(latino-review.com)
Like it or not people, Tome Cruise appears to be back. Judging from the box office returns of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, you like it. Cruise has had a bit of trouble getting back his mojo at the box office in recent years, and maybe M:I-GP was just an aberration, but I’d like to think he’s back in the blockbuster game.
One of his possible future blockbusters has found it’s female leads. Variety reports Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go) will star opposite Cruise in the untitled sci-fi film. The previously cast Jessica Chastain will be stepping down due to scheduling conflicts.
Here’s the plot synopsis from Variety:
“The futuristic story follows a soldier stationed on Earth, the surface of which has been destroyed by aliens. When he discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off a chain of events that cause him to question everything he knows.”
Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinksi will helm the untitled sci-fi movie. William Monahan (The Departed) and Karl Gajdusek (The Last Resort) wrote the script with Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) tackling rewrite duties. The film is set for release sometime in 2013.
"Jack the Giant Killer" Pushed Back to March 2013
(ComingSoon.net)Warner Bros. Pictures has made three changes to the studio's upcoming release calendar.
First up, the studio has decided to move Bryan Singer-directed Jack the Giant Killer back from June 15, 2012 to March 22, 2013. The other films scheduled for the new date are the Paul Greengrass/Tom Hanks biopic Captain Phillips and DreamWorks Animation's The Croods, featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone. Jack the Giant Killer stars Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Eleanor Tomlinson and Ewan McGregor.
With "Giant Killer" moving out of the June 15 slot, the studio has moved back Adam Shankman's Rock of Ages two weeks from June 1 to June 15. The musical adaptation will now face the Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg comedy I Hate You Dad on this new date. It also means that Snow White and the Huntsman gets June 1st to itself.
Finally, Warner Bros. has removed the David Dobkin film Arthur & Lancelot from its schedule for now. The film, which has Joel Kinnaman and Kit Harington attached to star, was supposed to open in theaters on March 15, 2013.
There's A First Time For Everything
(animationguildblog.blogspot.com) When Pixar's "Cars 2" lost the Golden Globe award for animated feature to ... "The Adventures of Tintin" ... it marked the first time in the history of the Globes' category that a movie from the beloved animation house failed to capture the top prize. ...
There's a first time for everything.
But seriously. I haven't met many people living in the Animation Community who think that Cars 2 will take home the Little Gold Man this year.
I haven't met many who are high on Tintin either, but never underestimate the power of Spielberg/Jackson in leveraging the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They are Big Shots. Animation people are anything but. Even with all the high-grossing films they have worked on.
New Oscar Rules Deem Motion Capture “Not an Animation Technique”
(digitalacting.com) July 13th, 2010 After years of uncertainty, AMPAS has decided that motion capture films are ineligible for the Best Animated Feature Film Award.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences laid a 4-year old controversy to rest when they announced that motion-capture films are no longer considered eligible for the Best Animated Feature Film category.
In a statement on its official website, AMPAS – which presents the Oscars every year – laid out a new set of voting rules for the 83rd Academy Awards, which included the sentence, “Motion capture by itself is not an animation technique.” AMPAS’ governors had finalized the rules changes back in June 22nd, but only made the announcement late on Thursday.
This decision not only renders fully motion-captured movies like Disney’s A Christmas Carol and the upcoming Tintin trilogy ineligible for the top award but also shuts out effects-heavy extravaganzas like James Cameron’s Avatar or or Michael Bay’s Transformers 3 from elbowing their way into the category.
Source: http://www.digitalacting.com/2010/07/13/new-oscar-rules- deem-motion-capture-not-an- animation-technique/
When the Utah Desert Meets CGI
(vancouversun.com)EMERYVILLE, California - For Oscar-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton, it was a moment of epiphany.
He, his actors and crew had arrived in Utah to continue with the shooting of John Carter, Disney's $250-million homage to a cult fantasy novel written a century ago. And as he found himself in an alien environment of desert, shale and sandstone, of eerie red cliffs and timeless towering arches, Stanton felt - in his own words - like "a stranger in a strange land."
In other words, he felt just like the title character, an earthling "thrown into a world he didn't see coming . . . "
A bewildered John Carter has awakened into this world - a world in which, to his amazement, he can leap to huge heights, a world in which four-armed creatures nine feet tall stride the landscape.
