BRAVE Key Filmmaker Bios

7/31/2019 BRAVE Key Filmmaker Bios

1/4

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

MARK ANDREWS (Director/Screenplay by) is the director of DisneyPixars next feature film, Brave,which opens in theaters nationwide June 22, 2012.

Andrews joined Pixar Animation Studios in December 2000 and has worked on four of the studiosfeature films. He served as story supervisor on the Academy Award-winning feature films TheIncredibles and Ratatouille and as a storyboard artist for the Golden Globe-winning Cars. Andrewsalso contributed to the story of the critically acclaimed, award-winning Toy Story 3. In addition to hiswork on Pixars feature films, Andrews co-wrote and co-directed the Academy Award-nominated shortfilm One Man Band.

Andrews also provided his talents to Walt Disney Pictures John Carter as second-unit director and co-writer alongside the films director and Pixar colleague Andrew Stanton.

Prior to coming to Pixar, Andrews lived in Los Angeles and was a storyboard artist on several animatedfilms. For his work on The Iron Giant, he received an Annie Award from ASIFA-Hollywood forOutstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production. He was also astoryboard artist on several animated television shows such as The New Adventures of Jonny Questand Star Wars: The Clone Wars, for which he was awarded an Emmy, and the award-winningSamurai Jack. Besides his work in the animation world, Andrews was a storyboard artist on Sonysblockbuster live-action feature film Spider-Man.

Andrews earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1993.He currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife and their children.

BRENDA CHAPMAN (Director/Story by/Screenplay by)joined Pixar Animation Studios in September2003 as a senior story artist on the Academy Award-nominated feature film Cars. Upon completingher work on Cars, Chapman stepped into the position of director after conceiving the unique story,characters and world for DisneyPixars upcoming feature Brave. An epic adventure set in the mythicalHighlands of Scotland Brave hits theaters on June 22, 2012.

Born and raised in Illinois, Chapman earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California Institute of theArts (CalArts). She went on to start her story and directing career at Walt Disney Feature Animation

Studios where she worked as a story artist on a number of Disneys most beloved animated filmsincluding The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback ofNotre Dame and Fantasia/2000. Chapman was the story supervisor on The Lion King, whichultimately became the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time.

After nearly eight years at Disney, Chapman left to help launch a new animation studio DreamWorksAnimation Studios. At DreamWorks she directed the studios 1998 release The Prince of Egypt, whichmarked the first time a woman directed an animated feature film for a major Hollywood studio.

Prior to joining Pixar, Chapman worked as a directing and story consultant on various projects indevelopment at DreamWorks, Universal Studios and Sony Animation.


2/4

STEVE PURCELL (Co-Director/Screenplay by)joined Pixar Animation Studios in September 2001 asa story artist for the Golden Globe-winning feature film Cars. Purcell traveled down Route 66 on theproduction team research trip, and his discoveries introduced real heart and authenticity to the story ofthe film. In addition to his valuable work for the story team, Purcell produced concept art for the film,consulted on Cars toys and games, and offered his voice for a moo-ing role as one of the non-speaking characters in Cars.

It was his adept storytelling talents, however, that lead Purcell to his next role as co-director onDisneyPixars upcoming feature film, Brave, scheduled for release on June 22, 2012. As co-director,Purcell made significant contributions to the story and screenplay while working side-by-side with thefilms directors and producer.

Having drawn for as long as he can remember, Purcell still has his very first drawings Yogi Bear andBozo the Clown. In his youth Purcell created his own storyboards and comics, made 8mm films at home,and was entertained by MAD Magazine, the Marx Brothers and Monty Python. His passion forfilmmaking and drawing created a natural path to Pixar.

Along the way, Purcell worked as a freelance illustrator, character designer, comic book writer and artist.He was a computer game animator and designer for LucasArts, and supervised a network television

animated series based on his own comic characters.

Purcell graduated from California College of the Arts in Oakland, California, and has remained in the SanFrancisco Bay Area throughout his career. He currently lives in Petaluma, California with his wife andtheir two children.

KATHERINE SARAFIAN (Producer) has been an integral part of the success and growth of PixarAnimation Studios, holding a variety of key leadership positions that have culminated in her role asproducer on DisneyPixars next feature film Brave, scheduled for release on June 22, 2012.

Sarafian joined Pixar in 1994 as a production coordinator on the studios first full-length feature film, Toy

Story. From there, she continued to develop her film production experience as production manager inPixars short film department, and as art department manager on the studios second feature film, ABugs Life.

After completing her work on A Bugs Life, Sarafian shifted gears and moved on to positions in thecreative services and consumer products departments. She eventually became director of marketing forthe studio.

In 2000, Sarafian transitioned back into production at Pixar, first as production supervisor on Monsters,Inc. and then as production manager on the Academy Award-winning feature The Incredibles. Shenext took on the role of producer for the Academy Award-nominated short film Lifted, which screenedin theaters worldwide with Oscar-winner Ratatouille in 2007.

Prior to Pixar, Sarafian worked in development at Castle Rock Entertainment and in digital entertainmentat Sanctuary Woods Multimedia.

Sarafian holds a Master of Arts degree in Film and Television Critical Studies and a Bachelor of Artsdegree in Communication Studies, both from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has taughtundergraduate film and television courses and has represented Pixar at a variety of film festivalsthroughout Japan, Europe and the United States. A native of Oakland, Calif., Sarafian is active in theSan Francisco Bay Area theater, music and arts communities.


