(darkhorizons.com)
While Michael Bay has previously said he won't be coming back for a fourth "Transformers" film, series producer Steven Spielberg tells EW (via /Film that he hopes he will.
"I hope so, because I think he made the best of the three with this last one. I certainly can't imagine anybody other than Michael being equipped to make another 'Transformers.' He's invented a genre and he's got the secret formula" said Spielberg.
Bay has previously said he'd consider it but wants to make his small budget feature "Pain and Gain" first - "I'm going to do a tiny movie first, then we'll talk about it, if I potentially do it."
Spielberg was also quickly asked about a fifth "Indiana Jones". The filmmaker said “It’s up to George. We have already agreed on the genre of the fifth movie, we already have a concept in mind. I don’t know where George is with the story. There is no Indy 5 until George says there is.”
"Tintin" Sequel Dates Already Planned
(darkhorizons.com)A sequel to this year's "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" could hit by late 2014 or Summer 2015 according to producer Kathleen Kennedy.
With the well-reviewed first film already soaring past $200 million overseas in its first month and with the film still to open in several markets, including the United States, a sequel now seems a certainty at this point.
Kennedy and Peter Jackson produced the Steven Spielberg-directed first film and Jackson has already been slated to direct the second. The question hasn't really been if it would happen but rather more about scheduling - when would they shoot the motion capture elements for the film and when would it be out?
“It is being moved forward, in fact Steven and I were talking about it this morning. We’re working on a script right now, we’ll see a script probably February or March. If we can do some camera capture this summer, which I think we could do, then we would be on track to have the movie either Christmas 2014 or summer 2015, and so that’s what we’re looking at right now" Kennedy tells Collider.
The main mo-cap shoot for the first 'Tintin' took just under five weeks. Best guess would be Jackson would conduct that late next Summer once he wraps shooting on "The Hobbit" films and during a period when post-production requires the least amount of his involvement.
Annie Award Nominations Announced
(hollywoodreporter.com)Nominations for the 39th Annual Annie Awards were announced on Monday by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. Recognizing the year's best in the field of animation, the Annie Awards cover 28 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short Subjects and Outstanding Individual Achievements.
This year, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2 leads the pack with 12 nods. Dreamworks Animation also picked up nine nominations for their Puss in Boots and Paramount's Rango also took nine nods. Pixar's Cars 2 received seven nominations and Disney's Winnie the Pooh grabbed eight.
Winnie the Pooh, however, did not receive a nomination for the night’s top award, Best Animated Feature, while the other top nominees did. (See the complete list of nominees for Best Animated Feature below.) DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon took home the top prize at the 2011 event.
"We are really excited about the expanded list of nominations this year…in all 28 categories," said Frank Gladstone, president, ASIFA-Hollywood. "All of the major animation studios are represented, as are some of the independent productions from Europe and South America. This certainly is a testament to the wide reach and appeal of animation and the people who create it."
The 2011 Annie Award winners will be announced at the 39th Annual Annie Awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, CA.
The Nominees for Best Animated Feature:
A Cat in Paris – Folimage
Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.
Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited
Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
Rio – Blue Sky Studios
Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshal
CGI Made Filming Man Of Steel Easier
(contactmusic.com)Michael Shannon is delighted he can rely on CGI in the new 'Superman' movie.
The Oscar-nominated actor plays General Zod in director Zack Snyder's upcoming comic book adaptation 'Man of Steel' and revealed he is thrilled he doesn't have to undertake all of the dangerous stunts himself thanks to the magic of computer generated imagery.
Speaking about Terence Stamp, who previously played the villain in 'Superman' in 1978, he told The Province.com: "Unfortunately for Mr. Stamp, they didn't have CGI back then. I'm being spared a lot of drudgery that he had to endure. From time to time I'm in a harness, but I don't think anywhere near as much as he was. It's no secret that a lot of the film is going to be assisted by computer designed animation."
While he is a fan of CGI, Michael admitted it can be "frustrating" to work with a green screen.
He said: "I guess it can be frustrating not having those tactile elements around you, being surrounded by the green but you're always trying to tell a story and be honest and you use your imagination regardless of whether there's a set or not."
