Pixar Hates MoCap, Indy 4 Vs. Town Merchants, & Kerner Optical's 3D Deal
The Making of a Blockbuster Film: ''Transformers'' Presentation
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bringing 30-foot-tall robots to life in this
summer's blockbuster film "Transformers" incorporated some of the most
complex modeling and animation ever attempted at Industrial Light &
Magic (ILM). The experts behind the film will discuss their challenges
and successes during a special session at SIGGRAPH 2007, the 34th
International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and
Interactive Techniques held 5-9 August 2007 at the San Diego
Convention Center in San Diego, California, USA.
Since the film features 14 fully computer generated characters (some
containing more than 10,000 individually controllable pieces of
geometry), entirely new graphic systems had to be developed to make
this not only feasible, but also production friendly - a challenge not
to be underestimated. From oil filters and axles to pistons and body
panels; each piece had to have the ability to be individually
controlled while operating within a substantially complex system.
ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar, Associate Visual Effects
Supervisor Russell Earl, Animation Director Scott Benza, Digital
Production Supervisor Jeff White, and Digital Matte Supervisor Richard
Bluffwill provide this unique inside glimpse into the making of this
complex and visually stimulating film.
"If it was not for the collaborative community spirit of SIGGRAPH and
Hollywood's industry leaders, many of these challenges, experiences,
and successes would never be exposed to the public," stated SIGGRAPH
2007 Special Sessions Co-Chair Jerome Solomon. "We are very grateful
to ILM for bringing this perspective to SIGGRAPH. This will be both an
educational and exciting special session."
Source: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070626005922&newsLang=en
Iron Man Ends Principle Photography
(forum.myspace.com) Principal photography ended with a huge bang
as we filmed the final scenes of Iron Man in Caesar's Palace. As many
of you already know, gambling is a casino's top priority. A production
can not interfere with their cash cow. As a result, movies must shoot
during the dead hours, no matter if it's Swingers or Rain Man. We were
given a window of midnight to one the next afternoon to do all of our
work. Part of our strategy to prepare for these ungodly hours was to
stay up as late as possible the night before and sleep as late as
possible. I did half the plan. The wrong half. I stayed out until 7AM
and then woke up four hours later. After motoring through the delerium
of a sleepless shooting marathon, I am proud to report that we have
handily completed our movie on time and on budget. What a great way to
end.
I would also like to thank Ceasars for their hospitality, generosity,
and Swank accomodations.
Source: http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=37970867&groupID=102795074&adTopicID=12&Mytoken=7868A05D-DE50-475B-AB91E650A52FB35011267978
Pixar Smacks Down Motion Capture
(avclub.com) Last week, I drew the enjoyable duty of
previewing Pixar's latest animated film, Ratatouille, the CGI story of
a French rat who wants to be a French chef. Not to spoil my upcoming
review, but I enjoyed it a lot. (Though I enjoyed listening to my
usually grim, close-mouthed fellow critics chortle up a storm almost
as much.)
I stopped chortling myself when I got to the end of the credits, which
included a weird little seal of self-approval, with a smug-looking rat
presiding over the words "100% Animation" and a boast that "no motion
capture or other shortcuts" were used in making the film.
Huh?
I've read in the past that some critics (and animators) were
contemptuous of early Disney films that used rotoscoping — shooting
live-action, then essentially tracing over the live image. It
sometimes looks clunky and cheaty, but when it was done really well —
say, in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, or in the dance scene at the
end of Sleeping Beauty — it produced animated images that were
amazingly lifelike and fluid compared to what most people were doing
at the time. Granted, when it's done badly, it looks obvious and
sloppy — Ralph Bakshi was constantly taking flak for using the
technique, notably as a shortcut in Wizards and The Lord Of The Rings.
Rotoscoping has been done so poorly so often that it's earned a really
bad name.
But motion capture? Frankly, when I think of motion capture in cinema
these days, I think of high-end work like Gollum in Peter Jackson's
Lord Of The Rings, or the unusual computer-conversion technique used
in Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly. That's a time-consuming,
expensive, difficult process, not a quickie throwaway process, and
typing it as a "shortcut" seems needlessly niche-y and snide, like
bragging that you wrote your new novel in longhand on a legal pad
instead of on a computer. Okay, that's nice, but isn't the content the
important part, and not the format it was created in? If a
motion-capture film looks creepy and distracting like The Polar
Express, that's one thing, but if it looks great, like Monster House,
does the source material for the images matter that much?
The easy answer is that it matters to some technically minded people,
notably the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; last year saw
a growing debate over whether films that rely heavily on
motion-capture can really be considered "animated" as far as the
Animated Film category of the Oscars goes. (Two 2006 nominees, Monster
House and the winner, Happy Feet, used motion capture; the third,
Pixar's Cars, didn't.) I find this a little hard to understand;
stop-motion is still considered animation to the exact same degree
that cel animation is, but generating computer animation over footage
of a moving actor isn't? The latter seems far closer to traditional
cel-animation techniques than the former, if you want to use cel
animation as the gold standard.
