(The New York Times) We've heard this before from George Lucas, but he tells The New York Times that Red Tails was his last big project at Lucasfilm.
"I'm retiring," he said. "I'm moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff."
The newspaper adds that the 67-year-old Lucas was careful to leave himself an out clause for a fifth "Indiana Jones" film, however.
"Once this is finished, he�s done everything he�s ever wanted to do," producer Rick McCallum added. "He will have completed his task as a man and a filmmaker."
The Times says that "Lucas has decided to devote the rest of his life to what cineastes in the 1970s used to call personal films. They�ll be small in scope, esoteric in subject and screened mostly in art houses. They�ll be like the experimental movies Lucas made in the 1960s, around the time he was at U.S.C. film school, when he recorded clouds moving over the desert and made a movie based on an E. E. Cummings poem."
We are guessing he would still be involved with projects like the "Clone Wars" cartoon, possible live action "Star Wars" show and the 3D conversions of the "Star Wars" movies.
"Pirates Of The Caribbean 5" Heads Into Rewrites
(denofgeek.com)
It was around the time of the release of Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides last year that it was revealed that Terry Rossio had put the guts of a script together for a fifth adventure. Rossio, who has co-written all four films to date, had presumably been put to work early, so that Disney could turn a fifth film around quickly.
The thing is, while On Stranger Tides went on to take over $1bn at the worldwide box office (albeit with the franchise's lowest US box office take to date), the story problems with it were there for all to see. Even the most charitable Pirates fan would surely have to concede that the latest film succeeded in spite of yet another muddled, lumbering screenplay. And whilst much was made of the change of director for the fourth Pirates film, we couldn’t help but think that the problem might not have been in that department.
Rob Marshall, who directed the fourth film, has now been nattering to Collider about the state of the fifth, which seems to indicate that he might be returning to the director’s chair for it. And it seems that the Pirates 5 script is not quite as locked down as we’d thought.
Marshall said that “Terry is writing it and he’s working incredibly hard and he did a draft and rethought it all and started working on it again. You want to make sure you are asking the audience to come back to see an exciting adventure and it has to reach that caliber, and if not there’s no reason to do it."
"I know Johnny feels the same way", he continued. "He needs to see a script, but he would be happy — if it’s the right script — to put that hat and sword back on.”
Is a VFX Union in Conflict With the Free Market?
(vfxinsider.wordpress.com)This is a group blog of vfx artists working in Vancouver. Inspired by vfxsoldier we decided to take a stand and speak out about the great imbalance of power that exists between the employer studios and individual vfx artists. We are tired of keeping quiet while the vfx studios come up with ever more creative payment schemes to reduce their production costs at our expense while openly violating BC labor laws.
Source with chart: http://vfxinsider.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/is-a-vfx-union- in-conflict-with-the-free- market/
Live Action "Tinker Bell" To Be Like "Elf"
(Moviehole)It's been quite a while since word broke that Elizabeth Banks was attached to star in a live-action Tinker Bell movie (in July of 2010 to be exact), but Banks tells Moviehole that it might still happen and compares the project to Elf. Banks said they are still in the script stage.
"It�s a live action 'Tinker Bell' movie sort of in the vein of 'Elf' in which I would play Tinker Bell," she said. "Tinker Bell gets thrown out of Never Never Land, and it�s about where she goes and who she meets and the adventures she has�."
The Jon Favreau-directed Elf (2003) stars Will Ferrell as a normal man who was raised by an elf at the North Pole and goes looking for his real dad in New York.
She added that she thinks "Tinker Bell is one of the greatest characters because she�s mischievous and snarky and fun and sexy and jealous and vengeful.
The romantic comedy will be produced by Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot and McG.
The 25 Best Facial Expressions of “Avatar”
(ifc.com) It’s been just about two years since “Avatar” dominated the box office and swept that year’s Oscar nominations, but it’s still a movie that’s close to our heart. With discussions taking place over the validity of Andy Serkis’ place in the Best Actor awards pool, we couldn’t help but think back to some other impressively rendered CGI motion capture. Or, more importantly, the great (and sometimes hilarious) expressions that were a result of it.