Walt Disney Pictures ‘Lone Ranger’ Open Casting Call for Extras
(leadcastingcall.com)Walt Disney Pictures along with Jerry Bruckheimer, and Johnny Depp is back in production for the film remake of TV classic The Lone Ranger. The set is currently being built in Grant County after being put on hold for several months.
Filming will take place in New Mexico starting in February through July 2012. Most of the film has been cast in Los Angeles. Supporting roles, smaller speaking roles, as well as extras and photo doubles are being cast in New Mexico.
The extras casting director is seeking the following types:
*Males with no facial hair,
*Males with lots of facial hair.
*Females of all sizes with long hair
*Native Americans
*Asians
*Hoseback Riders
Time & Date: Sunday December 11, 2011 9am til 4pm
Where: Far Horizon Studio 300 Washington SE Suite 304 Alburquerque, NM 87108
Come dressed in your best western look. Bring proper ID!
**Additional casting calls will be scheduled throughout filming.
Chris Columbus Ensures a Safer Science Fiction Universe
(latinoreview.com) Chris Columbus Ensures a Safer Science Fiction Universe Chris Columbus' production company, 1492 Pictures, has won the rights to Charles Yu's 2010 debut novel, "How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe."
The novel won several science fiction awards and sounds kind of awesome. The Hollywood Reporter offers this brief description of the plot:
"The novel centers on a time travel machine repairman -- also named Charles Yu -- who has spent the past 10 years traveling back and forth in time in search of his father, who has disappeared. When the fictional Yu falls into a time loop he must find a way to change the future."
Columbus is only producing this one. Directing duties will fall to first timer Brendan Bellomo whose only real credit to date is an ambitious short called, "Bohemibot," which you have to admit is a catchy title. Hopefully this one turns out as promising as it looks.
RoboCop Joins the Star Trek Sequel
(Variety) Peter Weller ("RoboCop" films) has joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel in an unknown role, reports Variety.
The film recently cast Benicio Del Toro as the villain and Alice Eve as reportedly a new character. John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and Anton Yelchin are set to return for the follow-up.
Abrams will direct from a script by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk and David Ellison will produce through Bad Robot and Skydance Productions.
Paramount will start filming in early 2012 for a May 17, 2013 release.
James Cameron's TED Talk
(alexandrosmaragos.com)James Cameron's big-budget (and even bigger-grossing) films create unreal worlds all their own. In this personal TED Talk, he reveals his childhood fascination with the fantastic -- from reading science fiction to deep-sea diving -- and how it ultimately drove the success of his blockbuster hits "Aliens," "The Terminator," "Titanic" and "Avatar.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.alexandrosmaragos.com/2011/11/james-cameron-ted- talk.html
Jerry Bruckheimer Breaks His Silence on Disney's $215 Million 'Lone Ranger' Compromise
(hollywoodreporter.com)The producer tells THR how he slashed a $260 million megabudget to get Disney's green light on the Johnny Depp film, why the negotiations took so long and how he feels about the new release date.
Jerry Bruckheimer says he never had any doubt that The Lone Ranger would get made with star Johnny Depp. But the project proved to be the most difficult negotiation of his career after Disney halted production in August as the budget reportedly spiraled beyond $260 million. Disney CEO Robert Iger set a hard number -- $215 million, according to a knowledgeable source -- and agreed to go forward with Lone Ranger only if the filmmakers hit the target. In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bruckheimer explains how they got there.
THR: How did negotiations get to the point where Disney shut down the movie?
Bruckheimer: We had a script that we kept working on. It was evolving. You start looking at locations, you look at the menu and say: "I like all these desserts. I want 'em all." And you hit a number and they say, "We can't afford that." Then you start cutting it back. Disney wanted to stop the spending unless they felt the budget corresponded to the number that the boss [Iger] wanted. They had set a deadline [Aug. 12] for us to submit a budget, and we didn't hit their number. They said, "Can you hit it?" We didn't have enough time to really vet the budget, and we said we couldn't hit it right away. And they said, "We have to stop the bleeding." We understood what they were doing, but we wanted to keep working.
PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Most Memorable Career Moments
THR: Were you shocked that they shut it down?
Bruckheimer: It's always a shock when they actually do it. But I was still very confident that we could get the picture made. It took us about four to six weeks to figure out how to make the movie more economically.
THR: How did you do it?
