Pirates 4 Goes Scifi, New VFX Oscar Members, & The Sky Crawlers
"Pirates of the Caribbean 4" Goes Sci-Fi
(moviehole.net) Those "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" rumours
just ramped up a bit with a report from Cinema Blend suggesting that
sequel number three isn't just a possibility, it's a certainity.
Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush will return for the next film - nobody
else from the original three films will return as the series will now
center on Jack Sparrow, played by Depp, says the site - with Gore
Verbinski slated to again direct.
The site's scooper says that the next film could be an
out-and-out-science fiction film. "Some of the brainstorming going
around involves some Jules Verne type of scenarios involving some
pretty big flying machines, a man who wants to rule more than just the
ocean, a encounter with the most famous and dangerous pirate of all, a
race to get to a lost world (Hint, Hint) and Jack and his crew going
to where no pirate has gone before".
So I assume that means Atlantis?
The site's scooper says to expect the film in either 2009 or 2010.
Oscar Invites VFX & Animation Artists to Become Members
(VFXworld.com) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
has invited115 artists and executives to join its ranks. Those who
accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2007 to the
Academy's roster of voting members.
In addition to Yair Landau, president of Sony Pictures Digital and
vice chairman of Sony Pictures Ent., other invitees include:
Animators
* Sharon Calahan
* George Griffin
* John Kahrs
* Torill Kove
* Marcy Page
* Troy Saliba
Visual Effects
* John Andrew Berton Jr.
* Al DiSarro
* Bryan Hirota
* Alan E. Lorimer
* Christopher Nibley
* Douglas H. Smith
* Ben Snow
* Eric Swenson
* Jon Thum
"These individuals are all exceptionally accomplished in their
respective fields," said Academy president Sid Ganis. "We're looking
forward to having them join the Academy's ranks."
The membership policies that the Academy adopted four years ago in
order to slow the growth of the organization would have allowed a
maximum of nearly 150 new members in 2007, but as in the previous
three years, the various branch committees endorsed far fewer
candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the
organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members for four
years.
"The numbers are stabilizing nicely," said Academy exec director Bruce
Davis, "but at the same time some interesting changes are occurring.
Like the recent lists of Oscar nominees, our last few membership
invitation lists have been increasingly international."
New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only
reception at the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly
Hills in September.
Animation Science: What Makes Movement Seem "artificial"?
(scienceblogs.com) As movie special effects technology
improves, more and more live-action shots are being replaced with
computer animation. Harry Potter flies across the Quidditch field;
Spider-Man swings from web to web through the cityscape of New York
City, and miniaturized Hobbits fight the overpowering Orcs of
Middle-earth. All of these are examples of human movements that have
been reconstructed with computer animation. But sometimes this type of
animation fails to come across as real. When Harry falls from his
broom, and his computer animated body contorts in a way that appears
not humanly possible, we are reminded that it is just a computer
generated figure. So what is it about physical movements that make
them appear human or artificial?
Body language is a critical form of communication for human beings. We
can pick up a lot of meaning from physical movements, even when we
only see a very limited amount of information about that movement. For
example, most special effects animation is created by putting sensors
on several parts of the human body to determine how body parts
interact when the body is in motion. A human figure made up of just
ten dots located in the different major body regions is enough to
convey a wide range of emotions and complex physical movements. How
does this work? And what is it about this movement that allows us to
distinguish natural movements from artificial ones? A research group
lead by Jan Jastorff sought to answer these questions by testing if
people could learn to distinguish between complex physical motions of
artificial movements as well as they could distinguish between the
complex physical motions of natural movements.
So what makes natural movements different from other types of
movements? As Jastorff's team explains, biological movements have
three distinct characteristics:
More: http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2007/06/what_makes_a_movement_seem_art_1.php
Michael Bay Loathes Blue Screen Work
(superherohype.com) Transformers director Michael Bay
participated in a press conference at the Four Seasons hotel in Los
Angeles on Saturday, June 16.
Q: We've seen how James Cameron went from huge physical action movies
to 3D films – can you ever see yourself moving in that direction?
Bay: Honestly, I think I'd want to shoot myself working on a blue
screen stage. I did maybe one, two days of blue screen on this movie,
I just hate it. It's just I like doing things real and it's just –
it's really hard to go there, you know?
A Significant Advancement in Performance Capture Technology
(PRNewswire) After years of development, CaptiveMotion Inc
announces the release of Embody, its proprietary performance capture
software service. Tracking over 750 markers during its latest
application, Embody demonstrated unprecedented facial performance
capture. Embody delivers lifelike facial simulation on the fully human
side of the "Uncanny Valley." CaptiveMotion is a service studio for
the film, commercial, gaming and eLearning industries.
Embody represents a significant advancement in technology while fitting
efficiently into production pipelines. With a theoretical capture limit of
10,000 markers and a flexible capture volume, Embody from CaptiveMotion
enables a level of detail not currently available.