But there's a difference between presenting the Academy with proof of
your film's qualifications in a category, and bragging directly to the
viewer, in the process cutting down all the other films made
differently from yours. So far as I know, no one's making
Ratatouille's animation process a big public selling point; I haven't
seen any ads loudly proclaiming that it's "real" animation, instead of
that phony, cheap, easy motion-capture crap, which isn't cheap or
easy. (I'll leave "phony" up to you.)
So why the boast? Why the little self-created seal of approval? I
don't know. Pixar produces wonderful films, and I'd be proud myself if
I'd worked on one, and the urge to grant myself little awards might be
high. But in this case, to me, it just seems like a false note of
smugness that doesn't reflect particularly well on a company that I
normally hugely respect.
Source: http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/ratatouille_s_odd_boast_no
Similar report:
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2007/06/no_rats_were_harmed_or_motionc.html
Rhythm & Hues Creates Massive Animal Shots for Evan Almighty
(vfxworld.com) Massive Software was tapped by Rhythm & Hues
to create lifelike CG animals for Universal's EVAN ALMIGHTY. These
included large establishing shots of hundreds of animals paired
two-by-two as described in the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
The movie features a number of shots that set the scale in terms of
the quantity of animals that are wrangled to board the ark. These
shots were captured with several real animals on set, but not nearly
as many as would be required in the final image sequences. Mark
Welser, Massive supervisor at Rhythm & Hues (R&H) oversaw the creation
of thousands of creatures, each milling about with behaviors
appropriate to its respective species.
"We were able to populate scenes both in and outside of the ark, and
fill in terrain with animals that are indistinguishable from hero
characters and live animals shot on bluescreen," explained Welser.
"Massive has terrain adaptation and the ability to command navigation
so that we could steer the creatures where we needed them to go, and
deliver the diversity of actions for the various types of species we
needed to create."
More: http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=20180
Superman Sequel Stalled By Justice League?
(Variety) One of the more ambitious projects around town — the
bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics' "Justice League" — cleared a major
hurdle last week.
Husband-wife writing duo Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney turned
in a first draft that had Warner Bros. suits actually smiling — no
small feat, considering "Justice" follows a half-dozen of the
best-known superheroes working together, including Batman and
Superman.
But the accomplish-ment raises a tricky question for Warners: Should
it release "Justice" before its "Superman Returns" sequel?
Christopher Nolan's next Batman pic "The Dark Knight" bows in July
2008. Bryan Singer's "Superman" follow-up had been expected to play in
2009. But there's no script yet for that pic, while Singer is busy
getting ready to shot Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie" for UA.
The question now: Will a souped-up "Justice League" prove to be
Kryptonite to Superman?
Indy 4 Shoot May Prop Up Merchants
(nhregister.com) Stephen Kovel, president of the
Chapel-College Merchants Association, has an open mind on how filming
"Indiana Jones" will affect businesses. Arnold Gold/Register (Buy
Register photos)
-NEW HAVEN — The fourth in tallment of the Indiana Jones
movie fr nchise will bring about 100 cast and rew members and 900
extras to the Elm Cit this week, presumably all with money in the
Business owners downtown and throughout the state are waiting to see
if the influx boosts their bottom lines.
"The jury's still out," said Stephen Kovel, president of the
Chapel-College Merchants Association and owner of Hull's Art Supply &
Framing at 1144 Chapel St. "It'll be anybody's guess until it actually
happens. Most people I've encountered seem to have an open mind."
The Paramount Pictures production, scheduled to start filming here
Thursday, will shoot on parts of the Yale campus and along Chapel
Street, disrupting at least some downtown businesses. Stores on the
usually busy block of Chapel Street, between College and High streets,
will have to close at times over several days.
More: http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18516859&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7546&rfi=6
Katzenberg & Seinfeld Pimp 3D Tentpoles At Cinema Expo
(Vartiety.com) AMSTERDAM -- Cinema Expo kicked off with a
bang as Jeffrey Katzenberg and Jerry Seinfeld touched down in the
Netherlands to help beat the drum for a buzzing Paramount slate.
The hot topic on day one of the Amsterdam confab was 3-D cinema.
Katzenberg, who reiterated his pledge that all DreamWorks Animation
projects released in 2009 will be in 3-D, led the charge with an
impassioned call to arms.
"It (3-D) is an experience unlike anything we have seen before. It is
not a gimmick, not a trick. It is not your dad's 3-D ... It is the
most exciting development in cinema in 60 years."
Katzenberg predicted "a large portion of tentpoles will migrate to
3-D," thanks to the leadership of the "alphas of the moviemaking
group" -- James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis, Peter Jackson and Steven
Spielberg. Katzenberg also said his discussions with Michael Bay and
Ron Howard suggest more heavyweights are catching the 3-D bug.
