tener que hacer una limpieza para que los papas de tu amigo no encuentren nada de lo dirty . el protagonista es dicaprio junior kian < 3333333333 me pareció que el personaje del nene estuvo muy suelto . y la preocupación por los padres y la casa y el auto y todo ese deal ? es medio fantástica . . la idea de llevar un cadaver de acá para allá , sea quien fuese en vida . . es medio turbia a mi parecer . sentí que…
' the duff ' actress will play one of four friends who embark on an all - night adventure to do right by their friend who died of leukemia .
rounding out the cast of teens are alex neustaedter ( ithaca ) and newcomer anton starkman .
, which awesomenesstv is producing in coordination with film 360 , began in may in california . the film is being directed by
thorne is repped by wme , lbi entertainment and attorney howard fishman . lawley is repped by awesomenesstv ' s big frame , caa and attorney danny miller .
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the poster was released in honor of the movie’s release date being announced . the movie will premiere on itunes on october 11 .
also starring bella thorne , after the death of their best friend , jimmy ( alex neustaedter ) enlists childhood friend dan ( lawley ) , little brother lump ( anton starkman ) , and crush kate ( thorne ) to fulfill his last request .
jimmy’s ( alex neustaedter ) best friend sammy has died of leukemia leaving behind one final wish : ensure his body is buried in his favorite football jersey . jimmy and his friends , including his ex - friend dan ( kian lawley ) , his little brother lump , and his crush kate ( bella thorne ) join the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend ' s final request .
principal cast : bella thorne , kian lawley , alex neustaedter , anton starkman , philip labes , james c . burns , jenny cooper
© 2015 - 2016 sxsw , llc sxsw® , sxswedu® , sxsw eco® , and sxsw v2v® and south by southwest® are trademarks owned by sxsw , llc . any unauthorized use of these names , or variations of these names , is a violation of state , federal , and international trademark laws .
casting is underway , and filming is expected to begin by may . the project is the latest full - length being created by dreamworks animation - owned awesomeness and was packaged by big frame . it is being developed and distributed on a fast track similar to last year’s expelled feature , said big frame co - president larry shapiro .
expelled was a high school comedy featuring several performers with a big presence on either youtube or vine . it was released december 12 on vod and a handful of theaters , then four days later was on digital home - entertainment platforms , where it quickly rose to no . 1 on apple’s itunes store . the compressed release pattern took advantage of the social - media marketing push , allowing fans to find the film on whatever distribution platform they most wanted . shapiro said the film made money , though he declined to detail how much .
“we’re evolving this model , ” shapiro said of the approach to the new movie . “when you look at the past couple of success stories , what we’re doing is elevating the story . ”
‘it’s a little stand by me , a little breaking away , ” shapiro said . “they are stories about coming of age that you can relate to at any age . ”
film 360 , which represents hellerman , brought the script to shapiro , who got signoff from awesomeness’ top executives brian robbins and shauna phelan , who produced both smosh : the movie and expelled . big frame then packaged the deal .
“it’s an exciting time as stories are being created and told in so many different ways , ” said 360 co - founding partner guymon casady .
film 360 has both a management and production side , and as producers , the company’s dean schnider and former 360 executive ali itri came up with the idea of putting a traditional script with non - traditional talent . 360 approached big frame , which then approached awesomenesstv to find the best partners in the digital space .
shapiro said casting likely will include a number of awesomeness and big frame social - media stars who can both act and bring along their big online audiences .
“we’re in the middle of a generational shift of how kids are receiving their experience of films , ” shapiro said . ‘this is kind of a statement about how movies get made in a digital framework . ”
he declined to specify the film’s budget but said awesomeness would be “spending more than most have on these kinds of things . ”
the directors are simon atkinson and adam townley , known in england collectively as si & ad and for their work producing commercials with a gritty , indie feel . the pair are repped by wme and grandview .
producers will be shapiro , robbins , phelan , itri , schnider and film 360’s ben forkner . hellerman is repped by management 360 , verve and carlos goodman of bloom , hergott , diemer , rosenthal , laviolette & feldman , llp . hellerman also found his representation through the blacklist , talking about it on a blog post on that site .
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jimmy ' s best friend sammy has died of leukemia , leaving behind one final wish : ensure his body is buried in his favorite football jersey . jimmy and his friends , including his ex - friend dan , his little brother lump , and his crush kate join the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend ' s final request .
and you think this should have been a dead serious subject ? pun not intended .
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after the death of their best friend , jimmy ( alex neustaedter ) enlists childhood friend dan ( kian lawley ) , little brother lump , and crush kate ( bella thorne ) to fulfill his last request .
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jimmy ' s ( alex neustaedter ) best friend sammy has died of leukemia leaving behind one final wish : ensure his body is buried in his favorite football jersey . jimmy and his friends , including his ex - friend dan ( kian lawley ) , his little brother lump , and his crush kate ( bella thorne ) join the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend ' s final request .
atkinson and hellerman clearly had good intentions and the whole cast gives the material their all , but there is just no making this story work .
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neustadter plays jimmy , whose best friend sammy has died of leukaemia , leaving behind one final wish for his body to be buried in his favorite football jersey . the quartet embark on the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend ' s final request .
thorne executive produced the film , which will be available for digital download on oct . 11 .
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after the death of their best friend , jimmy enlists childhood friend dan , little brother lump , and crush kate to fulfill his last request .
after receiving their dead best friend ' s will via snapchat , a group of friends set out to fulfill his last wish .
the film stars alex neustaedter as jimmy . when his best friend sammy dies of leukemia , it falls upon him to fulfill sammy’s last wish , to be buried in his favorite football jersey . sammy is just about to be cremated when jimmy gets the message , but that doesn’t stop him . with some help from his former friend dan ( kian lawley ) , his little brother lump ( anton starkman ) and sammy’s sister kate ( bella thorne ) , jimmy goes above and beyond to honor his best friend’s request , even if it means breaking the law and risking his life in the process .
there’s something endearing about someone willing to risk everything to fulfill a dead friend’s wish , but the way jimmy goes about it is absolutely ridiculous . the first big eye roll comes when sammy delivers his last will and testament to jimmy via snapchat , an element that’s a bit too “hip” for its own good . then , when sammy’s grief - stricken parents tell jimmy that they would rather not pick up their dead son’s body to put a football jersey on him , jimmy and co . decide that the next best move is to go to the facility , steal the corpse and drive around town collecting the tools they need to bury him themselves .
first off , who in their right mind – teenager or adult – would ever think that is a good idea ? if sammy’s parents aren’t up for it , why not just wait for the morgue attendant to return ? they most certainly didn’t need to smash a window , break in and steal the body . i also imagine that someone’s parents had to have had some shovels laying around . jimmy did not need to drive his parents’ car through a storefront window so that they could steal two of them . you know what else makes no sense and doesn’t fit in the film ? the joyful singalong / dance party they have in the car with sammy bouncing around in the middle . it’s also rather grotesque to glorify cigarette smoking in a movie about a teenager who loses his life to cancer .
screenwriter jason hellerman has the main characters making one nonsensical decision after the next , and each and every one makes the movie increasingly uncomfortable to watch . it isn’t funny seeing jimmy and dan fumble around with a corpse and it also isn’t picturesque to show the four living characters sitting in the car with the body either . and while it may make sense for one of them to give up their pants so that sammy isn’t exposed during their big adventure , we really don’t need to see jimmy running around in his underwear the entire film . they stop for shovels and candy , but they can’t get him a new pair of pants ?
even worse , the movie never makes a good case for why sammy means so much to jimmy . in fact , at one point , new character details emerge that make you question jimmy’s intense loyalty to his late friend . hellerman also tries to cram in a laundry list of peripheral issues that feel forced and never come close to enhancing the main narrative . there’s the fact that jimmy slept with kate despite sammy’s objections , there’s the tension between jimmy and dan , and the problems that arise from jimmy neglecting his little brother . it’s all supposed to tie into the main mission to bury sammy , but hellerman doesn’t come anywhere close to pulling it off and making it all mean something .
atkinson and hellerman clearly had good intentions and the whole cast gives the material their all , but there is just no making this story work . it seems as though the duo was going for something along the lines of stand by me , but the kids in that movie don’t sound like “wise beyond their years” jerks , make reckless decisions or bop around with a dead body for 60 minutes .