So, you’re welcome world. And don’t forget to check out the new iTunes special edition version of “Avatar,” an updated version of the film that lets you deconstruct some of the best scenes to reveal how Cameron applied his special effects. It also features an original screenplay by Cameron, his scriptment (a novella with some scenes broken out into dialogue), a gallery of 1,700 images and more.
But without further ado, here are the 25 best facial expressions of “Avatar.”
Take a look: http://www.ifc.com/fix/2012/01/25-best-facial-expressions- of-avatar
BAFTA Showdown - Rango vs The Tintin Juggernaut
(list.co.uk) The announcement of any film awards nominations list is guaranteed to stir up debate about which films are missing, which are undeserving of their placement, and most of all, who's most likely to win. The 2012 BAFTA nominations list has all that, plus some extra added curiosities worth exploring.
My final thoughts go out to Rango. Cruelly shunted aside in favour of the Tintin juggernaut at the Golden Globes, one can't help but fear for his safety as the two go head-to-head once more (Arthur Christmas is in there too, but quite frankly, he doesn't stand a chance, even if he is playing on Aardman's home turf). Tintin packed in tonnes of CGI spectacle, but was otherwise a shallow viewing experience; Rango was similarly computer-generated, but managed to utilise that technology to create a texture and atmosphere all its own. Then again, with Hugo and The Artist flying the flag for cinematic love-ins, maybe there's room for this ode to the western to succeed as well.
Full article: http://www.list.co.uk/article/39914-opinion-the-2012-bafta- nominations/
Can "The Phantom Menace 3D" Best 'Beauty and the Beast 3D" Box Office?
(popwatch.ew.com)Last September, when the 3-D re-release of The Lion King roared to an impressive $30 million opening, Hollywood took serious notice. The movie industry’s 3-D boosters, who’d been facing tough questions about signs that audiences’ appetite for 3-D was waning, pointed to the huge success of the 3-D re-release of this 17-year-old movie and said, “See? Hakuna matata! No worries!” Disney ordered up 3-D conversions of Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., and The Little Mermaid. James Cameron, who’s been busy getting Titanic ready for its upcoming 3-D re-release, said the success of The Lion King in 3-D proved to any nervous studio executives that gussying up a beloved old film with a new coat of 3-D paint could be big business. “They see the potential,” he told one interviewer. “All it takes is a little healthy greed and doubts tend to go away.” The estimated $25 million opening for Beauty and the Beast for this four-day weekend may not quite be as eye-popping as The Lion King‘s, but it clearly exceeded expectations, giving another dose encouragement to those who think that not only is 3-D still the wave of Hollywood’s future — it might also be the wave of its past.
But is the success of the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast re-releases really about 3-D, or can it mostly be chalked up to plain old nostalgia? Would audiences have turned out in such big numbers for those movies if they’d been re-released in 2-D, excited just to watch a childhood favorite on the big screen again? The jury is still out on that. Re-releasing old movies to try to cash in on nostalgia is nothing new—all kinds of movies, from The Exorcist to Snow White to Blade Runner to The Godfather, have been trotted out for a victory lap or two years after their original release, with varying degrees of success. The Wizard of Oz alone has been re-released four times. But today, with DVD revenues plummeting and domestic movie attendance down in 2011 to its lowest level in 16 years, the temptation of such easy money is stronger than ever. Studio execs are looking to get audiences into theaters any way they can—and with the cost of 3-D conversions dropping rapidly, 3-D re-releases of back-catalog hits could provide a new stream of virtually pure profit if the audience continues to show up for them. Then again, while “a little healthy greed” can dispel doubts, it can also lead to overreaching and backlash, especially when you consider the extra cost a moviegoer shells out for a 3-D ticket. We’ll get the next test of moviegoers’ enthusiasm for 3-D re-releases on Feb. 10, when Star Wars: Episode I –The Phantom Menace hits theaters in 3-D—and that’ll be an interesting one to watch. The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast were both much loved animation classics. The Star Wars franchise is one of the most successful and enduring creations in all of movie history, and many moviegoers are certainly amped to see George Lucas’ universe rendered in three dimensions, but The Phantom Menace is … well, it’s The Phantom Menace.