Katzenberg said of the 65-70 pics that generate 80% of the U.S. box
office, two-thirds "would provide a premium experience if offered as
3-D."
Extended sneaks of Matthew Vaughn's epic fantasy "Stardust," the
Seinfeld-penned animation "Bee Movie" and toon "Kung Fu Panda" drew
the most admir-ing looks from European exhibs.
Other highlights from the Par slate included a rough cut of Marc
Forster's Kabul-set drama "The Kite Runner," footage from the set of
Susanne Bier's "Things We Lost in the Fire" and sneak peeks of "Iron
Man," "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "Case 39."
There were also taped messages from George Lucas and Spielberg,
promoting the May 2008 release of "Indiana Jones 4," Judd Apatow
("Drillbit Taylor"), Michelle Pfeiffer ("Stardust") and Ben Stiller
("The Heartbreak Kid").
Sam Raimi on Spider-Man 4
(MTV) MTV talked to "Spider-Man" franchise director Sam Raimi
Friday night about a fourth film. He talked about possibly returning
to the director's chair, which cast members he'd like to see come back
and the villains. Here's a clip:
Either way, if this tangled web does still involve the filmmaker,
Raimi has been busy brainstorming about the villains he'd like to get
into the next flick. "I would love to see Electro, Vulture, maybe the
Sinister Six as a team," he said.
With $878.9 million worldwide, Spider-Man 3 has climbed to the 10th
spot on the all-time worldwide list.
Raimi talks: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563359/20070625/story.jhtml
Germany Bans WWII "Valkyrie" Filming Due to Scientology
(ComingSoon.net) Germany Defense Ministry spokesman Harald
Kammerbauer says the country is refusing to let the Bryan
Singer-directed Valkyrie film at German military sites because of Tom
Cruise's belief in Scientology. In the film, based on true events,
German generals hatch a scheme to assassinate Adolph Hitler at the
height of WWII.
"[Filmmakers] will not be allowed to film at German military sites if
Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed
to being a member of the Scientology cult," Kammerbauer said. "In
general, the Bundeswehr (German military) has a special interest in
the serious and authentic portrayal of the events of July 20, 1944 and
Stauffenberg's person."
Germany does not recognize the Church of Scientology as a church.
United Artists Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Paula Wagner
released the following statement regarding the matter:
"To set the record straight, 'Valkyrie' is a historically accurate
thriller that presents the World War Two resistance hero Col. Claus
Schenk von Stauffenberg as the heroic and principled figure he was,
and we believe it will go a long way towards reminding the world that
even within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance
to the Nazi regime. 'Valkyrie' was originated and brought to United
Artists by Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Based on the
fantastic screenplay written by Mr. McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, we
gave it the green light. Mr. Singer, the director, then offered the
role of Col. Stauffenberg to Tom Cruise because he thought he was
perfect for the part. Aside from his obvious admiration of the man he
is portraying, Mr. Cruise's personal beliefs have absolutely no
bearing on the movie's plot, themes, or content. And even though we
could shoot the movie anywhere in the world, we believe Germany is the
only place we can truly do the story justice."
The dramatic thriller also stars Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Patrick
Wilson, Stephen Fry, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten and Eddie
Izzard.
Writer Talks Trek Prequel
(moviehole.net) Screenwriter Robert Orci could probably
afford to buy me a new car…. Heck, hey could probably afford to buy us
ALL a new car. One half of the "Transformers" writing team, Orci's
Hollywood's new go-to boy for big-time high-concept blockbusters. His
pen, I bet, is now dipped in gold. His next assignment? To revamp the
"Star Trek" movie franchise. We caught up with Orci to chat about the
return of the Captain…. Pause…. Kirk.
The biggest question is, why revamp "Trek"? I mean, audiences like it… it works.
"I think they A, feel a little bit of ownership for it so that's part
of it. And B, because we're all starting from the same point, they get
to do a lot more predicting about what it's going to be", says Orci.
"In a way, it becomes interactive in that we all get to be on the lot,
I guess, going off of that show that just came on. Everyone gets to
sort of test their ideas against what they would do relative to what's
actually going to be done in the movie. I think that's why fans get so
involved and why you get as much criticism as you do but also it's a
double edged sword."
Orci, says he's slightly intimidated with the idea of working on "Star
Trek" ("In theory we were, but when we came up with what we wanted to
do, we felt pretty happy"), won't give away any plot points about the
new film except to say that, in it, the main characters "trek through
the stars in the future."
For the meantime, he's going to shut out the fanboys.
"Well, they have nothing to go on so I am shutting it out for now. On
Transformers, we had so many leaks that they did have things to go on
so I felt like we had to engage the fans.