That world is Mars - or rather "Barsoom," which is the name bestowed on it in the 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel on which John Carter is based. The production moved to Utah following six months of interior filming at England's Shepperton Studios, and for Stanton and his colleagues, the state's bleak and forbidding landscapes were vital to their needs.
Furthermore, the cult status of the Burroughs Mars books helped the filmmakers overcome any resistance from Utah's Bureau of Land Management, when it came to filming in protected areas. "That's my favourite book," a bureau official exclaimed. It later turned out that Utah governor Gary Herbert was also a fan of A Princess of Mars, the Burroughs novel on which John Carter is based - so much so, that he visited the set during filming. "So we had no problem," Stanton remembers.
Stanton's own reaction to this terrain is striking and significant. He's a major figure in the world of animation - long a creative force at Pixar, where he directed two of its most acclaimed computer-animated features, Finding Nemo and WALL-E. But John Carter, a project that has been a personal obsession since childhood, marks his entry into live-action filmmaking, and what he has experienced during a production process that has lasted more than two years is a personal sense of liberation.
That awareness began in England in 2010, when he began shooting in a huge interior set at Shepperton. "I'm such a movie geek," he says now; as he filmed scenes in "this old ruined temple," it was as though old schoolboy fantasies had exploded into rich, fulfilling life.
But when he found himself in the raw, forbidding terrain of Utah - treading in the footsteps of such earlier filmmaking titans as John Ford, Michael Curtiz and Sergio Leone - the impact of what he was attempting emerged with greater force. There was this sense of a new-found freedom: In contrast to the frame-by-frame meticulousness of animation, live-action filmmaking offered an exciting immediacy.
"I felt like a kid who had been stuck indoors for 20 years and was finally allowed to go outside. I was in sandstorms, below-freezing weather, 130-degree heat, but I didn't give up, because I was so excited to be seeing stuff made on the same day at the same hour. Oh my god, I couldn't get enough of that."
The film opening March 9 is seen as a gamble by industry watchers because of its origins - despite a fervent cult following, this is a largely forgotten cycle of novels by the creator of Tarzan - as well as its staggering budget and the casting of little-known Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch, best known for Friday Night Lights, in the title role.
But Stanton's own enthusiasm for the project is unassailable. So is the continuing wave of audience interest in a project that has been surrounded by mystery and secrecy since it was first conceived.
John Carter is exactly the sort of project that sends the crowd at the pop-culture convention, Comic-Con, into a frenzy of anticipation. But it was significant by its absence from the 2011 convention in San Diego. The reason was simple: The makers and marketers of this film are anxious to control the message - and they didn't trust an event notorious for its volatility. Besides, Stanton, unlike many in the industry, doesn't see much "upside in showing and talking about stuff early," especially in the circus atmosphere of Comic-Con.
"There are just so many people there, and they're all yelling louder and louder and louder," Stanton says. He didn't want that atmosphere to "ruin" his film's chances, "because I knew this was a little different and a different flavour. Everybody says they want something original - but it's very tough to give the correct first impression when it is different."
So what makes John Carter different? Stanton says it's like initially making a live-action film on the sound stages of Shepperton and the salt flats of Utah, and then spending the next 18 months making an animated film. Or, to put it another way, he's in the final stages of delivering a unique hybrid "that's half CG (computer-generated) and half live action."
But again, it's more complex than that. Despite his impressive track record in the world of digital animation, Stanton is an old-fashioned guy who sees David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia as his artistic touchstone: "It's in my DNA. It's my favourite movie." So, although he employs motion-capture techniques, computer animation and all the paraphernalia of today's cinematic technology, he also has gone the old-fashioned route - using wires for John Carter's astonishing leaps, and embracing old-fashioned production design whenever possible.
"For me, every tool in the tool box should be valid," Stanton says. "As much as I could, I used anamorphic lenses, because I wanted the film to feel that it came from another era." For him, filmmaking is like magic. "To me, some of the best magic tricks are the simple things which nobody would expect, because they think everything's gone high-tech. I'm just going to use whatever tool is necessary. I don't care whether it's new or old. That's not why I'm in it."
So, despite some 2000 high-tech visual effects, there was a reluctance to resort to computer-generated backgrounds. Rather, the aim was to use real locations and landscapes.