Academy's Animation Branch Disqualifies 'The Smurfs'
(thewrap.com)
Sorry, "Smurfs."
No Oscar for you this year.
When the Academy announced on Nov. 4 that 18 animated features had been submitted for consideration in the Best Animated Feature category, several of the films had not officially qualified for the award.
The SmurfsAnd while the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch eventually approved the three motion-capture movies under review ("The Adventures of Tintin," "Mars Needs Moms" and "Happy Feet Two"), and okayed the live action/animation hybrid "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," it turned out that they did not approve "The Smurfs."
AMPAS rules governing hybrid films say that "a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture's running time."
The Academy has not made any announcement -- but according to an official in the branch, "The Smurfs" did not meet the requirements and is the one film on the original list of 18 to be disqualified.
Still, the 17 films that did make the cut are more than enough to guarantee that the category can have a full slate of five nominees, rather than the four it would have if the field fell below 16.
So while the Smurfs are going down, at least they didn't take anybody with them.
Weta Digital's Oscar Hopes
(stuff.co.nz)James Bond's rides go on display Dinklage shouts out to tossing victim Streep embarrassed at swearing Ricky Gervais tones down for Globes Award raises Tintin sequel hopes Lifetime award for Morgan Freeman Wellington teen gets big break Golden Globes winners 2012 Live coverage: Golden Globes 2012 Tintin wins Golden Globe for best animated feature film
Peter Jackson's Weta Digital is picking up momentum this awards season.
The ground-breaking New Zealand visual effects company is back in the spotlight after Steven Spielberg picked up a Golden Globe for best animated film for The Adventures of Tintin.
The film - a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Jackson - used Weta's designs and digital work to bring Herge's comic book characters to life.
Tintin has also been nominated this week for a BAFTA for best animated film and Weta is up for two special visual effects awards for work on Tintin and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The man at the forefront of making those films a reality is visual effects supervisor, Joe Letteri. He's won four Oscars for his work on Avatar, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong.
On January 24, Weta will learn whether the work on Rise of Planet of Apes and X-Men: First Class will net Letteri and his colleagues Academy Award nominations for visual effects.
To create the world of Tintin, Weta used new 3-D motion capture techniques.
"The performance capture was an off-shoot of what we had done for Avatar, but the idea was that you're completely immersed in this whole world.
"There's no reality as we know it; the whole world is the world of Tintin. That was really new for us," Letteri said.
The Adventures of Tintin and Rise of the Planet of the Apes provided two very different challenges for Letteri and his team: In Planet of the Apes they had to create realistic looking chimps to drop into the real-world, while for Tintin they had to replicate a live action film digitally.
"When you're integrating with a live action performance, what you're really looking at there is all the details that make the character live and breathe inside the photography that's already existing.
"When you're creating a world like Tintin, the challenge is to create every detail that you see in the frame because you have to bring the whole world to life."
Andy Serkis, who played the chimp leader Caesar in Planet of the Apes, shot his scenes in motion-capture style wearing LED lights with his movements filmed and later computer-animated and projected into 3-D by Letteri and his co-workers.
They also used new software that made the animated skin and muscles look more realistic.
Letteri thinks that Serkis' "animated" performance should be considered for an Oscar nomination.
"I don't think anyone would doubt that's a great performance. The real question is are people going to recognise Andy for what he did.
"With Avatar it really opened the doors for this kind of film-making - in a live action context or in a completely a virtual context - and a lot more actors are working in this medium so it's no longer foreign to them and I think over time, as they become familiar with it, it will be second nature to look at those performances and judge them for what they are."
City Touts Pixar's Revenue As Animation Giant Outsources Receipts To Burbank
(emeryvilletattler.blogspot.com) As part of an attempt to gin up support for Emeryville's flagging Redevelopment Agency and carry water for Pixar, the city's e-newsletter website recently listed Pixar as a "major" source of sales tax revenue for the city, however at least one council member asserts Pixar claims that it outsourced its sales and ultimately paid only $8000 in taxes to the city last year.