"It's pretty comprehensive. If you're a fan, you're going to see one
kind of movie and if you have never seen it, you're going to be
introduced to it in a different kind of a way. That's the goal."
They'll at least keep the original theme music won't they?
"I don't know what we're going to do. Star Trek II switched."
The script is complete, says Orci, and shooting starts in November.
Meantime, Orci is working on "2012", "a book we just set up at Warner
Brothers by Whitley Strieber who wrote The Hunger and Wolfen and who's
also a famous alien abductee. It is his latest theory of what's going
to go down in 2012 based on the Mayan calendar and based on factual
astronomical convergences are going to happen on that day."
SENSIO Signs With Kerner Optical
(marketwire.com) SENSIO Technologies Inc., the inventor of
the SENSIO(r) 3D technology, is proud to announce the signature of a
Letter of Intent with Kerner Optical Research and Development
Corporation ("KORD") for the development of a new 3D television for
the consumer market.
This Letter of Intent states that KORD is seeking to integrate the
SENSIO(r) 3D technology as well as the real-time conversion of 2D
images to 3D, into a new LCD HD television, which is currently the
object of a development contract between KORD and LCD television
manufacturer SpectronIQ. SENSIO and KORD will share the development
budgets allocated for the project and the final terms of the agreement
will be specified in a contract to be concluded at a later date.
"We are very happy to be able to benefit from SENSIO's expertise and
technology - one of the best leading-edge technologies in the emerging
field of stereoscopy, which meets the very high quality standards we
are looking for", said Mr. Yuska "Joe" Siuicki, Chief of Disruptive
Technologies at KORD in California.
This Letter of Intent represents a key milestone for SENSIO as part of
its strategic development plan focused on the integration of the
SENSIO(r) 3D technology into electronic devices designed for the
consumer market. This step is also significant as it will contribute
to SENSIO's objective of becoming the industry's 3D standard format.
Nicholas Routhier, SENSIO's President and Chief Executive Officer,
says he is "honored and pleased to be working with a company as
prestigious as KORD, which, thanks to its innovation is the ideal
partner to make 3D accessible at home."
SENSIO(r) 3D is being evaluated by six other major manufacturers
SENSIO's recent promotional tour in Asia allowed the Montreal Company
to move beyond the interest phase with major electronic manufacturers.
In fact, six of them are evaluating or will soon be evaluating the
SENSIO(r) technology in their labs, with the development material that
several manufacturers have already purchased.
"We have now entered the second phase of product development with
several manufacturers which is the experimental phase. Successful
experimentation leads to the prototype phase and finally to the
integration of the SENSIO(r) 3D technology into electronic devices
designed for the mass market. Our vision of 3D being accessible to
all, in their home, is now becoming a reality", explains Mr. Routhier.
Source: http://www.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=746009
Transformers Is 'E.T. With Action'
(comics2film.com) Roberto Orci, the screenwriter who wrote the
upcoming Transformers movie with longtime partner Alex Kurtzman,
summed up the movie simply: It's "E.T. with action."
In other words, Orci said, a combination Steven Spielberg movie (he's
a producer) and a Michael Bay movie (he directed). On top of that, the
writing team behind J.J. Abrams' Mission Impossible III and the
upcoming Star Trek film had to remain true to the mythology and
history of the 1980s toy line and animated TV show on which the film
is based.
"There's a lot of great richness in terms of, you know, Optimus Prime
is a great character in any incarnation," Orci said in an interview in
Beverly Hills, Calif., earlier this month. "The friendships, which are
great. It's just a great idea for an approach to a movie."
SPIELBERG STILL CASHING IN STAR WARS BET
(contactmusic.com) STEVEN SPIELBERG still makes money from
STAR WARS thirty years after coming out on top in a bet with movie
mogul pal GEORGE LUCAS. Lucas was so convinced his first Star Wars
film would be a flop in 1977, he bet Spielberg a percentage of the
take his sci-fi epic, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind would be a
bigger film. Spielberg recalls, "George came back from Star Wars a
nervous wreck. He didn't feel Star Wars came up to the vision he
initially had. He felt he had just made this little kids' movie. "He
came to Mobile, Alabama where I was shooting Close Encounters on this
humongous set and hung out with me for a couple of days. "He said, 'Oh
my God, your movie is going to be so much more successful than Star
Wars. This is gonna be the biggest hit of all time.' "He said, 'You
want to trade some points? I'll give you two and a half per cent of
Star Wars if you give me two and a half per cent of Close Encounters.'
"I said, 'Sure, I'll gamble with that, great.' And I think I came out
on top of that bet. "Close Encounters made so much money and rescued
Columbia from bankruptcy. It was the most money I ever made, but it
was a meagre success story. Star Wars was a phenomenon and I was the
happy beneficiary of a couple of points from that movie which I am
still seeing money on today."
