Working Hollywood: Making mice for 'Dinner for Schmucks'

Steve Carell's character builds mice dioramas in the new comedy that the Chiodo brothers were tasked with creating.

The Chiodo brothers — Stephen, Edward and Charles — recently crafted more than 100 model mice for the new Steve Carell-starring comedy "Dinner for Schmucks," but it was a great ape that initially set them on a path to filmmaking: The New York natives as children made 8-millimeter stop-motion animated movies in their parents' basement, inspired by the work of special effects legends Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien.

"When we went to one of our first trips to New York City after seeing 1933's 'King Kong,' we were at the Empire State Building looking for the cracks in the sidewalk where he might have fallen," said Charles.