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i find it so difficult to root for characters in films where the plot is kicked off by something so easily avoided to begin with . when i wasn ' t cringing at every unnecessary plot pushing bad decision after another i enjoyed the drama that was not under minded by the well balanced humor . the pacing works against the story sadly but the leads are relatable as they fight each other over the reality of death and loss while reevaluating what seems so important to teenagers before they have to face real life conflicts .
when i was seven , i met my best friends . they were idiots , and i loved them for it . we did everything together . no matter what , we had each other ' s backs . nothing could change that , even when this jackass got cancer .
kind of a river ' s edge vibe with some real emotional depth for a teen film .
[ after his parents have left , thinking he is ill ]
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“jimmy’s ( alex neustaedter ) best friend sammy has died of leukemia leaving behind one final wish : ensure his body is buried in his favorite football jersey . jimmy and his friends , including his ex - friend dan ( kian lawley ) , his little brother lump ( anton starkman ) , and his crush kate ( bella thorne ) join the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend’s final request . ”
“sammy ( phillip labes ) has died of leukemia leaving behind one final wish : ensure his body is buried in his favorite football jersey . kate ( bella thorne ) , dan ( kian lawley ) , jimmy ( alex neustaedter ) and jimmy’s little brother lump ( anton starkman ) join the adventure of a lifetime as they spend one unforgettable night fulfilling their friend’s final request . ”
annie scott : i can’t wait to own this movie . from . . .
teaser trailer : it’s available on itunes for $ 12 . 99 . . .
swilson : where can i watch my teacher my obsession ( dad . . .
prepare for a night shoot amidst huge flood lights and even bigger mountains of dirt . the flick—produced by awesomeness films and starring bella thorne , kian lawley , alex neustaedter , philip labes , and anton starkman—takes place mostly over the course of a single night .
the tone of this movie has to be in the shadows ,
writer jason hellerman explains .
for these characters , in the darkness of their own lives , it ' s weird if it ' s sunny out .
the plot , which centers around a group of friends trying to complete the dying wishes of a leukemia patient , sammy , is bound to have its share of serious moments . surprisingly , there ' s plenty of humor here too ( think the darkly funny kind ) . when sammy ' s friends receive a posthumous snapchat request—to bury him in his football jersey—they wind up accidentally stealing the body . you probably don ' t need us to tell you this , but things start getting a little out of control after the unintentional body snatching .
it ' s the kind of story that will make you laugh and cry in equal parts , mostly because it feels so true to life . that definitely has a lot to do with jason ' s inspiration ; his own friend mike was diagnosed with stage iv leukemia , and passed away . to come to terms with his own feelings , jason channeled his energy into rewriting the script until he felt he had fully tapped into his characters ' emotions . so if you watch this and notice that the characters are behaving and reacting like actual , non - imaginary people would to a friend ' s death , you ' re right . as bella puts it , many of the characters give off certain first impressions , but there ' s definitely much more complex stuff to be unraveled underneath .
people tend to be glamorized when they pass away , so the film is about realizing who someone is , in both their positive and negative qualities ,
echoes philip , who plays sammy . his positive qualities ?
he made it about trying to enjoy your life while you ' re alive .
kate tries to fill a void that she wishes jimmy [ alex ] could fill , but he doesn ' t—because he dates her character in the film , then leaves her alone and stranded . and then her brother dies on her , so in order to fill that emptiness and sadness , she fills it with boys . she has no other way .
i see the scared little girl…she ' s very bad and tough , but you know there ' s little moments that i hope we captured on screen where you see she really is scared and uncomfortable and self - conscious . she just wants someone to love her . if you don ' t know that about my character , then you kind of don ' t understand her short , rude , abruptness in the film .
jimmy is really the mold for everybody . he brings everyone together in the beginning , and towards the end when it starts to break down , he has to make huge decisions to turn it around . i think what people like most about his character is that he never gives up . he has huge dignity throughout the entire thing , and that ' s what makes him special .
he ' s very adventurous , and like myself , he doesn ' t give up . he ' s also athletic , so he ' s able to use his body a lot of the time . he ' s a very physical guy . throughout the script , he ' s carrying sammy , and i think that just shows how much compassion he has and how much he cares about his best friend who ' s passed away .
dan is a badass . he gets himself into trouble a lot by saying what ' s on his mind ; he speak freely . he doesn ' t really care about other people ' s feelings . but deep down , he does care a lot about his friends . dan ' s more direct , he doesn ' t beat around the bush . overall , he ' s badass though .
my character is very outspoken . he speaks his mind and doesn ' t really care about other people ' s feelings when he says it . that doesn ' t necessarily mean that i do that ! but sometimes i say things that probably shouldn ' t be said , at the wrong times . i ' m one of those people that giggle at a funeral , just randomly . but he still has values and values his friendship with sammy—he ' s authentic .
he ' s jimmy ' s brother , and he ' s kind of always there because he just wants to be a part of everything . they don ' t necessarily give him approval at first , though , because he ' s younger .
it ' s funny because kian—dan—he ' s actually as old as my brother who ' s 19 . and alex is 17 , the same age as my other brother . so when my mom told kian and alex that , they were like , ' oh , so your family is basically dan , jimmy , and lump . ' i was like , ' yup ! '
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then , before you know it , all of the hype around getting that diploma has been replaced by one looming question . it’s the same question you’ll get from long - lost aunt polly and grandma’s half - cousin , uncle todd :
like some of you , i just finished college . it was great ! i met incredible people who’ve become more like family than friends , and i found mentors who i trust . unfortunately , those people just went from being a 15 - minute walk across campus to thousands of miles away in different directions .
usually , when someone tells their life story , they mention how they felt about college , then what it was like starting their first job . nobody talks about the in - between—what it’s like to go from feeling like your life’s on the up and up to being back at home with your parents , applying to jobs for months on end . meanwhile , that one girl you know from college is already working at her dream job while living in her own apartment .
post - grad is a weird transition period that no one prepares you for—until about a month before it hits you straight in the face . seriously , though ! this is like middle school - level angst that i’m starting to feel because it seems as if there are a million questions that have to be answered all at once . this limbo stage exists . people go through it . it’s extraordinarily stressful having no idea what’s happening next in life . more than that , it’s incredibly difficult to avoid comparing yourself to people your age .