Source: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/spielberg%20still%20cashing%20in%20star%20wars%20bet_1035222
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bringing 30-foot-tall robots to life in this
summer's blockbuster film "Transformers" incorporated some of the most
complex modeling and animation ever attempted at Industrial Light &
Magic (ILM). The experts behind the film will discuss their challenges
and successes during a special session at SIGGRAPH 2007, the 34th
International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and
Interactive Techniques held 5-9 August 2007 at the San Diego
Convention Center in San Diego, California, USA.
Since the film features 14 fully computer generated characters (some
containing more than 10,000 individually controllable pieces of
geometry), entirely new graphic systems had to be developed to make
this not only feasible, but also production friendly - a challenge not
to be underestimated. From oil filters and axles to pistons and body
panels; each piece had to have the ability to be individually
controlled while operating within a substantially complex system.
ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar, Associate Visual Effects
Supervisor Russell Earl, Animation Director Scott Benza, Digital
Production Supervisor Jeff White, and Digital Matte Supervisor Richard
Bluffwill provide this unique inside glimpse into the making of this
complex and visually stimulating film.
"If it was not for the collaborative community spirit of SIGGRAPH and
Hollywood's industry leaders, many of these challenges, experiences,
and successes would never be exposed to the public," stated SIGGRAPH
2007 Special Sessions Co-Chair Jerome Solomon. "We are very grateful
to ILM for bringing this perspective to SIGGRAPH. This will be both an
educational and exciting special session."
Source: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070626005922&newsLang=en
Iron Man Ends Principle Photography
(forum.myspace.com) Principal photography ended with a huge bang
as we filmed the final scenes of Iron Man in Caesar's Palace. As many
of you already know, gambling is a casino's top priority. A production
can not interfere with their cash cow. As a result, movies must shoot
during the dead hours, no matter if it's Swingers or Rain Man. We were
given a window of midnight to one the next afternoon to do all of our
work. Part of our strategy to prepare for these ungodly hours was to
stay up as late as possible the night before and sleep as late as
possible. I did half the plan. The wrong half. I stayed out until 7AM
and then woke up four hours later. After motoring through the delerium
of a sleepless shooting marathon, I am proud to report that we have
handily completed our movie on time and on budget. What a great way to
end.
I would also like to thank Ceasars for their hospitality, generosity,
and Swank accomodations.
Source: http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=37970867&groupID=102795074&adTopicID=12&Mytoken=7868A05D-DE50-475B-AB91E650A52FB35011267978
Pixar Smacks Down Motion Capture
(avclub.com) Last week, I drew the enjoyable duty of
previewing Pixar's latest animated film, Ratatouille, the CGI story of
a French rat who wants to be a French chef. Not to spoil my upcoming
review, but I enjoyed it a lot. (Though I enjoyed listening to my
usually grim, close-mouthed fellow critics chortle up a storm almost
as much.)
I stopped chortling myself when I got to the end of the credits, which
included a weird little seal of self-approval, with a smug-looking rat
presiding over the words "100% Animation" and a boast that "no motion
capture or other shortcuts" were used in making the film.
Huh?
I've read in the past that some critics (and animators) were
contemptuous of early Disney films that used rotoscoping — shooting
live-action, then essentially tracing over the live image. It
sometimes looks clunky and cheaty, but when it was done really well —
say, in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, or in the dance scene at the
end of Sleeping Beauty — it produced animated images that were
amazingly lifelike and fluid compared to what most people were doing
at the time. Granted, when it's done badly, it looks obvious and
sloppy — Ralph Bakshi was constantly taking flak for using the
technique, notably as a shortcut in Wizards and The Lord Of The Rings.
Rotoscoping has been done so poorly so often that it's earned a really
bad name.
But motion capture? Frankly, when I think of motion capture in cinema
these days, I think of high-end work like Gollum in Peter Jackson's
Lord Of The Rings, or the unusual computer-conversion technique used
in Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly. That's a time-consuming,
expensive, difficult process, not a quickie throwaway process, and
typing it as a "shortcut" seems needlessly niche-y and snide, like
bragging that you wrote your new novel in longhand on a legal pad
instead of on a computer. Okay, that's nice, but isn't the content the
important part, and not the format it was created in? If a
motion-capture film looks creepy and distracting like The Polar
Express, that's one thing, but if it looks great, like Monster House,
does the source material for the images matter that much?
The easy answer is that it matters to some technically minded people,
notably the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; last year saw
a growing debate over whether films that rely heavily on
motion-capture can really be considered "animated" as far as the
Animated Film category of the Oscars goes. (Two 2006 nominees, Monster
House and the winner, Happy Feet, used motion capture; the third,
Pixar's Cars, didn't.) I find this a little hard to understand;
stop-motion is still considered animation to the exact same degree
that cel animation is, but generating computer animation over footage
of a moving actor isn't? The latter seems far closer to traditional
cel-animation techniques than the former, if you want to use cel
animation as the gold standard.