In the wake of the much ballyhooed looming February 1st dissolution of redevelopment agencies state-wide and the flood of negative publicity about what redevelopment has wrought over the years, Emeryville's City Hall has gone on the offensive trying to seize the narrative that the Redevelopment Agency here has been a great source of good, but the city's claims in its January e-newsletter have run headlong into countervailing public reports about Pixar from council member Kurt Brinkman in an August 2011 interview with the Tattler.
Emeryville's website features a new page highlighting the record of redevelopment in Emeryville and Pixar is listed as a "major" economic redevelopment project that has produced "dramatic results". Pixar shares top billing in revenue with six other taxpayer funded redevelopment projects that has contributed $25 million to the General Fund according to the city.
Councilman Brinkman complained in the Tattler interview that Pixar has switched its gross receipts accounting to Burbank California, the headquarters for parent company Walt Disney after the city started talking about removing its controversial business tax cap last year, thereby making Pixar's massive profits out-of-bounds for Emeryville. Mr Brinkman used the clever accounting move by Pixar as reason to not remove the cap. Council member Brinkman reasons that if the cap is in place then Pixar will be encouraged to accurately report sales in Emeryville and the city will collect more in taxes, an eventuality that has not come to pass.
The cap, unprecedented in the Bay Area, formerly limited the taxes for Pixar and other corporations doing business here at $117,000. Emeryville voters raised the cap last November to $300,000, but it's not expected to effect Pixar after the outsourcing maneuver. The cap, even at the new raised level forces small business to pay a much higher rate than the largest businesses.
In addition to outsourcing its gross receipts, Pixar lead a successful campaign to lower its assessed property tax, netting them a $108,000 refund last year.
Source: http://emeryvilletattler.blogspot.com/2012/01/city- falsely-lists-pixar-as-major. html
‘Star Trek’ Sequel: A Cosmic Cast Reunion on the Sony Lot
(herocomplex.latimes.com)The “Star Trek” sequel is still way off in deep space – it won’t reach theaters until May 2013 — but there was a cosmic cast reunion Monday on the stretch of sidewalk in front of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf over at the Sony lot in Culver City.
Throughout the morning, the crew members of the Starship Enterprise were scheduled for fittings with the wardrobe department and the atmosphere was a bit like the first day of school with big grins, backslaps, hugs and handshakes. There was Simon Pegg (Scotty) and John Cho (Mr. Sulu) ducking into the coffee shop just before lunchtime and, on the patio out front, Bruce Greenwood (Capt. Christopher Pike) and cast newcomer Peter Weller discussing their golf swings and the enduring allure of John Le Carre novels. Pegg, with a toothy grin, stopped by Greenwood’s table to pay his respects: “Nice to see you!” Greenwood responded with a “My man!”
Sipping Red Bull and waiting for a lunchtime session with the cast and director J.J. Abrams, Greenwood said the “Trek” experience has been a true highlight in his career and he quickly added that he wasn’t referring to the box office receipts or strong reviews. He pointed instead to the friendships he has now with people such as Chris Pine (Capt. James T. Kirk) and Anton Yelchin (Mr. Chekov).
“The family deal that happened was just amazing,” Greenwood said. “I loved the first one and I loved making it too. Usually when you work on a job and you love the experience, it’s rare that the film matches the experience. You get one or the other but this was one of the few where it was all there. It was just great. I was talking to Anton the other day and he was saying that they all got together on the bridge a few weeks ago and it was just like no time had passed at all. None. I had dinner with Chris a few months ago and he said he couldn’t wait to get back with the gang of people that makes this work. The same with me. They’re wonderful people and the show is like the icing. What’s great is the family. I know it’s an overused term and people roll their eyes but it really feels that way to me.”
The “Trek” sequel was aimed for a 2012 release at one point but Abrams became caught up in ”Super 8,” a passion project that was relatively small in its budget and shooting schedule but loomed large in the writer-director’s personal history. Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof were in a sort of holding pattern waiting for Abrams to return to Federation space.