"As much as possible, we decided to shoot in actual locations and minimize the amount of digital set creation, so that the audience would always feel like they were grounded in real places," producer Jim Morris commented during filming "We hope this will add an additional layer of authenticity that will heighten the believability and realism of the film."
For example, the ruined remains of a Martian city figure prominently in the movie. Those were digitally created in post-production - but against the natural splendour of Utah. It's a way of creating what co-producer Colin Wilson calls "our little slice of Mars."
"Our philosophy has been to use practical locations with real sets and set pieces that create a cornerstone for our digital world."
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to Revolutionize Film?
(dreadcentral.com)Anthony Mackie, one of the stars of the upcoming horror history mash-up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, has some really high praise and strong words for his upcoming feature. Read on for all the details.
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Mackie dropped the following on fans...
Having already seen a cut of the film, Mackie says the flick's action sequences are "unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. He [director Timur Bekmambetov] realized that this fabricated story is so far out there that he had to go all the way out to make it work. So, he just went as far as he could with the CGI and that trademark Timur cranking of shots and the storytelling. Abraham Lincoln is like The Matrix of the next generation. It’s going to do to film what The Matrix did to film."
Big words, but you know what? We have more than enough faith in Bekmambetov's direction to live up to those words. The guy's a genius behind the camera. I guess we'll see in about six months.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, stars Benjamin Walker, Anthony Mackie, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Alan Tudyk and Robin McLeavy.
Fox is aiming at a June 22nd, 2012, release for the Tim Burton-produced horror adventure.
Residents Take On George Lucas Over Marin Construction Plans
SAN RAFAEL (KCBS / CBS 5) – The long-delayed plans of filmmaker George Lucas to build a movie production studio on the old Grady Ranch has stirred opposition among residents of a quiet bedroom community in Marin County.
The state-of-the-art facility would bring an outdoor soundstage and underground parking for 250 cars to an area residents said is zoned for single-family and multi-family residences.
Objections voiced during a community meeting Wednesday at Dixie Elementary School ran the gamut from traffic congestion to noise pollution during outdoor filming.
The 3-story building that would house Lucasfilm screening rooms, guest accommodations, a café, kitchen, general store and daycare center is actually smaller than the project Marin County approved in 1996.
KCBS’ Chris Filippi Reports:
Marin Residents Oppose Lucasfilm Soundstage On Grady Ranch
Lucas plans to build bridges over and restore several creeks on Grady Ranch. Material excavated to build a wine cave to age vino from the filmmakers’ vineyards would become a knoll that hides the building from public view.
The plans also call for two new indoor soundstages, each the size of a department store, and one large outdoor soundstage.
Neighbors fear what this could do to their rural lifestyles.
“It may turn into a winery. They may have sort of an amusement park, it could morph into many different things,” said neighbor Janice Warren.
“I think that they justified it because it was ‘jobs, jobs, jobs,’ which justifies almost anything these days,” added Joy Dahlgren, who also lives nearby.
The county’s planning department maintains this is an important project for the area, and that community fears are unfounded. They contend the project is consistent with the master plan for the area, and any problems it causes with the neighborhood would have to be addressed by the developer. They added that none of the facilities would be open to the public and a maximum occupancy of 350 people would be in effect.
But those who oppose the project see it as a David vs. Goliath fight.
“We are regular, everyday people, and he is a beloved celebrity,” said neighbor Hillary Sciarillo.
“I don’t have any objection to a person being rich and famous and doing well, and George Lucas has done a lot of good things for the county. I think this is a particularly bad choice,” said Dahlgren.
Lucas Films sent CBS 5 a statement saying they were surprised at the opposition since the plan had been publicly vetted and discussed and unanimously approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors.
The project now goes before the Marin County Planning Commission on Feb. 27.
Source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/01/19/some-marin- residents-move-to-block- planned-lucasfilm-facility/
A Planet Where Apes Are Animated on Men?
(unwinnable.com)It’s time for the Academy to take the next step in evolution.
On Tuesday, the results of voting by the more than 5,700 movie industry insiders who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be in. There will be five nominees for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and by all accounts Andy Serkis will not be among them for his critically lauded turn in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Stupid humans.