But there's a difference between presenting the Academy with proof of
your film's qualifications in a category, and bragging directly to the
viewer, in the process cutting down all the other films made
differently from yours. So far as I know, no one's making
Ratatouille's animation process a big public selling point; I haven't
seen any ads loudly proclaiming that it's "real" animation, instead of
that phony, cheap, easy motion-capture crap, which isn't cheap or
easy. (I'll leave "phony" up to you.)
So why the boast? Why the little self-created seal of approval? I
don't know. Pixar produces wonderful films, and I'd be proud myself if
I'd worked on one, and the urge to grant myself little awards might be
high. But in this case, to me, it just seems like a false note of
smugness that doesn't reflect particularly well on a company that I
normally hugely respect.
Source: http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/ratatouille_s_odd_boast_no
Similar report:
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2007/06/no_rats_were_harmed_or_motionc.html
Rhythm & Hues Creates Massive Animal Shots for Evan Almighty
(vfxworld.com) Massive Software was tapped by Rhythm & Hues
to create lifelike CG animals for Universal's EVAN ALMIGHTY. These
included large establishing shots of hundreds of animals paired
two-by-two as described in the biblical story of Noah's Ark.
The movie features a number of shots that set the scale in terms of
the quantity of animals that are wrangled to board the ark. These
shots were captured with several real animals on set, but not nearly
as many as would be required in the final image sequences. Mark
Welser, Massive supervisor at Rhythm & Hues (R&H) oversaw the creation
of thousands of creatures, each milling about with behaviors
appropriate to its respective species.
"We were able to populate scenes both in and outside of the ark, and
fill in terrain with animals that are indistinguishable from hero
characters and live animals shot on bluescreen," explained Welser.
"Massive has terrain adaptation and the ability to command navigation
so that we could steer the creatures where we needed them to go, and
deliver the diversity of actions for the various types of species we
needed to create."
More: http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=3631a5a1&atype=news&id=20180
Superman Sequel Stalled By Justice League?
(Variety) One of the more ambitious projects around town — the
bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics' "Justice League" — cleared a major
hurdle last week.
Husband-wife writing duo Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney turned
in a first draft that had Warner Bros. suits actually smiling — no
small feat, considering "Justice" follows a half-dozen of the
best-known superheroes working together, including Batman and
Superman.
But the accomplish-ment raises a tricky question for Warners: Should
it release "Justice" before its "Superman Returns" sequel?
Christopher Nolan's next Batman pic "The Dark Knight" bows in July
2008. Bryan Singer's "Superman" follow-up had been expected to play in
2009. But there's no script yet for that pic, while Singer is busy
getting ready to shot Tom Cruise starrer "Valkyrie" for UA.
The question now: Will a souped-up "Justice League" prove to be
Kryptonite to Superman?
Indy 4 Shoot May Prop Up Merchants
(nhregister.com) Stephen Kovel, president of the
Chapel-College Merchants Association, has an open mind on how filming
"Indiana Jones" will affect businesses. Arnold Gold/Register (Buy
Register photos)
-NEW HAVEN — The fourth in tallment of the Indiana Jones
movie fr nchise will bring about 100 cast and rew members and 900
extras to the Elm Cit this week, presumably all with money in the
Business owners downtown and throughout the state are waiting to see
if the influx boosts their bottom lines.
"The jury's still out," said Stephen Kovel, president of the
Chapel-College Merchants Association and owner of Hull's Art Supply &
Framing at 1144 Chapel St. "It'll be anybody's guess until it actually
happens. Most people I've encountered seem to have an open mind."
The Paramount Pictures production, scheduled to start filming here
Thursday, will shoot on parts of the Yale campus and along Chapel
Street, disrupting at least some downtown businesses. Stores on the
usually busy block of Chapel Street, between College and High streets,
will have to close at times over several days.
More: http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18516859&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7546&rfi=6
Katzenberg & Seinfeld Pimp 3D Tentpoles At Cinema Expo
(Vartiety.com) AMSTERDAM -- Cinema Expo kicked off with a
bang as Jeffrey Katzenberg and Jerry Seinfeld touched down in the
Netherlands to help beat the drum for a buzzing Paramount slate.
The hot topic on day one of the Amsterdam confab was 3-D cinema.
Katzenberg, who reiterated his pledge that all DreamWorks Animation
projects released in 2009 will be in 3-D, led the charge with an
impassioned call to arms.
"It (3-D) is an experience unlike anything we have seen before. It is
not a gimmick, not a trick. It is not your dad's 3-D ... It is the
most exciting development in cinema in 60 years."
Katzenberg predicted "a large portion of tentpoles will migrate to
3-D," thanks to the leadership of the "alphas of the moviemaking
group" -- James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis, Peter Jackson and Steven
Spielberg. Katzenberg also said his discussions with Michael Bay and
Ron Howard suggest more heavyweights are catching the 3-D bug.