Motion capture is the recording of real-life objects, animals or people
and digitizing their movements into a computerized format. As a mature
technology, motion capture is used in applications from industrial design
to computer gaming and Hollywood movies. In comparison, performance capture
is the next step in capturing not only basic movement but the more subtle,
emotional talents of an actor.
Embody delivers a complete service. There is no purchasing of
equipment, build-outs or training. Pre-technical requirements such as bone
rigs and morph targets are not required. The majority of post-production
work is performed by CaptiveMotion's three-step error correction and
re-targeting procedures.
When interviewed about the release of Embody, CaptiveMotion's president
Adam Kraver said, "Certainly the level of technical detail is very
exciting, but more important is the plug-and-play aspect of our service.
Pre-production requirements are reduced, the production pipeline is fast
and post-production clean-up is gone. Prior to CaptiveMotion this
complicated and mysterious technology was locked in the basement of a few
select studios. We have made it cost-effective, efficient and available to
everyone."
Check out the DEMO: http://www.captivemotion.com
Contact Information:
Mark Carson
Business Development
480 899-6222
mark@captivemotion.com
Bond Director Boards Fantasy Film
(scifi.com) Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough) has signed
on to direct the third film in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The
next installment in the franchise based on the book by C.S. Lewis
follows The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which was released in
2005, and the upcoming Prince Caspian, set to open next year. Dawn
Treader will begin filming next January and is scheduled for release
on May 1, 2009.
Ben Barnes will reprise his role as Prince Caspian in the third film,
along with Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, who play the two
youngest Pevensie siblings, Edmond and Lucy. Mark Johnson returns once
again as producer. Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two films in
the series, will continue his involvement by also serving as a
producer on the project.
Game Maker Signs Lease at Hamilton Landing
(marinij.com) Toys for Bob, a Novato-based division of the
Activision Publishing game company, has signed a lease for 11,848
square feet at Hamilton Landing.
The company, whose games include "Tony Hawke's Downhill Jam" and
"Madagascar," is relocating from the Redwood Boulevard headquarters it
has occupied since 2002, according to Barker Pacific Group, developer
of the office complex. The move is scheduled for next month.
The deal means Hamilton Landing, which consists of renovated airplane
hangars, has filled the last of its available office space, Barker
Pacific said.
The complex has 286,000 square feet of redeveloped first-class office
space, with two more 64,000-square-foot hangars yet to be renovated.
Barker Pacific Group has renovated five of seven hangars on the
22-acre site. Work is expected to begin on at least one of the two
remaining hangars this year.
Other tenants at the complex include Take Two Interactive, Sony
Imageworks, Nihilistic Software, Marin IPA, Marin Community
Foundation, YMCA, Marin County Library, Sony Imageworks and Scene 7.
Fantasy Director Boards Next Bond Film
(scifi.com) Marc Forster (Stranger Than Fiction, Finding
Neverland) will direct the as-yet-untitled 22nd James Bond film, it
was announced today by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli,
producers of the James Bond films, Sony Pictures Entertainment and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.
Forster will commence work shortly with screenwriter Paul Haggis
(Crash, Million Dollar Baby) on a draft of the screenplay by Neil
Purvis and Robert Wade. Daniel Craig will reprise the role of James
Bond in the film, which follows Casino Royale, the highest-grossing
installment in the franchise to date. The new film will begin shooting
at Pinewood Studios in London this December, for a planned release
date on November 7, 2008.
Women in Special Effects: Kerry Shea of the Jim Henson Creature Shop
(pinkraygun.com) I'm a geek for Muppets and just about
anything that comes out of the Jim Henson Creature Shop. As a kid, I
knew that when the Creature Shop was involved in a movie or tv show, I
would see things I had never seen before, and I would always be
amazed. That feeling has never really changed for me. Even now, I
check every couple of weeks for news on The Power of the Dark Crystal.
So, when I had the opportunity to talk to Kerry Shea, the Head of
Digital Production at the Creature Shop, I jumped at it. Here, Shea
talks to Pink Raygun about the Creature Shop's latest puppeteering
technology, her career in visual effects and how you can break in to
the field.
PRG: What are some of the things you do as the Head of Digital
Production at the Jim Henson Creature Shop?
KS: The Jim Henson Creature Shop has been primarily animatronics, soft
puppets and walk-arounds. It's been all about puppeteering and that
type of technology. We still do all of that, but now we're also taking
it to a digital level. So, as Head of Digital Production, what we have
is a technology called the PCS rig, or Performance Control System rig.
It's a rig that allows a puppeteer to place his hands inside of this
rig, and as he's puppeteering, it's translating to a CGI character.
It's essentially digital puppeteering. It's really cool.
We're using our technology to go into episodic television, and the
first show that we're getting ready to do is for PBS. We're going to
start production on that in the Fall.
PRG: Can you tell me a little about that show?