Greenwood said it’s clear already that the project has been worth the wait: “Everybody’s got their script – all printed on red paper with every actor’s name stamped across every page — and their brown bag and we’ve all signed these releases that are as long as your leg. The script is good, as you would expect. You won’t be given anything by anybody when it comes to the movie. It’s easier to push the building than get anything out of anyone. We have a huge stage here, I haven’t seen it. It’s exciting.”
About half an hour later, it was as if the entire coffee shop had been transported to Federation space; there was Pine, Zoë Saldana (Lt. Uhura), Karl Urban (Dr. “Bones” McCoy), Yelchin and Cho all parading by out front. “Hey man, you’re back!” Pine said to Greenwood, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Saldana chimed in with a “Welcome back!”
A moment later Greenwood came back to the seat on the patio with a big smile. “Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?”
A few days earlier, on Saturday night, J.J. Abrams hosted a party on the rooftop of Bad Robot, his production offices on Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica, and at one end of the chilly patio there was an orchestra in scarves and winter coats sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. The reason? The event was a salute to composer Michael Giacchino with a special emphasis on his work on “Super 8.”
The starry sky party was attended by some of the top filmmakers in the Comic-Con sector of Hollywood (Jon Favreau, Brad Bird, Joss Whedon, Frank Darabont and Kevin Smith) and actors with Abrams connections (Urban, Jennifer Garner and Elle Fanning among them) and when the orchestra played the themes of “Lost” and “Super 8″ there were plenty of smiles. When Giacchino conducted the musicians during the soaring theme from “Star Trek,” though, there were even more grins and Abrams bobbed his chin with a faraway expression. Another cosmic moment…
Principal photography started on the “Trek” sequel on Thursday. That day, by email, Lindelof answered a question I had asked him about the pressure and possibilities of this next voyage. His response was funny and revealing: “I have had the good fortune to once again step upon the Enterprise bridge, surrounded by the primary colors worn by, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest casts ever assembled. Every single person involved with this movie has the same ambition — to do everything they can to justify the long wait … to live up to the lofty expectations of 40-year ‘Trek’ fans and those who are coming to the party for the first time. The energy is crackling. The warp core is primed. And we are, at long last, ready to boldly go once again. I hope to God we don’t screw it up.”
Stop-Motion Animation of 3D-Printed People
(likeithateitshareit.com)In celebration of the new Makerbot Replicator 3D printer, a stop-motion animation that depicts the birth-by-printer of a sweet girl and the heartbreak she experiences thereafter.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.likeithateitshareit.com/ uncategorized/stop-motion- animation-of-3d-printed- people/
Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Photos & video of Werewolf Suit & Effects
(werewolf-news.com)The folks at at Adrien Morot Special Makeup Effects Studio in Montreal are responsible for some amazing creations, from creature effects and animatronics to unsettlingly life-like dummies. Adrien was even nominated for a 2010 Academy Award for his incredible age makeup in Barney’s Version (although that was the year The Wolfman won, which makes me feel vaguely guilty for some reason).
A while back Adrien emailed me with some questions and comments about Werewolf News, which I was happy to answer, but he made one fatal mistake: he let on that he and his crew had done some extensive work for a recent, widely-released werewolf film. I’d seen glimpses of some awesome-looking werewolves in the film’s trailer, so I was keen to know more. (The film itself was <diplomacy>not great</diplomacy>, so I won’t get into it, but as The Wolfman reminds us, it’s possible to enjoy the eye-candy of great werewolf effects even if the film they’re in stinks.)
After badgering Adrian relentlessly for months (I guess he was busy, like, making more incredibly cool stuff), he was kind enough to provide Werewolf News some exclusive behind-the-scenes photos and video of the werewolves’ builds and final results.
“I have dreamed all my life to work on a werewolf movie,” he wrote in an email to me, “[and] when the producers approached me for this one, I simply couldn’t refuse.” I’m glad you didn’t, Adrien, and if another chance to create creatures like these comes your way, I hope you pounce on it. Thanks for sharing with us!