Katzenberg said of the 65-70 pics that generate 80% of the U.S. box
office, two-thirds "would provide a premium experience if offered as
3-D."
Extended sneaks of Matthew Vaughn's epic fantasy "Stardust," the
Seinfeld-penned animation "Bee Movie" and toon "Kung Fu Panda" drew
the most admir-ing looks from European exhibs.
Other highlights from the Par slate included a rough cut of Marc
Forster's Kabul-set drama "The Kite Runner," footage from the set of
Susanne Bier's "Things We Lost in the Fire" and sneak peeks of "Iron
Man," "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "Case 39."
There were also taped messages from George Lucas and Spielberg,
promoting the May 2008 release of "Indiana Jones 4," Judd Apatow
("Drillbit Taylor"), Michelle Pfeiffer ("Stardust") and Ben Stiller
("The Heartbreak Kid").
Sam Raimi on Spider-Man 4
(MTV) MTV talked to "Spider-Man" franchise director Sam Raimi
Friday night about a fourth film. He talked about possibly returning
to the director's chair, which cast members he'd like to see come back
and the villains. Here's a clip:
Either way, if this tangled web does still involve the filmmaker,
Raimi has been busy brainstorming about the villains he'd like to get
into the next flick. "I would love to see Electro, Vulture, maybe the
Sinister Six as a team," he said.
With $878.9 million worldwide, Spider-Man 3 has climbed to the 10th
spot on the all-time worldwide list.
Raimi talks: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563359/20070625/story.jhtml
Germany Bans WWII "Valkyrie" Filming Due to Scientology
(ComingSoon.net) Germany Defense Ministry spokesman Harald
Kammerbauer says the country is refusing to let the Bryan
Singer-directed Valkyrie film at German military sites because of Tom
Cruise's belief in Scientology. In the film, based on true events,
German generals hatch a scheme to assassinate Adolph Hitler at the
height of WWII.
"[Filmmakers] will not be allowed to film at German military sites if
Count Stauffenberg is played by Tom Cruise, who has publicly professed
to being a member of the Scientology cult," Kammerbauer said. "In
general, the Bundeswehr (German military) has a special interest in
the serious and authentic portrayal of the events of July 20, 1944 and
Stauffenberg's person."
Germany does not recognize the Church of Scientology as a church.
United Artists Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Paula Wagner
released the following statement regarding the matter:
"To set the record straight, 'Valkyrie' is a historically accurate
thriller that presents the World War Two resistance hero Col. Claus
Schenk von Stauffenberg as the heroic and principled figure he was,
and we believe it will go a long way towards reminding the world that
even within the ranks of the German military there was real resistance
to the Nazi regime. 'Valkyrie' was originated and brought to United
Artists by Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Based on the
fantastic screenplay written by Mr. McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, we
gave it the green light. Mr. Singer, the director, then offered the
role of Col. Stauffenberg to Tom Cruise because he thought he was
perfect for the part. Aside from his obvious admiration of the man he
is portraying, Mr. Cruise's personal beliefs have absolutely no
bearing on the movie's plot, themes, or content. And even though we
could shoot the movie anywhere in the world, we believe Germany is the
only place we can truly do the story justice."
The dramatic thriller also stars Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Patrick
Wilson, Stephen Fry, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten and Eddie
Izzard.
Writer Talks Trek Prequel
(moviehole.net) Screenwriter Robert Orci could probably
afford to buy me a new car…. Heck, hey could probably afford to buy us
ALL a new car. One half of the "Transformers" writing team, Orci's
Hollywood's new go-to boy for big-time high-concept blockbusters. His
pen, I bet, is now dipped in gold. His next assignment? To revamp the
"Star Trek" movie franchise. We caught up with Orci to chat about the
return of the Captain…. Pause…. Kirk.
The biggest question is, why revamp "Trek"? I mean, audiences like it… it works.
"I think they A, feel a little bit of ownership for it so that's part
of it. And B, because we're all starting from the same point, they get
to do a lot more predicting about what it's going to be", says Orci.
"In a way, it becomes interactive in that we all get to be on the lot,
I guess, going off of that show that just came on. Everyone gets to
sort of test their ideas against what they would do relative to what's
actually going to be done in the movie. I think that's why fans get so
involved and why you get as much criticism as you do but also it's a
double edged sword."
Orci, says he's slightly intimidated with the idea of working on "Star
Trek" ("In theory we were, but when we came up with what we wanted to
do, we felt pretty happy"), won't give away any plot points about the
new film except to say that, in it, the main characters "trek through
the stars in the future."
For the meantime, he's going to shut out the fanboys.
"Well, they have nothing to go on so I am shutting it out for now. On
Transformers, we had so many leaks that they did have things to go on
so I felt like we had to engage the fans.
