Universal Re-Imagining "Cinderella"

(darkhorizons.com)           

        Ann Peacock is in final negotiations to rewrite an untitled re-imagining of classic fairy tale "Cinderella" at Universal Pictures and Stuber Pictures says Variety

Michael Dougherty ("Superman Returns") penned the previous draft, while story details are being kept under wraps. Bruno Aveillan is set to direct while Scott Stuber and Pam Abby are producing.

Disney recently hired Mark Romanek to helm its own untitled take on the Cinderella story.




Disney to Decide Fate of ‘The Lone Ranger’ Within the Week

(diszine.com)                      After months of speculation regarding the big budget blockbuster The Lone Ranger, fans were disappointed when production on the film, barely begun, was abruptly shut down.  Whispers of concerns over budget surfaced, as industry watchers scratched their heads, and wondered about the fate of the film.

Now, word comes via The Wrap, that Disney is in talks with “all parties” to determine if production will go forward.  An anonymous source stated that a decision should be reached shortly after Labor Day – in other words, any minute now.

Many believe that Disney isn’t interested in discontinuing the movie altogether; rather, they are hoping to rein in the budget, estimated to be well over $250 million.  The film is set to star Disney’s most successful actor to date – Johnny Depp - as Tonto, with rising star Armie Hammer cast in the titular role.  Gore Verbinski is on board to direct, while Jerry Bruckheimer will (hopefully) produce.  The film reunites Verbinski, Bruckheimer, and Depp, who struck box office platinum with the first three Pirates of the Caribbeanfilms (Verbinski did not direct the fourth and most recent installment in the franchise.)




Animated Short "Ormie" Becomes A Feature

(variety.com)                  Alcon Entertainment has scored a deal with Canadian animation studio Arc Productions to turn Arc's animated short "Ormie".

Rob Silvestri created the piece which follows a pig named Ormie and his various unsuccessful attempts to reach a jar of cookies on top of a fridge.

The short has won awards at festivals in Savannah, Palm Springs and Seattle along with the New York Children's Festival. Arc was also the animation house behind this year's "Gnomeo and Juliet".

Watch the short:  http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/21719/animated-short-ormie-becomes-a-feature




'X-Men First Class' Sequel' &  'Wolverine' Sequels In The Works
              
(latinoreview.com)                   'X-Men' Producer Talks 'First Class' Sequel, 'Wolverine' And 'Deadpool' The feeling with any film based on well known superheroes is that it will get a sequel as long as it doesn't absolutely bomb. See, that's where 'Green Lantern' slipped up with the whole underperforming thing and getting terrible reviews. A film that did well for itself with critics and not too shabby with box office results was 'X-Men: First Class.' It's a prequel/reboot of the 'X-Men' film series, one that everyone expects more adventures to spawn from.

In an interview with Hit Fix, producer Lauren Shuler Donner couldn't confirm that a sequel is a sure-thing. Asked if a sequel is in the cards, she replied:

"I hope so. We're talking about it, you know, we're seriously talking about it."

Should it end up happening, she said:

"We definitely want Matthew [Vaughn] to come back. Absolutely!"

It is kind of a tough call with the sequel. With an estimated budget of $160 million, it only raked in about $146 million domestically. When you add the worldwide total of over $350 million, it's technically a success.

Another 'X-Men' film in the works is the 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' sequel, simply titled 'The Wolverine.' Because of the predominately negative critical response that 'Origins' garnered, she said:

"[We want] to distinguish it from the other one. It's much more of a standalone [movie]."

Asked when the delay-ridden film will begin shooting, she said:

"I'm not sure when we'll start. Maybe summer 2012 we'll start shooting. It's based on Hugh's [Jackman] schedule, frankly. When he's available, we'll film. ...He's doing 'Les Miserables', and then he has to come and train for us. So it's all dependent on him."




Games To Movie Upgrade is 'Zero Risk' Thanks to Next-Gen Tech

(shacknews.com)                      Ubisoft Motion Pictures is already working on three projects based on the gaming giant's biggest properties: Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell. However, how is Ubisoft attempting to break from the pack--given the consistently terrible quality that most of these films have?

Ubisoft's Alain Corre explained: "The most important thing for us is to control the quality, the production, but to limit the risk and have pre-financing before we launch the creation."