Bruckheimer: We redid the production plan. We originally laid it out to avoid winter. Every single location we had, there was winter -- 30s at night, 50s during the day, best-case scenario. We were jumping around. California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah. If we had a big crowd scene and then the next day we were shooting just Tonto and the Lone Ranger, we still had the crew "on" because you have them weekly. So we bunched the sequences that were big together, and for the smaller scenes [we] laid off the extras, the effects people, the makeup people. It costs an enormous amount with 150 extras on the set. It's not the extras, it's the people that support the extras. You're still carrying all the wardrobe, makeup and hair people. We bunched together scenes with Tonto and the Lone Ranger, so we had a much smaller crew. We saved about $10 million just by doing that.
PHOTOS: Inside 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
Then we looked for the best break in tax incentives. We found that Louisiana gave us a better tax incentive than New Mexico -- that was another $8 million. We're still shooting in New Mexico, and we might [also] go to Louisiana. We're asking New Mexico to come closer to the Louisiana incentive.
We dropped our California location not because they didn't offer a tax break but because it was another production office that we had to open. Every time you have a new location, you have to use crew time setting it up for you. There are a lot of expenses.
THR: And there were deferments on fees?
Bruckheimer: Disney held back fees, and I put up some of my development money. I've done that before. [Director] Gore [Verbinski] and myself and Johnny and some vendors and creative people agreed to deferments. They will get paid at a certain point that Disney negotiated with them, as I will. It's a "favored nation" deal, so we all get paid at the same point when Disney recoups. That took a month or more. Then [on Oct. 13] we could finally start spending again. Some below-the-line people gave us reductions.
STORY: 'The Lone Ranger': A Timeline
Disney would have much preferred us cutting stuff out of the script. But the competition is fierce. You can't compete with The Hobbit, you can't compete with Transformers if you do that. The audience will stay home.
THR: Did you have to lose sequences from the script? There was talk that some train sequences were cut back.
Bruckheimer: We cut a sequence involving a coyote attack -- supernatural coyotes -- and a small animated segment. The train [scenes] are intact. We trimmed it a little bit. Gore made some sacrifices creatively, but nothing that would hurt the film. We had to work it out. The studio set a number, and it was always our responsibility to get to the number.
THR: What if the picture still goes over budget?
Bruckheimer: We are all sharing the burden on overages, including Disney.
STORY: Official: Disney's 'Lone Ranger' Sets May 31, 2013 Release Date
THR: Because you missed your original start date, how do you feel about Disney moving the release from December 2012 to May 31, 2013?
It's a better date. Before, we were up against The Hobbit and World War Z. Now we're a week after Fast and Furious and a couple weeks before Superman. The competition is not as bad. There are a lot of movies jammed in at Christmas. In the summer, you have a longer run. You're cut off after the first of the year on a Christmas release.
THR: Was this your most difficult negotiation ever?
Bruckheimer: It's been very hard. It's just the times. It's tough out there. The studios lost a real source of revenue in DVDs. It's much tougher, much harder. The studios are making fewer movies. In the past, there's always been something else [to make up lost revenue] that's jumped in there. There will be something, but it hasn't happened yet.
STORY: Disney's 'Lone Ranger' Close to Riding Again After Johnny Depp, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski Reduce Fees
But I've had so many movies shut down. The first Pirates was shut down. Pearl Harbor was stopped. So was Armageddon. For me, this is normal. This is: "Get real. Let's get the budget where we can make it."
THR: How important is this movie to Verbinski?
Bruckheimer: He's certainly motivated to bring the picture in on budget.
THR: Where are you with Pirates 5?
Bruckheimer: We're in the outline phase. We will lay out a story. We have a script, but we decided we could do better.
THR: How are things going with Disney overall?
Bruckheimer: I'm there until 2014 or 2015. I'm happy with them, and I think they're happy with me.
THE CHANGING BUDGET FOR THE LONE RANGER
* Original: $260 million
* Revised: $215 million
* Savings: $45 million
‘Rango’: On the Trail of Animation’s Outlaw Future?
(herocomplex.latimes.com)Will “Rango” ride off into the sunset with an Academy Award? The Envelope is the awards insider for the Los Angeles Times and features the work of our Hero Complex writers. Here’s a look at one story from the upcoming animation issue of The Envelope; this one looks at the Gore Verbinski western that won over critics and should be a contender in the now-underway Oscar season.
