Sony's Sci-fi  "Invertigo" Gets "I Am Number Four" Director

(Deadline)              First announced last month, Sony Pictures is developing Invertigo, an original sci-fi script from Ehren Kruger (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and co-writer Bradley Camp. Today, Deadline reports that D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, I Am Number Four) is making plans to direct.

To be produced by Neal Mortiz, Invertigo tells the story about a satellite that, after crashing in New York City, causes the gravitational pull of the Earth to be reversed.

Last year, Caruso became attached to Columbia Pictures' comic book adaptation, Preacher, but there has since been very little momentum on that front.



CARTOONING AWARDS: “Rango’s” Mark “Crash” McCreery Nominated

(washingtonpost.com)         

   “Rango’s” Mark “Crash” McCreery is nominated for Feature Animation in the NCS Awards. (Paramount/Nickelodeon)

AN OSCAR WINNER and an Emmy contender are among the finalists for the National Cartoonist Society’s Reubens divisional awards, announced today by the NCS.

Character designer Mark McCreery is nominated in the Feature Animation category for “Rango,” which last month won the Academy Award, beating out “Kung Fu Panda 2” — whose director, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, is also nommed for an NCS award. The third finalist for Feature Animation is “Rio" director Carlos Saldanha.



300 CG Artists Convert "Titanic" For 3-D Sailing

(au.news.yahoo.com)                  Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio in Titanic. Picture: Supplied by 20th Century Fox.

On December 18, 1997 a movie was released that would change the world of filmmaking forever and send teenage girls flocking to the cinema in droves.

James Cameron's Titanic, about the doomed ocean liner's maiden and only voyage, cost a reported $200 million to make and was the most expensive film of its time.

The story about star-crossed lovers Rose and Jack, played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, struck a chord with audiences and made Hollywood superstars out of its lead actors.

The scale of Cameron's over-budget production was immense. More than 100 permanent extras were hired for the 160-day shoot and a full-scale replica of the ship was built for filming - it was then sunk for the famous sinking scene.

The film went on to win 11 Academy Awards, including best director and best picture. Fast-forward 15 years and the three-hour epic is being re-released in 3-D.

Titanic producer and Oscar-winner Jon Landau worked alongside Cameron to bring the movie to life in 3-D. Cameron, who is well known for his attention to detail, looked at every shot of the film before the conversion, a process which cost $19 million and took 60 weeks.

To convert the film into high-quality digital 3-D, images were scanned from the original 35mm negative to remove any flaws or scratches. 3-D software was then used to analyse each shot of the film before the 300 artists picked specific items/actors from the shot and then changed the depth and scope of the image to make it 3-D.

With the mammoth advances in technology it seems inevitable that a movie like Titanic would be shot using CGI now, but Landau insists they wouldn't have done too much differently.

"I don't think we would have filmed it in CGI if we shot it today," he says in Melbourne promoting the film.

"I think we would strike a balance. We shot a 40ft model of the ship, for the ship sailing, that would be CGI because there is no reason to shoot the model. But what I hope we would not give up is that tactile feel of building the ship and letting the cast be on it and feel that sensation of what it was like to be on the ship.

"And let Jim find the shots in the moment because being there was part of him coming up with the shots, which worked so connectedly in the film."
Cameron's demanding nature, legendary temper and reputation as a man who knows what he wants led to reports of tension on the set. Many cast members came down with kidney infections, flu and colds because of the time they spent filming in cold water. Winslet, who chipped a bone in her elbow and also caught flu, claimed she would never work with Cameron again.



Amazing One-Texture Environment

(udk.com)               What can one developer achieve with a single texture and the power of UDK?  Talented 3D artist Tor Frick explains his crafty ways in this interview. Download the content from this cool sci-fi lab environment now!

Optimizing gorgeous 3D environments for great performance on today’s array of gaming platforms is no small feat. After working with UV, texture and shader optimization on multiple projects, Tor Frick decided to test his own skills and produce an environment requiring as little memory as possible. His task: to create a realistic scene using one 256x512 texture.

As Frick explained, “Usually in a scene like this there would be a lot of textures, with each one generally larger than this, which would take up a lot more memory. Every bit of texture memory you don’t use in the environment means more you can use on characters or elsewhere. Savings like this could be especially useful for shipping better looking content on mobile devices.”

“I wanted to minimize texture sizes and also avoid having multiple materials to decrease draw calls,” he said. “This exercise forced me to look at textures in a different way. Instead of just using textures as they are, I pushed myself to get the most out of the texture and shader, and used the UVs more to my advantage in ways I normally wouldn’t consider.”

Video - Take a look:   http://vimeo.com/35470093

Full tech article:   http://udk.com/showcase-amazing-one-texture




"Pacific Rim" Production Company Nears Raising $250 Million in Financing

(latimesblogs.latimes.com)                 Legendary Entertainment, the finance and production company behind "The Dark Knight" and this weekend's "Wrath of the Titans," is close to raising about $250 million in new financing, according to knowledgeable people unauthorized to speak publicly.

The money, split evenly between equity and debt, will be used to refinance the Burbank company's existing debt and to invest in upcoming movies and other content.

The new financing values Legendary at nearly $1.5 billion. It is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

The deal will join a mix of previous investors -- which have included Accel Partners and Fidelity Investments -- with well-known institutions and private investors new to Legendary, which is headed by Chairman Thomas Tull.

Reached by email, a spokesman for Legendary and Tull declined to comment.

Legendary has in the past exclusively co-financed movies developed by Warner Bros., such as "Superman Returns" and "The Hangover." But it has recently begun overseeing the production of its own films, including Guillermo Del Toro's big-budget tentpole "Pacific Rim" and the historical adventure movie "The Seventh Son," both of which come out in 2013.

This year in addition to "Titans," Legendary is co-financing July's "The Dark Knight Rises." Although Tull's company usually gets a 50% stake of the films in which it invests with Warner Bros., it has a 25% stake in director Christopher Nolan's third and final "Batman" movie. "The Dark Knight Rises" was the subject of a tense negotiation between Tull and Warner film group president Jeff Robinov last year. Because it is expected to be a hugely successful blockbuster -- "The Dark Knight" grossed $1 billion in 2008 -- Robinov did not want to give away a big piece of the profit, while Tull saw participation as critical to his company's success and its public image as a maker of fanboy-oriented films.

Legendary has recently launched television and comic book production divisions.

In addition, Tull is setting up a China venture called Legendary East that will finance movies in that country intended for a global audience. However, Legendary East was unable to close a planned $220.5-million capital raise on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last year through a shell company.

"Legendary East expects to announce its financial and distribution arrangements later this year," a Legendary East spokeswoman said in an email. "On December 31, 2011, the date pre-arranged by Legendary and its partners, Legendary East allowed its previously contemplated business structure to lapse, enabling it to explore relationships with new distribution and financial partners."




Harry Potter Film Sets Open for Touring

(worldnewz.org)                Will the Harry Potter experience be as stunning in person as it was on the big screen?

Fans of the movies will find out starting this Saturday, when Warner Bros. opens up the studios in Hertfordshire, England, where the series based on the J.K. Rowling books was filmed, for public tours.

Nearly all the original models and props are there. An 18-foot wide Aragog suspended from the ceiling? Check. The full-scale Great Hall at Hogwarts? Check. Harry’s broomstick? Hermione’s cloak? Hagrid’s motorcycle? Check, check check.

There’s plenty more, too a scores of sets, from Diagon Alley to Dumbledore’s office; the fantastically intricate model of Hogwarts Castle, built to 1:24 scale and used in the exterior shots of the films; and videos that explain the digital wizardry behind the franchise’s renowned visual effects.

The tour should prove just as popular with Potter fans as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, which opened in 2010 and reproduces the snowcapped village of Hogsmeade with its winding cobblestone streets.

Without the amusement-park rides of Orlando, the tour of the Leavesden Studios near Watford will still set you back a pretty penny: $ 33 for children 5-15; $ 45 for adults; or $ 130 for a family of four.

There is, of course, a gift shop, too. The most expensive item on sale? A gorgeous replica of Dumbledore’s robe, going for a cool $ 800.

Warner Bros. expects 5,000 people a day to visit the attraction when it opens this weekend.

Source with pics:   http://worldnewz.org/?p=10591




"Battleship" Producer Picks Up Bermuda Triangle Movie

Universal is hoping to shed some light on the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, picking up a pitch with superpowered scribe team Alfred Gough and Miles Millar on board to write.

Scott Stuber, who produced Universal's hit Safe House and also is behind the studio's summer tentpole Battleship, is attached to produce.

No details are being revealed other than it is an original idea from Stuber centered on the infamous Caribbean area traditionally cornered by the Florida Straits, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. The area has been home to a several unusual disappearances attributed to supernatural or alien origins.

Gough and Millar will now write the script.

The duo are best known for developing and showrunning Smallville but also have worked in features, working on Shanghai Noon and Spider-Man 2. They are developing an adaptation of the young-adult book Homelanders, set up at Summit, which may act as their directorial debut.





Meet John Lasseter, PIXAR Chief Creative Officer, Today

(forums.cgsociety.org)                   This Thursday at noon Pixar's Chief Creative Officer, John Lasseter will be at the National Air & Space museum in DC, and DC SIGGRAPH has 12 tickets to give away for the event.

Note: We will give priority to those who members of the chapter.

We are sorry for the late notice, but we negotiated the tickets this weekend.
Please reply to this thread if you are interested in attending.
-Roberto Ortiz
Chair DC SIGGRAPH

Source:       http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=59&s=c5c4bcbe77a41ebbdc957d76fd711855&t=1042950




“Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” Visual Effects Producer Thomas Smith Donates Collection

(utexas.edu)                   Thomas Smith (b. 1938), visual effect producer for such films as Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (1980) and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), has donated his archive to the Ransom Center. Smith was hired by George Lucas as the first head of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and worked on the special effects for such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).

The Smith collection comprises 22 boxes and documents Smith’s professional work through the 1980s and 1990s. Spanning from 1979 to 2003, the collection contains special effects storyboards, screenplay drafts, scripts, pre-production research, production materials, newspaper clippings, photographs, and published materials such as fan magazines and cinematography periodicals. The papers also contain material relating to Smith’s time at ILM and Lucasfilm.

The collection will be made accessible once it is processed and cataloged.

Smith will visit The University of Texas at Austin to speak publicly on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. in KLRU’s Studio 6A in the Communications Center Building B. As part of the Harry Ransom Lecture series, Smith will discuss his life and career. While on campus, Smith will also meet with students in the College of Communication’s Department of Radio-Television-Film.




Sir Ridley Scott Discusses The 3D Effects In PROMETHEUS

(comicbookmovie.com)               More often that not, 3D conversions are pretty bad. That's more than likely why many fans breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Sir Ridley Scott would be shooting Prometheus in 3D (meaning we end up with a film which looks more like Avatar rather than Clash of the Titans). Talking to Total Film recently, the director had this to say about shooting in 3D and just how immersive an experience it will be for the audience.

"I'm kind of naturally visual anyway, that's where I come from. And you're working off superb 3D screens, which are on the floor, and are really big. It was just wonderful. I was shooting on 3D, then seeing it on the floor. It was easy, I must say. You only want to push it so far, before it becomes arrows popping out of the screen and stabbing you in the eye. You use it for visual effect."

"I'm actually decided right now how deep to make it on certain sequences. So you can literally, as it were, twiddle a knob, and the depth will increase. It's kind of bizarre, but there it is. Technologically it's absolutely staggering. I was working with MPC in London, looking after almost 1,300 big FX shots, and every night they would pipe through shots to a big screen in my office in Lexington Street; I would sit there watching a sequence that had just been graded or refined in perfect 3D. Really amazing."




Transformers Dark of the Moon Nominated For 8 Razzies

(superheroauthority.com/)               There have been plenty of mixed reviews on Michael Bay's take on the popular Transformers franchise. The third, and what was previously thought of as the final, film has the most nominations from the dreaded Razzies.

"Transformers Dark of the Moon" has eight nominations including: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor (times two with both Patrick Dempsey and Ken Jeong nominated), Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Ensemble, Worst Screenplay, Worst Director, Worst Screen Couple.

It might not be the best of the film industry but since Transformers brings in the money, they will keep on making them.

What Bay does bring to the franchise is a lot of explosions and a ton of money. The trilogy has brought home over $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide, which is another reason he is coming back to direct a fourth installment.



American VFX in China

(animationguildblog.blogspot.com)                China Daily informs us:

    ... As a visual effects provider [who] has worked with Chinese directors including Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Gordan Chan, Base FX's [Christopher Bremble] has witnessed the change in the Chinese movie industry's investment in post-production.

