Speed Racer Stalls, VFX Go Post-Apocalyptic, & "Universal Monsters" Man Needs Your Vote...
"Speed Racer" Stalling Out?
(sliceofscifi.com) Early tracking results for Speed Racer are in and it appears that adaptation of the popular animated series may not be sitting at the pole when box-office tallies are released Monday according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Experts estimate that Racer is on a course to gross between $25-$35 million at the box-office this weekend. Given that Iron Man grossed close to $100 million at the box-office last weekend and has a great word of mouth from fans and critics, it is possibly and even likely that Iron Man could hold on to the top spot and send Racer to second place.
However, two hard to predict factors could play into Racer's favor–a must-see word of mouth for the film and the fact that its targeted more toward families, which can be hard to predict in whether or not they'll turn out at the box-office.
"It's too early to tell," Warners domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said. "But this is the first real family movie of the summer, and we're going to give it our best."
Warner execs are spinning the news in their favor, saying that Racer was filmed in front of a green screen and cost only $100 million to produce. A $25 million opening this weekend should put them on track to make back the production costs of the film.
We'll have to wait and see how the first big showdown of the summer box-office season goes this weekend. Slice of SciFi will have all your box-office results Monday and Tuesday of next week.
2009: The Year Of Post-Apocalyptic VFX
(io9.com) Humans are a plague, shredding across the galaxy and destroying other peace-loving creatures. At least, that seems to be the theme of a number of movies that are coming out in the next few years. I've been wondering what would replace the post-apocalyptic-Earth as the stock plot for "dark" science fiction movies, and the evil-humans-in-space plot seems increasingly likely to rule. Among others, James Cameron's Avatar and the new animated film Terra seem to be exploring this theme, which is a standard plot in written science fiction, but is fairly new to the movies.
NaviLight.jpgWe still don't know all of the plot details for James Cameron's Avatar, coming in 2009, but an early "scriptment" that's reputed to be real includes a lot of information. In a nutshell, Earth is ruined due to centuries of exploitation, and we've used up all our resources. So we decide to go and plunder the mineral wealth of the planet Pandora, whose atmosphere is poisonous to us. Humans can only walk around on Pandora by growing special alien bodies, akin to the native Na'vi aliens. The humans can control their own vat-grown Na'vi bodies, which are called avatars. (We don't know how much of this stuff survives in the final script, but Sigourney Weaver's comments about her character having "her own avatar" make it sound as though it's still there in some form.)
In addition to these surrogate aliens, the humans have also landed some bloodthirsty troops who hate the natives and want to wipe them out. So there's a conflict between the Avatar-using humans, who want to understand the natives (who are basically Native Americans) and the power-armor-using troops, who want to bulldoze all the natives' sacred lands and kill them all. This leads to a speech by our hero, Josh:
Pandora is not Hell, it's Eden. And Eden is being bulldozed and stripmined and raped. We have no right. We are the aliens here. We are the space monsters.
If that sounds too subtle for you, then there's Terra, which we covered the other day. The new full-length animated film is about humans coming to terraform a planet of peaceloving aliens, after Earth has become basically uninhabitable. We already terraformed Venus and Mars, but then the planets had a huge civil war. So now we have to come and use our transforming device to turn Terra's helium atmosphere into oxygen.
Are you seeing a trend here? The stories about humans as scourge of the cosmos are what come after the post-apocalyptic Earth stories. We ruin our own planet, so we have to go and fuck up someone else's planet. (That's also the storyline in the Winterson book, where Orbus is about to become unable to support human life.) There could also be some guilt about the Iraq war and our various other foreign adventures, which we could be excising.
There's also the remake of the original humans-are-assholes movie The Day The Earth Stood Still, coming this December, in which peaceful aliens warn us not to take our asshole ways out into space. And there's a new direct-to-DVD sequel to Starship Troopers coming out in a couple of months. In the original Troopers, director Paul Verhoeven's aim was to show that humans were the aggressors and the bugs were simply reacting to human colonies encroaching on their territory. This message flew over a lot of people's heads, so maybe Troopers scriptwriter Ed Neumeier (who's directing the new movie) will make it more blatant this time around.
Planet51-1.jpgAnd then there's also the animated Planet 51, starring the Rock, in which the peaceful aliens think the humans are there to invade and despoil their planet. But they're wrong... or are they?
I guess there's not enough examples there to argue that this is a sweeping new trend. And of course the post-apocalyptic Earth movie has one major advantage over the alien world epic: it's cheap to film, since you can make a post-apocalyptic landscape almost anywhere you can find some rubble.