In early December, back when the envelopes were first being sent to voters, 20th Century Fox took out a full-page ad in the Hollywood trades with the headline, “The Time is Now.” The ad features side-by-side shots of Serkis in his mo-cap gear and the post-animated Caesar striking the same facial expression. Included was a pull quote from Richard Corliss, the Time magazine critic: “Serkis gives a performance so nuanced and powerful it may challenge the Academy to give an Oscar to an actor who is never seen in the film.”
And therein lies the problem.
Caesar looks like the handiwork of computer animators but moves like a real chimp. Unless they’ve had the privilege of spending two days on the set of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and watching Serkis in action, it’s hard for voters to gauge how much the man who breathed life into Gollum and King Kong brings to the performance.
However, seeing him on the set – loping around on arm extensions with those ridiculous markers pasted all over his face and the wetsuit-like outfit he wears – you understand that he isn’t just monkeying around. Before the cameras started rolling, he watched hours and hours of videotapes of chimpanzees in the wild and mapped out Caesar’s backstory in his head.
“When we’re going about researching apes and so on, you’re not just looking for movement,” Serkis told reporters during the 2010 set visit. “This isn’t motion capture; we’re not just capturing motion. You can put dots on an ape and let him run wild in a studio and you’d get some great motion, but this is about performance. It’s about making acting choices about where your character is at any step of the journey.”
No offense to James Franco, who proved in 127 Hours that he could act with one arm tied behind his back (rimshot). But between takes on the set of Rise, Franco, the actor with the film’s top billing, would find a patch of Vancouver grass in which to sit and read. Serkis, meanwhile, was almost always stretching and practicing like an Olympic athlete.
Franco himself has nothing but praise for his co-star in the form-fitting blue and gray unitard. “The imagination just kind of takes over, like you meet someone and the next day they are playing your mother,” he said on the set. “You kind of roll with it if the scene is working. Andy was so good with the chimp behavior that it was actually pretty easy to fall into that kind of relationship.”
Filming it is anything but easy for a performance capture artist like Serkis. The dozens of markers on him are picked up by the ring of cameras that line the “volume” – a room in which most of the acting is done – and translated into a 3D model of his body as he moves. That skeletal shape can be converted in the post-production animation process into just about anything that’s roughly human-shaped. Serkis didn’t just play Caesar in the film – he and his fellow performance capture actors also filmed several of the background apes for the captivity and bridge scenes.
Let’s see Christopher Plummer, Albert Brooks, Jonah Hill or any of the other probable Best Supporting Actor nominees do that.
Ask Jamie Bell, the star of the recent The Adventures of Tintin, how physically demanding performance capture can be.
“It’s physical enough that I threw out a rib and had two misaligned vertebrae making the movie, which obviously is something a little more than voice work,” he told Unwinnable.
How did he injure himself? Chasing a tennis ball that would later become an animated cat rampaging through Tintin’s apartment.
“It’s not even that big of a deal, chasing a cat,” he said. “I remember the next day I woke up and I was like, yeah, I can’t breathe. Something’s wrong. Every time I take a deep breath I’m in great pain. So then I had to call in a chiropractor. He just put his hands on my back and felt around and was like, ‘Oh yeah, there’s a rib out and there are some misaligned vertebrae.’
“And I was, ‘Yeah, I was chasing a cat around an apartment,’” added a clearly exasperated Bell. “It wasn’t even a real cat and it wasn’t even a real apartment.”
Serkis, Bell’s costar on Tintin,is a little less apt to get injured, largely because he’s been doing this pretty steadily since The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers a decade ago. The technology has advanced in leaps and bounds since.
“We’re engaging and finding moments which are real and just happening as you’re acting with someone else, basically. I think that’s the big realization across the board – that the whole industry is responding to the performance capture,” says Serkis. “It’s no longer this kind of strange, freakish activity that happens somewhere else; it’s absolutely part of the parcel of moviemaking now and is being accepted in that regard.”
Undisputed Visual Effects Offer Motion Capture Service
(nebusiness.co.uk/)WHAT could your club or company do with motion capture? Maybe you've got a throwing or running motion you need to fine-tune, or an injury you need to monitor. Maybe you're looking to make an animated movie, but you don’t have the money you'd need to cook up a Tin Tin or a Gollum.
