'The Dark Knight Rises' Ending Sequence Said To Be All Visual FX

(latinoreview.com)                  Watch out, here comes one of those dreaded and much reviled rumors of 'The Dark Knight Rises.' This one has a slightly more reliable source than the overheard mumblings of a comic book store owner. In fact, this source has it all: a name, (Frederick Roche) a face, and even an IMDB page -- at least it looks like his. The guy's Twitter account has him listed as a "professional location sound recordist - boom operator," which matches his attributed work on IMDB. It's all very fitting.

One thing that's a little confusing is that Roche appears privy to some of the secrets of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' even though he's not listed as working on the production. It's possible that he has some connections. You hold enough mics for people, opportunities come your way. He Tweeted today:

"#thedarkknightrises technical info: The ending sequence is soo secret that only 5 (Includ Nolan) know it and will be done completely in vfx."

If true, that's some decent information. That's to say that even if the cast of the film wanted to tell you the ending, they couldn't -- that is until they shoot it, if it hasn't been already. Don't confuse the visual FX bit for solely meaning computer-generated imagery. It does fall into that category, but things like animatronics and models do as well.

Back in June, prior to the Batwing being revealed on the set of the film, Roche came close to breaking some news with his Tweet:

"'The Dark Knight Rises': Inside Info, they are Building 2 Attack Helicopters in the same design as the Bat Mobile from The Dark Knight! BOOM"

To be fair, the Batwing doesn't really look like the Batcopter, but no one has seen how it will appear in the finished film, yet. It could sprout some blades.

That's all for the rumors today. Commence anger. In between, maybe speculate as to what this visual FX driven ending sequence could be all about.




"Terminator 5" Loses Director

(darkhorizons.com)               "Fast Five" director Justin Lin has been forced to drop out of a fifth "Terminator" film reports Deadline.

Megan Ellison and Arnold Schwarzenegger are reportedly looking to put the first of two "Terminator" pictures in production for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The scheduling conflicts with Lin's commitment to "Fast Six", but he has left the door open to a return if Ellison and Schwarzenegger will wait. He has reportedly been working closely with Schwarzenegger and Ellison on the project over the past few months.

Ellison’s Annapurna Films scored the film rights to the franchise back at Cannes.




Spielberg: Transformers Announcement Should Be ’Soon’

(blogs.orlandosentinel.com)                           Here’s a Universal theme park-related quote from Steven Spielberg, who chatted with Sentinel movie critic Roger Moore over the weekend.

 “I always like to hear that people are still coming to the attractions we already have in the park. I know everybody’s going to Harry Potter right now. But we think Transformers is going to pretty amazing. We’ve been working on that for about three years now. It should be ready soon. I don’t have an announcement, yet, but it should be coming there soon,” Spielberg said.

Transformers attractions are currently under construction at Universal parks in Singapore and Hollywood. Universal Orlando officials said Monday that they had no announcement to make about one being constructed here.




Tintin Trouble: Is 3D Dead ?

(blogs.orlandosentinel.com)               Spielberg’s looking forward to the release of “Tintin” and dismisses all talk of 3D (which “Tintin” is dependent on) being dead as empty talking points.

““3D isn’t dead. Nooo. It’s just waiting for the right film to come along that will make an audience want to see it in 3D and not pay the lesser ticket price to see it in 2D. It’s always up to the audience. 3D is just another tool in our shed. It’s up to the audience to discriminate whether or not they think this or that is worth seeing in 3D. They decide ‘Avatar’ is worth a few bucks more in 3D. They decide if ‘Cars 2’ is worth a few bucks less in 2D. Audiences made those choices – ‘Avatar’ in 3D, ‘Cars 2’ in 2D. And that’s the way it’s going to be from now on.

Thank goodness the audience always has the final word. In the end, we are all working for them.”




'The Avengers' Assembling At New York Comic-Con With New Footage
              
(latinoreview.com)              'The Avengers' Assembling At New York Comic-Con With New Footage You can never have too much Comic-Con, regardless of the city. The next one takes place in New York from October 13-16. It's sure to be a nerd's paradise, especially now with the news that the Marvel superhero mash-up, 'The Avengers' will be making an appearance. According to the official website for the event, a presentation regarding the film will take place from 6:30pm until 7:30pm on October 15 at the IGN theater. The description reads:  

Take a look:   http://www.latinoreview.com/news/-the-avengers-assembling-at-new-york-comic-con-with-new-footage-14810




American Zoetrope Taps AJA Hi5-3D for Stereo Previews of Coppola’s “Twixt”

(webwire.com)                 Grass Valley, CA - AJA Video Systems announced that production company American Zoetrope used the AJA Hi5-3D Mini-Converter to enable convenient, cost-effective post-production reviews of stereo 3D sequences for Twixt, the 2011 thriller from Director Francis Ford Coppola that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month.

Twixt, staring Val Kilmer and Elle Fanning, is a 2D feature that includes six minutes of stereo 3D in various sequences throughout the film. During post-production American Zoetrope had a SIM2 projector for screenings and needed a solution to feed it the proper signal for playback of stereo 3D material. “We had heard about AJA’s Hi5-3D and it looked like exactly what we needed,” said Post Production Supervisor James Mockoski.