    "The budget for visual effects is going up 30 to 40 percent each year, while the demand for it is increasing 50 percent, making it difficult to satisfy the hunger," said Bremble. ...

    "In China, the film industry is still very much a star-based film industry, and the visual effect is just a tool, playing the supporting role," said Bremble.

    "But in the West, it plays a primary role. Hollywood movies' ambitions are more global, and visual effects help to translate them to every market." ...

    "The current problem for the industry is the shortage of professionals with experience in this field," said Wu Yan, general manager of Technicolor (Beijing) Visual Technology Co Ltd. ... He added that while the gap in technology can almost be ignored as it's not difficult to overcome, finding people with the skills to operate the equipment is what matters most ...

There it is again, that "skills" thing.

Maybe it explains why so much visual effects ... and animation ... and graphics work remains in California. (I've been observing the phenomenon for twenty-plus years; VFX Soldier has cited studies about it -- that thing we're pleased to call "agglomeration.")

As I've noted before, it's not enough to be cheap. You must also have a high level of quality that translates into dollars at the box office. And because there has been a concentration of talent in Southern California for a long time, our fine, entertainment conglomerates (and large video game companies) swoop into Southern California to access the people who know how to do the work. Better to do the shot right the first time and pay a little more, than do it multiple times at an (illusory) discount.

China, per China Daily, isn't yet delivering the requisite quality.




'The Lone Ranger' Casting Agents Seek 400 Pound Woman & 8-Foot Tall Man

(huffingtonpost.com)              Casting agents for Walt Disney's upcoming movie, "The Lone Ranger," have been hanging out in the wild west looking for genuine extras.

The film isn't slated to hit theaters until May 2013 but is already kicking up some dust because it's being adapted from the popular 1950 television series by Gore Verbinski and will be starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Helena Bonham Carter.

"Lone Ranger" is the story of a masked ex-Texas ranger who fought injustice in the west with his Native American companion Tonto, and cries of "Hi-ho Silver, away!"

Casting agents spent the past few days in Colorado visiting towns like Alamosa, Colorado Springs and Durango, before moving on to Utah. Hammer (The Social Network, J. Edgar) will be cast as the Lone Ranger, and Depp (The Rum Diary, Pirates of the Caribbean) will be playing Tonto.

According to the Pueblo Chieftain, the event in Alamosa prompted hundreds to stand in line on Sunday.

Sande Alessi, whose casting company has a history of collecting extras for Verbinski films like Pirates of the Caribbean, told the paper that the men and women they were looking for had to "really be cowboys and workers."

According to the advertisement, agents have been seeking out "extreme character types" that are also stereotypical of the old west, people with: lazy eyes, "grizzled and wrinkled faces," and other notable features.

Bill Werner, the executive director of the Southern Colorado Film Commission told The Huffington Post that among some of the more interesting extras requests were a 400 pound woman and an 8-foot tall man.

"I'm excited that they'll be here. They almost filmed 'True Grit' here, but it didn't work out," Werner said.

At least one scene will be shot in Creede, Colo., a mountainous old mining town that once produced over $1 million in silver.

On April 1st the casting agency will return looking for more extras in Moab, Utah.

Wachowskis' 'Cloud Atlas' FX Get Real

(ropeofsilicon.com)          

      Over at Jim Sturgess Online they had a chance to speak with Jim Sturgess about several of his upcoming projects including the highly anticipated Cloud Atlas  in which he will play multiple characters for directors Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer  (Lola rennt).

Previously, I previewed some quotes from Hugh Grant, Halle Berry and Ben Whishaw who co-star alongside Sturgess in the film, but this interview with Sturgess goes a bit deeper and it appears Sturgess will be one of the few actors to get a role in all six parts of the film with many speculating at least one of those roles being that of Adam Ewing, a character whose part in the story bookends the novel from which it's based.

The film is based on the novel by David Mitchell in which we meet a reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer living a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan's California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified "dinery server" on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilization. Also among the cast are Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Keith David and James D'Arcy.

I've included Sturgess's comments relating to Cloud Atlas directly below and you can read the full interview right here where he also discusses Upside Down with Kirsten Dunset and Ashes.

Upside Down and Cloud Atlas, are both films that use green screen and CGI. What made working this way a challenge?

JS: You'd be surprised to hear that there really wasn't as much green screen as you'd think in either of those films. What tends to happen is that they build these incredible sets and there's normally a bit of green screen outside the window so that the animator can enhance and further the world outside. In that respect it really isn't that different. There's usually enough around you to help with your belief.

The time when a lot of green screen is used is when there's some big stunt or something like that. I remember in Upside Down having to do a scene with Kirsten [Dunst] surrounded entirely by green standing on a green box holding onto a green rope whilst pretending that people were shooting at us. Of course it makes it that bit harder when there really is nothing to react to but you just have to focus on the person you're working with and go with your imagination! It's very childlike and you just have to hope that some talented artist is gonna digitally create something impressive behind you!

Infact a lot of my experience in Cloud Atlas was quite the opposite. We filmed a lot on a ship that sailed through the ocean and when you're far out to sea like that and all dressed in period costume there really isn't much to tell you that you aren't living in the 19th century!

Cloud Atlas will hit theaters this year, but a firm release date hasn't been established yet though an October date has been discussed for some time.
Full article:    http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/jim-sturgess-talks-about-working-on-the-wachowskis-cloud-atlas/




Hollywood Churning Out Effects-Laden Bible Epics

(jam.canoe.ca)                Over the next year or two, expect to see several Bible epics on the big screen.

Director Darren Aronofsky is making a new, more muscular version of the story of Noah and his Ark; this Noah will star Russell Crowe as the old man in a boat and Liam Neeson is said to be taking some unspecified role (unicorn?) in the action.

Much has been made lately of news that Steven Spielberg may direct a Moses story called Gods And Kings for Warner Bros. His version of Moses will be a new, more muscular, testosterone-soaked take on the tale; comparisons to Braveheart are already being made and insiders say the film is to have the gritty reality of Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan had gritty reality? We must have been buying popcorn at the time.

In similar news, a new version of Goliath is on its way, which will star Taylor Lautner and Dwayne Johnson in the Biblical throw-down. This version of the David vs. Goliath tussle will be a more muscular, testosterone-soaked, action-packed, effects-laden, adventurous version of the original. The story is being described as a cross between 300 and The Terminator. Scott Derrickson will direct.

If you’re allowed to count stories from the Apocrypha, the books nixed from the Bible by Jewish sages, then make way for Mel Gibson’s movie about Judah Maccabee, the hero of Hanukkah. (It’s actually one of two planned films on The Hammer, so get ready.)

The biopic, to be written by Joe Eszterhas and possibly directed by Gibson, will celebrate the Jewish leader in a more muscular, testosterone-soaked, action-packed, effects-laden, adventurous, male-oriented, macho, head-bashing version of how Judah and the Jews, though outnumbered, ripped the lungs out of those Zeus-worshipping guys and left that magic lightsaber burning in the temple for eight days and nights!!!
It’s being compared to Godzilla vs. Mothra.

Sadly, because of Mel Gibson’s unfortunate, alcohol-fuelled anti-Semitic rants of the past, the Judah Maccabee movie is already creating controversy.

Nobody seems to mind that Eszterhas - the man responsible for Showgirls, Basic Instinct and Sliver - is the writer here.




32TEN Studios Announces Launch of Pre-College Summer Film Program

(shootonline.com)                    San Rafael, CA , March 26, 2012 | SHOOT Publicity Wire | --- 32TEN Studios, a stage rental and practical effects house headquartered at a historic soundstage location in Marin, CA, has launched a "Pre-College Summer Film Program." This new series of educational, hands-on gatherings has been carefully designed to help teach the art and craft behind the disciplines of film production and post production to the next generation of young filmmakers.

Concurrently, 32TEN Studios has named Vince De Quattro as Director of Artist Development. De Quattro will spearhead the new Pre-College Summer Film Program. The announcements were made today by Tim Partridge, President/CEO, 32TEN Studios.

The Pre-College Summer Film Program will be a two-week immersion into all aspects of digital filmmaking, held on the historic 32TEN Studios stage, as well as within the studio's new CG facility and state-of-the-art theatre. This series will take place between June 15-August 15, and will be comprised of four sessions of two weeks each, with 20 students in each two-week group. For a list of upcoming Summer Camp offerings, please click here.

Targeted to high school students aged 15-18 who are based in No. California, the program seeks participants with a passion for filmmaking who may be looking to apply to colleges with film or animation programs after graduating high school. These young filmmakers will collaborate to create a short film while learning from industry experts about the various roles available within the trade of film and feature animation production. Together with the support of their parents, who will be invited into discussions with the studio's industry experts, students will be able to explore the best educational opportunities that are available today within the world of film study.

Regarding the naming of Vince De Quattro to spearhead the Pre-College Summer Film Program, Mr. Partridge said, "Vince's clear vision and true passion for training and artist development made him the ideal choice to produce our summer camp series. Prior to his work as an educator, Vince spent many years working in visual effects for some of the top VFX companies in the world, so he knows exactly what it takes to succeed within that unique environment. Our goal is to make 32TEN Studios a center of learning within the Bay Area film community, and a major aspect of fulfilling this goal is to encourage, educate and train the next generation of young filmmakers. What better place to learn all of the intricacies of this unique art form than at the same site where the modern-day visual effects industry was literally born?"

Said Mr. De Quattro, "The modern entertainment industry requires that filmmakers maintain an appreciation of the story-telling form, while blending story and concept with technology, all within a collaborative environment. By immersing a select number of young people, if even just for a few weeks, within a highly creative support structure, we will teach them how to find the best information, make the best connections, and develop the best ideas in regard to creative storytelling. Our Summer Film Program will offer these kids a massive head start in choosing the best college, university or trade school for their early careers in the entertainment industry."

"We have access to dozens of the industry legends who have worked in the great facilities based in the Bay Area to meet with our Summer Film Program participants," De Quattro adds. "Many of these people have worked for ILM, Tippett Studios, Image Movers Digital, The Orphange, Colossal Pictures, Wildbrain Studios, and other renowned production companies. These experts will share their stories and processes with our summer camp students, while also providing guidance to them in their quest to become the next generation of noted Bay Area visionaries."

32TEN Studios provides its services to producers of major motion pictures, independent films, TV programs, commercials, industrials, web content and multi-media projects. 32TEN Studios is located at 3210 Kerner Blvd., San Rafael, CA, 94901. The phone is (800) 717 3210, and the website is: www.32ten.com . For more information, please send inquiries to contact@32ten.com.





Zooey Deschanel Enters The Sci-fi Time Continuum

(Variety)                        First announced earlier this year, Love Actually and Pirate Radio director Richard Curtis is venturing into science fiction with his own time-travel script, About Time. Now, Variety reports that Zooey Deschanel and Domhnall Gleeson are interested in starring.

Curtis' recent writing credits include Steven Spielberg's War Horse and -- in what could be considered a time travel crash course -- the 2010 "Doctor Who" episode, "Vincent and the Doctor," which guest-starred Curtis regular Bill Nighy.

Deschanel, who has starred in films like Yes Man and (500) Days of Summer, is currently appearing on television on the series "New Girl." Gleeson, meanwhile, is best known for his role as Bill Weasley in both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.




FX Behind The Scenes Images From ‘The Avengers’

(slashfilm.com)                    I’m hesitant to call the images in this post “Joss Whedon Porn” but I think I just did. Marvel has just released six images from behind the scenes of The Avengers, several featuring Joss Whedon interacting on set with stars such as Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth. There’s even one of the writer/director himself, just hanging out with Captain America’s shield. The photographer knew what he was doing.

But that’s not all. You get a kick ass shot of Jeremy Renner‘s Hawkeye and even that cool Iron Man image.  I can almost not believe this film premieres in two weeks and opens on May 4.

Thanks to Marvel for these images.

Take a look:   http://www.slashfilm.com/check-scenes-images-the-avengers/




Axing Film Tax Credit Kills Saskatchewan Stop-Motion Animation Studio

(cbc.ca)               A company that had been considering opening an animation studio in Dundurn, Sask., says they can't make a go of it without the province's film employment tax credit, a program that is soon to end.

The idea for an animation studio came from KarmaFilm, which was in Dundurn to make a vampire-based movie, Rufus.

The Saskatoon-based company proposed using the local curling rink for stop-motion animation projects.

However, Anand Ramayya of KarmaFilm told CBC News the studio won't work without provincial tax credit money.

"Basically without the tax credit we won't be able to function in the province at all," Ramayya said. "So we'll have to pull the project and we'll have to move elsewhere."

The mayor of Dundurn, Per Vinding, said the town was keen on the idea, especially the $2 million worth of economic activity associated with it.

