Chris Wedge
Encyclopedia
Chris Wedge is an American film director, best known for the films Ice Age
and Robots
.
. He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School
, graduating in 1975. He received his BFA in Film from State University of New York at Purchase
in Purchase, New York in 1981, and subsequently earned his MA in computer graphics
and art education at the Ohio State University
. He has taught animation at the School of Visual Arts
in New York City
. Wedge is co-founder and Vice President of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios
, one of the premier computer animation studios and producer of Wedge's films. He is the owner of WedgeWorks, a film production company founded by Wedge.
/SynthaVision, where he was a principal animator on the Disney
film Tron
, credited as an scene programmer. Some of his other works include Where the Wild Things Are
(1983
), Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and Santa Calls. In 1998 he won an Academy Award
for the short animated film, Bunny
. He is also the voice of Scrat in the Ice Age
film series, performing the character's "squeaks and squeals".
Wedge is currently directing a 2013 computer-animated film Leaf Men for 20th Century Fox Animation
, which is based on a William Joyce
book, The Legend of the Leaf Men.
He is set to direct the upcoming film adaptation of Will Wright's Spore.
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
and Robots
Robots (film)
Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
.
Early life and career
Wedge was born in Binghamton, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Fayetteville-Manlius High School
Fayetteville-Manlius High School is a comprehensive New York public high school on East Seneca Turnpike in the Town of Manlius, serving grades 9-12 in the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District. It is the only high school in the district, and is the successor to both Wellwood Middle School...
, graduating in 1975. He received his BFA in Film from State University of New York at Purchase
State University of New York at Purchase
Purchase College, State University of New York, is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system...
in Purchase, New York in 1981, and subsequently earned his MA in computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
and art education at the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. He has taught animation at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Wedge is co-founder and Vice President of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios
Blue Sky Studios
Blue Sky Studios is an American CGI-animation studio which specializes in high-resolution, computer-generated character animation and rendering. It is owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Greenwich, Connecticut...
, one of the premier computer animation studios and producer of Wedge's films. He is the owner of WedgeWorks, a film production company founded by Wedge.
Major credits
In 1982 Wedge worked for MAGIMathematical Applications Group, Inc.
Mathematical Applications Group, Inc. was an early computer technology company founded in 1966 by Dr. Philip Mittelman, it was located in Elmsford, New York. It was one of four companies hired to create the CGI animation for the film Tron...
/SynthaVision, where he was a principal animator on the Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
film Tron
Tron (film)
Tron is a 1982 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Lisberger, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Jeff Bridges as the protagonist Kevin Flynn; Bruce Boxleitner in a dual role as security program Tron and Tron's "User", computer programmer Alan Bradley; Cindy...
, credited as an scene programmer. Some of his other works include Where the Wild Things Are
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
(1983
1983 in film
-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
), Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and Santa Calls. In 1998 he won an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for the short animated film, Bunny
Bunny (short)
Bunny is a 1998 animated short film by Chris Wedge and produced by Blue Sky Studios. It has been featured on the original Ice Age DVD release from 2002 and its 2006 "Super Cool Edition" re-release. The website, , offers the following synopsis:...
. He is also the voice of Scrat in the Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
film series, performing the character's "squeaks and squeals".
Wedge is currently directing a 2013 computer-animated film Leaf Men for 20th Century Fox Animation
20th Century Fox Animation
20th Century Fox Animation is the animation division of film studio 20th Century Fox.-Fox Animation Studios:Before 20th Century Fox started its animation division in 1997, 20th Century Fox released its first six animated films, such as Wizards, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure , Fire and Ice...
, which is based on a William Joyce
William Joyce (writer)
William Joyce is an American author, illustrator, and filmmaker. Newsweek has called him one of the top 100 people to watch in the new millennium. His illustrations have appeared on numerous New Yorker covers and his paintings are displayed at national museums and art galleries. He lives with his...
book, The Legend of the Leaf Men.
He is set to direct the upcoming film adaptation of Will Wright's Spore.
