Star Trek X-Mas, Planet 1 Goes CG, & Santa of the Rings...
Star Trek XI gets Christmas 2008 Release
(slashfilm.com) Yes, more Star Trek XI news. Paramount sent out a press release that now OFFICIALLY officially announces the project. But there are a few meaty tidbits to be discovered. Let’s take a look.
JJ Abrams will be directing and co-producing with Lost Co-Creator Damon Lindelof.
They will be using a script penned by Alex Kurtzman (M:I:III, The Island) and Roberto Orci (Transformers, M:I:III) which ‘embraces & respects Trek canon’ and is not the reported “complete reboot”.
Shooting will begin in Fall 2007
Star Trek XI will be released on Christmas Day 2008.
Mummy 3 Heads For "Digital Desert" In Montreal
(sneakpeektv.blogspot.com) According to reports, producers of the US$100-million Universal feature "The Mummy 3", will now shoot the feature in Montreal this summer, confirmed by Hans Fraikin, head of the Quebec Film and Television Council.
The film is scheduled to shoot at Cité du Cinéma studio.
Although Universal's first "Mummy" re-make in 1999 filmed on location in Morrocco, Montreal recently recreated ancient 'Sparta' for the upcoming feature "300", using CGI and blue screens.
"The Mummy 3" will now take advantage of Montreal's world-class effects
houses to recreate the Egyptian desert, with Canadian actor Brendan
Fraser returning to the role of adventurer 'Rick O'Connell.
'Shrek' Writer Signs Up For $50 Million CGI Movie Planet
One
(variety.com) Handmade Films Intl. has teamed up with Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios to finance and co-produce "Planet One," a $50 million CGI movie written by "Shrek" scribe Joe Stillman.
The film will be directed by Jorge Blanco, the lead artist on the vidgame series "Commandos."
Production is set to start in May, with the theatrical release targeted for Christmas 2008 or Easter 2009.
Pic is described as an alien invasion story with a difference. The inhabitants of Planet One, who have two antennae and eight fingers, live in a world strangely akin to American suburbia of the 1950s, with drive-in movies, picket fences and a persistent fear of alien invasion — which is fulfilled when a human astronaut lands in their midst.
Apart from contributing to the screenplays of all three "Shrek" movies, Stillman also worked closely with Mike Judge on his series "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill," for which he was Emmy-nominated.
Ilion's Ignacio Perez Dolest will produce "Planet One," with Handmade's Guy Collins and Michael Ryan as co-producers, along with Albie Hecht, former head of Nickelodeon's film and TV entertainment department, and Lola Film president Andres Vicente Gomez.
Ilion is the theatrical
production offshoot of Spain's Pyro Studios, creators of the
"Commandos" vidgame series. Pyro is simultaneously developing a vidgame
of "Planet One." Another sister company, mobile content developer
LaNatro Zed, will cross-promote the movie on its mobile phone network.
Catching Up With VFX Vet Dennis
Muren
(features.cgsociety.org) On February 11, the Visual Effects Society honored Dennis Muren, one of their own, with a Lifetime Achievement award. Muren began working at Industrial Light & Magic in 1976 on the first ‘Star Wars’ film, for which he won his first Oscar. He has gone on to receive 15 Oscar nominations and win nine Oscars, the most of any living person still making movies. In 1999, he became the first visual effects artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6764 Hollywood Blvd). His most recent Oscar nomination was last year for the visual effects in ‘War of the Worlds’. We talked with him to find out what’s keeping him interested today.
Source:
http://features.cgsociety.org/story_custom.php?story_id=3957
Cameron Takes Charge At Jackson's NZ Studio
(nzherald.co.nz) Hollywood has been waiting 10 years for hot shot director James Cameron to make another film, since his last Oscar-winning, box-office smash Titanic. Well, the director has finally started work on a new film, but Hollywood has lost him to the film-making expertise of New Zealand and the team at Peter Jackson's special effects house, Weta.
The new film Avatar, a ground-breaking 3-D sci-fi epic, will shoot for 31 days in New Zealand beginning late August, but the film will take 2 1/2 years to complete. Special effects will be handled by the team at Weta. It's expected to be released worldwide in mid-2009.