"We'd like to see that go ahead," Vinding said. "They've come out and looked at it. They think they can make it work, and we think we can make it work. I think it's just a good thing for us."

However, Ramayya said the business model does not work without the employment tax credit.

"For the town of Dundurn, that means that this series — that could have been $2 million a year — with the production happening right in their home town and right in Saskatchewan, will just evaporate," he said.

Vinding said he remains hopeful the project could yet move ahead, noting that just a few weeks ago he would never have predicted the town would be the location for filming a vampire movie.

"To go from a vampire movie to an animation project, that's about as diverse as you can get," he said.

Vinding said the future of the film tax credit will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of town council.





Adobe Drops 32-Bit Mac Support With Photoshop CS6

(reviews.cnet.com)                      Last Wednesday Adobe announced the availability of the public beta for the Photoshop component of its upcoming Creative Suite 6 image manipulation and design software, which users can try before the suite is officially released later this year.

While past versions of Adobe's products have offered a decent spectrum of support for existing operating system and computing environments, new features and development directions in the program suite have had Adobe making some adjustments to the platforms that will support the new software.

Adobe Photoshop CS6 puts a major effort toward performance enhancements, primarily with the implementation of the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine, but in addition offering optimized and new 3D handling, quantitative analysis, and video manipulation options to the program suite.

To make the most of these features, Adobe built them using 64-bit code optimized for multicore systems, which therefore means the suite will run best on a fully 64-bit native Intel and AMD systems (all of which are multicore); however, Adobe is making Photoshop CS6 availabe in 32-bit versions for Windows XP machines, though some features will be limited on these systems. While these options are available for Windows systems, on Mac OS X Adobe is dropping 32-bit support altogether, and is opting to only make 64-bit code available to Mac users.

This means that even though the Windows version will run on older Core Duo processors that were available in the first Intel-based Mac systems, the OS X version will not. In addition, any 32-bit plug-ins and other compatibility options for the program will no longer work, and will require updating to run properly with the software.





Wrath Of The Titans Director Discusses Doing CG Right

(cinemablend.com)                      It ain’t easy getting work in this industry, especially a film like Wrath of the Titans, but boy did director Jonathan Liebesman take on, well, a monster. While Clash of the Titans went on to make a killing at the box office, $493.2 million worldwide, many moviegoers weren’t particularly happy with the experience. In a way, not only is Liebesman responsible for making his own movie good, but also for making up for the last one a bit.

Sam Worthington is back as Perseus, who is now a father. With the gods’ power waning, Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston) are unable to maintain control of the Titans and, led by their once banished father Kronos, they threaten humanity yet again. Perseus has no choice, but to leave his son and quaint life as a fisherman behind to go head to head with some of the most vicious monsters of the underworld.

Kronos, Chimeras, Cyclopes, explosions an ever-changing labyrinth, some of the most prominent actors in the business, an extra dimension and more – forget the franchise’s past; Liebesman had his hands full regardless. Now, in honor of Wrath of the Titans’ March 30th release, Liebesman took the time to sit down and run through the entire process from the preparation needed to do 3D right to the steps to making the real world elements blend with those digitally created and much more. Check it all out in the interview below.

How do you go about blending the real people with all your digital monsters?
If you want effects to work, they have to interact with the world and the characters as much as possible, so what you’ll do is set charges on trees that’ll blow a tree up and then the animator has something to interact with and it’s always gonna look real. With the Chimera running through a village, you’re blowing up walls and stuff. And also, Sam is excellent at creating things. There’s a shot where the labyrinth is coming apart and reconfiguring, and Sam’s looking all over the place and that’s giving everyone cues to do things. If the actor’s not giving you that, it’ll never seem real. It’s a lot of how you light a scene. I like hard sunlight on CGI because it blows out the highlights. When you design a creature, make sure the textures you’re picking for them are textures that computers render well. That’s why Transformers looks so good, because steel and plastic is very easy to render with CGI whereas flesh and biological stuff is difficult. So it’s just a lot of making decisions to make your life easier.

Speaking of that labyrinth scene, you’ve got one shot during the reconfiguration where it looks like a piece of the set legitimately slid under Sam’s feet. Is that practical at all?
That’s CG. That’s all CG. That was what blew me away. You want to know the one which really blew me away was where Bill Nighy is doing that thing with the door [mimics motions of Nighy grabbing portions of the door], the door isn’t there and I was like, ‘Holy shit.’ That, to me, blew me away when I started seeing those dailies. He’s just doing this to green blocks and they rendered it so photo-realistically, I was like, holy shit, I should have made like a door monster or something. [Laughs]

How was it working with guys like Bill, Liam and Ralph? You’ve had great casts before, but these guys are some really heavy hitters.
Fantastic. These guys are incredible and you feel stupid directing them because they’ve been directed by like geniuses in genius movies and you feel not worthy and stupid, like you’re gonna fuck their career up.

Was there ever an awkward moment, like maybe the first day you were directing them, and you just didn’t know how to do it?
There’s always awkward moments, but, as the director, you must always pretend you know. Even when they go, ‘That’s a stupid idea,’ you’re like, ‘It’s a joke guys. Calm down. Did you think I’d really ask you to do that?’

Does that trick work on a set with hundreds of crewmembers and extras?
Always. Always works. ‘Guys I was just joking. Come on! We don’t have to do this,’ you know? [Laughs]

What’s the hope from here with this movie? I assume if all goes to plan, there’ll be round three.
I hope it makes some money!

Is there any option in your agreement to return?
No option in my agreement, but I hope it makes a lot of money and they want to keep going. That’s up to them, not to me.




Base FX Impact Chinese Movie Sector

(chinadaily.com.cn)                    Christopher Bremble keeps a very busy schedule every day, from holding meetings to negotiating with his clients. His decision to start a visual effects company in China six years ago proved quite right, as can be seen from the number of deals China's flourishing film industry has brought his company.

Established in 2006, Base FX is a visual effects company located in Beijing's Sanlitun area. Bremble, its chief executive officer, comes from the United States and used to work in Hollywood, while 95 percent of its team is Chinese.

Base FX impact Chinese movie sector

A visual effect by artist Matthew Albanese using spices, cotton wool and grout. Domestic movie directors and investors are now attaching increasing importance to visual effects and are willing to pay more for them. [Photo/China Daily]

The studio is currently working on 14 film projects, among which six are domestic productions.

"We are always trying to increase the portion of Chinese films, because I want to localize my company," said Bremble. The proportion of domestic films among its film clients has grown close to 50 percent from about 20 percent when it was set up.

As a visual effects provider which has worked with Chinese directors including Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Gordan Chan, Base FX has witnessed the change in the Chinese movie industry's investment in post-production.

"The budget for visual effects is going up 30 to 40 percent each year, while the demand for it is increasing 50 percent, making it difficult to satisfy the hunger," said Bremble.

Directors always want a lot while the producers say there is a limited budget, so Bremble's job is to use all the available resources in a cost-effective way.

"Domestic investment in this field generally varies from hundreds of thousands of yuan to millions of yuan," said Xie Ning, vice-president of Base FX.

The cost of visual effects in Chinese movies takes up just 5 to 10 percent of the total budget, far less than that in Hollywood productions, where it usually ranges between 15 and 30 percent, sometimes even rising to 80 percent, as it did for the blockbuster Transformers.

However, there are some exceptions in China, such as Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock in 2010, a blockbuster that took in 660 million yuan ($105 million) at the box office. Its visual effects cost 30 million yuan, accounting for more than 15 percent of the whole investment, said Wu Yan, general manager of Technicolor (Beijing) Visual Technology Co Ltd, a joint venture that took part in the film's visual effects production.

"In China, the film industry is still very much a star-based film industry, and the visual effect is just a tool, playing the supporting role," said Bremble.

"But in the West, it plays a primary role. Hollywood movies' ambitions are more global, and visual effects help to translate them to every market."

As the industry is just in the initial stage of development, the mechanism for undertaking the film visual effects business is different from that in Hollywood.

Since most Chinese directors and producers don't have much idea about this field, including how it works and the advantages of different visual effects studios, the modus operandi is that film producers outsource the total work to one company. In comparison, in Hollywood, film producers are in charge of the distribution of visual effects work, so they directly contact several studios, allocating specific work to specific visual effect providers, since they know exactly what their strengths are in terms of skills, according to Xie.

"For us, we would consider outsourcing part of the work to overseas studios on the condition that the budget allows this, and the technology required is more than we could afford," said Wu.

"The current problem for the industry is the shortage of professionals with experience in this field," Wu said.

He added that while the gap in technology can almost be ignored as it's not difficult to overcome, finding people with the skills to operate the equipment is what matters most.

Bremble and his team at Base FX have conducted lectures at Chinese universities and colleges over the past 18 months, including China Academy of Art, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Northeastern University.

In the talks to students on animation, Bremble and his team sought to outline what Base FX does and the requirements of the industry.

"Getting young people excited about what we do and understand the industry, as well as training those who show potential to be creative professionals are the two major challenges facing us," Bremble said.

Although China's movie post-production market is not growing as fast as that of the whole industry, it is developing steadily as growing numbers of directors and producers want to add visual effects to their work, Wu said.

In terms of the prospects for making money in the field, both Xie from Base FX and Wu from Technicolor said that they currently just break even, as the profits they earn from projects are soon reinvested in the renewal of equipment and upgrading technology.

"I am rather positive about the industry's future in China, because, with the maturing of the market, investors will be willing to put more capital into visual effects," Wu said, "And then everything will be different."





"The Dark Knight Rises"  Most Anticipated Superhero Movie of the Summer

(sfgate.com)              Movie fans have named The Dark Knight Rises as the most anticipated superhero movie of the summer, according to a poll for games and entertainment site, IGN.com - one of the most visited websites for men aged 18-24.

Ahead of the biggest-ever blockbuster summer for superhero movies, more than half of the 53,000 fans polled picked the new Batman flick, as ensemble movie The Avengers came in second with 17,000 votes. The Amazing Spider-Man reboot took just 5,000 votes, less than 10% of the total.

Fans are also excited about the characters in the new Batman movie; when asked which they were most excited to see, Tom Hardy's Bane from The Dark Knight Rises was a clear favorite, pulling in more than half of the votes, followed by Anne Hathaway's Catwoman. Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk and Rhys Ifan's Lizard rounded out the top choices.

Rounding off a perfect sweep for DC & Warner Bros, The Dark Knight Rises Director, Christopher Nolan was a clear pick for 'favorite Comic Book movie maker' capturing an incredible 80% of the vote, leaving The Avenger's Joss Whedon and The Amazing Spider-Man's Marc Webb in his wake.

"The appetite for Batman and The Dark Knight Rises is enormous, and the level of anticipation for this film could not be higher," said Chris Carle, Entertainment Editorial Director of IGN.com. "It's Nolan's last in the series, and the sequel to one of the highest grossing films of all-time, so the hype isn't unexpected."

Summer 2012 will be one for the fanboy books, with three of the most hotly anticipated comic book movies ever coming to the big screen. First, Marvel's ultimate team-up film arrives when The Avengers assemble on May 4. Then Spidey himself is reborn as The Amazing ASpiderman spins into theaters July 3. And finally, completes his Bat-trilogy when The Dark Knight Rises arrives on July 20.




George Lucas: Art-house Director?

(gointothestory.blcklst.com)                         A long time ago, in a galaxy that had never seen Star Wars, George Lucas was an art-house filmmaker. Now, through the wonders of cyberspace, you can watch most of his early shorts online.

VIDEO - Take a look:     http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2012/03/george-lucas-art-house-director.html

"Avatar 2" Not Delayed as No Release Date Fixed: Producer

(hindustantimes.com)         

          James Cameron directed Avatar is one of the costliest movies ever made. It has got one of the highest openings so far.
Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau has rejected rumours about delay of Avatar 2, saying there is no question of delay as a date for its release was never set.

In India to oversee the 3D release of Titanic, Jon told IANS, Avatar 2 has not been delayed. We never set a date for it to delay it.
We are in very early stages of pre-production and we want to put all the pieces together before we formally announce a date."

Jon is James Cameron's partner in producing both Titanic and Avatar.

And like the first, the next two sequels of Avatar will also push the technological frontiers of filmmaking and viewing. Both the films will be shot on an increased frame rate giving the audience a perceptible difference in quality of images.

Though Hollywood experimented with a faster frame rate in the 1970s, the technology could not gain traction.

"Things like higher frame rate have existed in the industry before, but using them meant converting all film projectors. Digital projectors however have no such issues and can run at a higher frame rate without changing anything," he said.

As a strong proponent of 3D, Jon added: "A film ultimately is about the story. But how you present the story and how you manage engagement from the audience is enhanced by the use of technology. 3D activates more of your mind and the brain has to work more to process the imagery you see leading to greater audience engagement."



