92nd Oscars Backstage Interview Transcript: ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

SPEECH BY: Josh Cooley, Jonas Rivera, Mark Nielsen

FILM: "TOY STORY 4"

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Q. Hi guys, congratulations. This is getting to be a habit
you guys. So I'm -- we're from the Philippines. So can
-- can you talk about the contribution of international artists? Because I'm from the Philippines, and I know many artists from all over the world contributed to this movie. So can you talk about their contribution?
A. (Mark Nielsen) Yeah. You know we're so proud of Pixar to have kind of such a -- such a diverse crew. There's people from all over the world working there that are supporting these films and we're just so proud of the work they did. You know, the three of us are just standing up here to represent this film, but it was really 250 artists from all around the world back at Pixar that helped us build this thing over a five-year period. So we're just so grateful for all the work the crew did, including all of those from -- from all around the world.
A. (Jonas Rivera) It's been nice just to -- to button that because I worked on the first film and to see Pixar grow from 1995 to now, just the story rooms, the technical rooms, the animation dailies, it's just a very different looking room, a lot more gender balance, people from around the world. We're very proud of that and we hope that that love from everybody around the world kind of seeps its way into every frame of the picture.
So thank you.


Q. You -- I don't know if you know this, but you just became the first U.S. born Latino to win multiple Oscars. What's the significance for that?
A. (Jonas Rivera) Wow. I didn't know that, and as if my mind couldn't be more blown about the last five minutes, thank you for that word because I'm a little bit -- I'm a little bit out of my body right now. It means the world to me. I can't even really put it into words, to be honest with you. I'm so proud of this thing and working with these guys, but to have that added on top is just -- sort of cements it. So thank you.


Q. Tell me what it's like. Tell me what it's like, what do you love about being storytellers?
A. (Josh Cooley) Yeah, I love just being able to connect with an audience, and I remember doing it as a kid with my parents and being able to tell jokes to them and just seeing how they reacted to it, and it just lit me up, even as a kid, and it's something my family did a lot. So for me personally, it's just having a connection with people and I think that's -- it's the best job in the world.
 
Q. Jonas, I don't know if you speak Spanish, but I wanted you to send a message to any Latino kid who has big dreams and, you know, is pursuing something in his life.
A. (Jonas Rivera) Let me tell you I don't speak Spanish, unfortunately. I'm a -- I'm a child of the '70s. The only Spanish I learned was when my grandparents would fight. That's the only time they'd speak Spanish in front of us. And so -- but, nonetheless, you know, my grandfather was, you know, from Jalisco, Mexico, and was -- grew up in El Paso, and my dad's side of the family is the Mexican side of my family. And I think it just -- my message my grandpa always instilled in me, the work ethic. You know, he drove trucks and filleted fish, and always told me, "You work hard and, you know, no matter what you do, you work hard. And if you love what you do, it will pay you back." And he was right. I wish he was here today, but I know he's looking down on me. And I guess the answer to your question is just work ethic. You work hard, you put your guts into it, that's what we do, and it does happen. This did happen, and I'm just over the moon. Thank you.

Q. A massive congratulations, a massive. I have a question. If you could go back into time and you meet your younger self, what would you say to him now?
A. (Mark Nielsen) Yeah, I got this question earlier, and I -- and I was going to tell myself not -- not to go to business school, because I did that for a few years only to change my mind and realized that film and storytelling was my true love and that I should follow that with everything I had. So that's what I would tell him: Skip the business, go right to the film.
A. (Jonas Rivera) Poor business schools.

Q. This is the first time with TOY STORY that a franchise film has won two Oscars in this category. Could you talk a little -- Jonas, especially since you've been with the first one, what it felt -- what -- a little bit about the history of the franchise and what we might see going forward, whether that would be streaming content or any format.
A. (Jonas Rivera) I think it's such an honor, this is the fourth film. I think it's just a testament to how rich these characters are, how much people love Buzz and Woody and these characters. And when you strip it all away, which we did with Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, our executive producers, and just looked at the story, all it really is, it's a story about a guy that is afraid to be replaced. He just doesn't want to lose his job. And I think at a certain point, everybody feels that, I know we do, everybody just wants to hold on to what they've got. And what we did with Woody in this film, what we tried to do is put him in a position where he could really, truly have a second chance, a second leash on life. And I just think there's something to the ingredient to the story that people felt was worthy. We certainly did and we chased it down and we tried to dramatize it as best we could in this film.

 


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