It’s a trick of the timing that Pete Docter is in position to become the first Pixar director to see his film win a best-picture Oscar nomination; the 41-year-old filmmaker, after all, just happens to be the guy who directed the latest in Pixar’s string of classics in the year when the Academy expanded the category from five to 10 nominees. But his film “Up,” the unexpectedly wrenching story of a cranky old man who flies his house to South America to fulfill a promise he made to his late wife, was picking up best-of-the-year buzz even before AMPAS decided to super-size the best-pic field.
Pete Docter: Pixar Movies Are Lousy … at First
The director of “Up” talks about how Pixar’s messy process makes movies that look easy.