Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence, Eugene Levy, Kristin Olsen, Ty Burrell, Ed O’Neill & Ellen DeGeneres
Dory watched us the entire time
Journalists from around the world (and me) gathered at the Montage Beverly Hills last week for a Q&A session with the creators and stars of Disney/Pixar’s FINDING DORY and PIPER.
Things kicked off with a visit from the film’s writer/director, Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), and producer, Lindsey Collins (Wall-E). The press wasted no time in asking them about the possibility of a lesbian couple in the film, a rumor sparked by MouseInfo’s own posting earlier this month.
When asked if the couple were lesbians, Stanton replied, “I don’t know. We didn’t ask them.” He and Collins went on to say that there was no hidden agenda in the scene – they were just the two women they placed there. Zero thought went into their relationship, or lack thereof. They went on to talk about the reason for the film’s existence.
They felt as though Dory had been left hanging at the end of FINDING NEMO with an unresolved and ultimately sad story. That set them on the path to creating the heartfelt and charming sequel.
When the cast came onstage, almost everyone wanted to talk to the marquee star herself, Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen was everything you could hope in a live setting – warm and effortlessly funny. She said that she hoped the aforementioned women weren’t a lesbian couple, because one of them has an ugly short haircut, and as Ellen says, “an ugly haircut doesn’t make you a lesbian.”
After the cast powwow, we headed to an intimate room with the director, Alan Barillaro, and producer, Marc Sondheimer, of PIPER. They shared the intricate process of creating the photorealistic world of a sandpiper from a view of 4″ off the ground, including the rigorous hours spent observing and filming them on the beach. They even had to go to Hawaii. What a rough life!
PIPER and FINDING DORY are in theaters now!