"It's taken me 11 years to get the script right, and it took this long for the technology to catch up to my vision," said Cameron, who was special guest at Investment New Zealand's annual pre-Oscar bash in Beverly Hills last weekend.
Cameron never does the Hollywood party scene and made a special effort for the New Zealand bash, accompanied by wife and their 8-week-old baby Rose.
"I don't care if I never work in Hollywood again," the veteran director said. Avatar, an original script conceived by Cameron and is set on a planet where humans can only survive by projecting their consciousness into genetically engineered bodies, called avatars.
Cameron said it will be a film like no other. Australian actor Sam Worthington has been cast in the lead, and Sigourney Weaver (who starred in Cameron's Alien) will also feature. But don't expect to see their faces.
"The special effects will mean that they won't actually be seen as themselves. It's a bit tough for an actor to come to terms with that, but I think they are coming around," Cameron laughed.
The film is expected to cost US$195 million and according to Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard, Cameron's project is quite a coup for the New Zealand film industry.
"This is the biggest contract ever for a film. Bigger than Lord of the Rings, in terms of special effects and groundbreaking technology," he said. "This is a massive exercise in digital experimentation and will take the boundaries well beyond where it's gone so far."
Cameron said he has been keen to come back to New Zealand since he visited the country in 1994, and Peter Jackson's work on LOTR and King Kong convinced him to make Avatar there.
"Peter and I have become good friends over the past couple of years. He's a 3-D fanatic, like I am, and he loves the effects, and he loves fantasy film-making. I'm going to be relying on all the infrastructure he's built down there, from the live action soundstages to the Weta workshop, which will make the props and sets.
"It's going to be, 'Thanks for building all this, Peter. Now can you
move out for a year and let me use it?' "
Celebrating 'Pirates' Oscar Win
(news.com.com)
Employees at Industrial Light and Magic celebrated the San Francisco-based company's 15th Academy Award yesterday after winning for the visual effects of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."
The company's visual effects supervisor John Knoll and animation supervisor Hal Hickel accepted the Oscar for best achievement in visual effects.
"I've always felt that being nominated for an Academy Award is a tremendous honor," said Knoll, who has received four Oscar nominations in his career. "With effects-driven films becoming increasingly more sophisticated with each passing year, it makes receiving the Oscar this time around that much more special."
Knoll also thanked his team for their hard work, as did Hickel.
"It's been a while since we've been able to bring one of these golden guys back to the studio," Hickel said. "I couldn't be more proud of the work our team put into this film. It's the perfect example of technology and creativity coming together to further the art of cinematic storytelling, and at the end of the day that's what we all strive to do."
Industrial Light and Magic, part of Lucasfilm Ltd., moved its headquarters to the San Francisco Presidio in 2005. This is the first Oscar the company has won since the move.
The company has been nominated for 23 Academy Awards and has won for
such films as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park.
ILM employees gathered around for a
chance to hold the tiny but heavy statue, officially called the Academy
Award of Merit. Weighing nearly nine pounds, the award is made of
gold-plated britannium on a black metal base.
Photos:
http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6162450-10.html?tag=ne.gall.pg
Pixar Blends Sci-f & Satire In Wall E
But what do you actually know about Pixar's 2008 release? Very little, I'll bet. Which is standard operating procedure for this Emeryville-based animation studio. They like keeping the storylines for their upcoming animated features under lock & key for as long as possible.
But "WALL E" went over the wall (so to speak) last week. You see, I had the chance to talk with someone associated with this new Andrew Stanton film who just couldn't contain themselves. They had to talk about "WALL E."
Why For? Because this individual believes that Stanton's next movie is important. That it's going to be such a step up from the work that Andrew did on "Finding Nemo" that "WALL E" is going to shock people. Both for its choice of source material as well as its style of storytelling.
And the story that this animation insider told me ... It's such a departure for Pixar, such a ballsy choice that one wonders how mainstream audiences are actually going to react to "WALL E." Will they be able to embrace a message movie that so liberally mixes science fiction & satire?
Be warned, folks. If you don't want to know anything about the story of Pixar's Summer 2008 release, now would be a really good time to bail out of JHM. For I'm about to give you the skinny on "WALL E."