Free-To-Play Game "Hawken" Secures $10 Million in Funding

(kbmod.com)                   As reported by Venture Beat, forthcoming free to play title Hawken has caught the attention of some of the same investment groups behind the free-to-play behemoth, League of Legends. Meteor Entertainment has successfully secured $10 million in funding for the continued development of Hawken. That money should go a long way towards polish and shine–just have a look at what Tim Schafer’s team is planning to add to their new adventure title with just the $2 million they raised on Kickstarter.

Hawken is scheduled to release on December 12 of this year, and if you want to get in the rounds of alpha and beta testing coming up, you can sign up at PlayHawken.com. With this new cash infusion for the development team, let’s hope it’s worth the wait!

VIDEO - Sample game play:     http://www.kbmod.com/2012/03/01/hawken-secures-10-million-in-funding/




Sci-Fi Tale "Quarantine" Gets Big Screen Adaptation

(Variety)                     Black Forest Film Group has announced to Variety their plans to bring to the screen the world of the upcoming post-apocalyptic novel trilogy, Quarantine. The first book in the series (which was originally going to be spelled "Quaranteen"), "The Loners," is set for release this July




The “Paying To Work For Free” VFX Business Model

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com)                Audio from Digital Domain Talk at Roth and Gabelli & Company Investor Conferences

An investment website is recommending investors consider buying stock in Digital Domain. This part caught my eye which I tweeted:

    New horizontal expansion includes government-funded Bachelors and Masters programs wherein students pay Digital Domain to work for Digital Domain

Soon after my tweet I get an email from a new VFX blogger called OccupyVFX who was able to find audio of the presentation given by Digital Domain’s CEO John Textor. The whole 22 minute presentation is posted above but the surprising part starts around 15:40 when Mr. Textor talks about their new VFX school in Florida called Digital Domain Institute:

    Classes starting in the education space, what’s interesting is the relationship between the digital studio and the college.  Not only is this a first in a number of ways that we’ve talked about, but 30% of the workforce at our digital studio down in Florida, is not only going to be free, with student labor, its going to be labor that’s actually paying us for the priviledge of working on our films.

    Now this was the controversial element of this and the first discussions with the Department of Education, cuz it sounds like you’re taking advantage of the students.  But we were able to persuade even the academic community, if we don’t do something to dramatically reduce costs in our industry, not only ours but many other industries in this country, then we’re going to lose these industries .. we’re going to lose these jobs.  And our industry was going very quickly to India and China.

    So, if 30% of our labor can be free, actually paying tuition, but by your Junior and Senior year at the college, you’re working on real firms (films), as part of the professional workflow, and you graduate with a resume that has five major films, your name in the credits, and more than just an intership level of experience, then that’s the perfect kind of trade off.

It’s one thing to work for low pay, it’s another thing to work for free, but it’s unfathomable to be expected to pay to work for free. The company intends to make money by not only creating content through huge subsidies provided by the Florida government, but by having a workforce of laborers who not only are working for free, but paying a tuition totaling $105,000 for non-residents which does not include food, housing, or transportation costs.

All of a sudden the things I’ve been blogging about in the VFX industry have rapidly become a reality. One of my first articles was criticism of a similar program being offered by Gnomon. I also wrote about how some companies capitalize on the allure of prestige starry-eyed prospects get. I pointed out instances in Montreal, and Michigan where rich US studios took advantage of generous government subsidies and still managed to leave VFX professionals unpaid. At one point I even warned:

    Variety’s David Cohen tweeted what sums up the situation best:

    Problems at Maxsar Digital & Kerner Optical point up a #vfx management practice that must stop: using new deals to pay past obligations.

    The common #vfx practice of using new deals to pay old bills is why some refer to the entire vfx business as a Ponzi scheme.

    Remember that tweet. Tattoo it to your arm if you can because if you think these Ponzi-like schemes are limited to just small facilities, wait until you get a load of what some of the bigger facilities are trying to do to get subsidy money.

And then Imageworks New Mexico closed as its clients changed their focus onto larger subsidies in Vancouver.  The Department of Justice found VFX powerhouses like Pixar and ILM engaged in collusion and we now learn Steve Jobs was involved.

And the reaction by VFX professionals? Apathy.

Former Digital Domain founder and ILM General Manager Scott Ross recently commented with a statement I can’t help but agree with:

    I did however get frustrated by the oft times lack of motivation by the workers, the owners, the studios and the director/producers. On the LinkedIn thread, there were only a handful of participants…. this issue has been haunting our Industry for years….APATHY TO DO ANYTHING except complain.

Look businessmen are going to do what businessmen do. They will do everything they can to take advantage of the environment to maximize the amount of money they can make. Sometimes that involves doing something unethical, wrong, or even illegal. It’s our job to prevent such practices.

We’ve let ourselves succumb to fear, uncertainty, and doubt by disregarding obvious facts. Do you really believe that your jobs are going to India and China? Just yesterday Steve Hulett posted on the Chinese VFX industry inability to find skilled talent. It’s laughable to think that the Florida Department of Education gave 100s of millions of taxpayer dollars to DD to build a school of paid free labor in a noble effort to prevent an industry from going to India or China. Even with all that free money DD is still opening a facility in India and China. Someone surely got taken for a ride there!

And where are the VFX jocks that have routinely chastised those of us who urge organization to prevent employers who try to engage in such exploitation? The reaction is “well I can just say no to working for free myself.” Look at what is happening now. A major VFX company is now turning the routinely accepted practice of free labor into a major part of it’s business plan.

I understand the skepticism about unionization. I know some of you could care less about portable benefits and enforcement of labor law but there is something else to this. It’s about solidarity. The idea that lets others know that if you mess with one of us you can expect to hear from all of us.




Help a Robot Saga Get Made

(content.usatoday.com)                    Pop Candy reader @geekgirldiva points out an interesting Kickstarter project that already has some impressive backers.

Visual effects artist Brandon Fayette (Star Trek, Super 8, Cloverfield) is one of the forces behind Dome, a proposed CG animated series about a robot trying to find his way home.

The creators show portions of the unfinished work in their video -- you should check it out -- and say their goal is to present the 90-minute feature online in 10-minute episodes.

"If they can make this idea happen, I think it would be epic -- and a great step for creativity in the industry," @geekgirldiva says.

You may recognize some of the faces in the video, including Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks). The guys have two months to raise $79,000. Incentives to give include T-shirts, an invite to the premiere screening and more.

I hope the guys can make their dream happen!




'Bioshock' Film Loses Yet Another Director, Put On Hold (Again)

(multiplayerblog.mtv.com)                  It seems like a decaying, undersea dystopia can't quite catch a break on the big screen as Juan Carlos Fresnadillo joins Gore Verbinksi among the ranks of filmmakers unable to get a Bioshock  movie made.

It all comes down to budgets, it seems: this time as with The Ring and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski's attempts to get Bioshock onscreen, as back in 2009, the money men  balked at an R-rated, north of a $100 million movie based on a video game. Universal, the studio backing the film, wasn't too keen on the $160 million price tag that Verbinski put together for the movie and it seems like Fresnadillo wasn't able to get the cost down to something the studio was happy with either.

There are a couple of things going on here, a lot of to do with the general currents swirling around in Universal HQ. Over the last couple of years, they've had a string of high-profile genre misses like Scott Pilgrim, The Wolfman, and The Thing that cost way more than they should have and didn't find an audience for whatever reason (too much quirk, too terrible, to whom do we direct this ill-advised prequel). I have to imagine they're looking at the decent but not great box office for the very expensive Prince of Persia at Disney ($200 million budget with just a $90 million take in the U.S., although it made its money back worldwide). Add an R-rating to the mix and Bioshock needs to happen on the cheap if it's going to happen at all.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is the writer-director of 28 Weeks Later which was... not great, but he was also responsible for the pretty fantastic Intacto back in 2001. I was sincerely curious about what he might have had in mind for the story, look, and feel of the movie.




 The Hunger Games Breaks IMAX Opening Weekend Record

(IMAX Corporation)                   IMAX Corporation and Lionsgate today announced that the limited release of "The Hunger Games: The IMAX Experience" grossed $10.6 million in IMAX® theatres worldwide during its three-day opening weekend beginning March 23. Domestically, the film grossed $152.5 million, of which $10.2 million was generated in 268 IMAX theatres for a per-screen average of $38,000. The results mark an IMAX domestic box office opening weekend record for a digital-only release and for a non-sequel 2D release.




Veteran Animator Glen Keane Is Leaving Walt Disney Animation

(hollywoodreporter.com)        Animator Glen Keane, a 38-year veteran of the Walt Disney Animation Studios who worked on such classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, announced Friday that he is leaving the company.

In a letter sent to his co-workers, he said that while the studio has been his “artistic home,” he had decided after “long and thoughtful consideration” that there are “endless new territories to explore” and so he is moving on.

Keane played a key role in the Disney animation renaissance of the ‘90s, and his departure came as a shock to many in the animation community. “He’s such a Disney icon and an inspiration to so many people,” one source said.

Confirming his departure, a Disney spokesperson said, “After an incredible 38-year career as an animator, storyteller, and filmmaking pioneer with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Glen Keane has decided that the time has come to take the next step in his personal exploration of the art of animation.  As much as we are saddened by his departure, we respect his desires and wish him the very best with all his future endeavors.”

Keane could not be immediately reached for further comment. His last project was 2010’s Tangled, on which he is credited as animation supervisor and directing animator for the character of Rapunzel. While he has been developing several ideas, according to one insider, he was not currently attached to any future project at Disney.

Keane brought to life such characters as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast and the title characters in Aladdin, Pocahontas and Tarzan.

In his letter, which was posted by the animation web site Cartoon Brew, he said, "I owe so much to those great animators who mentored me – Eric Larson, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston – as well as to the many other wonderful people at Disney whom I have been fortunate to work with in the past nearly 38 years.”

Saying that “I am convinced that animation really is the ultimate form of our time with endless new territories to explore,” he wrote, “I can’t resist its siren call to step out and discover them.”




"Maleficent" Designers Fit Horns To Angelina Jolie

(EW)                 Walt Disney Pictures' live-action Sleeping Beauty re-telling, Maleficent, is now eyeing a June start with Angelina Jolie in the leading role and Robert Stromberg making his directing debut. Today, the actress spoke with EW about the part and what audiences can expect when the evil sorceress comes to the big screen.

"It sounds really crazy to say that there will be something that’s good for young girls in this," says Jolie, "because it sounds like you’re saying they should be a villain. [Maleficent] is actually a great person, but she’s not perfect. She’s far from perfect... In general, it’s a very good message to say, “let’s look at something from the other side.” But then also, what our challenge will be — and the script writer [Linda Woolverton] has already cracked it — is not to simplify it, not to just reverse the story but tell a bigger story that doesn’t point the finger [at Princess Aurora] either. It doesn’t flip it."

Stromberg, best known for having served as a production designer on Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and Disney's upcoming, Oz the Great and Powerful, is currently in the stage of perfecting the film's visual design.

"I’ve already got my horns fitted," adds Jolie. "My kids are very happy... We’re still figuring out the look. We’re experimenting with different things. But the horns are the horns – you can’t deny them. You have to have horns."




Sci-fi "Jupiter Ascending" Pushes Forward

(darkhorizons.com)                   Offers are out to Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis for the lead roles in Lana and Andy Wachowski's "Jupiter Ascending" at Warner Bros. Pictures reports Deadline.

The film will be the first major science fiction action franchise effort from the duo since "The Matrix", though specific plot details are being kept under wraps.

Production is aiming to kick off later this year once they wrap their ambitious ensemble sci-fi dramatic piece "Cloud Atlas".




Wrath Of The Titans Star Toby Kebbell Talks Big Monsters, Digital Effects And Green Wood

We’ve still got massive monsters, powerful gods and a ton of epic battles, but director Jonathan Liebesman and company are making big changes with their Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans, and one major step in the right direction is the inclusion of some comedic relief courtesy of Toby Kebbell.

Kebbell steps in as Agenor, the forgotten son of Poseidon and, therefore, Perseus’ (Sam Worthington) cousin. When the mortals stop praying to the gods, they lose their powers, leaving them helpless against the Titans. Now the safety of the world lies in Perseus’ hands, but in order to find the location at which he must start his journey, he needs the self-proclaimed Navigator, Agenor. Along with Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), they trek through Cyclopes territory and on in an effort to find a way to keep the Titans and Kronos from ravaging the earth.

Sure starring in a major motion picture sounds glamorous, but in Kebbell’s case it involved being covered in mud, wearing tiny costumes in cold weather, having to hit marks perfectly for the sake of visual effects and more. However, as a guy who prefers to be on set even when he’s not called, making Wrath of the Titans was a pleasure for the actor. Read all about his experience in the interview below.

