pixar

CULVER CITY, Calif.--One of the things that struck me towards the end of the animated surfing penguin mockumentary, Surf's Up, is that I had forgotten that every bit of water in the film--mainly loads of lovingly rendered surfing waves--was digitally animated.

Even after that realization, I looked at the water in the film and thought the animators had done a remarkable job at recreating one of the things that, like making human hair look realistic, has always been hardest to recreate.

Others must agree, because last month, Surf's Up was chosen as one three nominees for … Read more

As you probably have heard by now, it's Oscar nominations day, and Hollywood is all a-buzz.

But up here in the Bay Area, there are some pretty happy people as well.

That's because the folks at Lucasfilm divisions Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound were honored with a total of six nominations Tuesday.

ILM was nominated for its visual effects work on both Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

ILM's John Knoll and Hal Hickel, who were nominated for their work on both of the two previous Pirates films, and who won … Read more

The whole world is watching as Steve Jobs' Apple launches perhaps its most-anticipated product ever, the iPhone, Friday.

But in technology circles at least, I've heard few, if any, references to the fact that Jobs' other company, Pixar--OK, Disney-Pixar--also has a major launch Friday.

And that, if you haven't been paying attention through the iPhone haze, is Ratatouille, Pixar's latest film and, if the early reviews are indicative, its latest hit.

Jobs is already noteworthy among tech titans for running two vital companies at the same time (at least when Pixar was independent), but I'm having … Read more