According to Christopher Nichols of new North East company Undisputed Visual Effects, motion capture will be even more in demand in games and films in the next few years, but it’s also increasingly available to those without deep Hollywood pockets.
“It’s increasingly affordable”, he said. “Obviously, things like Tin Tin were filmed using motion capture, but you’re also seeing a lot more motion capture in advertising at the minute, and people are starting to be aware of it a bit more.”
Northumbria University graduate Nichols set up Undisputed Visual Effects to provide 3D animation and motion graphics for companies looking to create animation for internet or TV advertising. But he believes its motion capture service is a hook that could prick up the ears of companies around the region.
If you’ve seen players like Wayne Rooney covered with ping pong ball-style blobs, you’ve seen motion capture. It’s used by the creators of games such as the FIFA franchise to track the movements of players so they can be replicated in game.
It was also used by the makers of the recent Tin Tin movie to make the animated folk look lifelike. Closer to home, the University of Sunderland recently picked up a 3D motion capture suit for use in sports science, bio-mechanics and nurse training, and admitted to being impressed by the range of potential uses.
Nichols did a dissertation on motion capture while at Northumbria, and says technology and price evolved quickly while he was researching it.
“It evolved before my eyes during the dissertation”, he said. “It’s moved on in terms of accessibility, not to mention the advances in marker-less technology. I was reading a 3D magazine article and the month after I started my dissertation there was an affordable system advertised, and I managed to pick one up.”
The system used by UVE tracks a person using colour, rather than markers. Filming takes place on a squash court, and those being filmed are kitted out in different coloured clothing, such as a black top, a yellow undershirt and blue pants. The system then maps a 3D virtual character on top of the person it is filming, and tracks their movements with four cameras by keeping an eye on the colours and where they go.
Nichols believes the system will be extremely useful to games and creative companies that don’t have the budget for an in-house motion capture team, but he’s also targeting the sports and medical sectors.
“It’s useful for people coming back from an injury, to see how their body movement is improving. But it’s also handy for sports clubs and individuals. My brother is a cricket coach, and we’re thinking about doing something with him and his team to analyse bowling action.
“We’re also looking to get in touch with people like Durham County Cricket Club and the Newcastle Falcons to see if they’d be interested.”
"Atlantis" Rises Via An "Immortals" Producer
(darkhorizons.com)Platinum Studios and producer Mark Canton ("300," "Immortals") are teaming to resurrect their planned live-action film adaptation of the five-issue graphic novel mini-series "Atlantis Rising" reports MSN.
The sci-fi political techno-thriller kicks off with seismic disturbances forcing the world's militaries to investigate the deepest part of the oceans. There a ten millennia-old underground civilisation emerges to wage war with planet Earth.
Platinum teamed with Gale Ann Hurd in 2004 and DreamWorks in 2008 to produce the film, both times it never came to fruition. Now with this adaptation they're planning a potential franchise.
Underworld’ Expected to Beat ‘Red Tails’ and ‘Haywire’ At The Box Office
(thecelebritycafe.com)A few new films open this weekend at the box office, including Underworld: Awakening, Red Tails and Haywire. Two films vying for more awards, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Golden Globe-winner The Artist both get major expansions this weekend as well.
Industry predictions show that the fourth Underworld film, which marks the return of star Kate Beckinsale to the screen, should top the box office with between $20 million and $25 million, according to The Los Angeles Times. The Sony horror/fantasy film cost the studio $70 million to make, but should be able to at least match the $20 million opening Rise of the Lycans had in January 2009, notes The Hollywood Reporter.
The George Lucas-produced Red Tails should come in second. The film centers on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black plane squadron in WWII. It cost $58 million to produce, but Fox isn’t predicting that it will be a big audience draw, especially since it does not have any major stars aside from Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The studio predicts that it will only make between $8 million and $10 million, but Entertainment Weekly predicts that it will finish the weekend with $19 million.
‘Bone’ CGI Feature Film Still Alive
(latino-review.com)Word came out a few days ago that director PJ Hogan has signed on to for Bone, the feature film adaptation of Jeff Smith’s cult comic.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter tells us Greek creator Patrick Sean Smith has been brought in to write the script.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
“The comic follows three cousins from the Bone family, small, bald and human like creatures with big noses. The trio are run out of their hometown and find themselves in a mysterious valley where they are separated and hunted by other creatures. They are taken in by a girl named Thorn and her grandmother, and they find out that the valley is threatened by an evil force called the Lord of the Locusts.”