More:
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/02/27/toon-tuesday-again.aspx
Scanners Remake Gets Saw II
Director
(scifi.com) Dimension Films has closed a deal to remake David Cronenberg's 1981 SF horror movie Scanners, with Saw II director Darren Lynn Bousman at the helm, Variety reported. Blade and Batman Begins writer David Goyer will pen the script.
The story revolves around a scientist who infiltrates an underground movement of "scanners," whose telepathic abilities make them lethal weapons. The original was best remembered for an exploding-head scene.Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein has earmarked an early 2008 production start; the aim is to release the film later that year, the trade paper reported.
Creature From The Deep Presidio
(sfbg.com) Crazed sea lizard terrorizes Seoul! US military negligence spawns bloodthirsty mutant! Breaking news: beast came from San Francisco!
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's The Host is
just a movie, so the red, white, and blue can't really be blamed for
unleashing a monster on his country's populace. But Bong's beast came
to life in a part of San Francisco steeped in military history. Tucked
away in the Presidio, amid old army barracks, tree-lined drives, and
cutting-edge nonprofit facilities is the Orphanage, an upstart special
effects company aiming to shape the future of film.
The Orphanage already had a number of high-profile projects under its belt when it eagerly took on The Host. It ended up with its defining achievement to date. When New York Times critic Manohla Dargis, writing from last year's Cannes Film Festival, called Bong's movie "the best film I've seen at this year's [festival]," it quickly became the subject of rapturous buzz from all corners: erudite cinema journals, mainstream magazines, and blogs. One of the most consistent subjects of praise has been the movie's creature. The horror site Bloody Disgusting calls its design "the most astounding part of the film ... remarkable and incredibly ambitious ... a cross between a dinosaur, a tremor, and a giant squid with giant teeth." Another site describes it as "some kind of aqua-lizard thing that looks as real as anything else in the frame." Bong deserves much of this praise, but he couldn't have gotten it without the Orphanage, which has joined the long line of important F/X names to emerge from the Bay Area.
When George Lucas moved his F/X company, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), to Marin in 1980, he made the Bay Area ground zero for film's technological advances. Pixar and DreamWorks Animation SKG also call the region home, with home bases in Emeryville and Redwood City, respectively. Lucas relocated ILM to the Presidio in 1995, erecting a statue of Yoda to watch over the campus. Though meant to symbolize Lucas's venerable legacy as an innovator and a maverick, the statue now carries connotations of a different sort: that of an elder accessible only to a select few.
The Orphanage was born of this
legacy. Jonathan Rothbart, Stuart Maschwitz, and Scott Stewart — all
ILM veterans — founded the company in 1999, landing Brian de Palma's Mission
to Mars as
their first feature project. The Orphanage has worked on several of the
biggest box office successes of the past few years, including Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Superman Returns, and Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
But its partnership with a director on the fringe of the mainstream,
Robert Rodriguez, has been its most enduring. The F/X house has worked
on three of his features, most notably ...
James Cameron Ignores Bible & Science Experts Say
(bpnews.net) The controversial claim by an upcoming
television special that researchers have discovered Jesus' "tomb" falls
apart under both scientific scrutiny and simple logic, scholars in New
Testament and archaeological studies say.
The ossuaries, though, were discovered in 1980, and archaeologists -- both Christian and non-Christian -- had long ago written off any possibility the ossuaries were tied to Christ.
"This is not new information. These tombs have been known and were published in the archaeological community," said Steven Ortiz, associate professor of archaeology and Biblical backgrounds at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
For centuries, Christians have pointed to two empty tombs in Jerusalem as the possible place where Jesus' body was initially placed. One of the tombs resides within the Church of Holy Sepulchre, which Ortiz believes is the most likely location.
But the documentary challenges the bedrock belief of Christianity -- the bodily resurrection of Christ. Among the problems with the documentary's claim, experts say, is the fact that the names on the ossuaries were common during biblical times.
"Joseph is the second most common male name in the period. Jesus is the sixth. Matthew's the ninth," Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press. "Mary is the most popular female name -- 21 percent of the female names of the period. So, you're dealing with a lot of familiar names."
More:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=25053
Harry Potter Scenes Set To Be Shot In Ireland
(sbpost.ie) Global film giant Warner Bros is hoping to shoot a
large number of scenes of the next Harry Potter movie in Ireland.
Global film giant Warner Bros is hoping to shoot a large number of
scenes of the next Harry Potter movie in Ireland.
The US company is scouting Ireland for possible locations to film
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, the sixth instalment of the
movie franchise.
Filming is due to begin early next year.
Warner Bros, the movie subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, shot the
previous five Harry Potter films in Britain, including Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix, which is due to be released in the
coming months.
However, executives at the production company believe they have now
exhausted possible locations in Britain.
A number of the film's producers have already visited parts of
Leinster and Munster. They are particularly keen on Ireland, as the
landscape is similar to Britain and will appear similar to the
settings of the previous films.
In addition, Warner Bros has worked on a number of projects in the
past with Ardmore Studios, Ireland's largest film studio.
If the film comes to Ireland, it is expected that much of the
postproduction work will be carried out at Ardmore in Bray, Co
Wicklow.
Attracting a Harry Potter film would be a massive boost to the Irish
film industry. Based on the best-selling children's books by JK
Rowling, the films have grossed hundreds of millions of euro and have
been released in dozens of languages around the world.
Enticed by lucrative tax breaks and the country's scenery, several
Hollywood movies were shot in Ireland in the mid-1990s including
Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart.
However, no major film has been shot in Ireland in the past three
years, and no films are planned to be made here this year.
Last week, the Irish Film Board opened a new office in Los Angeles in
California to market Ireland as a destination for foreign films
Epic Kringle Optioned: Think Santa Meets Lord of the Rings
(variety) Paramount Pictures and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura have optioned the novel "Kringle" by Tony Abbott, and attached Mark Dindal (Chicken Little) to direct the family adventure film.
Dindal will co-write the script with Jason Richman (Bad Company).
The live-action epic will feature warriors, battles and fairies as it explores the origin of the Kris Kringle myth and how Christmas came to be.
Paramount-based Di Bonaventura will produce through his eponymous production company.
Funding Initiated for Iron Man Movie
(superherohype.com) Marvel Entertainment, Inc. released the
following announcement about the funding for its first self-produced
feature film, Iron Man:
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. announced today that it has satisfied all
funding requirements under the Company's previously announced $525
million non-recourse credit facility and has begun borrowing from the
facility to finance its first self-produced and financed feature film,
Iron Man. Additionally, Marvel has finalized distribution deals for
Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in the international territories for
which it controls distribution rights. Paramount Pictures will
distribute Iron Man and Universal Pictures will distribute The
Incredible Hulk in North America and all other international
territories. Iron Man is scheduled to be released May 2, 2008, kicking
off the Summer 2008 movie season with The Incredible Hulk scheduled to
follow in June of 2008.
Produced by Marvel Studios, Iron Man features a star-studded cast
headed by Oscar(r) nominee Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man,
Oscar(r) nominee Terrance Howard as Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, Oscar(r)
winner Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts and Oscar(r) nominee
Jeff Bridges, who will play a close business associate of Tony Stark.
The film tells the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist
and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating
weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a
high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a
nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor
and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. The film is being directed
by Jon Favreau, and principal photography will begin in Los Angeles on
March 12.
On the distribution side, Marvel Studios has secured agreements with
top international distributors for Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.
Sony Pictures has acquired the distribution rights for these films in
Japan and Spain, while top independents SND/M6 and Tele Muenchen have
signed on for France and Germany, respectively. Paramount Pictures has
picked up Australia/New Zealand for these films and the next film
distributed by Paramount under its overall film slate agreement with
Marvel. As previously announced, Paramount will distribute Iron Man
and Universal Studios will distribute The Incredible Hulk in North
America and in all other international territories.
MVL Film Finance LLC, a special purpose, bankruptcy-remote indirect
subsidiary of Marvel is the borrower under the facility. The
borrowings are non-recourse to Marvel Entertainment and its other
affiliates.