KS: I don't know if I can. I do know it's about ready to be announced,
and all I can say is that it's a children's show with all CGI
characters in full CGI environments. Our puppeteers will be doing all
of the digital puppeteering in real time on a sound stage. It's very
cool!
More: http://www.pinkraygun.com/2007/06/20/women-in-special-effects-kerry-shea-of-the-jim-henson-creature-shop/
"The Sky Crawlers" Animated Film Out in 2008
(animenewsnetwork.com) Mamoru Oshii, the world-famous
Japanese filmmaker, whose works include Ghost in the Shell (1995) and
Innocence (2004), will direct a new feature animation film, The Sky
Crawlers, to be released in Japan in 2008.
The film is based on a popular five-part novel by a best-seller
writer, Hiroshi Mori, who enjoys enthusiastic support from younger
generations and has sold over 8 million copies of his works in total.
The story unfolds in another 'possible' modern age. The main
characters are youngsters called "Kildren", who are destined to live
eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every
day could be the last, because they fight a "war as entertainment,"
organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they
are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full.
Mamoru Oshii is best known worldwide for the epoch-making Ghost in the
Shell, that topped the Billboard video chart in the US, and its
sequel, Innocence the first Japanese animation film to compete for the
Palm d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival. His philosophical
speculations and revolutionary visual approach that run throughout his
oeuvre had a definitive impact on many film directors, including Luc
Besson of The Fifth Element (1997) and the Wachowski brothers of The
Matrix (1999).
The Sky Crawlers is a collaborative project by Nippon Television
Network Corporation and Production I.G, Inc., distributed in Japan by
Warner Entertainment Japan Inc., and to be released in theaters
nationwide in 2008.
'Evan Almighty' Needs A Hell Of A Miracle
(deadlinehollywooddaily.com) Universal isn't even trying to
hide its nerves about the opening number this Friday for Hollywood's
most expensive comedy ever, Evan Almighty, or what the movie could
make in gross receipts overall. Given the $210 mil budget, I'm told it
needs $500 million worldwide to be really profitable. Universal, of
course, calls this "voodoo math".
I'm told parents were rejecting this big summer film as appropriate
family fare because they thought it was the exact sequel to Bruce
Almighty and therefore too mature.
Tentpole after tentpole is opening weekend after weekend, and
moviegoers show signs of sequel fatigue.
No one would have given a rat's ass if the movie's budget hadn't done
a slow creep way beyond its initial $150 million comfort zone or the
film hadn't been an 89-minute quickie in the comedy genre which is
usually cheap to make without the CGI.
But reporters couldn't ignore the first smells surrounding a
piss-poor combination of animals who didn't want to perform, children
who can't work long hours, and weather in Virginia that didn't
cooperate.
Still the studio is placing its trust in Shadyac, whose movies (Ace
Ventura, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar and Patch Adams) don't please
snot-nosed critics but satisfy lame-ass audiences. Now, even the
long-standing relationship between the director and Universal is
frayed. That became evident a few weeks ago when he blew up at a
studio marketing meeting, bitch-slapped executives and fired his own
long-time marketing consultants Buffy Shutt and Kathy Jones. Even
though the director calmed down later and apologized, even though he
always gets nervous before his movies open, Shadyac was unusually
maniacal because he thought Universal wasn't buying enough TV time.
Warner's Harry Potter commercials were already on the air in May even
though it doesn't open until July 11th. But not Evan Almighty. Though
TV ads started popping up recently on Nickelodeon and networks, the
studio was also marketing the pic in non-traditional ways through
50-city screenings aimed at church groups and religious leaders. Also,
movies like Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 3, which opened
on the same day in markets around the world, garnered humongous global
marketing budgets, whereas Evan Almighty spent the usual $50 million
for a domestic only release. Shadyac wanted the marketing for his $210
million pic to increase accordingly to at least $80 mil. Universal
balked. "We're not just going to throw money away because Tom wants to
become part of the big summer blockbuster culture," a studio insider
told me. Get real. That's exactly how it's done.
Presently, box office gurus expect attendance to fall off sharply
Evan's second week out because of this brutal summer. Competing films
like Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille (opens June 29th) is garnering great
reviews while Paramount / DreamWork's Transformers (July 3rd) is
tracking gigantic. And even though Night At The Museum debuted to only
$30 million, it kept going and going for $572 mil worldwide. One of
the Universal moguls tells me after some arm-twisting he'd be
satisfied with $125 mil before the pic starts opening overseas. To me,
that meager figure is Evan Almighty gone to hell, not heaven.
Nick Park Beats Picasso In Poll
(lep.co.uk) Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park has made
it into a top ten list of heroes of the arts.
The Oscar-winning animator, from Walmer Bridge, near Preston, was
placed at number nine on the list.
The character creator beat Picasso in the survey of 6,400 people by
the Arts Award.
They were asked to name the artists who most inspire them from the
world of music, dance, literature, film and visual arts.
Leonardo da Vinci, Bob Dylan and Andy Warhol made up the top three.
Last Updated: 19 June 2007