SIGGRAPH presents: The Art & Life of Syd Mead, Visual Futurist
(sneakpeektv.blogspot.com) Come join us for our Fifth Anniversary with living design legend Syd Mead followed by a screening of Blade Runner: The Final Cut!
Join us for the fun on May 14 at the Empire Theatre on Granville St. It has been years since Syd Mead has been to Vancouver. He'll be speaking about his approach to design and the visionary work with which he has made his indelible mark on pop culture and our perceptions of the future.
But wait - there's more! Our long-time supporter, Sophia Books,
will be there with Syd's latest DVD - you might even be able to get the
man
himself to sign a copy for you.
On top of that, Tangible Interaction is coming back with their Zygotes - a massive interactive hands-on display of fun meeting technology that the whole crowd can take part in.
Reserve your tickets now and don't miss out on this huge event!
Doors at 6pm, Event 7:00 PM, Movie 9:30pm
Empire Theatre, 855 Granville St. Vancouver
Regular admission: $25 // Members: $15
Grand Theft Auto IV Makes $500M in One Week (5X Iron Man)
(news.awn.com) Take-Two Interactive Software Inc announced
that in its debut week GRAND THEFT AUTO IV made more than $500 million
globally, ranking it among the top entertainment properties of all
time, reports the trades. The violent crime game sold 3.6 million
copies on its first day, and had sold 6 million units by the end of
the week. GTA4 broke the previous first week record of HALO 3 by $100
million.
Produced by Take-Two's Rockstar, the game puts gamers in the shoes of
an Eastern European immigrant drug runner for a crime syndicate who
battles cops and beats up prostitutes.
Shares of Take-Two rose to $26.35 on Tuesday, which now puts the value
of the company above the $25.75 per share offer Electronic Arts made
to acquire the company. Take-Two has been rejecting EA's bids as too
low for months.
Marvel comics adaptation Iron Man struck gold at the US box
office last
weekend to become one of only 10 films to gross $US100
million ($A107 million)
in its opening weekend, industry figures
showed.
Michael Bay Predicts Indiana Jones 4 is Gonna Suck
(slashfilm.com) At the 2008 VES Awards, Michael Bay retold the story of how he predicted the failure of Raiders of the Lost Ark while working at LucasFilm. Bay went on to tell a little story involving Indiana Jones 4. Watch the video below.
Take a look: http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/05/08/michael-bay-says-indiana-jones-4-is-gonna-suck/
McConaughey Front-Runner for Captain America
(sliceofscifi.com) Cinema Blend reports that Matthew McConaughey is the rumored front-runner for the role of Steve Rodgers/Captain American in the upcoming Captain America movie.
Citing sources close to the production, Cinema Blend reports that McConaughey is the first choice for the role.
We should warn readers to that its still early in the Captain America movie process. The film was officially announced earlier this week and without a script or director, any casting news is only a rumor at this point.
A Star For The Father of "Universal Monsters" ?
To: Universal Studios
To: Jeff Zucker, President & Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal
and
Ron Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios
and
The executives of Universal Studios, et al.
WHEREAS Universal Studios became a top Hollywood Motion-Picture studio
during the decade of the 1930's, largely on the basis of the Horror
Films that were produced there,
and
WHEREAS an important factor in the success of those features, and
their continued popularity and place in popular culture, were the
iconic looks and trademarked designs of the "Universal Monsters" such
as Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Mummy, and the Wolf-Man,
and
WHEREAS the individual largely responsible for the creation of those
monsters, Jack P. Pierce, was summarily dismissed from
Universal-International as the "Golden Age" of Hollywood Horror drew
to a close, and subsequently has never received his due and proper
recognition,
and
WHEREAS the impending re-release of the 1932 film THE MUMMY, starring
Boris Karloff, and featuring some of Mr. Pierce's finest make-up work,
on DVD has occasioned a renewed interest in this Hollywood pioneer,
WE the undersigned do hereby request and petition the above-named
officers of Universal Studios and it's parent company to fully fund a
Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, as recognition of Mr. Pierce's
contributions, both to the history of film-making, and to the success
and longevity of Universal Studios.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Source: http://www.petitiononline.com/jppierce/
Sign the petition: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jppierce/petition-sign.html?
Wachowskis Fund Assassin in Germany
(VFXworld.com) Director James McTeigue, producer Joel Silver
and the Wachowskis have landed funding for their next project NINJA
ASSASSIN from Germany's Federal Film Fund, reports VARIETY.