"Rango" (Paramount Pictures)
When you think of Johnny Depp it’s hard not to think of Tim Burton — the movie star and director tandem have worked on seven feature films together — but with the success of “Rango” it may be time to more carefully consider the collaboration of Depp and Gore Verbinski, the soft-spoken popcorn auteur who has now made four movies with the actor since 2003 and is now preparing a fifth.
Depp says the two directors will never be mistaken for each other, but that they do share a certain skill for making the real world feel especially animated and making animated worlds reach for an unexpected reality. Depp made three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films with Verbinski and the two will reunite (after considerable turbulence in the corner offices of Disney) for the 2013 revival of “The Lone Ranger,” but the actor said working with the filmmaker on the animated “Rango” was especially enlightening, just like working with Burton on 2005′s “The Corpse Bride.”
“Gore and Tim are very, very different but there is a similar thing in the incredible arena that they build and that they allow the actors to go into, a place where the actors can feel free to go ape,” Depp said. “They rein it in, hone it and make it special and pay close attention to the details. So there’s this freedom they both create and an organic approach. Gore amazed me right away with his technical ability … he knows cinema backwards and forward and he’s completely unafraid. When I saw ‘Rango’ I was pretty stupefied – it was unlike anything I had ever seen before.”
Johnny Depp at premiere of "Rango" on Feb. 14, 2011. (Gus Ruelas/Reuters)
Verbinski’s knowledge of cinema was on full display in “Rango,” the first animated feature film from Paramount Pictures and the first created by Industrial Light & Magic, the esteemed visual effects house. In the film, Depp gives voice to a thespian chameleon who ends up in a savage town called Dirt where a six-shooter drama unfolds with nods to “High Noon,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” ”Destry Rides Again” and a dozen other saddlebag classics. With especially scabby characters (like a chicken with an arrow through its eye) and existential subplots, ”Rango” was defiantly “un-cute” in this era of animation blockbusters defined by heartfelt appeal and a tidy, toy-driven aesthetic.
More than that, Verbinksi went against the conventional approach of animation today — instead of recording voices from voice actors who worked alone in the studio, he put his ensemble together on a soundstage with a 40-foot-long wooden saloon bar, whiskey glasses and swinging doors and even brought in a chuck wagon to help the cast ground their performance in the dusty territories of their imagination.
More than that, Verbinski sees a new frontier in animation where audacious outlaws may finally win. He said R-rated animation projects (such as David Fincher’s discussed adaptation of “The Goon“) may be pioneer projects to watch.
“There’s so much you can do in animation, and maybe what’s interesting is a movie where you don’t bring your 6-year-old,” Verbinksi said, adding that the the animation legacy of Ralph Bakshi and “Heavy Metal” may be a compass point for Hollywood as far as mature audience ambitions. “You can tell so many stories. I think where it’s going is very interesting if we let it be.”
Filmmakers Reviving Sci-fi With Lights, Miniatures, & Imagination
(techzwn.com) When it comes to special effects, nothing looks more realistic than reality itself, and filmmakers Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier hope to show this with their upcoming film, “C.”
The short sci-fi film begins in an interplanetary cold war, and follows the story of an idealistic flight officer who hijacks her own ship to search for other habitable worlds, and a better future. Gorder and Stockmeier are breaking the mould with this film—abandoning computer graphics and green screens for model ships, lights, and whole lot of creativity.
They elaborated on this via e-mail, noting while “CGI can be really beautiful and it’s an incredibly powerful tool,” science fiction films and others that are filled with special effects tend to move too far from principles of basic photography.”
“Light and the physical world plays such an important role in a filmmaker’s decisions, and through all those decisions nature is meeting you halfway,” Gorder and Stockmeier said.
The film’s trailer shows this concept in action. A ship soars through space, lights shining forward through the darkness. There is depth and shadow, and an that uncanny feel that sci-fi films once had.
The ship, after all, is a miniature model with real lights, and the shadows are not rendered by a computer—they’re real.
“When you create elements of a shot entirely in a computer, you have to generate everything that physics and the natural world offers you from scratch,” they said, noting that while having these tools on hand can be empowering to filmmakers, it’s still just animation, and “throwing it into the same frame as a real live human being or natural landscape is a bold choice, it’s mixing mediums.”