on top of the never - ending stream of questions ( what’s next ? where are you living ? do you have a job yet ? ) , there’s the job hunt . the struggle is real . it’s really stressful . i’m trying to figure out how to pay bills , but also how to function as a sociable human being . getting to the next phase in life is , without a doubt , going to be messy .
first , it’s ok not to have a job right now . it’s ok to still be figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life .
second , comparing yourself to others will achieve absolutely nothing . everyone moves at a different pace . that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t push yourself and strive for the best . it means that everyone’s limit is different and someone else’s definition of “the best” doesn’t have to be yours .
lastly , no matter what career path you end up choosing , remember that you’ll likely be working for the next 50 + years . if you want to take some time to relax , do it . don’t let anyone make you feel bad for taking time to be a person with no responsibilities for a hot minute .
apparently , there’s a process that we’re supposed to trust . embrace the mess .
we track hollywood ' s upcoming movie releases through all stages of production . more
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after the death of their friend , a group of teenagers sets out to complete the bucket list he ' d left for them . with bella thorne , alex neustaedter , james c . burns , philip labes , kian lawley , and anton starkman . produced by awesomeness tv and film 360 . shoots may 26–june 26 in los angeles .
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r for language throughout including sexual references , and some drug content . ( rating bulletin 2424 ( cert # 50273 ) , 5 / 11 / 2016 )
ghostbusters is the biggest release of the week and the best first run release . combined with its fully - loaded blu - ray ( extended edition ) , it is a pick of the week contender . there’s not much competition . the main competition is a new collector ' s edition blu - ray for the thing , but this is at least a double - dip , which hurts its value . there are a couple of smaller releases as well . in the end it was a literal coin toss to decide the pick of the week and ghostbusters won . more . . .
full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .
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each year , a select group of hollywood executives choose films for the “ black list , ” a roster of the best un - produced screenplays from the previous year . acclaimed films that once appeared on this list include the wolf of wall street , slumdog millionaire , and the hangover .
tubefilter is the curator of online video . we do that in a number of ways . from industry news , to web series reviews , to related events , and one heck of an awards show . learn more about us and what we do here .
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the production company , a division of dreamworks animation - owned awesomenesstv , has started production on horror film you get me from writer ben epstein ( happyland ) . the project is being directed by brent bonacorso , who is behind the opening titles for hbo ' s the jinx .
bella thorne and halston sage have signed on to the thriller , which will begin filming in los angeles in april .
you get me centers on tyler , who gets into a fight with his perfect girlfriend , ali ( sage ) , and falls into the arms of sexy out - of - towner grace ( thorne ) . the next morning , ali agrees to take him back but he discovers that grace is a new student at their school and is set on keeping her new man .
you get me joins a growing number of films from awesomeness , including 2015 releases snervous , a documentary about tyler oakley , and smosh : the movie .
bonacorso is represented by uta and underground ; epstein is with caa ; sage is repped by caa and roar ; thorne is repped by wme and thor bradwell at lbi entertainment .
the coming - of - age drama about a group of friends who set out to fulfill their late friend ' s final wish represents a new type of project for awesomeness films , the movie division of dreamworks animation - owned atv that was established last year . awesomeness picked up the dark script off the black list , hired commercial directors simon atkinson and adam townley to direct , and cast a mix of traditional and digital talent including youtuber kian lawley , bella thorne ( amityville : the awakening ) and alex neustaedter ( colony ) .
this is a project that we bought off of the black list a while back . it ' s one that really came together nicely . we ' ve got an amazing directing duo named si & ad , who have done pretty elevated commercial work . we were really wanting to take steps in a more adult direction with the movie . i think that it ' s really grounded and real , and we were able to attract a really promising cast with bella thorne and kian lawley , one of our bigger influencers , and a wonderful young actor who ' s more traditional named alex neustaedter . it was the perfect film to take after the other films that we ' ve done . it really represents the direction that we ' re headed in . south by particularly is such a fun festival . it premieres films that are usually for this younger audience in a way that we felt like it was the perfect place for it .
while other people may be making influencer - driven movies , we ' re about quality . awesomeness is about elevating and supporting our influencers . just like we did this film , we ' re trying to get a great piece of writing , great director and work with our influencers to make sure we get the biggest reach possible and in front of as many viewers as possible .
we ' re still devising our plan in terms of the rollout strategy . it may be a theatrical thing or it may be a digital thing , but that ' s the fun part . distribution at this company is fluid . we choose the path after we ' ve screened it and seen the response , as opposed to having a more traditional route . that ' s the part of our business that we ' re most excited by . we feel like , as content providers , its our responsibility to make great movies and focus on the business aspect later . we ' ve been able to have success with that model .
this movie is an r - rated film that is very grounded and real and emotional . we felt like it was a story that we wanted to tell . we wanted to come out with something that was a little off - center for what we had been doing . but moving forward , i still think it ' s about making sure that we ' re touching that core 13 - to - 25 demo when everyone else in traditional is leaving them behind . the film that we just completed is before i fall . that ' s a movie that ' s more of a pg - 13 , based on a ya best - selling book that ' s very grounded . zoey deutch plays the lead in that . it ' s really about making sure that we continue to tell stories that elevate the material and the actors that we ' re working with .
young adults don ' t want filters , ultimately . when you ' re in the room of tyler oakley , he ' s speaking to the camera and he ' s really honest and real . i don ' t think it ' s about ratings but i do think it ' s about not speaking down to your audience and allowing them to feel like this story that they ' re being told is something that they can really relate to .
i think that there ' s this kind of amazing shift that ' s happening now where traditional actors now are interested in figuring out how they can grow their social reach . and then someone like kian who may have come from digital is now learning how to be on - set and figure out how all of that works . that is what the future is . actors and directors want to speak directly to their audience . and it ' s a great opportunity for them and us to collaborate and have the support of our enormous channel to help them grow .
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number of refugees accepted into the u . s . falls below the rest of the world combined for the first time since 1980
it was a sexy look for the star as she showed off a little cleavage and added a bold red lipstick .
bella completed the outfit with some silver stilettos and left her strawberry blonde locks loose , falling in gentle waves .
the shake it up star posed alongside her co - stars kian lawley , anton starkman and philip labes .
bella recently revealed that her two pet cats comfort her when she ' s having a bad day .
' that makes me feel so much better because , you know , then for a second i’m just thinking about them and what they want and not me and what i’m going through . ' she added .


antz is a 1998 american computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by eric darnell and tim johnson and written by paul weitz , chris weitz , and todd alcott .

the film stars woody allen , sharon stone , jennifer lopez , sylvester stallone , dan aykroyd , anne bancroft , and gene hackman .

antz is dreamworks pictures ' first animated film , and the second feature-length computer-animated film after disney/pixar 's toy story .

the film 's production resulted in a controversial public feud between dreamworks co-founder jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs and john lasseter of pixar , concerning the parallel productions of this film and pixar 's a bug 's life .

this only worsened when disney refused to avoid competition with dreamworks ' intended first animated release , the prince of egypt ( 1998 ) .

antz premiered on september 19 , 1998 , at the toronto international film festival , and was released theatrically in the united states on october 2 , 1998 .

it grossed $ 171.8 million worldwide on a budget of $ 42 – 60 million .