Spider-Man 3 Sneak Peek on Heroes
(comgingsoon) Sony Pictures is revealing an exclusive new Spider-Man 3 clip during the March 5th episode of NBC's hit show "Heroes." After the clip airs, you can go to NBC.com for an extended clip in High Definition!
The third installment, directed by Sam Raimi, stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell and Rosemary Harris.
The movie kicks-off the summer season on May 4.
Flushed Away Sinks DreamWorks Animation 4th Quarter
(vfxworld.com) DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. announced
financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31,
2006. In the fourth quarter, the company reported operating revenue of
$204.3 million with a net loss of approximately $21.3 million, or
($0.20) per share on a fully diluted basis. These results bring the
full year reported revenue for 2006 to a total of $394.8 million and
net income of $15.1 million, or $0.15 per share on a fully diluted
basis.
Included in the results for the quarter is a charge related to the
partial write-off of capitalized film costs for FLUSHED AWAY, which
has reached approximately $175 million in worldwide box office to
date. Based on the film's performance to date and the company's
current expectations of future performance, the company has recorded a
pre-tax charge of approximately $109 million. The charge resulted in a
($0.80) reduction to earnings per share on a fully diluted basis in
the fourth quarter and full year of 2006.
Tropic Thunder Spoofs Big Budget War Movies
(The Hollywood Reporter) Robert Downey Jr. and Jay Baruchel will star in the Ben Stiller-directed comedy Tropic Thunder for DreamWorks Pictures and Red Hour Films, says The Hollywood Reporter.
In the film, everything goes wrong during the making of a big-budget war movie, and the actors end up becoming the commandos they are playing. Downey will play Kirk Lazarus, the greatest actor of his generation and a four-time Oscar winner. Baruchel will play Kevin Sandusky, an unknown actor on the set.
Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen penned the screenplay.
Shooting is set to start in July. Red Hour's Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld are producing alongside Eric McLeod.
Final Fantasy Wins at American Anime Awards
(animationmagazine.net) Square Enix's CG-animated film Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children picked up the award for Best Anime
Feature at the inaugural American Anime Awards. Held in conjunction
with the New York Comic-Con on Saturday, Feb. 24, the event is
designed to honor the best in Japanese-style animation as voted by
anime fans nationwide. Another big winner was the FUNimation series
Full Metal Alchemist, which was named Best Long Series and claimed
awards for its cast, its theme song and its DVD package design.
In the feature film category, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children beat
a field of strong competitors including Full Metal Alchemist: The
Movie, Akira, Inuyasha Movie 4: Fire on Mystic Island and Pokemon
Movie 8: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
"Thanks to the dedication of our loyal fans, Final Fantasy VII has
come to enjoy 10 years of undying popularity," says producer Shinji
Hashimoto. "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a direct sequel in the
compilation of the Final Fantasy VII series, brings the series into
the next century with today's state-of-the-art CG, and we're sure fans
enjoyed seeing old friends brought to new life on the screen. As
creators, we are very proud of the finished product, and as
developers, it is truly an honor to receive an award of this
magnitude."
Jobs' Role In Backdating Now Issue For Pixar
(origin.insidebayarea.com) Already under scrutiny for his role in misdated stock options at Apple Inc., Steve Jobs is facing growing questions about whether he was involved in similar problems at Emeryville-based Pixar Animation Studios Inc.
The latest issue with the Walt Disney Co.-owned film studio involves a 10-year employment contract the company signed in 2001 with star director John Lasseter. As part of that agreement, the company awarded Lasseter 1 million stock options that carried a strike price equivalent to the lowest price of Pixar's stock the previous year, according to a report Friday in the Wall Street Journal.
Jobs, who was chief executive of Pixar at the time, helped negotiate Lasseter's contract, the Journal reported, citing an unnamed source. However, the Journal said it didn't know what role Jobs may have played in the dating and pricing of the grant Lasseter received as part of that contract.
Still, that Jobs was involved in negotiating Lasseter's
broader contract is likely to raise eyebrows. Lasseter's grant is one
of several suspiciously timed options awards the company handed out in
the late 1990s and earlier this decade. Not only that, but
Cupertino-based Apple, where Jobs also serves as CEO, has admitted that
he was aware of and helped pick "favorable" dates for options at that
company.