Bone will be directed in Hogan’s home of Australia. Animal Logic, an animation studio based in Australia, will handle the effects. The animators previously worked on Happy Feet Two and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
Sizing Up the “Bake-Off” Fields
(awardscircuit.com)Now that we’re just one week away from the Academy Award nominee announcements, some categories are becoming narrowed down in a more literal sense. Best Makeup and Visual Effects have a “Bake-Off,” where only a few eligible contenders are squeezed into a small group until being squeezed further into the final set of nominees. It’s one of those arbitrarily weird competition rules that strikes me as unnecessary and even a little douchey, especially in Visual Effects, since inspired and creative minimal uses of special effects are grouped in with films that are crammed with varying qualities of CGI and are almost always the ones that suffer (see: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World for last year’s ceremony). “Hey guys, good job making the finali-oops, you didn’t get nominated LOL!” Luckily, Makeup’s Bake-Off had many sighing a breath of relief with their choices, or, more perhaps more accurately, omissions…
• Albert Nobbs
• Anonymous
• The Artist
• Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• The Iron Lady
That’s right, the almost-cartoonishly bad old age makeup for Eastwood’s failed Oscar bid did not make the cut. Despite not passionately hating J. Edgar as much as apparently everyone else short of John Foote, I must concur with Michael Cusumano on its prosthetics: “Now I know what Leo’s character in Titanic looked like a week after the ship sank.” Looking at what did make it, it looks like the most likely contenders at this point are The Artist (Best Picture frontrunner, showcases gorgeous stars), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (blockbuster, elaborate prosthetics and hairstyling) and The Iron Lady (biopic “transformation!”). But then again, this category always contains at least one surprise up its sleeve every year, so Anonymous or Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life could easily sneak in.
Visual Effects is narrowed down to ten:
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
• Hugo
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Real Steel
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• The Tree of Life
• X-Men: First Class
*Sigh*…As you can see, quality does not necessarily correlate with the impressiveness of a film’s CGI. This Thursday, members will be thankfully spared from the likes of the worst of the bunch by viewing ten-minute excerpts of each finalist before voting for the nominees. Based on that, at least the beautiful visuals of The Tree of Life will make it as I can only assume that its bake-off excerpt will be the revelatory Creation of the Universe sequence. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s hard drive-breaking effects should ease their way in, as should Harry Potter and the Gorgeous Magic Barrier. The front-runner, however, has got to be Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Weta Digital’s mo-cap apes coupled with Andy Serkis’ lauded performance have vaulted this surprising box office hit into front-runner status.
Which of these “bake-off” contenders are you rooting for? Which excerpts of the visual effects contenders would you show off? Let me know in the comments!
Star Trek Sequel Producer On Budget, Scale & Engine Room
(trekmovie.com)In interacting with fans here at TrekMovie.com, Star Trek sequel co-writer/producer Roberto Orci has actually dropped some interesting bits of info about the film, which is currently in production and due in theaters May 17, 2013. First up he answered a couple of questions on the scale (and cost) for the sequel.
DS9 IN PRIME TIME: boborci. What is the budget for this film? Is it the same as the last or are they giving you more?
boborci: More
….
Commodore Mike of the Terran Empire: Do you think in scope that Trek 13 will be bigger then Trek 09
boborci: Bigger? Yup.
It is good to know that Paramount has faith in the film and the creative team. The budget for the 2009 movie was around $145 million, which was a record for a Star Trek film, but not too uncommon for a tent-pole. However, it is worth noting that the film’s budget was set in early 2007, before the latest financial crisis and credit crunch which has hit Hollywood as much as Wall Street. Also, there are built-in cost savings for the sequel, with a lot of design and construction work (especially on the USS Enterprise) already paid for with the last film. And the actors were locked into option deals which traditionally increase per film, but not dramatically. So, it actually wouldn’t have been a surprise if Paramount chose to stick with the same or even a smaller budget for the sequel.
Big scene from 2009’s "Star Trek" – Orci says 2013 will be even bigger
Of course Star Trek movies have seen big shifts in budgets before. The combined budgets of Star Trek II, III and IV was about the first Trek feature. And producers and directors from all the post-Star Trek: The Motion Picture films have complained about Paramount’s budget limitations.