"We develop the first concept and scenario," CEO Yves Guillemot told GI.biz, which should (hopefully) prevent the most egregious offenses of games cinema: not being true to the original property. "Then they will be published by a studio that is going to work to make it of high quality."

The aggressive investment in cinema and TV production may seem odd for a games company, but Guillemot insists that this approach is actually "zero risk," thanks to the growing capabilities of gaming machines. While Guillemot doesn't explicitly draw this conclusion, it seems likely that assets used for film production can easily be used in next generation games. "The two business (TV and film) will actually be very close to the video game creation in the future," Guillemot explained. "Because with next generation consoles, TV series and games will have the same quality in terms of graphics."




Ron Howard Takes Superhero Drama "364"

(Deadline)                 Ron Howard has lined up another project in the form of 364, an original superhero drama from David Guggenheim.

The film centers on a man who has superpowers only one day a year.

Set up at Universal with Imagine Entertainment producing, 364 represents a new addition to the already packed slate of potential Howard directing projects. Following the now-in-production Formula One biopic Rush, Howard has attached himself to the Jon Krakauer adaptation Under the Banner of Heaven and the MAD Magazine comic strip adaptation Spy vs. Spy. He's also still attached to the Stephen King multi-tiered film and television version of The Dark Tower, but that project is currently without a studio, following Universal's decision to pass on the property.

Guggenheim is the writer behind the upcoming action thrillers Medallion and Safe House.




Riding into the World of Transformers

(thesundaily.my)                        UNIVERSAL Studios Singapore is set to thrill guests with what is to be the most epic theme park attraction – Transformers the Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle.

The blockbuster thrill ride will open its doors at the theme park’s Sci-Fi City zone this December. The same attraction will open at Universal Studios Hollywood in Spring 2012.

Based on the iconic brand from Hasbro and the popular film franchise directed by Michael Bay, who is also the creative consultant for the thrill ride, it will tell an original Transformers tale using realistic high-definition 3D media, sophisticated visual effects, and one of the most elaborate roaming flight simulator systems ever integrated into a ride-car vehicle.

Guests will be transported into the world of Transformers as members of the Human-Autobot alliance called N.E.S.T., giving them the chance to ‘live the movies’ and spinning them right into the thick of action of protecting the Allspark from the Decepticons.

The ride will not only bring to life the story of the battle between the heroic Autobots and the nefarious Decepticons but boast a feast for the eyes, courtesy of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). This is a division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which created the visual effects for the movie franchise with its ground-breaking visionary special effects and 3D imagery.

“The extension of the Transformers movie franchise into a theme park thrill ride is an exciting part of the natural progression,” said Dennis Gilbert, senior vice-president of Attractions at Resorts World Sentosa.

Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, added that this one-of-a-kind ride will not only push the boundaries of hyper-realism but ignite the movie magic from screen to real-life.

“Transformers the Ride will tap into the larger-than-life characters and deliver an epic ride experience of a lifetime, thrilling guests from around the world when it opens,” he said.




Digital Domain Continues Expansion in U.S.

(studiodaily.com)                Though Digital Domain Productions broadened its global reach last month through a partnership with India's Reliance MediaWorks, its parent company, Digital Domain Media Group, continues to expand here at home. A new $40 million facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida, which will house DDMG's animation-focused Tradition Studios, is already underway, as is West Palm Beach's Digital Domain Institute, a four-year program supported by the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University. A rendering of the proposed FSU campus, to be built in collaboration with Digital Domain, is seen above. The school is scheduled to open temporary facilities in downtown West Palm Beach this January and will begin enrolling students in September 2012.

The company may also be expanding beyond its San Francisco offices in Northern California. According to a story earlier this week in the North Bay Business Journal, DDMG has plans to open an office in Larkspur, California, near San Rafael, as early as November. In an amended IPO filed on August 12, DDMG began leasing a 14,200 square foot space in Larkspur Landing Office Park with the potential for an estimated 47 employees, based on parking spaces allotted to the space.

Last fall, DDMG's chairman John Textor said the company was on track to hire 500 people in its Port St. Lucie Tradition Studios by the end of 2014. That commitment brought Digital Domain some $70 million of building incentives from the state of Florida and the city of Port St. Lucie. In April, Textor told local officials the company was "ahead of schedule" in its hiring goals. The city is building Digital Domain a 130,000-square-foot studio, which it will lease to the company, near Interstate 95. DDMG will also relocate to Port St. Lucie the entire team from Venice's 2D-to-3D conversion facility In-Three, which it acquired in November.