Take a look:    http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Wrath-Titans-Star-Toby-Kebbell-Talks-Big-Monsters-Digital-Effects-Green-Wood-30147.html




Disney VP of Production Returns to Rhythm & Hues

(variety.com)                        After just a year with Disney Animation, Erika Burton will return to Rhythm & Hues as co-prexy of the company's film division.

Burton was with the visual effects and animation house for 10 years before joining Disney as VP of production. Her return comes as the company continues its push to develop original content.

Lee Berger, co-prexy of Rhythm & Hues' film division, said it was important to rehire Burton because she already knows how the company works and understands its plans for the future.

"Our management layer here is pretty thin for a company of this size," Berger said of Rhythm & Hues, which has approximately 1,300 employees. "And as I looked around, it just made sense to bring Erika back because she was familiar with everything."

Berger said Burton's experience will also be essential as the company starts to develop its own original content, which he hopes will become an additional revenue stream in tough economic times for the vfx business.

Rhythm & Hues, based in Marina del Rey, also recently touted plans for two new divisions in Taiwan.





Get a Look at Rick Baker's Amazing Effects Work for Men in Black 3

(dreadcentral.com)                       As we said earlier, don't expect heavy coverage for the third film in the Men in Black franchise from us. The flick is fringy at best. However, you cats just HAVE to check this out!

In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black 3 also stars Jemaine Clement and Emma Thompson. Look for it in theaters May 25, 2012, from Columbia Pictures.

Take a look:    http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/54036/get-look-rick-bakers-amazing-effects-work-men-black-3




Monster Man – Monstrous Reality Show

(ghoularama.com)                  Part of the problem with this show is it has all the reality show tropes that tick me off. Everything seems staged, to the family strife to the drama with making the monsters. In the first episode Cleve has to make a two headed shark for 2-Headed Shark Attack  (2012). The client comes in with the shark’s heads stacked on top of one another (bunk sharks?), and Cleve shows him how having the heads side by side would be better. The whole scenario felt scripted to me. I could see a producer going to the client and saying “So come in and tell them you want bunk sharks, and Cleve will save the day by showing you a better design”. Maybe it wasn’t, but that’s how it felt to me.

So if I don’t like the reality show part of it, what do I think of the monsters?

The second episode they had to make a werewolf for Hallow Pointe. The werewolf head came off looking like a high school football mascot with a huge schnoz. I know effects are meant to be filmed, and don’t look as cool in the harsh rays of daylight, but this head was almost comical. I’m a big fan of practical effects, and I applaud Hallow Pointe director Thomas J. Churchill for going that route instead of crappy CGI. Still he shot it in the best angels to make it scary, which is quick cuts where you hardly see it.

Another thing that annoyed me was that the titular Monster Man, Cleve, hardly did anything creative with this werewolf build. His daughter, Constance, designed it. The sculptor did the clay version, and the molder cast everything and did the foam. If he’s the Monster Man, would think he would do more than do painting and gluing fur (Don’t get me started on the visit to the guard dog school to get “inspiration” for the werewolf-staged, staged staged). If he’s the monster man, I want to see him more hands on throughout the whole monster making process.

I think SyFy missed an opportunity here. They could have shown the episode of Monster Man where they create the effects, and follow it with the actual film they worked on. It could be a Saturday movie event each week. I’d tune in for that.

I did like the parts where they were fabricating the creatures and I wish they would concentrate more on that. I also like the backdrop of a struggling effects company trying to make it in a world where CGI has almost all but replaced them.

Full article:    http://ghoularama.com/2012/03/monster-man-monstrous-reality-show/




VFX: The 400-Pound Shark in the Room

(twitchpost.com)                   Our topic this week is the difference between practical effects and fancy computer-generated graphics and how each affects an audience on an emotional level. My preference has always been practical effects, but I think CGI, when used wisely, can really help a story and be quite groundbreaking in some cases.

But instead of just reading my rambling, we’re giving you two opinions for the price of one (FREE.99). Please allow me to introduce Twitch’s kick-butt office manager, Maria! M, what’s your take?

M: Hey Lauren, I love your ramblin’! But thanks for asking. When thinking about the movies and shows that I’m fond of, I find myself really gravitating toward the tangible effects that I can actually see and imagine feeling. Yeah, it can come off pretty campy at times (which, in itself is sometimes the appeal), but I’d rather have a wobbly set piece or awkward mask that has texture and that the actors are actually interacting with, than a glossy computer image on a green screen, provided of course that everything else is solid (story, acting, etc.).

Hmm, CGI used wisely? I need examples. In non-animated movies it all just ends up looking cartoony to me and is a distraction from the story. I just end up thinking, “God, that dragon and legion of muscly soldiers look soooo fake and must’ve cost a fortune.” So, why not just watch a Pixar film instead?

L: Totally fair, and I couldn’t agree more! But I think there are moments that couldn’t exist without CGI. Think about Gollum in LotR — a character with a physical body so compact that a human body wouldn’t fit inside a costume. Or Jurassic Park — in this clip, the scale of the flock would be exceptionally hard to do practically, and even though the T-Rex is the product of a computer in this scene, it’s backed up with an incredible animatronic robot later in the film. It’s in the merger of the two technologies that I’d like to think the movie magic happens. Here’s a great snippet on ILM and how CGI can be used to tell stories we couldn’t tell before.

On the flip side, I think CGI is resorted to too quickly these days. It’s a noncommittal way to say, “we’ll fix it in post.” That’s the kind of computer-generated stuff I can’t get behind. I especially appreciate the use of practical effects in TV shows, who have even less time and money than big budget movies.

M: Alright missy, you make good points. Jurassic Park would not be the movie it is without a combination of graphics and robotics, particularly in terms of showing sheer scale and numbers. I’m impressed with how both were used in concert so seamlessly in that film. At no point did I feel like the effects took anything away from the story; they only served to enhance it in a way that I’m not sure would’ve worked as well on a smaller scale. That balance of practical and CGI has got to be such a tricky line to tow if you have access to both technologies. I wonder how a movie like Jaws would fare if it was remade today. Would a more streamlined, agile, computerized shark make a bigger splash, or is there something so primal and frightening in only seeing the mechanical beast’s iconic grin extremely close up, never getting a clear view of its full form? But with Jurassic Park as a template, perhaps a combination of effects would create as good if not a better creature. My biggest qualm really is that all too often it seems like filmmakers create scenes so as to justify the cost of using fancy technology, which ends up in all this excessive footage that adds nothing to the movie. I hate “baggy” movies! Trim the fat! So, I echo your sentiment that simply because the technology and resources are available, doesn’t mean they ought to be used. Of course, the upside of using computer-generated effects over practical machines is that you’re not left lugging a 400-pound, life-sized shark model into the dumpster.

L: Well, I happen to think lugging a 400-pound shark around might be one heck of a good time. Imagine the photo ops! I think what we’re getting at is that we like when we feel a sense of, “How did they DO that?!” when we watch a movie or a TV show, and that feeling comes from that tricky recipe of killer storytelling and convincing magic tricks — be it makeup, animatronics, or CGI. I wonder if we’re less impacted by CGI because we use computers everyday and just assume that, “Oh, well, a computer made that shot.” Most of us don’t paint foam rubber or rig hydraulics on a daily basis, and I think that might be part of practical effects’ mystique that has stood the test of time.




Pixar Creates a Beautiful 3D Animated Sculpture

VIDEO - Take a look:            http://www.dump.com/pixarcreates/




All VFX Workers Will End Up Being Paid Less

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com)                VFX Supervisor Scott Squires responds to the new biz model where students pay Digital Domain to work for Digital Domain:

Wow, Florida is going down a sink hole as quick as it can with both their laws and their tax approach. A year ago they took $1.7 billion in education funding and gave it to the corporations and rich. I guess this is part of what they bought. Yeah, that smaller government thing is certainly working now.

So to be clear – to compete with an area that has a lower cost of living, we will simply lower the wages here. Not only that, but we’ll make people pay to do so. And they’ll like it. Foxcomm USA here we come.

The fact is it still costs what it does to live in the US. They’ve only lowered the wages. Oops, those aren’t actually wages.

So what do the brilliant politicians, taxpayers and students think will happen when these students graduate and have degrees in visual effects? They won’t be able to find work and will be unemployed. Why should vfx companies hire and pay graduates when they can get 30% or more paying employees? Imagine if the rest of the industry approaches it like this. And they will in order to compete. Most vfx companies have little shame. It’s not only a race to the bottom, DD has added a rocket back to get there as quickly as possible. And Florida is simply giving them a big push down the hill.

To those of you who are students or thinking about entering visual effects -
This is a very competitive industry. Yes, 500 TV channels, the world of multimedia, tent poles, China opening up, blah, blah, blah. But at the end of the day there is only so much media that can be consumed (and paid for) and only so much visual effects work.

The industry is in trouble because there are tax incentives that tilt the entire competive field and visual effects companies continue to try to do fixed bids for very complex and changing work. Pressure from the studios in terms of cost and time makes everyone a loser. it’s incredibly competive for both companies and workers. Many in the U.S. now have to travel overseas or to other locations simply to keep working. If you’re living in the US you’d better get your passport and working visas arranged.

There are already too many for profit schools churning out too many graduates in visual effects. Same as the film schools. The idea that it’s cool and interesting, etc doesn’t solve the problem of way more people than there are jobs available. Do you have any idea of the number of ‘directors’ graduating from film schools versus how many actually make it? History major might be a more practical solution for getting jobs.

Some of you are going to go all out and make it. Some of you are going to fall at some point by the wayside. Year after year of cranking out graduates at all of these schools will simply make it more difficult for everyone. How long do you plan to work in the visual effects industry? Because based simply on the number of new people and the fact that schools stoop to working their students, how long do you think companies will wait until they can get 50% of the work force as paying students?

Students across America are going into debt big time just to go to college or schools. The average graduate is $25,000 in debt on graduating. Some are as high as $150,000 or more in debt. That’s going to take a long time to pay off even at vfx salaries.

Don’t forget with 30% labor from paying students all vfx workers will end up being paid less.

Don’t pay big bucks to this school to simply learn vfx. You might as well apply to some vfx companies who would charge you less.

Instead of trying to actually solve the industry problem, DD seems to have sold a bill of goods to Florida and students for very short term gains.

Congratulations.

Source:   http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/the-paying-to-work-for-free-vfx-business-model/




Universal's 'Battleship' Deployed to Fight U.K. Piracy (Video)

(hollywoodreporter.com)                 Universal Pictures U.K. and the Industry Trust for IP Awareness have united to deploy the studio’s upcoming tentpole Battleship, with Liam Neeson and Rihanna among its crew, in the war against piracy.

The studio's overseas distribution arm has cut together a special trailer using content from Universal's high-profile release – out April 11 here – to highlight why the cinema is the best place to see the movie.

It's part of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness’ campaign entitled "Moments Worth Paying For" and is the first in a series of title-specific ad spots beginning in theaters to boost anti-piracy sentiment amongst consumers.

Edited with film content, the trailer turns the camera on the viewer to capture the emotions that watching film and TV can evoke with the legend that these as "moments worth paying for."

GALLERY: 10 Most-Pirated Movies Of All Time

The 30-second spot will be shown in all cinemas across the U.K. over an eight-week period ending May 10.

Additionally, a supporting poster will be showcased on more than 500 outdoor sites across the U.K. over a two-week period.

Universal Pictures U.K. managing director Niels Swinkels said: "Showcasing our summer blockbuster Battleship, the message reinforces the notion that films like this are made to be seen on the big screen and deepens cinemagoers' understanding that their support is essential for us to continue to deliver such unique experiences."

Industry Trust for IP Awareness director general Liz Bales said: "Using new release content to engage with our audience on the important issue of copyright infringement is a proven approach embraced by both the film and TV industries. We feel certain it will provide great benefits to the marketing of the release while continuing the great strides made in change attitudes and consumer behaviour around copyright theft."

VIDEO - For Viewing Only - No Copies:   http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-battleship-piracy-rihanna-304135




Man Vs. CGI

*From Japanese Talent Show 世界1のSHOWタイム (Seikai Ichi no Showtime)*
Performance Group カゲム (Kagemu) combines CG and live action into an impressive performance.

VIDEO - Take a look:          http://uniquedaily.com/2012/03/man-vs-cgi/

"Pacific Rim" Release Date Pushed

(ComingSoon.net)             

       Warner Bros. has updated their release calendar, shifting the release date of Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim and announcing new dates for 300: Battle of Artemisia (which is rumored to soon receive a new title) and The Hangover Part III.

Pacific Rim, originally slated for May 10, 2013, will be released on July 12, 2013, putting it up against Columbia Pictures' Grown Ups 2.

Starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Willem Dafoe, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr., Diego Klattenhoff and Ron Perlman, Pacific Rim arrives from a science fiction treatment by Travis Beacham and sees a future Earth defending itself from attacking creatures.



J.J. Abrams Builds "Star Trek" Wall Of Forbidden Secrets

(themarysue.com)                 J.J. Abrams is seriously concerned about wildlings. And by wildings I mean, paparazzi. The director recently felt the need to erect a wall on set of Star Trek 2 because of all the leaked shots surfacing online. Hit the jump to find out what it looks like.

Abrams was apparently extremely upset after he noticed that pictures from the secure set had found their way onto the internet. The photos depicted returning actors Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana as well as the film’s new villain, Benedict Cumberbatch. Saldana told MTV, ”J.J. was very upset. I have to say that. It’s not going to stop people from intruding, but they are, and it’s such a bummer because it only hurts them by stealing away the surprise.”

So, he built this. Or rather, had a team of workers build this:   http://static03.mediaite.com/themarysue/uploads/2012/03/Wall2.jpg

“The director ordered the installation of 30 large shipping containers, strung together to form a fence around the perimeter of a major outside shooting location,” reports MovieWeb. “While for the moment, all we have to look at is this photo of those shipping containers, the paparazzi has accepted this as a challenge, promising fans that they will get a ladder and beat J.J. at his own game. A breach is promised soon, with more pics too come.”

I enjoy a good set shot now and then but I can absolutely understand Abrams’ frustration. And frankly, this is one film I’d rather go in fresh to or at least see official shots rather than stolen ones from paparazzi.




 “Battleship” to be Released in Vietnam Five Weeks Earlier than in USA

(english.vietnamnet.vn)               This movie will be launched in Vietnam on April 13, one month earlier than the release date in North America (May 18).

This is a big event of Vietnamese film distributors because Hollywood movies have always been released in Vietnam later than in North America. However, this gap is being narrowed.

Battleship is a science fiction naval war film based on the classic children's game by Hasbro, the same company that made Transformers. The film was directed by Peter Berg and will be released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna and Liam Neeson.

The film was originally planned to be released in 2011, but was rescheduled to April, 2012.

Synopsis: In the Hawaiian Islands, an international naval fleet at Pearl Harbor engages in a dynamic and intense battle against an alien species known as "The Regents." The aliens come to planet Earth on a mission to build a power source in the ocean. Upon their visit, they come in contact with the naval fleet. The film is also purported to show both sides of the story, from the aliens' perspective, as well as the humans' so the audience knows exactly where the opponent's ships are.

The estimated US$200 million project was to begin filming in Australia's Gold Coast in 2010, but the production company changed location due to a lack of Australian government tax incentives.

Filming took place in the United States on the Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Oahu, as well as in Sherman Oaks, California to do a few apartment scenes and in Playa del Rey, California where they filmed a driving scene along with a shootout. Battleship was also filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States.



CG ANIMATED FILMS TOP DVD SALES CHART

(studiobriefing.net)                     Two animated family films topped the weekly Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart last week. Warners Happy Feet Two and Paramount/DreamWorks The Adventures of Tintin are looking to overcome their mediocre showing theatrically. The Happy Feet sequel earned just $64 million in theaters; Tintin, just $77.6 million. Debuting in third place was 20th Century Fox’s The Descendants. On Home Media magazine’s rental chart, Tintin came in at No. 1, largely due to the fact that the other two films will not be released on Netflix or Redbox, the principal rental outlets, for another four weeks. The Adam Sandler comedy Jack and Jill broke its crown, sliding to second place in its third week on the video rental chart.




Smurfs To Battle Spartans

(comingsoon.net)                      The 300 sequel, directed by Noam Murro and slated to star Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton and Jamie Blackley, will hit theaters on August 2, 2013, opening opposite Columbia Pictures' Smurfs 2 and Dean Parisot's RED 2.



Akira Storyboards Reveal a Movie You Probably Won't See

(io9)                      The live-action version of Akira is currently on hold, shelved for now over budgetary issues at Warner Bros. In January, director Jaume Collet-Serra was well into pre-production up in Vancouver until development came to a halt.

Today, io9 landed some storyboards ("Do Not Distribute" - they say) from the film that reveal elements that scream - yes, this is indeed "Akira." You've got motorcycles, the military and a big bubble-shaped explosion. It appears they were on the right track.

Garrett Hedlund of TRON: Legacy was the only confirmed cast member and he was likely playing the blond fella you see in the art below. Helena Bonham Carter, Ken Wattanabe and Kristen Stewart were reportedly circling roles.

Sylvain Despretz (Gladiator) is responsible for the art.

Take a look:           http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169941-akira-storyboards-reveal-a-movie-you-probably-wont-see



DreamWorks China Venture to Produce First Animation Film

(.prokerala.com)                              A joint venture between DreamWorks Animation, producer of Hollywood blockbusters such as "Kung Fu Panda", and its Chinese partners is scheduled to release its first animated film in 2016, the head of the US studio said Tuesday.

Ultimately, Oriental DreamWorks will become a landmark entertainment center in Shanghai, just like Broadway in New York and Hollywood in Los Angeles, said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation (DWA), who began a two-day inspection tour of the Shanghai-based joint venture Monday.

Katzenberg said there are seven animation proposals competing for Oriental DreamWorks' maiden production, Xinhua reported.

He said the joint venture, promoted as a Chinese family entertainment brand, will closely link elements of Chinese history, culture and literature in its various productions.

For 2012, work will focus on assembling talents into a competent team, Katzenberg said, adding that a studio will be set up with leading DreamWorks expertise, especially on three-dimensional (3D) technologies.

The joint venture was first announced in February during Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to the US.

DreamWorks has most recently taken the spotlight with "Kung Fu Panda" and "Kung Fu Panda 2". Both achieved impressive box office success in the Chinese market, with the latter reaching ticket sales of 470 million yuan ($75.2 million).





Wrath of the Titans Explores the Makhai in a New Featurette

(iTunes Movie Trailers)                   Warner Bros. has released, through iTunes Movie Trailers, a brand-new featurette for their upcoming Wrath of the Titans, due in theaters on March 30th in both 2D and 3D. This one focuses on the mythological battle demons, the Makhai, and you can check out the video in the player below.

VIDEO - Take a look:   http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=88314




Terry Gilliam’s Debut Animated Film, Storytime

Terry Gilliam’s funny debut film, Storytime, features three early examples of the Monty Python animator’s twisted take on life. The film is usually dated 1968, but according to some sources it was actually put together several years later. The closing segment, “A Christmas Card,” was created in late 1968 for a special Christmas-day broadcast of the children’s program Do Not Adjust Your Set, but the other two segments– “Don the Cockroach” and “The Albert Einstein Story”–were broadcast on the 1971-1972 British and American program The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, which featured Gilliam’s Pythonesque animation sequences at the beginning and end of each show. Whatever the date of production, Storytime (now added to our collection of 450 Free Movies Online in the Animation Section) is an engaging stream-of-consciousness journey through Gilliam’s delightfully absurd imagination.

VIDEO - Take a look:            http://www.openculture.com/2012/03/terry_gilliams_debut_animated_film_storytime.html




35 CG-Centric Movie Sequels Currently in the Works

(denofgeek.com)                   It’s been nearly five years since we started doing our annual round-ups of the current movie sequels that are in the works, and this year marks the longest list of all. Furthermore, what the 35 we've rounded up here doesn’t include are the projects that we suspect might have been lost to development hell, which we’ve detailed down at the bottom. Hollywood does love its follow-ups.

The projects that we do talk about here each have some chance of happening, and we’ve done a release date cut off of films due after October 2012 at the earliest. Thus, this summer’s collection of sequels – including The Dark Knight Rises, Madagascar 3, Ice Age 4, G.I. Joe 2, The Expendables 2, Men In Black 3, Wimpy Kid 3, The Bourne Legacy – aren’t included either.

And yet, with those exclusions, we’re still left with the many projects we're about to talk about.

Regular readers will know we don't like splitting lists over multiple pages, but we've had to in this instance. The reason? Er, simply because our back end system wouldn't let us fit it all on one page, unless we took all the pictures out.

Without further ado.


300: Battle Of Artemisia

For fairly obvious reasons, the second 300 film will be taking place before the first one. It’s been stuck in development limbo for a little while, with the likes of Guy Ritchie linked at one point. However, it’s now going to be called 300: Battle Of Artemisia, with Noam Munro directing. Munro has been down to direct Die Hard 5, before eventually parting company with that project.

The new 300 film, which is due out in 2013, will feature Eva Green and Jamie Blackley in its cast.

Adventures Of Tintin 2

Never mind that it didn’t make as much cash as expected in America, the worldwide box office performance of The Adventures Of Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn more than made a sequel a given (nearly $400m worldwide, of which more than three quarters came from outside the US).

Peter Jackson is set to direct the next film, although he won’t be getting to it until he’s done with his two Hobbit movies. That suggests 2014 would be optimistic for Tintin 2. Anthony Horowitz is working on the script, which will be based on more than one book. There are plans for at least one further film after this one, too.


The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Sony has much confidence in its upcoming reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, with Andrew Garfield slipping his frame into the webslinger’s suit. So much so that it’s already earmarked a release date for the sequel. There’s no messing around, here: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be out on 2nd May 2014. The key players, in front of and behind the camera, are locked in to return.

Attack The Block 2

There’s not been much movement regarding a follow-up to Joe Cornish’s sleeper hit Attack The Block. However, the director said last autumn that he’d had several ideas for an Attack The Block 2, but that it wasn’t likely to be his next film. After that? An Attack The Block sequel may yet be in the offing.


Avatar 2 and 3

The wait for James Cameron’s Avatar sequels is going to be a long way, it’s been confirmed recently. The last update we had on the project was that Avatar 2 wouldn’t be with us until 2016 at the very earliest, which suggests that Avatar 3 will follow the year after. Both films will be blue.

The Avengers 2/Avengers Re-assemble

It’s little secret that Marvel has locked the likes of Chris Evans down for lots and lots of films, and three of them will be Avengers movies. The first Avengers is out this summer, and then presumably Marvel will leave the usual two to three year gap until the next one. Might Joss Whedon be tempted to return to direct? We’ll get a clearly idea of that the other side of the summer, but he's been chatting about his thoughts on a follow-up at least.


Batman

It’s no surprise, this, but just because Christopher Nolan will conclude his own Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises later this year, that doesn’t mean the caped crusader’s big screen adventures will be over. The current thinking is that Nolan and Emma Thomas will assume producer roles, as the Batman franchise will then undergo its latest cinematic makeover.

You have to say: the person who follows Nolan into the director’s chair has a bit of a thankless task on their hands…

Beetlejuice 2

A project firmly back on the radar, with Michael Keaton revealing earlier this year that he’s met with the screenwriter for the film, and he’s very keen to do it. Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg are writing the screenplay, and the movie is apparently high up Warner Bros’ radar, and possibly Tim Burton’s, too. Blimey.


Bruce Almighty 2

There’s already been one sequel of sorts to Bruce Almighty, with Steve Carell taking centre stage in Evan Almighty, when Jim Carrey passed on the chance to return. However, things change. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Jim Carrey was interested in a follow-up, with Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul touted to write the script.

Carrey’s not the box office draw he once was, which might explain why he’s now being linked to sequels to his earlier films. Our guess is that he’ll pick one of Bruce Almighty 2 and Dumb And Dumber 2 (which we’re coming to shortly) to progress.

Captain America 2

The smart money suggests that we’re looking at the summer of 2014 for the second standalone Captain America movie, with Chris Evans set to reprise the title role. Shooting on the movie is believed to be starting before the year is out, although a director, as yet, hasn’t been announced for the film. One will be soon, though, with screenplay work already well, well underway.

Chronicle 2

It’s been confirmed that Max Landis, screenwriter of the first Chronicle, is penning the follow-up to 2012’s sleeper hit. With over $100m banked worldwide, and great reviews, Chronicle is also ripe for a follow-up.

Will director Josh Trank return? That’s less clear. Rumours link him to Spider-Man spin-off, Venom, amongst other big projects. Hopefully, though, he can be tempted back to continue the Chronicle story.


The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew

Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, the third movie in the Narnia movie franchise, was the best but least commercially successful. It also hasn’t put too many people a fourth Narnia movie, not least because it’s just the kind of film that works well in the back catalogue. Think of the boxset.

The next Narnia book to hit the big screen will be The Magician’s Nephew, and it’s still in the early stages of development. At the earliest, a 2014 release is mooted, but there’s no certainty of a green light, here.