"It's pretty comprehensive. If you're a fan, you're going to see one
kind of movie and if you have never seen it, you're going to be
introduced to it in a different kind of a way. That's the goal."
They'll at least keep the original theme music won't they?
"I don't know what we're going to do. Star Trek II switched."
The script is complete, says Orci, and shooting starts in November.
Meantime, Orci is working on "2012", "a book we just set up at Warner
Brothers by Whitley Strieber who wrote The Hunger and Wolfen and who's
also a famous alien abductee. It is his latest theory of what's going
to go down in 2012 based on the Mayan calendar and based on factual
astronomical convergences are going to happen on that day."
SENSIO Signs With Kerner Optical
(marketwire.com) SENSIO Technologies Inc., the inventor of
the SENSIO(r) 3D technology, is proud to announce the signature of a
Letter of Intent with Kerner Optical Research and Development
Corporation ("KORD") for the development of a new 3D television for
the consumer market.
This Letter of Intent states that KORD is seeking to integrate the
SENSIO(r) 3D technology as well as the real-time conversion of 2D
images to 3D, into a new LCD HD television, which is currently the
object of a development contract between KORD and LCD television
manufacturer SpectronIQ. SENSIO and KORD will share the development
budgets allocated for the project and the final terms of the agreement
will be specified in a contract to be concluded at a later date.
"We are very happy to be able to benefit from SENSIO's expertise and
technology - one of the best leading-edge technologies in the emerging
field of stereoscopy, which meets the very high quality standards we
are looking for", said Mr. Yuska "Joe" Siuicki, Chief of Disruptive
Technologies at KORD in California.
This Letter of Intent represents a key milestone for SENSIO as part of
its strategic development plan focused on the integration of the
SENSIO(r) 3D technology into electronic devices designed for the
consumer market. This step is also significant as it will contribute
to SENSIO's objective of becoming the industry's 3D standard format.
Nicholas Routhier, SENSIO's President and Chief Executive Officer,
says he is "honored and pleased to be working with a company as
prestigious as KORD, which, thanks to its innovation is the ideal
partner to make 3D accessible at home."
SENSIO(r) 3D is being evaluated by six other major manufacturers
SENSIO's recent promotional tour in Asia allowed the Montreal Company
to move beyond the interest phase with major electronic manufacturers.
In fact, six of them are evaluating or will soon be evaluating the
SENSIO(r) technology in their labs, with the development material that
several manufacturers have already purchased.
"We have now entered the second phase of product development with
several manufacturers which is the experimental phase. Successful
experimentation leads to the prototype phase and finally to the
integration of the SENSIO(r) 3D technology into electronic devices
designed for the mass market. Our vision of 3D being accessible to
all, in their home, is now becoming a reality", explains Mr. Routhier.
Source: http://www.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=746009
Transformers Is 'E.T. With Action'
(comics2film.com) Roberto Orci, the screenwriter who wrote the
upcoming Transformers movie with longtime partner Alex Kurtzman,
summed up the movie simply: It's "E.T. with action."
In other words, Orci said, a combination Steven Spielberg movie (he's
a producer) and a Michael Bay movie (he directed). On top of that, the
writing team behind J.J. Abrams' Mission Impossible III and the
upcoming Star Trek film had to remain true to the mythology and
history of the 1980s toy line and animated TV show on which the film
is based.
"There's a lot of great richness in terms of, you know, Optimus Prime
is a great character in any incarnation," Orci said in an interview in
Beverly Hills, Calif., earlier this month. "The friendships, which are
great. It's just a great idea for an approach to a movie."
SPIELBERG STILL CASHING IN STAR WARS BET
(contactmusic.com) STEVEN SPIELBERG still makes money from
STAR WARS thirty years after coming out on top in a bet with movie
mogul pal GEORGE LUCAS. Lucas was so convinced his first Star Wars
film would be a flop in 1977, he bet Spielberg a percentage of the
take his sci-fi epic, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind would be a
bigger film. Spielberg recalls, "George came back from Star Wars a
nervous wreck. He didn't feel Star Wars came up to the vision he
initially had. He felt he had just made this little kids' movie. "He
came to Mobile, Alabama where I was shooting Close Encounters on this
humongous set and hung out with me for a couple of days. "He said, 'Oh
my God, your movie is going to be so much more successful than Star
Wars. This is gonna be the biggest hit of all time.' "He said, 'You
want to trade some points? I'll give you two and a half per cent of
Star Wars if you give me two and a half per cent of Close Encounters.'
"I said, 'Sure, I'll gamble with that, great.' And I think I came out
on top of that bet. "Close Encounters made so much money and rescued
Columbia from bankruptcy. It was the most money I ever made, but it
was a meagre success story. Star Wars was a phenomenon and I was the
happy beneficiary of a couple of points from that movie which I am
still seeing money on today."
Source: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/spielberg%20still%20cashing%20in%20star%20wars%20bet_1035222