antz

to see the quotes page , click here :
antz / quotes
.
antz isn ' t as perfect and smooth as a disney film . great !
music to eric darnell & tim johnson ' s animated film
antz
.
read jerry becks review of antz in the october 1998 issue of animation world magazine .
antz
making of ( in english w . spanish subs . ) part 1
man i seriously love me some antz . fuck you making me want to rewatch it .
the z in antz is slightly crooked , and its also the name of the title character .
release notes are located in the file antz _ release _ 2015 - 02 - 16 . txt
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing antz near you .
antz was released on vhs february 9 , 1999 , and dvd is released march 23 , 1999 .
urltoken - books for what dreams may come and antz ; music from a night at the roxbury .
to download the antz . exe app , just click the link below
source code ( zip )
antoine
antz
l . ' s profile - project manager ( accounts , development , . . . - urltoken
even though ` ` a bug ' s life ' ' got a jump in production on ` ` antz , ' ' it was ` ` antz ' ' that was first to be completed , unexpectedly early , opening another chapter in the ant saga .
it may lack the novelty and broad humour of toy story , but antz still gives its rival a tough act to follow .
antz on the gbc is another platform game that will amuse those who find the genre enjoyable in small scale 8 - bit .
antz media - service provider of search engine optimization services , social media marketing services & website design and development services in kochi , kerala .
z ( woody allane , left ) laments to his best friend weaver ( sylvester stallone ) about his lot in life in
antz .
` ` antz ' ' was initially slotted for march 1999 , but dreamworks pushed it up to october , ensuring that ` ` antz ' ' would be the first computer - animated bug movie of the fall , beating ` ` a bug ' s life ' ' by several weeks .
antz junction is a thriving third sector organisation , based across greater manchester , delivering projects within its social centre’s which support local communities into employment .
antz junction believes that every person should have an opportunity to overcome barriers and achieve his / her fullest potential and contribute fully to their community .
siskel & ebert : what dreams may come / a night at the roxbury / snitch / antz ( 1998 ) ( tv episode ) reviewed .
antz is brief enough , clocking in at 83 minutes , but its story is too predictable to make an impact even in such a short space .
antz media being one among the pioneers in online branding solution provider in india . the organization is promoted by young entrepreneurs and veterans in social media . antz media was launched as a subsidiary of united 4 it solutions pvt ltd . we believe that our strength lies in our creative and professional team .
movies : disney says it isn ' t worried about confusion with dreamworks ' ' antz , ' but the studio is doing a few unusual things .
a bug’s life ended up getting released the same year as antz and outgrossed it at the box - office substantially , coming it at no . 4 for the year . as knock - offs go , antz is nowhere near as embarrassing as previous forgotbuster subject a shark’s tale , another dreamworks animation project that gave the poochie treatment to pixar’s finding nemo . yet there’s very little that stands out about antz , either , for good or ill . and though antz won the race to the theaters and made a mint , it has , like most of the other forgotbusters i have written , faded in the cultural imagination , becoming an also - ran at the heady early days of feature - length computer animation . antz crossed the finish line first without actually winning the race .
movies : barbed comments are being exchanged as the ' antz ' - vs . - ' bug ' s ' competition turns venomous in the animation arena .
feb1998 : jeffery decides to pull a whammy on pixar / disney by releasing antz on oct 2 1998 , 6 weeks ahead of
a bugz life .
if you ' re wondering ,
what are the character ' s names in antz ?
then this list will have what you ' re looking for .
antz , dreamworks , $ 17 . 2 million , 2 , 449 locations , $ 7 , 021 average , $ 17 . 2 million , one week .
list of antz characters , with pictures when available . these characters from the movie antz are ordered by their prominence in the film , so the most recognizable roles are at the top of the list . from main characters to cameos and minor roles , these characters are a huge part of what made the movie so great . the names of the actors who played each character are listed below as well , so use this antz character list to find out who portrayed your favorite role .
isectopia scene from antz . this is my own mix of the song . warning , it is a bit loud so turn the volume down a bit headphone users !
all in all , the antz soundtrack runs a very solid 53 minutes long , and should be in everyone ' s collection - especially if they saw the film .
as a harmonica player andy has recently worked with neil finn , playing on his version of
i can see clearly now
, featured in the film antz .
todd ' s pop song reviews :
jealous
by nick jonas ( 2015 ) ( tv episode ) todd says that nick jonas looks like a character from antz .
jacobson brought the idea to katzenberg , who approved the project . by 1996 , ` ` antz ' ' was in high gear , with johnson and darnell of pdi directing .
describing the film ' s across - the - board appeal , jim tharp , head of distribution at dreamworks , reported that the opening weekend crowd for antz was split evenly between family and non - family moviegoers and that the male / female ratio was 50 / 50 as well . ticket sales for antz surged a mighty 80 % on saturday compared to friday .
in the year 2007 antz media started it’s operations as a web and digital media company . we are proud to announce that our competitors range from a few national players and some international players .
the office : threat level midnight ( 2011 ) ( tv episode ) michael says ,
i am a huge woody allen fan , although i ' ve only seen ' antz . '
antz business solutions excels at custom design and front - end development . we love taking on challenging projects that require full - on content strategy , thoughtful design , demanding development , and ongoing marketing .
so if there ' s any confusion about the differences between
antz
and
a bug ' s life
by nov . 25 , it will definitely not be for lack of trying .
compared to projections , antz opened extremely close to my $ 17m forecast while what dreams may come and a night at the roxbury opened stronger than my projections of $ 12m and $ 6m respectively .
take this week ' s new reader survey on star wars episode 1 : the phantom menace . in last week ' s survey , readers were asked whether antz or a bug ' s life would gross more at the domestic box office . of 1 , 456 responses , the voting was even with 50 . 4 % saying a bug ' s life and 49 . 6 % choosing antz .
yesterday jeffery katzenberg announced to everyone on the antz film that we are releasing antz on october 2 1998 , not march 1999 . we all have been suspecting this for a while , but now its official . it was deliberately kept a secret to scoop the people at pixar and disney . i heard john lasseter and steve jobs were pretty steamed . and by the way , our movie kicks ass .
antz media has extensive expertise in customized mobile application software development . we develop mobile applications for android devices and ios devices using latest technology . web at antz media are supportive in creating value - added mobile phone applications tailored exactly to your specific business requirement for enhanced efficiency and functionality . we have sound experience in developing highly interactive mobile application using the latest operating systems that are extremely user - friendly and functional .
the simpsons : love is a many splintered thing ( 2013 ) ( tv episode ) woody allen says ,
i played the ant in ' antz ' - the lesser known of the ant movies .
sourced from the 2006 fullscreen dvd of over the hedge ( 2006 ) . ( according to info on blu - ray . com , this reprint of antz on dvd was from 2004 , not 2006 . )
the year ' s first of two computer - animated bug movies - disney ' s a bug ' s life comes out next month - antz topped the $ 16 . 6 million debut by stargate in 1994 . featuring the voices of woody allen , sharon stone , and gene hackman , antz also is the first of two animated projects this year for dreamworks , which will release the prince of egypt in december .
the feud deepened with both teams making accusations and excuses and a release date war ensued . while antz beat a bug’s life to the big screen by two months , the latter film significantly out grossed its predecessor . antz made almost $ 91 million domestically against a $ 105 million budget ( with a worldwide haul of almost $ 172 million ) while a bug’s life made almost $ 163 million domestically against a $ 120 million budget ( with a worldwide haul of over $ 363 million ) . rip off or not , antz ' s critical response has proven to be almost exactly as positive as what a bug’s life has enjoyed .