Clash Of The Titans 3

You know how this works. To keep the distance between blockbuster sequels down to two years rather than three, studios set in motion a further chapter, even before the most recent film has been released.

Thus, last year Warner Bros recruited Dan Mazeau and David Leslie to start working on a treatment for Clash Of The Titans 3, although whether it ultimately presses forward will depend on the kind of business that Wrath Of The Titans does at the box office. If it does well, expect the Kraken to be re-re-released.

Cloudy 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs remains one of the most delightful animated surprises of recent years, and its quality was matched by a good performance at the box office, too.

The sequel is thus due, which is being penned by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses). Original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord are stepping back into producer roles this time, with Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn directing. And the working title? Cloudy 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers. Let’s hope they get that outstanding voice cast back.

The film is set for release in December 2013.

Cloverfield 2

Another long-mooted sequel that looks no closer to happening, but one that the key personnel are still keen to make. Drew Goddard, who penned the first film, and also directed The Cabin In The Woods, has reiterated his desire to make the film. The problem? Well, you can guess. The schedules of director Matt Reeves and producer JJ Abrams are hardly empty, and until that changes, Cloverfield will remain a one-off.


Death Race 3

Luke Goss is back for the second sequel to Death Race, which will also feature Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames and Dougray Scott. It’ll no doubt be headed straight to DVD again, but the second movie was really quite palatable, so don’t necessarily write it off. It’s out later this year.

Despicable Me 2

Work is afoot on the return of Gru and his army of minions, with Despicable Me 2 due to arrive in cinemas in the summer of 2013. Original directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin are also on board, and the film has snagged the voice talent of Mr Al Pacino, too, who will be playing Gru’s nemesis. After Jack And Jill, that man has some credibility to re-build...

District 9 2

A film that’s being held up, it seems, by the busy schedules of those involved in it. In particular, Sharlto Copley and director Neill Bloomkamp have their respective plates full for the time being, while producer Peter Jackson…, well, you know full well what he’s up to.

There’s still seeming intent to make the film, but it may yet take another year or so for the respective pieces to slide into place.

Ghost Rider 3

The underwhelming box office returns for Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance might have killed this one stone dead, but as late as February of this year, plans for Ghost Rider 3 were still afoot. Nicolas Cage, not the kind of actor who jumps at sequels, was said to be interested, and co-director Mark Neveldine had also suggested that he might be back. We would imagine that the odds of Ghost Rider 3 are long, though, although stranger things have happened. Ghost Rider 2, for instance.

Ghostbusters 3

The news that Bill Murray definitely won’t be returning for the Ghostbusters reunion has put the long-mooted sequel on shaky ground.

Originally, Sony reportedly said that it wouldn’t make the film without Murray on board, although such talk has relaxed of late. But there’s still little doubt that Murray’s absence has thrown things into jeopardy. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis still have a script, and Ivan Reitman is still down to direct.

Beyond that? Ghostbusters 3 still has a chance of happening, but it’s a diminishing one.

Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes

It seems lots of people are keen to get on the Sherlock Holmes bandwagon right now. There’s the hit BBC series, headlined by Benedict Cumberbatch, the pair of movies from Guy Ritchie, and CBS planning its own TV adaptation with Jonny Lee Miller as the famous sleuth.

The sequel to animated hit Gnomeo & Juliet? It looks to be seeking similar inspiration. Elton John’s Rocket Pictures has put Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes into motion, with Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley working on a script. Whether Kelly Asbury will return to direct is unclear, though.

Green Lantern 2

Hmmm. Up until the moment that people got to see Green Lantern for the first time, Green Lantern 2 seemed a done deal. A script had been worked on, Ryan Reynolds was locked in to return, and nothing could go wrong. Sadly, the critical savaging that Green Lantern attracted translated into underwhelming box office numbers, leaving Warner Bros with a tricky decision to make.

Thus far, the studio has been bullish about pressing ahead with another Green Lantern film, not least we’d guess because it wants its own Justice League movie at some point in the future. We know that director Martin Campbell won’t be involved if it does go ahead, though. Don’t hold your breath for this one…

Hancock 2

Every time we think that a follow-up to Hancock is dead, out pops another piece of news that suggests it might still be on the radar. It’s been a victim of the busy schedules of both star Will Smith and director Peter Berg so far, but it's not going away. In fact, Berg, currently finishing up his work on Battleship, still has it very much on his slate, and Smith is understood to be keen to reprise the title role.

How To Train Your Dragon 2

How To Train Your Dragon was brilliant. It made money, too. How To Train Your Dragon 2 was thus greenlit, with the voice talent returning, and is due in the summer of 2014. There’s not a fat lot more we need to tell you, there.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins had written three books in The Hunger Games series, and even before the first had seen the inside of a cinema, work had begun on adapting the second for the big screen. It looks like Gary Ross will be back to direct the second film, and Simon Beaufouy (The Full Monty, 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire) is on scripting duties. Beaufouy has promised a faithful adaptation of the book, and Catching Fire is due in cinemas on November 22nd 2013.

I Am Legend 2

Since we’ve been doing these annual sequel round-ups, I Am Legend has been a regular inclusion. Without wishing to spoil the film, a direct follow-up would be a pretty challenging proposition.

The answer? A prequel, with Will Smith tapped to return. It’s a project that’s being more talked about than acted upon in recent years, though, at least until Warner Bros recruited a screenwriter. This is a recent development, with Arash Amel brought in to pen the script. Depending on how that turns out, and that’s some kind of solid progress, the film may or may not move forward over the next year or so.

The Incredibles 2

While doing the interview rounds for last year’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, director Brad Bird said that he retained an interest in making another The Incredibles movie, but not until he had the right idea for it. Pixar sequels are notoriously spaced apart, so there’s no massive concern there. We just look forward to the film when it finally happens.

Indiana Jones 5

George Lucas continues to work away on a MacGuffin that doesn’t involve aliens for the fifth, and presumably last, Indiana Jones film. You know the score, here. Spielberg will come back to direct. Harrison Ford is happy to star. But it’s Lucas that holds the key to the Indiana Jones movie, and until he’s happy he’s cracked the story, the wait for Indy 5 goes on.

Iron Man 3

No pressure, but Iron Man 3 will be the first big Marvel film post-The Avengers, and it’ll be interesting to see just how that impacts on the standalone adventures of Tony Stark.

The basics, then. Robert Downey Jr is returning in the title role, and a release date has been earmarked. The film is set for May 3rd 2013. What makes Iron Man 3 particularly interesting, though, is the choice of director. Shane Black, who hasn’t helmed a film since the wonderful Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is calling the shots. He’s also contributed to the script, and he might just be the main reason to watch the movie.


John Carter 2

Treatments are in place for a further two John Carter movies, although the likelihood of them getting made isn’t particularly strong. The box office returns for the first movie haven’t been at the level you’d need for such a massively expensive film thus far, and it’s going to take a sizeable non-US take to steer John Carter back to cinemas. If it happens, though, Andrew Stanton is reportedly keen to remain heavily involved.

Journey 3

Jules Verne will be pleased. Journey To The Center Of The Earth was a pre-Avatar 3D hit, one which spawned a sequel earlier this year, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Turns out, the sequel stood alone comfortably well, made a decent amount of cash, and now plans are afoot for Journey 3. The Rock is set to return, as is Josh Hutcherson. Journey 2 director Brad Peyton is interested in directing again, we hear.

Jurassic Park 4

It’s over a decade since the last film, but the appetite for a fourth Jurassic Park film hasn’t dissipated. Steven Spielberg will produce again, rather than direct, and development work continues. Producer Kathleen Kenendy told us at the end of last year that it's going to need a great script to get the project moving, but efforts are being made to find one.

Kick-Ass 2

Mystery continues to shroud Kick-Ass 2, a film that doesn’t appear, as of yet, to have a script or director attached. However, Mark Millar, the creator of the comic, gave an interview earlier in the year, where he said that Kick-Ass 2 would be shooting this summer.

If that’s the case, then it’s unlikely that Matthew Vaughn will be directing again, given his commitments to the X-Men franchise. We'd also suspect there might be a more formal announcement soon.

Kung Fu Panda 3

The success of the second Kung Fu Panda movie ensured a third, and the second film left things nicely poised for where, narratively, the next movie could go. DreamWorks boss has suggested that up to six movies in the series are planned, and so whilst Kung Fu Panda 3 hasn't been officially announced by the studio, we'd be amazed if it wasn't in cinemas in 2014, 2015 at the latest.





ZBrush On Mars - John Carter Gets Legacy Effects Treatment
(pixologic.com)                       John Carter may have explored Mars, but for the movie it didn’t begin there. Before anything can actually be made for film, it must start as a concept. This has traditionally been in the form of drawings and paintings, but thanks to advancing technologies and innovative studios, an entirely new form of Concepting is coming forward.

In our interview with Scott Patton of Legacy Effects, we look at how and why it can actually make more sense to start in 3D using digital sculpting software like ZBrush, before ever picking up a design pencil or building a maquette!

Let's begin by talking a bit about you. What's your background? What are some things you've done that we would recognize?

Well I started out as a make-up effects artist in the early 90's. I worked as a sculptor and effects designer. During my time in make-up effects I worked on about 200 movies in one way or another, either as a sculptor, designer, make-up artist, painter, puppeteer... whatever was needed.

Over the years I have worked on films like "Sin City", "Narnia", "Kill Bill" and "The Green Mile" to name a few.

In 2005 I made the decision to switch to exclusively digital sculpture, character design and concept work. Since then I've worked on films like "Avatar", "Iron Man 2", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", "Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides", "Snow white and the Huntsman", "Thor", "I am Number 4", "Cowboys an Aliens" and of course "John Carter".
View Sculpt Larger

Of all your creations, which is your favorite and why?

Hands down it was the stuff for "John Carter". Aside from the the fact that all the people involved with it were super cool, it was my all-time favorite book from my childhood. All the characters are so ingrained in my mind, it was defiantly a dream project. I love this martian world!

Tell us a bit about your company and its history.

Well I work for Legacy Effects. It is literally the legacy of the Stan Winston Studios. It is owned by John Rosengrant, Alan Scott, Lindsay Macgowan and Shane Mahan. When Stan Winston died in 2008 the guys decided to make a new start with Legacy.
I came on in 2005 for Avatar and have been there ever since.

Full article with pics:     http://www.pixologic.com/interview/john-carter/legacy/1/





FX Makeup Maverick Barney Burman Continues Family Tradition

(scifitalk.com)            The term family business applies in Barney Burman’s case. With his uncle Ellis Burman he shares working on Star Trek in two different forms. Ellis worked on Star Trek Nemesis and Star Trek Enterprise, while Barney worked on JJ Abrams Star Trek and recieved an Oscar. His father Tom Burman did the great make-up on Cat People. He chatted with us about his work on Grimm

Transcript of Phone Press Conference

Burman assistant works on Silas Mitchell Weir

Well I wanted to know how does the effects on Grimm compare to other TV series you’ve worked on, like the X-Files for example.

Barney Burman:    Well like all TV, there’s a quick turnaround, but I personally think there’s much more of a fantasy element on Grimm that stimulates me personally. So there’s a lot more license for coming up with things that don’t necessarily need to be based in a scientific reality, even sort of a sci-fi reality, if that makes sense. And it’s just – it’s something that I just love because there’s so much more in my opinion, put into the character of these things that we’re seeing, rather than just the effect of it.

I also want to know when you first learned about Grimm, what did you begin to flesh out in your mind? Like was it the Big Bad Wolf, or something else?

Barney Burman:    Well fortunately, there’s an episode coming up called The Three Bad Wolves, and there’s a character in that – well I guess Three Bad Wolves, not surprisingly based somewhat on The Three Little Pigs. There’s a pig character in that that I had been sort of dreaming about doing for awhile. And so the fact that this came up and was my first episode was kind of a beautiful synchronicity.

Hi. So what’s been your – I’m not sure how many you’ve done specifically on this series yet – as of yet, but what’s kind of your favorite makeup effect that you’ve done and why?

Barney Burman:    Well the pig character was certainly one of them. I only hesitate in saying too much because my favorite has yet – one of my other favorites I should say has yet to be seen. Yes, I don’t want to give it away as far as what’s coming up. There was certainly – you know, one of the things when someone asks me what’s my favorite job overall, usually – and this is no actual - no exception, my answer is this one. The one I’m currently doing is the one I’m usually the most in to and excited about. And that’s been kind of happening per episode with this. Each episode I kind of get sort of reinvigorated and reenergized about what we’re making because, “Ooh, that’s new. That’s cool. That’s different.”