AJA’s Hi5-3D Mini-Converter automatically combines left and right-eye SDI inputs into stereo 3D output that can be quickly and easily viewed on a 3D monitor or projector. “The 3D company and our VFX houses sent us left eye and right eye material, which we put through the Hi5-3D using its two SDI inputs, and sent a side-by-side signal out. It was a convenient, easy way to run 3D previews to check masks and titles,” said Post Production Manager Sin Cohen. “We also got a lot of use out of it as an SDI/HDMI converter to get signals from SDI to the projector. It was really handy to have that option in a pinch.”

“We’re up in Napa, and it was great to be able to do stereo reviews right here in our own facility rather than having to drive into the city for them,” Mockoski noted.

Twixt was shot using a combination of Sony and RED digital cameras and edited using seven Apple Final Cut Pro systems equipped with AJA KONA cards. An AJA Io HD device floated among editing systems, laptops and screens to enable on-the-spot playback. American Zoetrope is also considering bringing the Hi5-3D along for its road show screenings to potential distributors, to enable stereo review on the road. The AJA Hi5-3D is available for $495.




3D Blinky Bill Movie in the Works

(moviehole.net)               Who can forget that adorable tree-hugging Aussie icon Blinky Bill? Not me (and not only because I’m reminded of his existence every time my daughter pops an ABC DVD in the player; there’s a promo for Blinky Bill on near every one of those Hi-5 or Elmo releases) and, by golly, I’m sure not ready to let the critter be roadkill just yet. Press release just landed in the inbox announcing a new 3D “Blinky Bill” movie – yes, the genie has granted you your wish. Now say thanks.

    SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – September 21, 2011 : Flying Bark Productions today confirmed a Blinky Bill 3D feature film will commence production this year and two of the animation industry’s most respected creative talents have signed on as Director and Line Producer.

    With over 13 years working professionally in the fields of 3D animation and multi-media for Disney, Rising Sun Pictures and Animal Logic, Alex Weight will be at the helm of bringing back the iconic Blinky Bill as Director. Alex Weight was also the lead animator of Oscar-winning ‘Happy Feet’ and Animation Supervisor on ‘Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’.

    Marie-Cecile Dahan has also signed on for Blinky Bill as Line Producer. With extensive experience in the animation industry, Marie-Cecile Dahan has worked as Department Manager on ‘Avatar’, Series Line Producer on ‘Animalia’ and as the VFX Production Manager on ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows’ and ‘District 9’.

    “Blinky Bill is a timeless Australian classic character so it is an absolute honour for our team at Flying Bark Productions to be bringing the stories of Blinky Bill and his Australian bush friends to life in 3D for a new generation of children – and of course for parents that grew up with this national treasure.
    Both Alex and Marie-Cecile bring a wealth of Australian and international animation expertise so we are thrilled to have their creative talent on board for Blinky Bill in 3D” said Flying Bark Productions’ Managing Director, Jim Ballantine.

    Flying Bark Productions has had a rich history with one of Australia’s most loved little guys. In 1992, Yoram Gross Film Studios – now Flying Bark Productions – produced the iconic Blinky Bill feature film based on the Australian classic book by Dorothy Wall. Blinky Bill, The Mischievous Koala told the story of Blinky Bill’s childhood with his animal friends in the Australian bush and how the peace and charm of their existence was shattered by the destruction of their homes by humans. The film made a national treasure of Yoram Gross and a megastar of Blinky, the little koala with the heart of gold.




Digital Aging Tech Needs To Improve Before Roland Emmerich' ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’

(eaap2009.org)                As someone who knows his way around special effects, director Roland Emmerich could be a fantastic entrant to use the digital aging technology that has been used for special effects in films like “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Pin,” “Watchmen” and “X-Men 3.”

The subject came up when MTV News caught up with Emmerich at the Toronto Film Festival to talk about his upcoming period thriller, “Anonymous,” which employs two sets of actors to play the same roles at different ages. We questioned Emmerich if he force be interested in de-aging an actor digitally, or even better/more challenging, bringing one back from the dead, FX re-animator, lost footage style and he exposed he’s already at work on a movie that relies heavily on that very technology.

“I am. I’m really into that,” Emmerich admitted. “I have one project which really tries to do that, but I reckon we’re not here yet. I made some tests that didn’t turn out very well, so I reckon we have to wait another five being.”

And what force the mystery project be?

“The title will tell you everything, it’s called ‘Pleased Birthday Mr. President.’”

Right to his word about the revealing title, Emmerich admitted the prospect film would revolve around Marilyn Monroe’s well-known birthday croon to for President John F. Kennedy, and likely the relationship surrounding it. Emmerich said that the film is a long way away from being made, but, at least until the proper aging technology is mastered.

“Yes, one day, one day,” Emmerich said hopefully. “People are kind of courageous to do something like that.”




Monsterpalooza 2012 Is Coming

Reserve your spot today:   http://www.monsterpalooza.com/april2012/index.html