[Pollinator] Disney film about pollinators in production (2008-2009)

[Jennifer Tsang]

Thanks to Steve Buchmann for sending in the below:

 

On April 22, 2008 the Walt Disney Company announced the launch of a new Film
Label, and subsidiary, "Disneynature" to produce outstanding HD format
theatrical release documentaries by the world's top documentary filmmakers.
Disney veteran Jean-Francois Camilleri will head the new unit based in
France. Among the first films to be released domestically under the new
label will be "Earth" from award-winning British producer/director Alastair
Fothergill (known for his ground-breaking "Planet Earth" series for
BBC/Discovery Channel, and "The Blue Planet").  Earth will debut on Earth
Day, April 22, 2009. 



Early films from Disneynature include:

1. THE CRIMSON WING: Mystery of the Flamingos (worldwide roll-out December
2008).
2.  OCEANS  (Domestic release 2010).
3. ORANGUTANS: One Minute to Midnight (Worldwide release 2010).
4. BIG CATS (Worldwide release 2011).
5. *NAKED BEAUTY: A Love Story that Feeds the Earth (European release 2010,
domestic release 2011).
6. CHIMPANZEE (Worldwide release 2012).

Pollinator and flowering plant advocates will welcome a departure from "all
vertebrates all the time" (charismatic megafauna) with no. 5 in the above
series.   "Naked Beauty" features ground-breaking macro POV and time lapse
cinematography of insect and vertebrate pollinators interacting with their
flowering plants. Montages of diverse pollinators will make cameo
appearances amidst a cast of 5 main pollinating characters (honey bees,
bumble bees, monarch butterflies, bats and hummingbirds) in this 90 minute
theatrical (and later television) feature film world wide release about
pollinators and their flowers from Disneynature. The film will also present
viewers with hands on examples for protecting and conserving pollinators and
plants.

NAPPC and Pollinator Partnership partners and affiliates may take special
pride in seeing an idea proposed by former NAPPC Co-Chair Paul Growald (CoE
founder and Chairman Emeritus, venture philanthropist, andbeekeeper),
blossom  into a dedicated theatrical  film with distribution by the Walt
Disney Company and Disneynature to produce what will likely be a thoroughly
engaging film depicting pollinating activities of animals around the world.
Planning and early filming have  begun. Filming will take place between July
2008 and July 2009, with post production (editing, narration, CGI graphics,
music etc.)  after filming, starting in  2009. Among others, filming
locations include Arizona, California, Mexico, Panama and peninsular
Malaysia.

The Pollinator Film TEAM:
Naked Beauty (NB) will be produced and directed by large format Time Lapse
guru Louis Schwartzberg (founder, BlackLight films) and known for his Disney
film "America's Heart and Soul." Joining Schwartzberg with cinematography
will be two time Emmy award winner Keith Brust. Other Producers include
Alix Tidmarsh (known for BBC's "Earth" TV 
release) and Paul Growald. Jake Eberts is the Executive Producer. He is one
of the most successful independent producers in the film industry having won
27 Oscars including 4 for Best Picture (Gandhi, Chariots of Fire, Dances
with Wolves and a River Runs Through It). He is Chairman of National
Geographic Films. Our writer is Mose Richards, a veteran of more than 70
films and 50 non-fiction TV films. Joining the NB team as lead scientific
advisor and head of research is Dr. Stephen Buchmann, NAPPC's Interim
International Coordinator. Steve will work with Brust and Schwartzberg to
obtain critical HD macro shots and time lapse imagery, ensuring scientific
accuracy during all phases of filming and post production.  Paul  Growald
will assist coordinating pollinator educational outreach with the Pollinator
Partnership (and NAPPC) other NGO's,  while helping create a policy
initiative (promoting new approaches and solutions for sustaining
pollinators and their plants)  to accompany the film's worldwide and
domestic release. Onward pollinators!

For more information and a Disneynature trailer, please see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneynature and
www.collider.com/entertainment/news/article.asp/aid/7661/tcid/1 

This news item submitted by Stephen Buchmann
Interim NAPPC International Coordinator

 

Stephen Buchmann

International Coordinator

Pollinator Partnership

2849 W. Placita Paciente

Tucson, AZ 85742

520-797-2638

Mobile: 520-425-4527

 

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