Full article with pics:   http://www.scifitalk.com/2012/03/19/barney-burman-continues-family-tradition/




The 25 Highest Grossing Animated Films of All Time (Adjusted for Inflation)

(pajiba.com)                Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax opened at the top of the box office this weekend with $70 million, which makes it the best opening of the year, the sixth highest debut for an animated film, and the second-highest debut for an animated film that’s not a sequel (behind The Simpsons). It’s also the third highes March opening ever, and the highest grossing opening weekend for a Dr. Seuss movie.

But it will probably never break the top 25 highest-grossing animated films of all time, once inflation is taken into account, although without any animated competition until late April, I do expect Lorax to come close.

Here are the 25 Highest Grossing Animated Films of All Time, adjusting for inflation.


1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ($853 million)
2. 101 Dalmatians ($782 million)
3. The Lion King ($697 million)
4. Fantasia ($650 million)
5. Jungle Book ($576 million)
6. Sleeping Beauty ($569 million)
7. Shrek 2 ($556 million)
8. Pinocchio ($527 million)
9. Bambi ($498 million)
10. Finding Nemo ($441 million)
11. Lady and the Tramp ($436 million)
12. Aladdin ($410 million)
13. Toy Story 3 ($408 million)
14. Toy Story 2 ($374 million
15. Shrek ($370 million)
16. Shrek the Third ($367 million)
17. Beauty and the Beast ($355 million)
18. Monsters Inc. ($353 million)
19. Toy Story ($343 million)
20. The Incredibles ($312 million)
21. Up ($307 million)
22. Who Framed Roger Rabbit ($298 million)
23. Cars ($291 million)
24. A Bug’s Life ($267 million)
25. Tarzan ($263 million)




Image Conscious: A Conversation with Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll

(flickeringmyth.com)                   “That was a good long time ago,” recalls veteran Industrial Light & Magic Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll who was part of the team which created the landmark alien pseudo pod for filmmaker James Cameron. “It was something that was very different, new, and exciting for us. I had worked for Dennis Muren [Jurassic Park] on a number of his shows as a motion-control camera operator in the effects animation department. I moved over to the computer graphics department on a television commercial right before The Abyss [1989] happened. It’s funny to have this history with Dennis; he asked if I would supervise the work in the computer graphics department on The Abyss to help keep everybody on track and to come in with a production mindset that we have real deadlines. We have to get this done and let’s figure out how we’re going to push all this stuff through. At that point there were not a lot of established procedures for what the roles were or how things were done. Faced with that, ‘How do you want to do or approach that one?’ ‘I don’t know. Why don’t we try this?’ ‘Let’s try it and see if that works.’ It felt like we were really inventing a lot of stuff there. It was great fun.”

“I feel like I owe George [Lucas] a great debt of gratitude for trusting me on those,” says John Knoll when discussing his work on the Star Wars prequel trilogy. “That was over an eight year period I got I feel a whole lifetime’s worth of experience out of them. Each one of those shows was 2000 shots.” Knoll was rewarded with an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) which featured the character of Captain Davy Jones. “We had a good time on that. I’m very proud on how that turned out. It helps to have a director who has a strong visual sense and supports the right way to do things. We would discuss what the shooting methodology should be for different effects in that show; Gore [Verbinski] would take us seriously, make it happen and defend our requests against the inevitable wall you get.” When questioned about what it takes to be a successful visual effects supervisor, he answers, “Don’t let ego get in the way. Recognize that sometimes the best ideas come from unlikely sources. When I’m at dailies looking at shots I am open to input from the crew and I try not to have an ego about this. Sometimes the best ideas come from unlikely sources. The best ideas should be the ones that rule the day.” Holding the number 10 position on Entertainment Weekly’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood List of 2007, Knoll collaborated with his brother Thomas to produce Adobe Photoshop. “We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. The whole time we were developing it, I was the number one cheerleader. I was convinced that this was going to rule the world. It’s a verb now.”

“I contacted him about wanting to get involved with 1906,” states John Knoll when discussing the origins of his collaboration with filmmaker Brad Bird on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011). “We got talking about it and then the project itself was delayed and put into turnaround. Brad moved on to Mission: Impossible and I was still very excited about working with Brad; I’m a huge fan of his films. When he got Mission: Impossible, I said, ‘Wow! I’d love to work on this with you.’” The movie franchise starring Tom Cruise is not unfamiliar territory for Knoll. “I supervised Mission I [1996]. It has been 16 years. The technology is nothing super revolutionary but has evolved gradually. We could be a lot bolder about the things we were doing. We have a scene that takes place in and around Red Square and none of our actors actually went to Red Square.” An adjustment was required for Bird who was making the transition from animation to live-action moviemaking for the first time. “On an animated feature you have more opportunities to do revisions to sequences where you can order up shots and, ‘Yeah. This stuff isn’t working. Let’s fix this and this.’ In live-action you’re a little more constrained by what you shot. We were sometimes going into shots to try to modify them to better reflect Brad’s current thinking about, ‘I wish this shot had a little more energy to it.’ Or it wasn’t apparent until he was cutting the sequence and the real shape of the sequence was emerging.”

“We have a group here that advises us on that,” remarks John Knoll who subcontracted other visual effects facilities to assist ILM on the action thriller. “It’s looking at the reels from the different companies, and talking with them. Sometimes it’s from past experience with them on previous shows and trying to cast appropriately for the success.” He gives examples such as with the Magnetic Suit Sequence where Jeremy Renner jumps down a shaft. “The majority of that work was done at Pixomondo. It’s a CG set extensions, wire removals. The fan at the bottom of that shaft is CG.” Australian company Fuel VFX helped on the signature stunt where Tom Cruise climbs the world’s tallest building. “There are definitely a number of visual effects in that sequence. A lot of it is Tom on the Burj Khalifa at 1600 feet doing the thing that is depicted in the movie. He has a whole bunch of safety cables on him so a lot of the visual effects are wire removal. When you look at the structure of the building it’s a bunch of curved mirrors so it’s the cable, the reflection of the cable, and the reflection of the reflection of the cable, and the reflection of the camera. This an IMAX sequence so it’s doing all of that at high resolution as well. The wire removals were challenging but then there are a number of shots we filmed on a smaller set fragment down at ground level. When Tom is swinging on the cable, releases it, and makes a desperate jump for this open window, those things were shot on this set fragment with building extensions done in CG.”

Not many practical effects were utilized. “We did a two day shoot at New Deal Studios where we shot some pyro elements. They’re all really effects elements such as explosions and debris chunks,” states John Knoll. “We have a very rich stock library that we’ve built up here over being in business for over 30 years. We have lots of explosions, dust, splashes and all those sort of things. When you need a practical element of one kind or another the first place you look is, ‘Do we already have that in the stock library?’ If we don’t have something we can use for that then you schedule a shoot to get a piece that we need.” As for what it takes for successful CGI augmentation, Knoll remarks “Good match moves and matte [paintings], and attention to detail.” He adds, “In a handful of fully computer generated shots you have to make sure that your style of cinematography matches the surrounding material, and the overall style of the show. A lot of set extension shots you just match move the production camera and that’s what you’re working from. We try never to put constraints on how you shoot plates, ‘Oh, boy this would be better if this wasn’t a Steadicam move because it would be easier to match move.’ You try to allow filmmakers the complete freedom to shoot it the way they would want to shoot it if it wasn’t visual effects.”

“It’s not like there is a visual effects style book for the Mission: Impossible films,” states John Knoll. “While they’re popcorn action flicks, they are meant to be reality base; the overriding thing is to make it look like photography. If you’re supposed to be in Red Square make it look like you’re really in Red Square.” In comparing the difficulty of incorporating visual effects in an everyday environment as suppose to a stylized reality, Knoll observes, “I’ve definitely done my share of way out there fantasy type of films. It’s a different base. Usually, that kind of very high end of creating whole worlds comes along with a little stylization. The stylization makes it a little bit easier to sell, and then there are very complex things which are part of that generated world. The more reality base high polish stuff is sometimes harder to execute.” He explains, “The principles all still apply. Its more pixels so bigger files. You have to put more detail into developing assets and everything is a bit slower.”

The Submarine Missile Launch Sequence in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is completely computer generated. “There are a lot of one offs where the assets needed to be developed,” reveals John Knoll. “It only plays in that one shot so you don’t get an economy of scale out of it.” Asked about the challenge of dealing with short as suppose to long shots, he answers, “Its different challenges. There are setup costs for everything. When you’re developing a CG asset the hope is you can hammer down the cost of that development over many shots so the proportion of its cost to a given shot is less. When something has to be developed, and it’s just work in a single shot then all of the cost of developing the geometry, textures and the look that is all burdened on that one shot.” Knoll is pleased with the end result. “It’s got good action but there are moments of situational humour which I think are good because it was something that was needed.”




J.J. Abrams Films Earn Big at Box Office

(thesudburystar.com)                While J.J. Abrams' TV successes have waned, his movies generate tons of box office green. Here are his most recent big-screen blockbusters.

Star Trek (2009; director, producer): A hip reboot of Capt. Kirk's origin story, this one managed to please Trek fans and casual moviegoers alike. Box office: $385M.

Super 8 (2011; director, writer and producer): This monster thriller won over audiences, if not critics. Box office: $259M.

Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol (2011; producer and co-writer): We didn't think we wanted another Mission Impossible movie, but oh boy, we did. Box office: $691M. -- Steve Tilley, QMI Agency





“The Sweatbox”, the Documentary That Disney Doesn’t Want You to See

(cartoonbrew.com)                  Disney has kept The Sweatbox locked out of sight for the past decade, but the 2002 documentary was posted online yesterday by an eighteen-year-old cartoonist in the UK. First, a little background on the film from Wade Sampson:

    In 1997, musical performer and composer Sting was asked by the Walt Disney Company to write the music for a new animated feature called Kingdom of the Sun. It was to be directed by Roger Allers who was basking in the success of his work on The Lion King. Sting agreed, on the condition that his wife, filmmaker Trudie Styler, could document the process of the production with their own production company, Xingu Films…Sting’s wife was given unlimited access when it came to Production No. 1331 (aka “Kingdom”). She and her camera sat in on story meetings for the movie, rolled while actors auditioned as well as taping Sting while he recorded the score. No one expected two years into the production, it would shift direction drastically.

The Sweatbox is at turns infuriating, hilarious and enlightening. You’ll cringe in sympathy with the Disney artists as you see the gross bureaucratic incompetence they had to endure while working at the studio in the 1990s. The film not only captures the tortured morphing of the Kingdom of the Sun into The Emperor’s New Groove, it also serves as an invaluable historical document about Disney’s animation operations in the late-1990s. If any questions remain about why Disney fizzled out creatively and surrendered its feature animation crown to Pixar and DreamWorks, this film will answer them.

UPDATE: I just checked another copy of the film and it appears that the version of The Sweatbox posted on YouTube is an earlier cut of the film. The final theatrical version was 86 minutes long with a significantly different opening. I haven’t watched both side-by-side to draw further comparisons between these two versions.

VIDEO - Take a look:            http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-sweatbox-the-documentary-disney-doesnt-want-you-to-see.html





Life Sized Star Wars TIE Fighter Sold On Craigslist After Ad Goes Viral (PHOTOS)

(huffingtonpost.com)               Ever dreamed of owning a real life Star Wars space craft? Befriending one lucky Craigslist shopper may now be as close as you can get.

A life-sized replica of the TIE Fighter spacecraft featured in the Star Wars movie series was listed on Craigslist earlier this week and it wasn't long before the listing went viral on tech sites across the Internet galaxy. Just one day after Star Wars fans started drooling over the replica on sites like PC World and Gizmodo, the original Craigslist ad reported that the TIE Fighter, which can reportedly hold a person weighing up to 300 pounds in its cockpit, had been sold. After receiving "hundreds of calls, texts and e-mails," according to seller and builder Dave, it remains unclear whether it went for more than the original $150 asking price.

In an email to The Huffington Post, Dave, who declined to give his last name, explained that he built the TIE Fighter with his 9th-grade son for a church fundraiser. In addition to creating a super-cool space craft, the process also served as a great way of demonstrating the famed Pythagorean Theorem math equation. Dave said he already built a replica of the rival X-Wing fighter four years ago, so it was only natural that he add a TIE fighter to his fleet.

But Dave isn't the first to bring in the big bucks on Star Wars merchandise. Official Star Wars toys and action figures have raked in $9 billion over the years, according to 24/7 Wall St. But that doesn't include fan projects like Dave's or unreleased Star Wars merchandise. A recent post from the Action Insider Blog revealed a whole line of rejected merchandise that was designed to promote the movie Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. That means fans will likely never have the chance to own an R2D2 wet bar or a Darth Vader lava lamp.

Still, true fans may look for a new hope, perhaps in a galaxy far, far away.

Take a look:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/tie-fighter-life-sized-replica-craigslist-viral_n_1373432.html