you ' ve reached the
hub
for any and all dramatica analysis of antz . in addition to the storyform , you ' ll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question .
it seems a modern trend of soundtracks is to have long , slow , depreesing , agonizing , slow pieces for strings . . . not so with antz . here we have music with real melody lines . .
the media lapped up the very public battle that followed , a bug’s life sucker punched antz at the box office and the public were left in the dark over the heights a katzenberg - lasseter bug flick could have reached .
i admit it , whenever i saw the cd of
antz
for the first time , i was so sure that it would be an awful score . but , this cd is single - handidly one of my favorites .
both films were a success with both audiences and critics , as well as financially , but a bugs life won by bringing in $ 200 , 000 , 000 more than antz thanks to appealing more to kids and better promotion .
dreamworks animated feature film , antz has grossed over $ 36 million in the past 10 days since its u . s . theatrical release , topping two weeks box office charts . reeling from this success , dreamworks is developing a direct - to - video sequel to antz . the film would , like its predecessor , be produced by computer animation studio pacific data images ( pdi ) . it is also being considered for theatrical release . either way , a studio spokesperson confirmed that if the production is green lit , it would be 18 - 24 months before its release . however , after the surprise early release of antz , who knows what this crafty studio has up its sleeve . . . .
before antz began production , pixar was already deep into a project then known as bugs , a film that would eventually become a bug’s life . pixar , riding high on the success of toy story , smelled a rat . once friendly with jeffrey katzenberg , who resurrected disney’s animation wing during his time there before leaving acrimoniously to start dreamworks with fellow masters of the universe steven spielberg and david geffen , pixar’s john lasseter did not receive news of antz ’s production well . it was suspected that katzenberg had simply stolen the premise for bugs and encouraged his animators to work long hours so that antz would beat its inspiration to theaters , even though katzenberg traced the projects’ roots back to an older pitch .
dreamworks was able to save valuable time by skimping on quality . where pixar benefits from a well - honed perfectionism , early dreamworks productions like antz often just seem to aspire to be good enough . when antz hit theaters in 1998 and became the 21st top - grossing film of the year , the concept of a feature - length computer - animated film still held an element of novelty . there was still something revolutionary about the concept of making entire animated films with computers instead of hand - drawn cels . some 17 years and countless advancements in technology later , antz still retains a bit of the shock of the new , even if it looks less impressive than the pixar film to which it was destined to be compared .
title antz year 1998 distributor ( s ) u . i . p . ( uk ) classified date ( s ) 24 / 09 / 1998 main language english submitted run time 83m 7s approved footage 7481 + 9 bbfc reference aff154355 registration number cfj01501
our commitment to diversity and inclusion is reflected in our choice of partner to direct our responses to the duties we have here at antz junction and work alongside us as we formalize and evidence our compliance in this area . view : diversity & inclusion
and while
antz
focused on its title insects , disney ' s campaign stresses multiple bugs - - in this case ladybugs , spiders , beetles , caterpillars , mosquitoes , and yes , even ants ( particularly the lead character flik ) .
eric darnell , one of the two directors of ` ` antz , ' ' said that katzenberg offered suggestions about story and character , but that the movie never wavered from its 7 - year - old premise about a little critter with big hopes .
the scheduling of ` ` antz ' ' was also seen by many in hollywood as retaliation against disney for slotting ` ` a bug ' s life ' ' for november against dreamworks ' animated feature , ` ` the prince of egypt . ' '
while disney ' s similarly - themed a bug ' s life , released within a few months of this , took the upper hand in light , child - friendly entertainment , visually antz was more compelling and , strangely , more adult . for antz , a dark tale destined to whiz right over the head of the average four - year - old , is simply breathtaking to look at , its seamless bug ' s - eye view of the world easily compensating for any mild inconsistencies in the storyline .
you can sort this list of antz roles alphabetically by clicking on
name
at the top of the list . if one of your favorite characters is missing , then feel free to add them by typing in their name at the bottom of the list .
originally recorded by frank sinatra in 1969 , day recorded the song for her 1964 album ,
with a smile and a song .
while it never appeared in one of her films , her version was included in the digitally animated 1998 movie
antz .
25 . it was not a coincidence that dreamworks released antz around the same time as a bug ' s life . reportedly former disney film chairman and dreamworks co - founder jeffrey katzenberg wanted to delay the release of a bug ' s life so that it wouldn ' t compete with dreamworks ' release the prince of egypt ( both scheduled to be released a few weeks apart ) . katzenberg called lasseter and told him he would stop production of antz if they moved a bug ' s life release date – it didn ' t work .
` ` we did know about ' a bug ' s life , ' ' ' said johnson in an interview at the toronto international film festival , where ` ` antz ' ' premiered last weekend . ` ` all we knew is that they had a film . ' '
the year 1998 proved to be a banner year for these strange filmic duopolies . the stories found in both dreamworks animation’s antz and disney / pixar’s a bug’s life revolve around a young misfit male drone ant who saves ant society and wins over the ant princess in so doing .
in 1998 , disney and dreamworks both released animated films about an outcast ant who doesn ' t quite fit into normal society . while a bug ' s life ( loosely based on aesop ' s fable the ant and the grasshopper ) grossed $ 363 . 4 million , woody allen ' s antz was a commercial failure . it ' s widely speculated that the idea for antz was stolen by dreamworks founder ceo jeffrey katzenberg who left disney shortly after pixar become its major animation studio which lead to a public feud between katzenberg and pixar ' s john lasseter and steve jobs .
dreamworks was able to get antz into theaters ahead of originally scheduled allowing it to hit consumers several weeks before disney ' s computer - generated insect pic a bug ' s life which opens at thanksgiving . the headstart gives antz a major advantage as it will have the family crowd all to itself for a full month before the end - of - year bloodbath that finds bugs , rugrats , babe ii , jack frost , i ' ll be home for christmas , prince of egypt , mighty joe young and the wizard of oz reissue all attacking the same family audience in november and december .
high hopes
is a popular song first popularized by frank sinatra , with music written by jimmy van heusen and lyrics by sammy cahn . doris day recorded the song for the 1964 album with a smile and a song . her version was used in the 1998 film antz during the credits .
our flick of the week is
antz ,
which in addition to having one of the most distinctive designs of any animated film ever made , also boasts a smart and funny script that will appeal even more to adults than children . ( that ' s the start of a rave review . )
i have a suggestion for steve jobs : ' think different , '
he said pointedly , mimicking the apple computer slogan . a lot is at stake besides personal reputations and pride . for dreamworks ,
antz
is the first foray into the lucrative arena of animation that ' s been virtually controlled by disney for the past decade . katzenberg has said he hopes to release seven animated films by 2002 , and the success or failure of
antz
and
prince of egypt
( opening dec . 18 ) is widely perceived to be an indicator for whether that dream will be achieved .
in dreamworks ' first animated feature film , antz , woody allen voices
z
, an ant who wishes to be an individual . he falls for the beautiful princess bala ( sharon stone ) , and uncovers a plot by the evil general mandible ( gene hackman ) to take over the ant colony .
