Oscar nominee John Kahrs on being frontrunner for animated short 'Paperman'

John Kahrs, director of the Oscar-nominated Animated Short “Paperman,” credits his years at Pixar as the perfect training ground to becoming a director. “I was working on 'Toy Story 2' (1999), watching Lee Unkrich, who was an editor at the time, cutting it together,” says Kahrs. “His focus on cutting, composition, and precision was like a film school class. I learned how something that started from such humble beginnings could become something so special.” “Paperman” tells the story of two people who have a chance encounter in New York City, and how paper airplanes lead to their falling in love. “It goes back to when I lived in New York and was surrounded by people but was also so alone,” explains the director. “Sometimes you’d make a random connection and wonder what the rest of your life would be like with this person. I thought, what if two »