Istari Pictures

Coraline, an upcoming stop-animation film, is getting close to being released. With Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas) and Mike Cachuela in charge of direction and animation, my hopes are set HIGH - WAY HIGH!!! Coraline is also being produced at Laika Studios - just 100 miles north of here - in Portland, OR, and could be the biggest cinematic release Oregon has seen in quite a while.

Trailer

From Wikipedia:
Coraline is the story of a young girl (Dakota Fanning) who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home in Ashland, Oregon, and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this other world eerily mimics her own life—though much more fantastical. In it, Coraline encounters such off-kilter inhabitants as the morbidly funny Miss Forcible (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Spink (Dawn French), and a counterfeit mother—who attempts to keep her. Ultimately, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home.

Note: at the present time you’ll need to enter a code to get into the Coraline website. You’ll see what I mean if you click-through via the link below.

Here are some of the codes (thanks to Drawn.ca):
stopmotion
moustachio
puppetlove
armpithair
sweaterxxs

Visit the Coraline website
Visit the Laika website

The Portland International Film Festival is the largest film event in Oregon. With more than 35,000 people in attendance and more than 100 features and shorts, this is the one to attend. Istari Pictures plans to submit “Little One” to the film festival for consideration.

More information can be found at the NW Film School’s website:

http://www.nwfilm.org/festivals/portland_international.php

As of November 9, 2009, filming for “Little One” has started. The film is set for an online release in April of 2009. Little One is a short film about a family who is stricken by an Irish curse and the temporary loss of their beloved “little one.” As the story unfolds, the curse is revealed and the fate of the family falls into the laps of Eleanor “little one” McLean and her brother Arlo to bring balance back to the family.

The film will be shot entirely in Eugene, Oregon.