Director
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 1985 in film -Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie... |
Tuber's Two-Step | Short film |
| 1987 1987 in film -Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records.... |
Balloon Guy | Short film |
| 1998 1998 in film -Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:... |
Bunny | Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film Also writer |
| 2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... |
Ice Age Ice Age (film) Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents... |
Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences... |
| 2005 2005 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005... |
Robots | |
| 2013 | Leaf Men | in production |
Producer
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 1990 in film The year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2.... |
The Mind's Eye | Short film |
| 2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... |
Gone Nutty Gone Nutty Gone Nutty is an animated short film, directed by Carlos Saldanha for Blue Sky Studios. The short features the character Scrat from Ice Age, who is yet again having troubles with collecting his beloved acorns. It has roughly the same story as the trailer at the very beginning of Ice Age... |
Executive producer |
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
Ice Age: The Meltdown Ice Age: The Meltdown Ice Age: The Meltdown, also known as Ice Age 2: The Meltdown or simply as Ice Age 2, is the 2006 sequel to the 2002 computer-animated film Ice Age. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and premiered in Belgium on March 1, 2006... |
Executive producer |
| No Time for Nuts No Time for Nuts No Time for Nuts is a computer animated short film from Blue Sky Studios , starring Scrat of Ice Age fame, premiering on the DVD release of Ice Age: The Meltdown, much in the same vein as Gone Nutty on the previous movie's DVD release... |
Executive producer | |
| 2008 2008 in film This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008... |
Horton Hears a Who! Horton Hears a Who! (film) Horton Hears a Who!, also known as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, is a 2008 American CGI-animated comedy feature film based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. It is the fourth feature film from Blue Sky Studios, and the third feature film based on a Dr. Seuss book, following How the Grinch... |
Executive producer |
| Surviving Sid Surviving Sid Surviving Sid is a 2008 computer animated short direct-to-video short from Blue Sky Studios and distributed by HiT Entertainment, starring Sid the Sloth of Ice Age and a cameo appearance by Scrat. It is the third in the series of Ice Age short films, the first being Gone Nutty released with the... |
Short film Executive producer |
|
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Scrat's Continental Crack-up Scrat's Continental Crack-up Scrat's Continental Crack-up and Scrat's Continental Crack-up - Part 2 are animated short films directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier for Blue Sky Studios. The short films serve as a promotion and story introduction for a feature film Ice Age: Continental Drift... |
Short film Executive producer |
Actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 2002 in film The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of... |
Ice Age Ice Age (film) Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents... |
Scrat, Dodo | |
| Gone Nutty Gone Nutty Gone Nutty is an animated short film, directed by Carlos Saldanha for Blue Sky Studios. The short features the character Scrat from Ice Age, who is yet again having troubles with collecting his beloved acorns. It has roughly the same story as the trailer at the very beginning of Ice Age... |
Scrat | Short film | |
| 2005 2005 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005... |
Robots | Wonderbot, Phone Booth | |
| Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty is a computer animated short comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios. The film is included in the computer animated film Robots DVD as a bonus feature.-Plot:... |
Hacky | Short film | |
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
Ice Age: The Meltdown Ice Age: The Meltdown Ice Age: The Meltdown, also known as Ice Age 2: The Meltdown or simply as Ice Age 2, is the 2006 sequel to the 2002 computer-animated film Ice Age. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and premiered in Belgium on March 1, 2006... |
Scrat | |
| No Time for Nuts No Time for Nuts No Time for Nuts is a computer animated short film from Blue Sky Studios , starring Scrat of Ice Age fame, premiering on the DVD release of Ice Age: The Meltdown, much in the same vein as Gone Nutty on the previous movie's DVD release... |
Scrat | Short film | |
| Family Guy Family Guy Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian... |
Scrat | "Sibling Rivalry Sibling Rivalry (Family Guy) "Sibling Rivalry" is the thirtieth episode of the fourth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 26, 2006. The episode follows Stewie as he battles with his half-brother, Bertram , who is born to two lesbians after Peter donates sperm... " Season 4, Episode 22 |
|
| 2008 2008 in film This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008... |
Surviving Sid Surviving Sid Surviving Sid is a 2008 computer animated short direct-to-video short from Blue Sky Studios and distributed by HiT Entertainment, starring Sid the Sloth of Ice Age and a cameo appearance by Scrat. It is the third in the series of Ice Age short films, the first being Gone Nutty released with the... |
Scrat | Short film |
| 2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, also known as Ice Age 3, is a 2009 3-D computer animated film. It is the third installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox... |
Scrat | |
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Scrat's Continental Crack-up Scrat's Continental Crack-up Scrat's Continental Crack-up and Scrat's Continental Crack-up - Part 2 are animated short films directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier for Blue Sky Studios. The short films serve as a promotion and story introduction for a feature film Ice Age: Continental Drift... |
Scrat | Short film |
| 2012 2012 in film The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2012... |
Ice Age: Continental Drift Ice Age: Continental Drift Ice Age: Continental Drift, also known as Ice Age 4, is an upcoming American 3-D computer-animated film directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, starring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, with Chris Wedge and Jeremy Renner.It... |
Scrat |