antz is a 1998 american computer animated adventure comedy film produced by dreamworks animation and distributed by dreamworks pictures . it features the voices of woody allen , sharon stone , jennifer lopez , sylvester stallone , dan aykroyd , anne bancroft , gene hackman , christopher walken , and danny glover as various members of an ant society . some of the main characters share facial similarities with the actors who voice them . [ 2 ] antz is the first animated film , as well as the first cgi - animated film , by dreamworks animation and the second feature - length computer - animated film after disney · pixar ' s toy story .
during the production of a bug ' s life , a public feud erupted by dreamworks ' jeffrey katzenberg and steve jobs & john lasseter of pixar . katzenberg , former chairman of disney ' s film division , had left the company in a bitter feud with ceo michael eisner . in response , he formed dreamworks skg with steven spielberg and david geffen and planned to rival disney in animation . [ 14 ] after dreamworks ' acquisition of pacific data images ( pdi ) —long pixar ' s contemporary in computer animation— lasseter and others at pixar were dismayed to learn from the trade papers to learn that pdi ' s first project at dreamworks would be another ant film , to be called antz . [ 15 ] by this time , pixar ' s project was well - known within the animation community . [ 16 ] both antz and a bug ' s life center on a young male , a drone with oddball tendencies who struggles to win a princess ' s hand by saving their society . [ 17 ] whereas a bug ' s life relied chiefly on visual gags , antz was more verbal and revolved more around satire . the script of antz was also heavy with adult references , whereas pixar ' s film was more accessible to children . [ 17 ]
the plot thickens when one notes that deep impact was released by dreamworks , while armageddon was released by none other than disney . like antz and a bug’s life , deep impact and armageddon hold a similar critical response , but unlike the animated pair , the critical response to these disaster movies was really , really bad .
unlike
antz ,
which stressed the lead character voiced by woody allen , in the selling of
bug ' s ,
flik is just part of a greater ensemble , roth says .
we definitely wanted to make sure that we conveyed this was a movie about a wide variety of colorful insects .
dreamworks ' most ambitious dvd has been
antz ,
which includes featurettes , trailers and audio commentary from the directors .
being the very first full - length cgi [ computer generated image ] animated film ever released on dvd , we really wanted to make it a special deal . it has done very well .
allen stars as z , a worker ant first introduced on an analyst’s leaf complaining about how he didn’t get much attention being the middle child of 5 million . there’s a rich strain of vaudeville and the catskills in the way allen delivers his signature one - liners in a new form , but z isn’t just on hand to crack wise . at times antz resembles bananas remade as a kiddie cartoon , as both feature nebbishy woody allen characters who accidentally become revolutionaries while attempting to get the girl . but z has more on his mind than his own neuroses , and antz takes this timid insect on a hero’s journey that would do joseph campbell proud .
37 years later , ant is still king of the wild frontier so the other night i went to the theatre to see adam ant perform the entirety of his “kings of the wild frontier” album ( recorded with his former band the ants , nee , antz ) , plus some greatest hitz and fan favez , . . .
antz
rejoices in the fact that a cartoon can show us anything . it ' s so free , it turns visual cartwheels . it enters into a microscopic world - - an ant colony beneath central park - - and makes it into a world so vast and threatening that comparisons with
star wars
are not unjustified .
this is one of those movies that fly over your head when you ' re a child watching it . i remember disney ' s pixar and dreamworks used to really clash in the past over the originality of premises .
a bug ' s life
vs .
antz
, this is one of the ones i feel only a tie is fair .
antz
is an amazing animated film for one reason above all : awesome voice cast . gene hackman , christopher walken , danny glover and woody allen , there ' s almost too much talent to bear . also , there ' s so much subtle humor to appreciate . i originally saw the film ten years ago and laughed and now being an adult there ' s so much i missed . only now do i get the adult - oriented jokes , truly making the movie timeless . and the film has a pretty good theme to it ; the importance of individuality as opposed to the hordes of conformity .
antz
is great .
toronto — the world premiere here of
antz
- - a gala screening and party complete with red carpets and oversized martinis - - marked the grand finale of the 23rd toronto international film festival on saturday night . but it was just the start of what is shaping up to be a cutthroat and unusually personal battle of the cinematic bugs .
how much of these scheduling machinations are due to hurt feelings or just good business sense - or a little of both - is not clear . also , the fact that ` ` antz ' ' is coming out first doesn ' t necessarily mean it will do any better than ` ` a bug ' s life , ' ' as disney well knows .
' ' antz , ' ' which cost an estimated $ 42 million and at the time of its release had the animation field to itself , opened to a respectable $ 7 , 020 a screen . the film has long since broken into the black , grossing $ 87 . 9 million as of last weekend and is likely to turn a good profit .
when you see one ant it ' s understood that there are thousands more that you don ' t see each working hard all for the same goal ; that ' s antz digital media ! although not ' thousands ' yet , we all work as hard as an ant colony together to put your business in front of your customers everywhere they are online .
released 1 year after disney / pixar ' s ' a bugs life ' and still during the early years of the computer generated genre , dreamworks released their second all cgi cartoon ' antz ' and despite the glaring resemblances between the 2 movies ; all it not as it appears . antz still stands alone as the more adult movie in the genre , far more complexity in the character ' s emotions and a far more sinister plot evolution separate this from rest . ok movies like ' shrek ' , ' finding nemo ' and ' toy story ' have adult undertones beneath the humour , but antz doesn ' t rely on such subtlety . please note this is not a criticism of either style ! we follow the struggle of ' z ' ( woody allen ) as he tries to come to terms with his life as a worker , his neurosis , his love for princess bala and dream of something better . allen is excellently supported by an all star cast , including sharon stone , sylvester stallone , gene hackman , christopher walken , etc , and we are treated to a visually impressive rendition of a heart warming story about life as an ant . this movie can still be enjoyed as a family film , but much of it will be lost on younger kids . in summary antz is a fine film , but in truth it is difficult to compare with others in the genre , and for that ; i salute it ! 7 / 10
antz essentially has the same premise as a bug’s life : a misfit insect discovers his destiny is far greater than he ever could have imagined . but what antz lacks in technical sophistication and elegant animation , it makes up for in star power . the filmmakers lazily , if effectively , solve the problem of getting audiences to care about interchangeable insects by voice - casting actors whose personas are so well wrought that they can be easily translated to the insect kingdom . then to get the most out of their investment , they also animated the ants to look as much like the superstar actors voicing them . to embody the existential angst of the everyman insect , dreamworks turned to the neurotic comedy stylings of woody allen , a move that proved to be as winning as it is perverse . before and after antz , allen was nobody’s idea of a big box - office attraction . yet put that nasal voice and wimpy mock - aggression inside the digitally rendered body of a cartoon insect creepily conceived to look as much as the real - life allen as possible , and suddenly he became a bankable movie star .
it was in the recording studio where andy was first introduced to photoshop and swivel 3d on a mac ii . in 1994 , andy was hired by mondo media to work on video games , broadcast and film projects . he’s also worked with xaos , inc . on a few imax films and at pdi on the peacemaker and research for the antz sequel which never happened .
just managed to get an idea of when and where the antz trailer will be showing across the nation . this an isn ' t to be missed trailer , and is a good excuse to see a fantastic movie ( according to everyone that has emailed me ) . so read all this and go see it , it ' s there for a limited time only ! ! !
