An interview from the FILMdetail archives. Back in 2004, I spoke with writer-director Frank Darabont about the 10th anniversary of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994). Whilst not an initial success, it gradually became one of the most beloved films of all time, consistently ranking at No. 1 on the Internet Movie Database.

Frank Darabont on THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)

The character of Big Bird on Sesame Street has enchanted generations of viewers on the children's show Sesame Street. A new documentary explores the life and career of Caroll Spinney, the man inside the iconic yellow costume. We spoke to him recently about his childhood, a chance meeting with Jim Henson that changed his life and what it was like travelling the world in a big suit of yellow feathers. The DVD is out in the UK on June 1st.

Caroll Spinney on I Am Big Bird

From the WTF podcast with Marc Maron, Ian McKellen reads Shakespeare's speech on immigration from 'Sir Thomas More'.

To listen to the full episode: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_621_-_sir_ian_mckellen

Ian McKellen recites Shakespeare speech on immigration

An interview with Anthony Daniels who has played C-3PO in all the STAR WARS films to date and will star again in the upcoming THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015). This interview was recorded in August 2008 around the release of the animated series THE CLONE WARS.

Anthony Daniels on Star Wars and C-3PO

For more about this interview visit: http://www.filmdetail.com/2015/09/12/meeting-ivana-trump-donald-citizen-kane/

Ivana Trump in Cannes 2007

On August 7th 1974 Philippe Petit gave an incredible high-wire performance by walking between between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center eight times in one hour. It is the subject of Man on Wire, a 2008 documentary from director James Marsh (who made Wisconsin Death Trip) and I spoke to Philippe about his historic wire walk and the film.

Philippe Petit on Man on Wire (2008)

An interview with French film guru Pierre Rissient about Jean Luc Godard and the impact of BREATHLESS (1960) on cinema.

Pierre Rissient on Breathless and Godard

John Lasseter is the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He initially worked as an animator at Disney in the late 70s before going on to join the computer animation division of Lucasfilm‘s Industrial Light and Magic. In 1986 the department was purchased by Apple founder Steve Jobs who renamed the new company Pixar (a fake Spanish word meaning ‘to make pixels’) and gave Lasseter the freedom to direct, produce and create models for a variety of projects, many of which were television commercials. In the late 1980s Lasseter made several award winning shorts before going on to direct the groundbreaking Toy Story in 1995, the first feature-length computer animated film. As the chief of Pixar’s creative department, Lasseter became the key figure behind an extraordinary run of critically acclaimed, blockbuster animated films. He directed A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999) and Cars (2006) whilst also serving as executive producer on Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008). If the success of Pixar was not enough, his career reached a new plateau in early 2006 when Disney officially acquired Pixar, and promoted Lasseter to Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Feature Animation. The first movie he has overseen for Disney is Bolt, the tale of a small white dog who, having spent his entire life acting in a TV series, thinks that he has super powers. Directed by Chris Williams and Byron Howard, it was produced by Lasseter and I spoke to him in London recently about his career and the new film.

John Lasseter on Bolt

A 2008 interview with Angus MacLane was the directing animator on WALL-E. The story involved the last robot left on Earth many years into the future, after mankind has evacuated onboard a giant spaceship. Named WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth class), he organises the giant mounds of waste that litter the planet, with only a cockroach for company. But when a new robot named EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) visits Earth, he starts to have feelings for her and soon discovers where the humans have gone. It was a huge critical and commercial success and won the Oscar for Best Animated Film.

FILMdetail Interviews

Angus MacLane on WALL-E (2008)

An interview with the late Soundgarden and Audioslave singer about his work on the Bond film CASINO ROYALE (2006). He sadly passed away yesterday, aged 52. http://bbc.in/2qySAby

Chris Cornell on CASINO ROYALE (2006)

The Soundcloud page for FILMdetail.com, which features selected audio from the site, including interviews and radio appearances. More interviews can be found at filmdetail.com/interviews 

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