By the way, JJ Abrams has recently talked about the studio requiring him to produce a 3-D conversion version of the film (in addition to the 2-D version). It would not be surprising if this requirement was linked to the increased budget for the film. After all, the studio (and their financial partner Skydance) want to make a return on their investment, and higher 3-D ticket sales (especially overseas) are going to help the bottom line.
Orci also answered a fan’s follow-up question to his previously reported comment about how we will be seeing "cool improvements" to the engineering section of the USS Enterprise.
Tech Support: Wrapping Up Guesses Throughout the Academy's Craft Categories
(itfix.com)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” brought visual effects to new heights. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is the last chance to nominate a successful franchise that has been recognized here before. “Hugo”’s nomination tally seems poised to be huge. I am quite confident in those three titles finding a place among the final five for Best Visual Effects.
I was originally skeptical about the chances of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” given the lack of love for its predecessor in this series. However, its massive success at the Visual Effects Society, combined with its better reception when compared to its predecessor, makes me confident in its landing a place come Tuesday morning.
I actually think “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” could well show up here. The work was well done and the film was immensely respected. Even if none of its predecessors in the series scored here, Brad Bird’s name and the year-end top 10 notices could make a difference.
Ultimately, however, I cannot help but think that “The Tree of Life” will be among the final five. While its effects were not as showy or expensive as many other films', they nonetheless were prominently featured in the film. And while I am unsure how many nominations the film will ultimately get, I strongly suspect it will show up somewhere outside cinematography, and this seems the second-most likely place.
As for the other shortlisted films, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” has series history on its side, but I feel this film underwhelmed most. I also see no reason why “X-Men: First Class” would buck the trend of that series being shut out at Oscar. “Real Steel” seems a tad underwhelming to get into this blockbuster-loving category, and while I would rank “Captain America: The First Avenger” seventh, the other titles simply seem to have more going for them in my view.
Predictions:
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Hugo”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
Full article: http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/in-contention/posts/tech- support-final-predictions- from-best-art-direction-to- best-visual-effects-part-two
“Red Tails”: Shooting Canon DSLRs on a Big Movie Set For Lucasfilm
(philipbloom.net)So everyone and their dogs are getting Canon DSLRs and are shooting everthing from our home videos to blockbusters on them apparently ;) But ,what is the reality of going down this route and what do you need to be aware of and what advantages can be gained from using them?
First off I am a small set guy, I like small teams…I am very hands on. That’s the way I work and the way I like it. I hate not operating. I love a collaborative team and the way we all work together, I just am more used to nice small teams. This was VERY different!
Well, following on from my DSLR consulting with Lucasfilm back in December I went back there to work on some pick ups on their “Red Tails” movie for them using the same DSLRs, more for a test than anything else. We really wanted to see how well they performed and it was a really useful experience for learning what was needed and what needed to be improved by Canon. Also, how they fitted into big projects like this, not just physically but workflow wise and also which camera/ lens/ accessories really were essential.
“Red Tails” is George Lucas’ long time pet project. Based on the real life Tuskeegee airmen, the only African American fighter squadron in the US military. This is a fictional story with a nice old fashioned war film feel to it. This isn’t Saving Private Ryan! It has a great cast….Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrance Howard, Method Man, Tristan Wilds from “The Wire” (who owns a 5d!), David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Ne-Yo and many more.
Before I flew out there I liaised closely with Lucasfilm’s Rick McCallum. We had to make sure we had everything we needed. We researched all camera and lens options. Would we shoot Canon L series? PL? 1DmkiV? 5DmkII etc… accessories, monitors. You name it…we talked about it.
Images from the set: http://philipbloom.net/2010/05/12/redtails/
Damning Evidence Emerges In Pixar-Google-Apple “No Poach” Antitrust Lawsuit
(techcrunch.com) Next week a class-action civil lawsuit will be heard in San Jose to determine if Google, Apple, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Adobe, Intel, and Intuit conspired to eliminate competition for skilled labor. In anticipation of the hearing, TechCrunch has obtained evidence from the Department of Justice’s investigation in 2010 which was made public this evening for the first time. It appears to support the plaintiff’s case that the defendant companies tried to suppress employee compensation by entering into “no poach” agreements.