i ' d argue that they already outdid pixar in the antz / bug ' s life duel . and at least some people think shrek beat monster ' s inc as well . though yeah , the cars sequel is their best bet . what do they have lined up for next year , though ? kung fu panda 2 ? not exactly a how to train your dragon there .
brilliant animated feature , antz is a fun , entertaining picture that is a must watch for viewers of all ages . what makes the film work so well is the varied cast of talented voice actors who bring great characters alive , and it is elevated with a great story and stunning animation . i heavily enjoyed the film , and though it was a worthy film to watch , and what ' s great about the film , is that it wasn ' t made by pixar , and it just goes to show that other studios have managed to get animated magic as well with their features . antz is a well made feature , a film that looks stunning , and is fun to look at and enjoy . the story is engaging as well , and the cast , like i stated is wonderful , and they each bring some terrific voice acting to the roles they portray , and it ' s what makes the film really stand out among other animated features . if you ' re a genre fan , you ' ll surely love this one . the film may not be a pixar feature , but it nonetheless succeeds at capturing the viewer ' s attention due to a fine story , terrific animation and enough humor to appeal to viewers of all ages or anyone looking for a fine animated comedy . antz works well on many levels , it ' s a film that manages to succeed on nearly every level and with its cast of voice actors , and they manage to give much more depth to the film , as well as having an entertaining and humorous visual sense that make antz a film that is well worth your time , and it is a film that ranks among the finest computer animated features ever made . if you ' re a fan of animated films , give antz a shot , it ' s a visually striking feature with terrific storytelling , and effective voice performances to really make this an enjoyable and highly memorable feature .
it may seem extravagant for a film about a bunch of bugs , but soundtrack composers harry gregson - williams and john powell engaged an 85 - piece orchestra and 25 - member chorus to perform the music for antz . in the film , a worker ant with the voice of woody allen becomes a hero to his embattled colony and earns the affections of princess bala ( the voice of sharon stone ) . appropriately , the music is a mix of dramatic swells , romantic interludes , and celebratory jaunts , scurrying from sprightly jazz to classical dirge to latin bounce - - there are even allusions to
when johnny comes marching home
and
guantanamera .
this surprising diversity makes the music from antz lively enough for children and sophisticated enough for adults . - - richard martin
in recent weeks , the off - the - record sniping among those involved in both movies has reached a background roar in hollywood . katzenberg has denied knowing about disney ' s movie when he approved ` ` antz . ' ' executives for the producers of ` ` a bug ' s life ' ' declined to comment . the directors of the two films expressed ignorance about the competition .
with a superstar cast and breakthrough visual effects , dreamworks ' spectacular comedy adventure , antz , became
king of the hill
with audiences and movie critics alike . everyone digz antz ! life is no picnic for z , a small worker ant with some very big ideas whose chances of landing the beautiful princess bala are literally one in a billion . but when z convinces his soldier ant buddy to switch places with him , his simple life takes a wild turn . from his battle in the termite war to his search for
insectopia
, z ' s adventures land him in a final confrontation with the ruthless general mandible who has planned to liquidate the colony . once the most insignificant of workers , z may just turn out to be the biggest hero of them all !
kaztenberg moved the opening of antz from march 1999 to october 1998 to compete with pixar ' s release . [ 16 ] [ 20 ] david price writes in his 2008 book the pixar touch that a rumor ,
never confirmed ,
was that katzenberg had given pdi
rich financial incentives to induce them to whatever it would take to have antz ready first , despite pixar ' s head start .
[ 16 ] [ 19 ] steve jobs was furious and called katzenberg and began yelling . katzenberg made an offer : he would delay production of antz if jobs and disney would move a bug’s life so that it didn’t compete with prince of egypt . jobs believed it
a blatant extortion attempt
and would not go for it , explaining that there was nothing he could do to convince disney to change the date . [ 3 ] [ 19 ] katzenberg casually responded that jobs himself had taught him how to conduct similar business long ago , explaining that jobs had come to pixar ' s rescue by making the deal for toy story , as pixar was near bankruptcy at that time . [ 10 ]
i was the one guy there for you back then , and now you’re allowing them to use you to screw me ,
katzenberg said . [ 19 ] he suggested that if jobs wanted to , he could simply slow down production on a bug’s life without telling disney . if he did , katzenberg said , he would put antz on hold . [ 3 ] lasseter also claimed katzenberg had phoned him with the proposition , but katzenberg denied these charges later . [ 11 ]
katzenberg says that ' s bunk . so does nina jacobson , a formerdreamworks executive ( now employed by disney ) , who says she pitched katzenberg the idea on her own . dreamworks ' chief marketing executive , terry press , says pixar is just smarting because
antz
- - which originally was scheduled to debut in march 1999 - - has managed to beat
a bug ' s life
into theaters .
- dreamworks signature selection - anamorphic widescreen ( 1 . 85 : 1 ) - dual - layered dvd - dolby digital 5 . 1 audio - full - length director ' s commentary - behind - the - scenes production featurette - the making of antz ! - director ' s inside look - the basics of cgi animation & early design process - production notes - cast & filmmaker bios - theatrical trailer - 4 tv spots
then after antz we did chicken run , and we couldn’t have messed those up too bad because they asked us to do shrek . after shrek we just called it a day because we wanted to branch off and see what the future holds individually but i had a lot of fun and we were very very lucky to do those three very unique movies . but that was all through the generosity of hans as our mentor .
that ' s the strategy disney is following in trying to sell
a bug ' s life ,
the studio ' s animated insect tale that opens this month ( friday at the el capitan ; nov . 25 wide release ) . the idea is to ignore any similarities between its film and dreamworks ' hit animated insect release ,
antz ,
and play up those differences in an aggressive ad and marketing campaign .
so if roth is going to compare
bug ' s life
to any film at all it would be
toy story ,
the studio ' s first venture with steve jobs ' pixar computer - animation facility . like
toy story ,
bug ' s life
is aimed squarely at a younger demographic and a general family audience , whereas
antz
was pitched at an adult , urbane crowd .
antz is littered with inspired gags , like a pair of wasps , voiced by saturday night live alum dan aykroyd and jane curtin , who embody all of the stereotypes of human wasps in insect form . the production design for the individual ants is more than a little creepy , but the animators do well with world - building and elaborate fights between overmatched ants and massive , almost prohibitively huge termites who spit acid at their foes .
says the film critic ,
that ' s because we go one step up the food chain to a grasshopper population that ' s really angry at its ant colony , which hasn ' t come up with its usual supply of food . the voice of the lead hopper in the film is supplied by kevin spacey . a bug ' s life is built more for kids than antz and may not be as entertaining for adults .
be sure to read the weekly rewind column which reviews the films of robin williams . wednesday ' s new rewind column will examine the biggest october openings of this decade . for reviews of antz and what dreams may come visit chief ' s movie review page . for a complete look at the summer box office , read the box office guru summer wrapup which analyzes the record - breaking season with projected final grosses and plenty of data .
in the next few weeks , two computer - animated movies about ants will be released . dreamworks ' ` ` antz , ' ' led by the voice of woody allen , is out oct . 2 , and the disney co . ' s ` ` a bug ' s life , ' ' featuring the voice of dave foley ( ` ` newsradio ' ' ) as the lead ant , is to be released nationwide nov . 25 .
oh , it was in a very similar way , there’s not much else to say other than that . it was in a very hans - ian way . he was very generous and the film that made all the difference for me and john powell was antz . we were both at hans’ studio assisting . i had done a few movies with him , john had done one by himself with his own credit , certainly by any stance we were both just starting off really and this movie antz came along . it was coming directly to hans from jeffery katzenberg with dreamworks . hans couldn’t do it which is when we got involved but i don’t think hans wanted to see it go to some other random composer , he’d like it to “stay at home” as he would put it . so i think he turned them on to me or john and then they settled on both * laughs *
none of this dampened the reception
antz
received saturday . at a spirited news conference , several of the actors whose voices are featured in the film talked good - naturedly about what it was like to see themselves in cartoon form .
the [ animators ] are wrong . i don ' t move like that ,
said danny glover , whose character , a sweet - hearted soldier named barbatus , is clearly modeled on the likable actor .