3/4

JOHN LASSETER (Executive Producer) is a two-time Academy Award-winning director andcreatively oversees all films and associated projects from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.Lasseter made his feature directorial debut in 1995 with Toy Story, the first-ever feature-lengthcomputer-animated film and, since then, has gone on to direct A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2 and Cars.He returned to the drivers seat in 2011, directing Cars 2.

His executive-producing credits include Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille,WALLE, Bolt and last years critically acclaimed Up, the first animated film ever to open the CannesFilm Festival and the recipient of two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original

Score. Lasseter also served as executive producer for Disneys Oscar-nominated films The Princessand the Frog and Tangled as well as Pixars Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature andBest Original Song, Toy Story 3, which is based on a story written by Lasseter, Andrew Stanton andLee Unkrich.

Lasseter wrote, directed and animated Pixars first short films, including Luxo Jr., Reds Dream, TinToy and Knick Knack. Luxo Jr. was the first three-dimensional computer-animated film ever to benominated for an Academy Award when it was nominated for Best Animated Short Film in 1986; TinToy was the first three-dimensional computer-animated film ever to win an Academy Award when itwas named Best Animated Short Film in 1988. Lasseter has executive-produced all of the studiossubsequent shorts, including Boundin, One Man Band, Lifted, Presto, Partly Cloudy, Day &Night and the Academy Award-winning Geris Game (1997) and For the Birds (2000).

Under Lasseters supervision, Pixars animated feature and short films have earned a multitude of criticalaccolades and film-industry honors. Lasseter himself received a Special Achievement Oscar in 1995for his inspired leadership of the Toy Story team. He and the rest of the screenwriting team of ToyStory also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, the first time ananimated feature had ever been recognized in that category.

In 2009, Lasseter was honored at the 66th Venice International Film Festival with the Golden Lion forLifetime Achievement. The following year, he became the first producer of animated films to receive theProducers Guild of Americas David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures. Lasseters otherrecognitions include the 2004 Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery award from the ArtDirectors Guild, an honorary degree from the American Film Institute, and the 2008 Winsor McCay

Award from ASIFA-Hollywood for career achievement and contribution to the art of animation.

Prior to the formation of Pixar in 1986, Lasseter was a member of the Computer Division of LucasfilmLtd., where he designed and animated The Adventures of Andre and Wally B, the first-ever piece ofcharacter-based three-dimensional computer animation, and the computer-generated Stained GlassKnight character in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-produced film Young Sherlock Holmes.

Lasseter was part of the inaugural class of the Character Animation program at California Institute of theArts and received his B.F.A. in film in 1979. Lasseter is the only two-time winner of the Student AcademyAward for Animation, for his CalArts student films Lady and the Lamp (1979) and Nitemare (1980).His very first award came at the age of 5, when he won $15 from the Model Grocery Market in Whittier,Calif., for a crayon drawing of the Headless Horseman.

ANDREW STANTON (Executive Producer) has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studiossince 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the companys elite groupof computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative he currently leads the initiatives of andoversees all features and shorts development of the studio. Stanton wrote and directed the Academy

Award-winning DisneyPixar feature film WALLE, for which he also received a Best OriginalScreenplay Oscar-nomination.

Stanton made his directorial debut with the record-shattering Finding Nemo, an original story of his thathe also co-wrote. The film garnered Stanton two Academy Award nominations (Best Original


4/4

Screenplay and Best Animated Film), and Finding Nemo was awarded an Oscar for Best AnimatedFeature Film of 2003, the first such honor Pixar Animation Studios received for a full-length feature.

One of the four screenwriters to receive an Oscar nomination in 1996 for his contribution to Toy Story,Stanton went on to receive credit as a screenwriter on every subsequent Pixar film A Bugs Life, ToyStory 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. Additionally, he served as co-director on A Bugs Life,and was the executive producer of Monsters, Inc. and the 2006 Academy Award-winning Ratatouille.

A native of Rockport, Mass., Stanton earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Character Animation from

California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts), where he completed two student films. In the 1980s, helaunched his professional career in Los Angeles animating for Bill Kroyers Kroyer Films studio, andwriting for Ralph Bakshis production of Mighty Mouse, The New Adventures (1987).

PETE DOCTER (Executive Producer) is the Oscar-winning director of Monsters, Inc. and Up,Pixars tenth feature film.

Starting at Pixar in 1990 as the studios third animator, Docter collaborated with John Lasseter andAndrew Stanton in developing the story and characters for Toy Story, Pixars first full length animatedfeature film, for which he also served as supervising animator. He served as a storyboard artist on ABugs Life, and wrote initial story treatments for both Toy Story 2 and WALLE.

Docters interest in animation began at the age of eight when he created his first flipbook. He studiedcharacter animation at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in Valencia, California, where he produceda variety of short films which have shown in animation festivals around the world, and won a Student

Academy Award. Upon joining Pixar, he animated and directed several commercials, and has beennominated for six Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature for Up and Monsters, Inc., andBest Original Screenplay for Up and WALLE. Docter is currently working on an untitled Pixar moviethat takes you inside the mind, slated for release in 2015.

He resides in Piedmont, Calif., with his wife and their two children.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:Set in the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland, DisneyPixars Brave follows the heroic journey of Merida(voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) andQueen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to change her fate, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred tothe unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh(voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane), unleashing chaos in thekingdom. When she turns to an eccentric Witch (voice of Julie Walters), she is granted an ill-fated wish and theensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her resourcesincluding her mischievous triplet brothersto undo abeastly curse and discover the meaning of true bravery. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, andproduced by Katherine Sarafian, Brave is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and signature Pixarhumor. Opens on June 22, 2012, in Disney Digital 3D in select theaters.

Documents

BRAVE Key Filmmaker Bios