GOLDENEYE-director Martin Campbell is in talks to helm the 21st installment in the Bond series, reports HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Like Campbell did with Pierce Brosnan, the helmer will introduce a new actor to the iconic role. Though every British (British Kingdom included) actor with a pulse has been rumored to be taking over the role, producers MGM and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson have not made any casting calls. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who wrote DIE ANOTHER DAY and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, have penned the new script and the film is scheduled to hit theaters in 2006.

Digital-Tutors announced the worldwide availability of INTRODUCTION TO 3D: ZBRUSH BASICS training kit -- the latest release in a series of industry leading training resources for digital artists.

Hot on the heels of THE INCREDIBLES comes THE POLAR EXPRESS in theaters today – in both conventional and incredibly immersive IMAX 3D. Talk about polar opposites in human CGI. Yet after all the preliminary debate about POLAR EXPRESS’ so-called “creep factor,” now we can finally judge the total experience. The hard part is defining what it is. Is it animation? Or is it a new hybrid?

The Mill has purchased endorphin, a stand-alone application from NaturalMotion Ltd. that uses AI and dynamics simulation to create 3D character animation in realtime, to create high-end visual effects in its commercials and promo departments at its studio in Soho, London.

Virtools, a leading provider of interactive 3D authoring tools, announced a technology alliance with Softimage. Thus, anyone developing interactive content with Virtools for industrial, Web or game development use can now export characters, scenes, objects and animations created with SOFTIMAGE|XSI software directly into the Virtools Dev 3 environment, using the new Virtools exporter (public beta stage) for XSI software.

DreamWorks has reeled in the domestic distribution rights to the Japanese sci fi/action hit, CASSHERN a blend of live action and various animation techniques, to be released under the banner of its specialty film division, Go Fish Pictures.

With a domestic gross of $75 million in two weeks, it was pretty inevitable that THE GRUDGE would get a sequel. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER reports that Senator International and Ghost House Pictures have hired scribe Stephen Susco to return the cursed-themed film and write a part two. Ghost House Pictures' Sam Raimi and Rob Tappert, Roy Lee and Doug Davidson will return as producers. Star Sarah Michelle Gellar nor director Takashi Shimizu have signed on for THE GRUDGE 2.

One of the many new features in Maxon’s BodyPaint 3D Release 2 is the direct link to Maya for Windows and Macintosh. Maya users can now benefit from the attractive features of BodyPaint 3D, such as the RayBrush mode, which enables the user to paint in the rendered image. So you're able to see the final result in realtime. Or the MultiBrush, which can paint in up to 10 textures simultaneously with a single stroke, so a brush can define an entire material rather than a single color.

BLADE: TRINITY writer/director David Goyer has announced that his proposed remake and update of the 1973 sci-fi flick, SOYLENT GREEN will begin where the original film left off, reports SCI FI WIRE. Goyer also said he will not write or directed the film, but will produce it through his first-look deal with Warner Bros.

"I will say that the reveal at the end of the first movie happened at the end of our first act," Goyer said in an interview. "So the first movie is kind of the first act of our film, and then it's about what happens afterwards."

On Nov. 4, 2004, at UCLA's Tom Bradley International Center, The Billboard Digital Entertainment Conference kicked off. Sponsored by BILLBOARD magazine, in association with DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE, the event hopes to honor and explore innovation, entrepreneurship and brand development in digital entertainment.

Suffering succotash! The Looney Tunes are back! Fans of all ages can experience Warner Bros.' golden era of animation when Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Tweety & Sylvester and all their friends return in another exciting installment of The Looney Tunes Golden Collection. Volume Two will be available in a four-disc set, and contains 60 cartoon shorts, 4 more than Volume One, that have been beautifully restored and re-mastered to their original, uncut presentation.

Hot on the heals of a $18.3 million box office opening, Twisted Pictures and Lions Gate Films are moving ahead with a sequel to the horror film SAW, set for a Halloween 2005 release.

Zinc Ent. has announced it is developing a third film in its DUNGEONS & DRAGONS franchise. The second film DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 2: THE ELEMENTAL MIGHT will be released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. in 2005 with Warner Home Video handling the home entertainment distribution in the States as well as certain foreign territories. First Look Intl. holds the worldwide rights.

KILL BILL director Quentin Tarantino has said that he will be returning to the kung fu genre for his next film, reports TOTAL FILM. The PULP FICTION maverick says the new film will be in Mandarin Chinese and hopes to be able to release the film with an out-of-synch English language track. Previously, it was suspected that Tarantino would make his next project his long-in-the-work World War II “men on a mission” flick, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS.

CATWOMAN scribe John Rogers has been hired to pen the script for DreamWorks and Paramount’s feature live-action rendition of TRANSFORMERS, reports VARIETY. Angry Films head Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto are producing the film along with Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Steven Spielberg is exec producing. The picture is set for a summer 2006 release. The film will be based on the Hasbro toy line of vehicles, which transform into giant robot. DeSanto wrote the story that Rogers will base the screenplay on.

As anticipated Guillermo del Toro’s recently released director’s cut of HELLBOY on DVD (Columbia TriStar Home Ent. $34.95) offers minor improvements in characterization to make this a worthwhile purchase, along with several additional bonus features on this three-disc set. The new footage sheds light on Rasputin and Ilsa as well as greater interplay between Myers and Liz Sherman. New footage is seamlessly integrated into the feature with no loss in quality.

New bonus features include:

Playtone has secured the film rights for Jeanne DuPrau's young adult bestseller, THE CITY OF EMBER, reports VARIETY. Partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are negotiating with Caroline Thompson (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) to write the screenplay and Gil Kenan to make his directorial debut. Walden Media is in talks to co-produce and co-finance the picture.

Post Logic Studios will relocate its visual effects boutique creocollective from Santa Monica to the Hollywood facility, which was recently renovated with a digital intermediate theater.

With this move, creocollective feature film and commercial clients will be able to take advantage of on-site DI, restoration, audio post-production and HD mastering services to complement creocollective’s slate of high-end visual effects, 3D and compositing capabilities.

Phillip Miller has been appointed evp of business development of mental images’ U.S. subsidiary, mental images Inc. Miller joins mental images with a noteworthy career of defining and promoting leading software solutions at Autodesk, Discreet, and Instant Effects in addition to architectural design.

iHollywood Forum will host its third annual Digital Studio Summit on Nov. 2, 2004, at the Monica Laemmle Theatre in Santa Monica, California, from 9:00 am-5:00 pm.