Summer Preview: 10 to Watch in 2010

Let's take a sneak peek at some of the summer's hottest VFX-laden films.

By Bill Desowitz | Monday, April 12, 2010 at 4:12 pm

Posted In | Magazines: VFXWorld | Site Categories: Business, CG, Films, Visual Effects

Will Prince of Persia be that breakthrough videogame adaptation? Courtesy of Disney.

4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Disney, May 28)

The popular Ubisoft videogame seems like a natural for a summer popcorn movie, as a Persian prince and enemy princess team up to stop a despot from destroying the world with a sandstorm. Jerry Bruckheimer produces (who else?) and Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) directs. The London contingent of Cinesite, MPC, Double Negative and Framestore whip up the VFX, with additional help from LipSync Post, Cube Effects and Nvizible.

M. Night tackles his first franchise after being wowed and inspired by the animated series. Courtesy of Paramount.

3. The Last Airbender (Paramount, July 2)

The Nickelodeon animated TV series gets the live-action treatment by M. Night Shyamalan, who's looking to regain his old touch. You can bet that the bending forces of air, fire, water and earth figure prominently in ILM's vfx arsenal under the supervision of Pablo Helman. Also, look for some pretty cool-looking CG creatures inspired by the series as well.

Chris Nolan finally confronts his fascination with dreams head on. Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2. Inception (Warner Bros., July 16)

Chris Nolan's must-see mind-bending thriller has Leonardo DiCaprio invading people's dreams and stealing their IPs, with dire psychological consequences: quite a follow-up to The Dark Knight and Shutter Island for director and star. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Several vivid sequences show a dream metropolis in churning calamity." Double Negative's Paul Franklin, who supervises the vfx, has nothing more to add at this time, except that New Deal Studios handled the miniatures. However, he assures us that "the film will be spectacular in all respects!"

Will Tony Stark's razzle-dazzle continue its dominance? Courtesy of Paramount.

1. Iron Man 2 (Paramount, May 7)

Tony Stark has plenty to contend with in the summer's first and most anticipated film, as the Marvel superhero encounters both War Machine and Whiplash. More wondrous CG armor, to be sure, as ILM raises the bar under Ben Snow's vfx supervision. With additional help from Double Negative, PLF, GOAT, Legacy Effects, Prologue and Fuel VFX, as Janek Sirrs handles overall supervision. Jon Favreau, of course, is back behind the camera.

Bill Desowitz is senior editor of AWN & VFXWorld.