_ antz _ is the latest in a misbegotten trend of trying to graft adult content onto animated family films . blame _ the lion king _ ( and guiding hand for both films , jeffrey katzenberg ) for doing it well and reaping the financial rewards , but successors reaching for the same brass ring ( both within disney - - _ hunchback _ , e . g . - - and without ) go too far . not only is the language in _ antz _ a tad inappropriate ( do you really want to explain
erotic fantasy
to your five - year - old ? ) , the use of woody allen as the voice of the hero along with battle and flood imagery reminiscent of other dreamworks films like _ saving private ryan _ and _ deep impact _ only reinforces the sense that _ antz _ is aspiring to be something perverse : a gritty , neurotic , philosophical disaster movie for the whole family . but the worst offense of all is that the film is boring . the script is as trite as they come , moving as it does from one movie cliche to the next without stopping for real character development . the dialogue is surprisingly witless and plodding , with every joke telegraphed well in advance . the songs - - admittedly a frequent bane of disney films as well - - are of even less interest here as they are
standards
tossed in for no apparent reason . and the film is visually dull as well - - all dark and dingy in the ant colony where most of the action takes place , but hardly more beautiful in the great outdoors . _ antz _ may represent another leap forward in the art of computer animation , but i found the short trailer i saw for _ a bug ' s life _ to contain much more life , color , whimsy and invention than the entirety of this disappointing affair .
as the release dates for both films approached , disney executives concluded that pixar should keep silent on the dreamworks battle . regardless , lasseter publicly dismissed antz as a
schlock version
of a bug ' s life . [ 13 ] lasseter , who claimed to have never seen antz , told others that if dreamworks and pdi had made the film about anything other than insects , he would have closed pixar for the day so the entire company could go see it . [ 3 ] [ 17 ] katzenberg and jobs would not back down and the rivaling ant movies provoked a press frenzy .
the bad guys rarely win ,
jobs told the los angeles times . in response , dreamworks’ head of marketing terry press suggested , “steve jobs should take a pill .
[ 19 ] despite the successful box office performance of both antz and a bug ' s life , tensions would still be high between jobs and katzenberg for many years . according to jobs , katzenberg came to jobs after the success of shrek ( 2001 ) and insisted he had never heard the pitch for a bug ' s life , reasoning that his settlement with disney would have given him a share of the profits if that were so . [ 21 ] although the contention left all parties estranged , pixar and pdi employees kept up the old friendships that had arisen from spending a long time together in computer animation . [ 11 ]
and now look at the panoramic overhead shots of the ant colony in
antz .
we could be looking at an alien life form , or the headquarters of one of james bond ' s megalomaniac enemies . the scale and detail are astonishing . and consider the imagination involved in a sequence where most of the ants in the colony gather themselves into a giant ball , held by a string of other ants , so that millions of individuals can become one collective tool .
mirror mirror vs . snow white and the huntsman . deep impact vs . armageddon . studios releasing twin films is hardly front page news . however a bug ' s life and antz were born out of more than friendly rivalry . in 1988 a project known as ‘army ants’ was being considered by disney . jeffrey katzenberg took the idea with him when leaving the house of mouse six years later to form dreamworks , but pixar heavyweight john lasseter had insecty ideas of his own .
apparently - - and wisely - - the filmmakers allowed allen to modify his own dialogue , and he has created some memorable exchanges within the outlines of his standard nebbish persona . lately , allen ' s neurotic character has seemed tired ; his role in
antz ,
however , is a sign of revival . maybe allen needed to take his character out of an urban setting to be stimulated . rated pg . ( star ) ( star ) ( star ) ( star )
steve jobs should take a pill ,
she said .
he looks ridiculous .
the sniping does not end there . last week , new allegations arose that katzenberg had offered to scuttle
antz
if the pixar folks could only convince eisner not to release
a bug ' s life
during the holiday 1998 season , the date that katzenberg ' s favorite project , dreamworks ' animated biblical epic
prince of egypt ,
is due to hit theaters .
dreamworks sources flatly denied the charges . moreover , their timing ( just days before the
antz
premiere ) and the fact that no one would make them on the record made more than one journalist steer clear of the story . but over the weekend , as katzenberg , press and dozens of other dreamworks honchos arrived in canada to unveil the young studio ' s first animated feature , word came that both time and newsweek magazines were running the allegations in today ' s editions .
maybe i was a victim of high expectations , but after all i had heard about it , i was disappointed in antz . the animation was interesting and enjoyable . but you have to be a fan of woody allen to enjoy the story . and i am not . i didn ' t realize the plot was so similar to the typical woody allen movie - watching him deal with his neuroses . hear that a bug ' s life is much better , looking forward to seeing it .
most scores seem to work well and be memorable when they are thematic . in antz we have a nice piano theme for z , and romantic theme for princess bala , a dark military theme for mandible , and a whimsical theme for the colony itself . variations on these themes permeate the cd , and it ' s very easy to envision the scenes just by listening to the music . i really enjoyed the main theme for the colony - the use of whistling was a quirky yet appropriate move .
apart from the ants being protagonists , almost nothing else about the films was the same . a bugs life had a very cartoonish design , while antz had a more realistic design of the insects . antz had dark humor , dialogue and themes all around , while a bugs life was aimed at children . just the same , thanks to the ants , they were both considered to be ripping each other off . ( fact is , jeffrey katzenberg , though responsible for getting toy story greenlit , had just been booted from disney , was furious at them , and knew about the next pixar project , which was ironically pitched to disney only hours after katzenberg was informed he was being
asked
to remove himself from the disney lot and cut ties with the mouse house ; the competition was intentional . ) this duel is the one that provides the page quote for the dueling works trope on tv tropes ( courtesy of gene siskel , who , along with roger ebert , laughed at the whole mess . )
i would have never got to have worked on a nick park movie if i hadn’t had that luck with harry and antz . they used to say ' if it flies , get ron goodwin . ' ( goodwin composed the battle of britain , 633 squadron and those magnificent men in their flying machine * * s ) . i am beginning to feel a bit like that myself now , now that i’ve done dragon , chicken run and rio . everything is flying .
- - - - - -
the story behind the scenes started four years earlier , when dreamworks skg co - founder jeffrey katzenberg was the chairman of disney’s motion picture division , which means he was around when pixar’s follow - up to the popular toy story ( 1994 ) was conceived and greenlit . after katzenberg’s feud with disney ceo michael eisner caused him to jump ship to form a new company with steven spielberg and david geffen , the first thing he rushed into production was antz . naturally pixar’s steve jobs and john lasseter were remarkably displeased .