WALL-E director celebrates a week of kudos

[December 12, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood's most famous trash compactor continued his journey from the dump to the Oscars.

The robot star of "WALL-E" will roll the red carpet at the Golden Globes, now that the Disney/Pixar animated film secured nominations for animated feature and original song.

That likely means rubbing elbows -- are those technically elbows? -- with this awards season's hottest celebs, including Brad Pitt, who'd do well to avoid a red-carpet throwdown with the little 'bot, "WALL-E" director Andrew Stanton joked Thursday.

"Well, you know, Brad would look better after the fight," he said. "But WALL-E is pretty sturdy. He's lasted 700 years. So, there's longevity there."

The Globe nominations come just a day after "WALL-E" won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association biggest prize: best picture. That group is just one among many suggesting "WALL-E" deserves to break out of the animated block at the Academy Awards.

A best-picture Oscar isn't a notion Stanton, 43, is yet prepared to seriously consider.

"Who thinks that's going to happen in their life?" he said. "Who even thinks they're going to get make a movie, no less that it'll end up in the category of just five select films?"

Nevertheless, Stanton seems prepared for the awards-show gauntlet for him and "WALL-E," thanks to the experience collecting animated-feature Oscars for "Finding Nemo."

"I just remember so many free meals," Stanton recalled. "And it's weird, because there starts to be a commonality of who's nominated, even though they vary at times. You start to see the same filmmakers and stars and artisans in the same room, just wearing different, new clothing and a different meal on your table. It's an odd existence for a month."

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL CIDONI]

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