“I like the Pixar approach better, full CGI movies that just are what they are—you accept it, it feels natural within the world of the film,” Gorder said. “I’m looking forward to more CGI-based science fiction that accepts the medium for what it is rather than copy & pasting big scary monsters or ridiculous landscapes into an otherwise live-action movie.”
They also have a love for the old way of doing effect. “There’s a richness and texture when you’re working with lenses and light that can’t be replicated. The goal of special effects shouldn’t necessarily be to look realistic, they should be works of art themselves and help create a mood or tell a story,” they said.
Gorder and Stockmeier used the “Stargate” sequence from 2001 as an example—which they describe as neither realistic nor recognizable—yet still “communicates an enormous science fiction concept effectively.” The add the great sci-fi films that still hold a spot in the hearts of many-a-good-geek took their places by creating “unforgettable visions that remain timeless because they told great stories, and their effects blended seamlessly into that vision.”
Trying to do everything with CGI and green screens sets what they describe as a trap that promises an audience photorealism. Yet for filmmakers, “all of a sudden you’re lighting for chromakeying instead of lighting for a mood, and you risk missing storytelling opportunities.” The end product often gives CGI-heavy movies what they describe as a “plastic” feel.
Full article with pics & video: http://techzwn.com/2011/12/filmmakers-reviving-sci-fi- with-lights-miniatures-and- imagination/
‘Tron’ Vs ‘Tron: Legacy’ in a CGI Battle
(uponregistration.com)Twenty-eight years is a very long time to wait for a sequel, but loyal followers of “Tron” didn’t thoughts within the least. The 1982 movie was groundbreaking in its use of laptop graphics which opened up a brand new world of potentialities when it got here to laptop-generated imagery in a movie. Likewise, followers of “Tron” knew that the sequel would have to do one thing to push the envelope on CGI. Followers acquired simply that and extra as “Tron: Legacy” delivered CGI graphics not like any other movie has to date.
“Tron” gave us a unique look at the power computes had when it got here to movie making. When the characters have been derezzed, it was actually as though somebody pulled a plug out they usually vanished by giant laptop pixelation. Whereas the disks they used for the game grid and carried of their fits have been actually only a disk, they still did nothing special. The light cycles, which constructed partitions wherever they went and derezzed characters, have been additionally largely pixilated, but still effective. Although the surveillance programs have been clearly CGI, they have been no more than what appeared like a child’s building block toy collection that was put together to make a menacing wanting program. The CGI in “Tron” appeared nice for its time, but it can not examine to the CGI of “Tron: Legacy”
Since Programs do not age as Users do, writers and the CGI team needed to deal with this matter and make it believable. Flynn proven as a young father was an surprising surprise since the actor enjoying him, Jeff Bridges, shouldn’t be in his 30′s anymore, but appeared as though he were. It appeared so actual that it is sure to inspire different movies to use this method the place applicable.
Whereas the sunshine cycles have been a staple picture in “Tron” it is no wonder that they’d come back for use in “Tron: Legacy.” The wall that the cycles used appeared extra like a ribbon of sunshine than it did within the first film. The light cycle arena had additionally changed from a easy enjoying discipline space to a much more complicated recreation simulation that’s generally used in racing video games. The cycles themselves additionally received an upgrade from a easy wanting motorbike to a much more complicated motorbike that materialized when a easy wanting black baton was pulled aside while operating which materialized a bike to ride on.
The discs in “Tron: Legacy” additionally acquired an upgrade from being only a easy disc to turn out to be a extra excessive tech donut-shaped disc. Not only did these discs mild up, but they also acted as computers that could possibly be used to heal a Program if they’d been injured by simulated pictures of the proprietor, which appeared out of the center of the disc. When a Program was derezzed, they turned what actually appeared like small laptop chips breaking apart from every other. Although the CGI in “Tron” can not start to check with the complexity that “Tron: Legacy” was in a position to ship and bring to new heights, both movies have been equally groundbreaking the place CGI is concerned. Just as “Tron” changed the way a whole lot of movies after it have been being made, “Tron: Legacy” is sure to do the same.