VIDEO - Take a look: http://werewolf-news.com/2012/01/exclusive-behind-the- scenes-photos-video-of- werewolf-suit-effects-by- adrien-morot/
Pixar Becomes Hub for Social Entrepreneurs
(artsjournal.com)The atrium at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA, made for a fitting setting for The Intersection, an event which brought together thinkers and doers from a variety of disciplines to exchange ideas about social innovation. The lofty space was conceived by Pixar CEO Steve Jobs to be a place that would force employees from all parts of the organization to intersect with one another on a daily basis by virtue of its central location. All paths lead there, like veins and aorta to and from the heart.
As such, the venue stood as a nice metaphor for what the inaugural Intersection event was striving to achieve: a point of idea-generating connection created as a result of bringing together people from very disparate professional backgrounds.
With a participant list of just 350 people and a speaker lineup that included actress Susan Sarandon, Pixar President Ed Catmull, IDEO CEO Tim Brown and Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect, the event piqued my curiosity. It’s not the sort of thing I’d usually think of attending. But this year, as I’m spending my time as a John S Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, I’m leading myself down some unlikely paths. I’m intent on following my nose.
Things got off to a promising start with Johannson’s energetic keynote speech. The presenter demonstrated with eloquence and humor how great entrepreneurs have solved problems by finding the connecting point between two completely different fields of inquiry. For example, an architect built a huge office building in Harare without air conditioning by exploring termite ecology. (Termite colonies have figured out how to keep their homes at a consistent temperature by channeling the air in the termite hills.) In another example, a Muslim fashion designer enabled burqa-wearing women to be comfortable when swimming in the water by creating the “burqini,” an ingenious and rather trendy top-to-toe lycra outfit that’s much more comfortable to wear in the water than the heavy black cotton daywear that is the norm for observant Muslim ladies who fancied getting wet once in a while.
A discussion between Catmull and Brown also yielded some interesting insights — The notion that Brown put forward of looking to the extremes of society to help design solutions for the middle of the market resonated particularly strongly. For example, when IDEO is working on designing a new consumer kitchen appliance, the company’s researchers don’t go and talk to typical consumers of kitchen appliances. They talk to “extreme” users of culinary tools like professional chefs or children.
Other highlights of the day included the delicious lunch (much better than anything I’ve had at a corporate networking event) and a short vocal performance by Voices in Harmony, a men’s a cappella group based in Silicon Valley. (Pictured above, singing a schmaltzy but sweet ode to Steve Jobs accompanied by projected photos from the Pixar and Apple CEO’s life.)
But despite several positive aspects, the team behind the event (a consortium of social innovation and investment groups and consultancies) will need to make some tweaks in time for the next iteration of The Intersection, which is already scheduled for January 19 2013.
For one thing, the day is too long and way too passive. After hours of listening to talking heads talk, I craved the opportunity to be more active. The numerous networking opportunities didn’t quite cut it for me — I wanted a few more tangible interactions and activities.
For another, some of the people up on stage left much to be desired. The worst offender was the person charged with moderating the discussion involving Susan Sarandon and model/entrepreneurial fashionista Lauren Bush. She was a terrible timekeeper, rambled on for minutes on end without actually asking a question of the guests and was apparently oblivious to the guy standing by the stage frantically holding up “5 minute warning” and “Stop” signs for ages beyond the session’s scheduled end time. The barrage of tweets flying around (“Worst. Moderator. Ever.”) indicated widespread frustration at the woman’s utter lack of sensitivity and self-centeredness.
Would I attend this event again? Probably not if I had to pay for it.
The Future of Motion Capture
(slashfilm.com) We’re moving into a brave new world of CGI and motion capture. No longer will actors be limited to playing characters that move, and no longer will filmmakers be forced to rely on outdated ‘props’ and ‘set dressing.’ There is a new wave of motion capture artists who are pushing the boundaries of motion capture as an art form.
“Why would I want a gun to play a gun, when these guys are just much better actors than guns?” Gotta love Michael Bay showing up to lampoon his own movies a little bit. Jon Favreau is someone I’d expect to see in a comedy bit like this, but Bay is a welcome addition. And Ray Liotta! Career-high work from the guy, right here. Nice little appearance by Martin Starr, too.
VIDEO - Take a look: http://www.slashfilm.com/future-cgi-michael-bay-jon- favreau-ray-liotta-paul- scheer-rob-huebel/
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