"Rise of the Guardians" Barrier-Breaker: The First African-American to Direct a CG Animation Film
Last edited Tue Nov 27, 2012, 05:15 PM - Edit history (1)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Peter Ramsey didn't just have the pressure of making his feature directing debut on an $145 million tentpole film, he also had to deal with the expectations that came with being a barrier-breaker.
By sliding behind the camera on DreamWorks Animation's "Rise of the Guardians" Ramsey made history as the first African-American to helm a major CG animated film.
"Rise of the Guardians," a sort of "Avengers" for the fairy-tale set, opened Wednesday. It tells the story of a group of mythological heroes like Santa Claus (voiced by Alec Baldwin), Jack Frost (Chris Pine) and the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) who team up to prevent the Nightmare King (Jude Law) from plunging children around the world into a state of despair and hopelessness. The film is an adaptation of a popular series of children's books by William Joyce.
Ramsey talked with TheWrap about the responsibility of being a role model, the need to inject a little darkness into children's entertainment and the possibility of a "Guardians" sequel.
What does it mean to be the first African American to direct a CG movie on this scale?
I really wasn't thinking, "Oh, I'm a pioneer" when I first got the project. It wasn't until my mom and dad saw an article that mentioned that fact - and I saw that my dad had tears in his eyes - that it really snapped back to me and I realized this is kind of a big deal. That's the way it is any time some hurdle falls away.
I grew up in South-Central L.A. at a time before there was Spike Lee or John Singleton, so there was really no conception that I could make films. It's super fulfilling that kids growing up like I did can now have it permanently in mind that it's a possibility for them.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-riseoftheguardians-qabre8am0yu-20121123,0,387429.story
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