Previously, only the DOJ was privy to the evidence, so there was no way for the public to know whether the settlement came out the defendants’ fear they would lose. Now we know the C-level management at these companies did enter into anti-competitive agreements.
Below you can see the redacted Exhibit Joint Case Management Conference Statement attained from Pacer.org. Filed today, it contains evidence from the DOJ investigation pertinent to the upcoming civil case.
View this document on Scribd
The evidence states that the defendants agreed not to poach employees from each other or give them offers if they voluntarily applied, and to notify the current employers of any employees trying to switch been. They also agreed not to enter into bidding wars and to limit the potential for employees to negotiate for higher salaries. More...
Full article: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/19/damning-evidence-emerges- in-google-apple-no-poach- antitrust-lawsuit/
Wizards of VFX
Hey Peoples!
I have some really exciting news! On January 24th Cogswell will be hosting two professionals from Industrial Light and Magic! These guys are the wizards of Visual Effects and will be talking about their experiences in the industry as well as screening their award-winning short film, The 3rd Letter. The location and details are below, don’t miss this amazing opportunity to hear their stories and ask them questions!
Date: Tuesday, January 24
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Place: Dragon’s Den at Cogswell College, 1175 Bordeaux Dr, Sunnyvale
Source with details: http://blog.cogswell.edu/2012/01/wizards-of-vfx/
The Hobbit Movie Casting Call in Wellington
(the-hobbitmovie.com)Exciting news for Hobbit fans who can work in New Zealand!
Tom Hunt from The Dominion Post writes,
The bulky, the skinny, the short, the tall, and those with ”character faces” – your time has come.
A casting call has gone out for The Hobbit and virtually anyone in Wellington qualifies, as long they’ve got unique qualities.
Men under 163cm and women under 155cm, big men with ”character faces” and any women with the same, men with large biceps, and slim and athletic men and women between 165cm and 203cm are being asked to audition.
The casting call is at The Belmont Hall, next to The Belmont Primary School, 709 Western Hutt Rd, from 1-4pm on January 28.
To be eligible, you must be over 16, entitled to work in New Zealand and living in Wellington.
Academy Award-Nominated Pixar Animator Leads Pixilation Workshop
(events.sfgate.com)In addition to quality films, Baicff offers children hands-on fun. In 2012 we have several exciting workshops. All workshops are led by Academy Award-nominated Pixar animator Jim Capobianco, and staffed by enthusiastic and talented film students from Berkeley City College.
Dates : Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29, 2012\
Times : 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 1:00, 1:30
Length: 20 minutes
Ages: 6 - 14 years old
Price : $15
Each Workshop Attendee Must Also Have A Festival Pass
Source: http://events.sfgate.com/alameda-ca/events/show/ 238266984-pixilation-workshop
Movies Are Just Going To Get More Expensive
(theatlanticwire.com)Well the good news for Hollywood is that, after a pretty bad 2011, some analysts are predicting that 2012's box office will see an uptick. Oh, but, ha, it's not because they're expecting the year's movies to be awesome or anything, it's because ticket prices are going to go up. So thus they'll make more money, some people, two people in particular, think. Isn't that great? It's not that the product or the experience of enjoying the product is going to get any better, it's that the product is going to get more expensive. Good thinking, everyone. If there's one thing that Americans have been saying as theater attendance lags over the past ten years it's that tickets just aren't expensive enough. Why are we, here in New York at least, shelling out a measly $13 for a ticket when we could be paying $20? Or $30? Hell, here's two weeks' pay, now give us a damn ticket to Underworld: 2 Under 2 World. (Underworld 4: The Legend of Scott Speedman's Career?)
We know it's an old gripe to complain about how everything's too damn expensive these days, but man everything is too damn expensive these days. Some movies are worth it — they require big budgets so obvs it'll take more to recoup — but why are we paying the same thing for Harry Potter that we are for Beastly? (Which, OK, that we paid human money to see Beastly at all is entirely our fault, we know, but just goes with us here.) Let's have a sliding scale here, maybe? $15 for the big things, and maybe $7 for Monte Carlo. (Again, please just go with us.) And maybe don't rely on ticket price hikes to reverse a downtrend. Or, you know, don't listen to us as always.
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