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Pixar Premiere Animators' Occasion
(stuff.co.nz)Cameras set to roll on NZ's largest production lot McKenzie Muppet song gets Oscar tip Sione's cast prays pirates steer clear Love child of Gable, Young dies Streep tipped for Oscar glory Stuff's big entertainment quiz: December 1 The cat finally gets the cream No Conchords movie planned - HBO Kingdom Come film's deadline passes Creditors put squeeze on failed film
A small group of Kiwi animators and special effects artists have had a sneak peak at Pixar's latest film, as the industry gathers in Wellington for its annual conference.
The southern hemisphere premiere of short film La Luna was held at animation conference Animfx yesterday at Te Papa.
The film follows a working-class boy who sweeps up fallen stars on the moon with his father and grandfather, and is being considered for an Academy Award.
Pixar director Enrico Casarosa, who was a storyboard artist for the United States giant on films Ratatouille, Cars and Up, afterwards gave an insight into his directorial debut.
Despite lasting only seven minutes, La Luna took nine months to make, using 50 to 60 people at its peak, which is a "small team" for Pixar.
At first the characters appear to be fishermen as they row out to the moon – a throwback to Casarosa's childhood in Italy.
"I grew up with the sea right by. A lot of fishermen. At home we lived with my grandfather, but my dad and my grandfather never got along. I was always the little kid stuck in between these two guys.
"One would ask me a question, and the other would ask me a question, but they would never talk to each other."
There has been a strong turn-out at the conference in Wellington, underlining the importance of the industry to the capital.
Weta Digital was well-known overseas, said Casarosa, who is based in California.
"People are getting excited about The Hobbit again. It feels like there is a little bit of recapturing of some of that magic that was there a few years back during the Lord of the Rings. I think people are very curious about Tintin as well."
There have been claims that Weta Digital is now the world's second-largest special effects workshop after Pixar.
Graham Mitchell, chief executive of ultrafast broadband company Crown Fibre Holdings, said he had heard anecdotally that Weta had achieved the No2 spot.
"I don't think people realise how successful they are."
But Weta spokeswoman Amy Minty said the claim was not easy to quantify.
Although Weta was certainly one of the largest, it would be reluctant "to describe ourselves in such a definitive way". A Technology Investment Network report estimated Weta's revenues climbed by $10 million to $110m this year.
A tour of Weta Digital tomorrow promises to be one of the highlights at Animfx, which has attracted about 400 people in the conference's sixth year.
Andy Serkis Makes The Case For An Expanded Definition Of Acting
(thinkprogress.org)We’ve talked about this a bit before, but Andy Serkis makes the case for why he should be eligible for acting awards — which I agree with, I just don’t know that we can nominate him alone:
There is no difference. Acting is acting. Performance capture is a technology, not a genre; it’s just another way of recording an actor’s performance. It’s very interesting being in two movies this year that are manifested completely differently but use the same process. The same visual effects company, Weta Digital, produced apes that look entirely real and a palette and a style that honors the source material of Tintin. What Steven was trying to do was to have the best of both worlds, where you can create the look and the feel and the sensibility of Herge [Tintin's cartoonist creator] but have emotionally truthful performances. The technology allows the actors to enter into those worlds…The technology has come to the point where we could shoot Gollum and the Hobbits in the same moment, as we did in Apes. In the original, I’d have to shoot against empty plates that were shot on the day, then repeat the process on the performance-capture stage, sometimes months later. Now we get it in one hit, so it’s much more actor- and director-friendly.
Obviously post-production and effects work exist on a continuum. But there’s a difference between technological alteration without which a performance could not exist, and post-production work that tweaks or modifies a performance or a set but that does not constitute the core of the work. Our current awards categories don’t provide appropriate recognition to the first category of technological and post-production work. I want Serkis to get piles of statues. I just think we have to find a way to acknowledge the interactive nature of the work. The fact that visual effects artists often don’t get properly credited is part and parcel of a system that involves visual effects studios giving up not just credit but profits in order to keep work, even though the industry increasingly relies on their work to satisfy audience expectations.
Maybe if Serkis gets a nomination or an award for a role where his face isn’t actually on-screen, it could trigger a special citation for the visual effects folks who translated his performance. I don’t know that it’s a perfect solution. But I think we need to reconsider the awards categories themselves, not just who fits into them.
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