Federal
Film Fund will pony up 5.8 million Euros ($9 million). Previously, it
gave the Wachowskis $14 million for SPEED RACER. NINJA has also
received $1 million from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, a Berlin
subsidy organization that helped fund McTeigue's last film, V FOR
VENDETTA.
SAG Strike Grows Closer: Here We Go Again?
(showbizdata.com) As expected, the Screen Actors Guild and
the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ended their
first round of bargaining talks on Tuesday without an agreement.
However, although reports had previously described the negotiations as
cordial, the latest ones said that they had ended on a bitter note,
fueling the belief that the industry would be staggering into another
strike in July.
ILM's Aaron McBride talks Suiting Up Iron Man
Take a look:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/01/movies/20080502_IRONMAN_FEATURE.html#section1
Star Trek Recreates War of the Worlds
(sliceofscifi.com) Join actors from the several Star Trek franchise shows as they recreate the classic radio thriller "War of the Worlds" for the L.A. Theater Works. The breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why the Orson Wells broadcast of an "eyewitness report" of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic in 1938.
Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, "War of the Worlds" is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature. Adapted from the Howard Koch script.
Guest appearances include Leonard Nimoy (Spock) from the classic "Star Trek" series Brent Spiner (Data), Wil Wheaton (Wesley), Dwight Schultz (Barclay) and Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher) of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Armin Shimerman (Quark) of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," John DeLancie (Q) from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager"
The radio production also stars Meagen Fay ("Evan Almighty"), Jerry Hardin ("X-Files") and Tom Virtue ("Turok: Son of Stone").
Cinefex Reprints BLADE RUNNER: THE INSIDE STORY
(cinefex.com) Blade Runner has long been considered one of the
most visually and thematically influential science fiction films of
all time. Upon its release in 1982, Cinefex devoted an entire issue
to its design and visual effects. Among the 20 artists interviewed
in-depth for the issue were director Ridley Scott, visual effects
visionary Douglas Trumbull and futurist/designer Syd Mead. That issue
– one of our most collectible – has been out of print for nearly 20
years.
In 2000, Titan Books, in England, published a hardbound facsimile
edition of this classic Cinefex issue. It, too, sold out quickly.
Now, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner's
release – marked by the limited theatrical release of a new, fully
restored version of the film and its subsequent DVD release – Titan
has reprinted the book.
We have a limited supply of these books for sale. Order yours today.
Order now: http://www.cinefex.com/backissues/books/bladerunner.html
Student Lands "Residency" with Pixar Animation Studios
(newsinfo.iu.edu) INDIANAPOLIS -- Following the telephone call confirming his selection as an animator for Pixar Animation Studios, Frank Tai confessed that he couldn't sleep later that night. The 26-year-old graduate student says he was just too excited about joining one of the animation industry's leading production studios.
"I couldn't believe it at first," said Tai, who will graduate in May with a master's degree in media arts and science from the IU School of Informatics at IUPUI. "To know that a company like Pixar has such confidence in my talent as an animator is just overwhelming."
Pixar, the creator of the wildly successful Toy Story franchise and other animated blockbuster films, has hired Tai to be a technical director for the studio's newly established in-residence internship program. Tai will spend nine months at Pixar's San Francisco headquarters doing lighting, texturing, rigging and rendering work using Autodesk Maya as well as proprietary software designed by Pixar. This July, he'll undergo two weeks of orientation and will then begin assisting with production of Pixar's forthcoming feature film release Toy Story 3.
"I credit IUPUI's media arts and science program for properly preparing me for this exciting opportunity," said Tai. "I especially want to thank Clint Koch and Albert William, my professors, for their instruction and encouragement."
Tai submitted samples of his work to Pixar, including this image.
Tai was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, and came to IUPUI in 2003 as an undergraduate art student. A class field trip to a local theater to see The Incredibles -- another of Pixar's animated film hits -- hooked Tai on the notion of becoming a 3D animator.
"I knew right then that 3D was what I wanted to do," said Tai. "I later drew inspiration from Professor Koch, who has a passion for animation. Then Professor William turned me on to 3D stereoscopic techniques."
"Frank has been such a pleasure to work with. He has a tremendous work ethic, a great artistic sense, and is a very humble person," said William. "I am very pleased that Frank has landed such a great job at Pixar. He truly deserves it. I hope other students will be inspired by the work he has done and follow in his foot steps."
Tai, who would like to teach someday, says he feels an obligation
to share with others what he has learned, and that the School of
Informatics at IUPUI is particularly well-suited as a training ground
for fledgling animation students. His goal is to become a supervising
technical director -- hopefully with Pixar -- in the next 10 years or
so.
