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CalArts Alum’s Film Tops $1 Bil., Wins Oscar Same Day

The same day its worldwide box-office receipts topped $1 billion, “Frozen,” co-directed by Jennifer Lee and 1978 CalArts grad Chris Buck, added an Oscar to its trophy collection at the 86th Annual Academy Awards Sunday.


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Two months ago it won the 2014 Golden Globe Award for best animated feature film.Frozen

Weekend estimates totalled a $388.7 million in domestic receipts plus $611.5 million foreign, for a combined take of $1,000,200,000 as of Sunday.

It’s the highest grossing original non-sequel animated film in history and only the second animated feature to top $1 billion after Pixar’s “Toy Story 3.”

It’s the 18th film of any kind to pass the $1 billion mark at the box office.

Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen,” “Frozen” tells the story of two Scandinavian princesses who must work together to save their kingdom. It was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

It was the second Oscar nomination for Buck, who made the cut in 2007 for “Surf’s Up.”

Related Article: CalArts Legends Featured in Vanity Fair Article

Chris Buck, CalArts Alum’s Film Tops $1 Bil., Wins Oscar Same DayBuck, a Disney Animation veteran, graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a degree in film and video, and returned a decade later to teach at CalArts from 1988-93.

Buck’s resume includes character design for 1989’s “The Little Mermaid” and 1995’s “Pocahontas.”

It was the first nomination for Lee, who also wrote the screenplay for “Wreck-It Ralph,” which was directed by another CalArts alumnus, Rich Moore. “Wreck-It Ralph” was nominated for an Oscar last year, losing out to yet another CalArts alum-directed film, “Brave.”

Three movies filmed in Santa Clarita were nominated at the Academy Awards in addition to “Frozen.”

When Buck was interviewed about his 2014 Golden Globe win backstage, he gave special thanks to Disney/Pixar’s President and former CalArts trustee Ed Catmull and CalArts alum John Lasseter, chief creative officer, according to the CalArts blog 24700.

“It is John Lasseter and Ed Catmull from Pixar that came down to Disney, bringing that same structure and environment to Disney animation. It really is a collaborative effort. John is the first one to say, ‘Best idea in the room wins.’ So we help each other out. The directors help each other out, the writers, story artists, everybody does. It is such a healthy environment there…and I think that’s showing in the films.”

Other nominees for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards included “The Croods,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Ernest & Celestine” and “The Wind Rises.”

The movies “Saving Mr. Banks,” “Lone Ranger,” and “Iron Man 3” were also nominated, and all filmed in-part in Santa Clarita, said Jason Crawford, business development director for Santa Clarita.

Crawford said scene’s of Walt Disney’s office and P.L. Traver’s home from “Saving Mr. Banks” were filmed at the Avenue Scott Stages. “Mr. Banks” was nominated for best original music score.

Parts of “Lone Ranger” were filmed at Polsa Rosa Movie Ranch. It was nominated for visual effects and makeup and hairstyling.

Crawford added that parts of all “Iron Man” movies were filmed in Santa Clarita. “Iron Man 3” was also nominated for visual effects.

“We are of course thrilled movies filmed here are being recognized and can’t wait to see what happens,” Crawford said in an earlier interview prior to the Academy Awards. 

Leon Worden of SCVNews.com contributed to this story.


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CalArts Alum’s Film Tops $1 Bil., Wins Oscar Same Day

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