Iudio and at the police station, numerous files were being processed, shuttled bad forth with no mercy. Everyone was anizing in preparation for the arrival. At the prison, they were already dug multiple takes—at least six in the first week-long, fessional shots that didn’t matter much because most of the cast had pletely memorized their lines. Each take was tangled in a web of plexity. It was night, and Billy was sitting in a car, but it was all a studio, meticulously recreated, with every location perfectly arranged.

  ...

  Take 2. L.A.,

  THE SETTING: A row of prefab houses for veterans, a neon Santa sleigh, and Christmas lights strung in front. We see a fat man intimidating a woman. She, with a swollen face, around 35 years old, and bck curly hair, backs away as he rages at her.

  A car pulls up in front, a Packard. Stensnd couldn’t care less. Meanwhile, Bud’s fiap rhythmically on the car seat, holding a cigarette between his fingers.

  STENSLAND: Leave it for ter, Bud. We’ve got to pick up the rest of the booze and head back to the station.

  Bud shuts off the ignition and grabs the radio.

  BUD: tral, this is 4A-31. Send a prowler to 1486 Evergreen. White male in custody. Code 623.1. Domestic violend battery. I won’t be here, but they’ll see him.

  He steps out toward the house. Inside, we hear SLAPS, MUFFLED SCREAMS. Bud grabs arical wire hanging from the roof and yanks. The sleigh crashes to the ground, REINDEER EXPLODING around it. A beat. The fat man rushes out to iigate, stumbling over Rudolph.

  Bud charges him. The man tries to swing but misses. Bud grabs him by the hair and smashes his fato the pavement. Owice. Teeth slide across the sidewalk.

  The raw power Billy dispyed in the se was a stark trast to the character’s usual demeanor. We see his brutal side, yet at the same time, there’s somethiached, lost. However, his once-det appearanow bees harsh, rugged, and brutal.

  Clumsily, Bud cuffs the man.

  BUD: Touch her again, and I’ll know. Got it? Huh?

  Another faceful of gravel. The fat man’s WIFE watches with apprehension from the steps as Bud cuffs her husband, hands behind his back, aies his pockets. A wad of cash and car keys. Bud looks at her.

  BUD: You got somewhere to go?

  She nods. Bud hands her the keys and the cash.

  BUD: Go fix yourself up.

  WIFE: (nodding, determined) Merry Christmas, huh?

  Bud watches as she gets into an old pre-war Ford in the driveway. As she pulls away, she runs over a blinking reindeer.

  STENSLAND: You and women, man. What’s ? Kids and dogs?

  -Cut,- Curtis called out.

  ...

  Two streets down, they kept filming well into the night. A shootout, an arrest—quick, short ses, eaore than a minute or two. It was fast-paced, and without hesitation, they captured several moments on film, jumping from oup to another.

  -We o head to the station, and fast,-- Curtis said, on fire, direg multiple shots with a mobile camera, giving n as he captured the rapid take.

  Billy was reading the script. He had been cast as Bud for two reasons: his ag ability and to trast the romantision with Kim Basihe role required a cop with a subtle, ironic affe for an older woman, a perfed provocative touch that added a new yer to Bud’s character, somewhat remi of his role in Se7en. Everythi ected.

  -Got it, Director,-- Billy replied, knowing the details of the shoot. The first ses with Billy had already been captured—mostly solo takes. What remained were the ensemble shots with the other actors.

  The Pixar team was relentless in their work, already diving into their projects for their franchises. Team O Pixar was focused on produg Toy Story 2, which many sidered the best of the toy franchise, aiming for a release by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Team T on what would bee one of the most troversial and successful cssics of animated ema, Shrek. The script was groundbreaking, portraying a pletely different approach that the sed team was now striving to perfect.

  - The sequehe story, everything—it’s just magnifit, - ented James iganh, as he looked over the storyboards delivered by Billy, along with the perfectly chosen color palette.

  --I love the character design, - added Peter Docter. “Billy mentioned he has at least three sequels in mind, but I think we should also create some quick holiday specials—maybe for Halloween or Christmas. A Valentine’s special would be wonderful giveone of the movie.”

  Docter was overseeing the entire animation process for Shrek, deeply involved in the early development of the friendly but rough-around-the-edges ogre. With over 360 designs prepared just for the character's expressions, the team was using a new software system that allowed them to press everything into a quick simution without the need for so many floppy disks, a vast improvement over earlier methods.

  -I think the new software they’ve developed is simply fantastic, - James agreed, thrilled with the advas. The software, MenV and MenV+, were perfect tools for 3D character modeling and enviroal design. MenV focused on the basics, while MenV+ polished the overall development. These programs were ied into the new Houdinne 1.0 system, which specialized in visual effects (VFX) and procedural simutions. Houdini 1.0 was especially valuable for creating plex effects like fluid simutions, destru sequences, and particle effects.

  Both men, as leads, took great pleasure in w on what they sidered the most enjoyable parts of the project. Uheir usual work with a rger group of thirty, they were joined by a few other key team members, also part of the sed team of thirty individuals.

  - I think that’s everything, - Peter Docter muttered, showing off the ogre’s expressions, which had taken six days of tinuous work. By parison, it had taken three weeks to plete the same task during the produ of the first Toy Story due to teological limitations.

  - Now you’ll o work on the different outfits for the character and, of course, the movement animations, - James Calghan replied.

  James, oher hand, was focused on Donkey and the dragon, who had fewer facial movements but still required specifiimation for certain iions. While the human characters were the most challenging to animate, they were no longer a problem thanks to the incredible improvements brought by RenderMan, which made everything e together beautifully.

  ...