*Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to Charlotte, NC for the coverage of these events. All opinions are 100% my own.
Chatting with Brian Fee and Kevin Reher about Cars 3
Chatting with Brian Fee and Kevin Reher about Cars 3 was lots of fun and an experience I won’t soon forget. We found out lots of things about Cars 3, the journey of the characters and of course their love for Cars. Here are a few things that I learned:
Cruz Rameriz started out as a male character Chris because Nascar and the films are predominantly a “male” sport, but after working on the project for a little while they soon learned that that the story was missing something, and they could tell a bigger story to help empower girls everywhere. Cruz was a character that everyone could look up to, but everyone would identify with. Cruz Ramirez was the hardest character to crack because she is also the most important character in the film.
Everyone is bad at first, no matter what they are doing. And while it is heartbreaking as a parent we must let our children make their own mistakes and of course failures. It’s human nature, but it still breaks your heart as a parent. That story is told in Cars 3 at a different level but there are so many lessons in Cars 3 for both parents as well as kids. The circle of life is one that is tough, but you are essentially teaching your kids everything you know to make them successful adults.
Everyone has their own personal story and each one of us has our own insecurities. There are people at Pixar that feel like they aren’t “good enough” to be there and work their tails off to feel like they belong or have the privilege of being there. As a blogger this is so true to many of us because we are all the same but so very different. We need to be naturally confident in our jobs and ability level.
There’s a million reasons why everybody who watches Cars 3 will identify with Cruise. It maybe through gender, race or even someone that feels like a bit of an outsider at times, her character is so universal everyone has a connection to her.
Research for Cars 3 included trips to Charolette, North Carolina, Daytona and lots and lots of racetracks. They even went to old abandoned tracks and when they went to Wilxborough, which is North Carolina they learned about the legends of racing.
Fun Fact: Smokey’s Garage, best dang garage in town. Was actually Smokey Eunic’s Garage was the best damn garage in town.
Lea Delaria actually self-auditioned for her part Miss Fritter with the pages that were sent to her. She recorded her audition on her iPhone and it was exactly what they were looking for which allowed John Lassiter to give the final approval for her to voice Miss Fritter. There’s even a homage to her character Big Boo from Orange is the New Black and she sings on the soundtrack Riding on the Freeway of Love.
Race out and get a copy of Cars 3 now available Digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD™ on Oct. 24. But you can pre-order Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD™ & Blu-ray™ on Nov. 7!
Need more Cars 3 behind the scenes information? Check out Chatting with Jay Ward and Ray Evernham!
About Kevin Reher
KEVIN REHER (Producer) produced “Partly Cloudy,” the Peter Sohn-directed short film that played before “Up” in 2009. In 2010, he produced “Day & Night,” Teddy Newton’s Academy Award®-nominated short film that played in theaters with “Toy Story 3.” Reher also produced the short “La Luna,” which screened theatrically with “Brave” in 2012.
Since joining the Pixar Animation Studios in 1993, Reher has expanded his role in the studio to encompass multiple positions. He began as a finance and production representative for Walt Disney Pictures on “Toy Story” and co-producer of “A Bug’s Life.” Reher formally joined Pixar in 1999 as the development producer, overseeing the “incubation period” of feature and short film projects, starting with 2003’s release of “Finding Nemo.”
As development producer, Reher played an integral role in managing and directing his team through the formative stages of the studio’s feature film productions, including budgeting, staffing, writer identification, research, visual development and voice casting.
Reher also oversees Pixar’s casting process, beginning with “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles,” and continuing with “Cars 2,” “Brave,” “Monsters University,” and the studio’s 2015 releases “Inside Out,” which won the Oscar® for best animated feature film, and “The Good Dinosaur.”
Reher began his career as a production accountant on the “Gumby” television series, and associate producer on “The Gumby Movie.” He then transitioned to Tim Burton’s feature film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” where he was a production accountant.
Born in Bellevue, Wash., and raised in Northern California, Reher attended California State University San Luis Obispo, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban design and planning.
About Brian Fee
BRIAN FEE (Director) joined Pixar Animation Studios as a story artist in June 2003. A veteran of some of the studio’s most popular and acclaimed movies, including the “Cars” films, the Academy Award©-winning “Ratatouille” and “WALL•E,” and “Monsters University,” Fee makes his directorial debut on Disney•Pixar’s upcoming feature film “Cars 3,” set to release on June 16, 2017.
Prior to joining Pixar, Fee worked in hand-drawn animation and character design at Character Builders in Ohio and WildBrain in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design.
A native of Alexandria, Ky., Fee fell in love with the movies as a child when his parents took him to the local drive-in to see “The Jungle Book” and “Star Wars.” He resides in Petaluma, Calif.
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