In addition to producing family-focused animated films, the company's Florida studios create simulation training for the U.S. military.

Digital Domain announced its partnership with India's Reliance MediaWorks in July, which added 650 VFX artists to the Mumbai-based facility and a new Digital Domain team at Reliance's London office. This spring, DDMG's hybrid advertising and games production arm Mothership, launched in 2010, moved into new headquarters in Marina del Rey, California.




How Shawn Levy Directed Computer Rendered Robots on the Set of ‘Real Steel’

(slashfilm.com)                On July 4th 2010, I sat in a former Model T Ford factory in Detroit. The huge building was transformed into a futuristic make-shift boxing arena — The Crash Palace, filled with hundreds of punk-styled boxing fans, covering the floors to the rafters. I sat in front of a huge monitor off to the side, observing what was being filmed in the boxing ring in front of me.

As Shawn Levy filmed his movie that is set in the future, I realized that the future was happening right in front of me. I visit a lot of movie sets, and while each is very different, the production is usually very similar. This is one of the few times I knew I was watching something new as I sat on set. On the monitor, one robot was slugging it out with another mechanical fighter. What’s remarkable about this situation is that the ring was completely empty.

The boxing choreography was done by Sugar Ray Leonard on a performance capture stage months before filming began. To my left sat a row of special effects techies nicknamed “The brain bar”. You probably know them better as the guys and girls who were responsible for making the performance capture work for James Cameron’s Avatar. In real time, they are able to put Gamecube-looking real-time rendered versions of the robots into the footage as it is being shot.

The camera can be placed in any direction, location, moved in any way, and the robots appear in the ring, as if they were real. The whole set has been truned into a motion capture stage, complete with hidden cameras pointing at every direction. The camera is being tracked and placed into the computer environment, which allows the brain bar to render the computer generated boxers and composite them in real time into the environment in real time. Let me be clear — this isn’t being done for viewing in playback — this is being done in real time as they shoot. The camera man is able to follow the robot action while he shoots the ring, even though the robots only exist as 1′s and 0′s.

Years ago a filmmaker would have had to shoot such an action scene using extensive storyboards and animatics, unable to make any changes on the fly. The set-up on the set of Real Steel allows director Shawn Levy to shoot this Rock’em Sock’em robots style boxing match like he would a real fight. He is even able to consult with the brain bar and alter some of the robots’ prerecorded movements to fit a certain shot.




Lomography is the New Photography, Stop Motion Animation

Images in flip books and stop motion animation flicker in front of the eye. When done well they create mysterious moments of whimsy that more sleek and perfectly formatted techniques cannot capture. So what happens when a group of photographers with a a penchant for old-school cameras and celluloid get together to create a community around their their art? If they’re talented with eyes for movement, they can create magic.

Dedicated to the world of analogue photography, lomography enthusiasts can be found all over the world. Their golden rules include: take your camera everywhere you go, use it anytime day or night, try to shoot from the hip, don’t think, be fast, and to not worry about any golden rules.

When it comes to group projects, lomographers are a crafty crew. Every Lomography gallery houses a giant tiled collage of lomo images and other exhibits that fill the space with something fun to see at every turn. Check the website of any lomography store and find a calendar of activities: lomowalks, analogue printmaking, parties, and photos safaris.

But maybe no other format celebrates lomography with more enthusiasm than when a group of photographers set out to shoot a LomoMatrix video. The combinations of analogue images combined with stop motion turns these photo stunts into mesmerizingly fun moving pictures.

Lindsay Hutchens, manager of the Los Angeles Lomography Gallery, describe the process of creating a LomoMatrix, “The photographers sit in a circle. People take turns going into the center of the circle to make movement that everyone captures from different angles. The photos are then scanned and animated with iMovie or Final Cut. Each video has a choppy, flip book style.” Hutchens adds, “LomoMatrix videos are a fun interactive community activity. We hope to do one soon in Los Angeles.”

To find more LomoMatrix and other lomography based video projects, the Lomographic Society has a YouTube Channel. But only visit it if you have several minutes to spare. It’s addicting.

VIDEO - Lomography Movie:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ea4MPbNuWI