EA to Unleash The Sims 2 Pets
Fans of the popular SIMS videdogame series may enrich the lives of their Sims with the addition of an animal companion. Electronic Arts announced SIMS 2, is going to the dogs and for that matter, to the cats, guinea pigs and birds too. The company is releasing The Sims 2 Pets on current generation console systems, handheld platforms and as a PC expansion pack. THE SIMS 2 PETS will build on the THE SIMS 2 experience that allows players to create and control digital characters throughout their lives while determining the outcome of their relationships and choosing their destiny.
John A. Davis Eyes Heinlein’s Star Beast
ANT BULLY director John A. Davis divulged at Comic-Con that he is planning to direct a live-action/animated feature based on sci-fi author Robert Heinleins STAR BEAST, which is being developed at Warner Bros.
STAR BEAST takes place 400 years in the future and concerns a boy and his enormous pet that turns out to be a genius alien. The alien would be CG and animated by Davis DNA Prods. in Dallas, Texas, which animated Warner Bros. THE ANT BULLY (opening July 28, 2006) as well as the JIMMY NEUTRON feature and TV series.
Next Limit Releases Maxwell Render 1.1
Next Limit Technologies offers Maxwell Render 1.1, a render engine based on the physics of real light. Its algorithms and equations reproduce the behavior of light in a totally realistic way. All of the elements in Maxwell, such as light emitters, material shaders, cameras etc., are entirely based on physically accurate models.
Additionally, inside Maxwell, materials are modeled in a physically correct manner. Consequently the results produced by Maxwell are highly accurate renders of the real world.
‘Studio in a BOXX’ Giveaway at SIGGRAPH 2006
BOXX Technologies Inc. announced that it will be offering SIGGRAPH 2006 attendees an opportunity to win the core building blocks of a vfx studio, Studio in a BOXX, during the show in Boston on Aug. 1-3. The set is comprised of two 3DBOXX 7500 Performance Series workstations, two high-quality 20 displays from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., three RenderBOXX 8200 Series render nodes and a Wacom Cintiq 21 Tablet.
THQ Forges Incinerator Games
THQ Inc. has formed its new development team, Incinerator Games, the latest addition to THQ's growing internal studio system. Based in Carlsbad, California, Incinerator is comprised of veterans of the TWISTED METAL, NFL GAMEDAY and MLB 2006, the show projects from Sony's 989 studios, as well as the Midnight Club franchise from ROCKSTAR. Incinerator is primarily focused on development for next generation consoles.
Walt Disney Co. to Acquire Indian Kids Channel & Invests in UTV
The Walt Disney Co. plans to acquire Hungama TV, a leading Indian children's television channel, and take an equity interest in media company UTV Software Communications Ltd. as the media giant strengthens its presence in a rapidly growing media market, where local content production is key. Both transactions are subject to certain conditions and regulatory approval.
Hungama TV coo Zarina Mehta will work with the Disney team on the organizational and operational integration of Hungama TV into Disney's portfolio of kids' channels.
4Kids' Most In-Demand Properties Go ON DEMAND
4Kids Ent. Inc. will soon give fans instant, 24-hour access to its properties with the launch of the 4Kids TV VOD Channel on Comcast ON DEMAND on Aug. 7, 2006. Featuring many of 4Kids' most popular brands including YU-GI-OH!, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, SONIC X, KIRBY and WINX CLUB, the new VOD Channel will offer 10 hours with new episodes added every two weeks.
Peter Pan Sings on ABC
Sony Pictures TV-based producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are planning a musical revival of PETER PAN for ABC, reports VARIETY. Zadan and Meron hope to have the film ready for broadcast in fall 2007.
"This is a huge priority for us and has been over the almost two years it took to get the rights," ABC movies & mini-series head Quinn Taylor said. The project "is spot on in the tradition of classic ABC musicals, with huge family appeal across every generation."
Ottawa Announces Festival Films
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) announced the films that have been invited to compete in this years 30th anniversary event, running Sept. 20 24, 2006. From the 1,947 entries received, 106 films representing 20 countries have been chosen for Official Competitions. An additional 31 films will be shown in out-of-competition Showcase screenings.
Digital Musings From the Editor:
Its that busy time again between Comic-Con and SIGGRAPH, but VFXWORLD doesnt miss a beat. Alain Bielik reports on ILMs 3D creature animation in M Night Shyamalans LADY IN THE WATER. Orlando Luna stirs up Shake 4.1, Apples Universal Binary version of its famous compositing tool. Mary Ann Skweres gives a sneak peek of SIGGRAPH Art Gallery 2006: INTERSECTIONS. And J. Paul Peszko looks at the collaboration between concept artists and vfx pros, as we turn our attention this month to the digital artist.
Bill DesowitzEditor
ANIMANIACS & PINKY AND THE BRAIN VOLUME 1 Now on DVD
Lock the Warner water tower and guard the laboratory because the ANIMANIACS and PINKY AND THE BRAIN escaped to DVD on July 25, 2006, from Warner Home Video.
Superman Returns Grosses More than $20 Million in IMAX 3-D
SUPERMAN RETURNS, which has grossed more than $290 million worldwide to date, is showing strong legs in IMAX theaters through its fourth weekend. The IMAX 3-D release earned approximately $1.4 million on 77 North American IMAX screens and an estimated $625,000 from 27 international IMAX screens between July 21-23 To date, the film has earned $20.7 million in IMAX theaters worldwide, becoming the fastest grossing digitally re-mastered IMAX release in the company's history for an impressive worldwide per screen average of $201,000.
Cinesite to Handle His Dark Materials
Cinesite has been awarded a major body of visual effects work for the forthcoming New Line cinema film HIS DARK MATERIALS. This follows Cinesites significant investment and expansion of its 3D team and capacity over the past two years.
David Pritchard New President at GigaPix Studios
David Pritchard, former president/ceo of Film Roman has joined animation and visual effects studio GigaPix Studio as president, replacing John Savage who recently vacated that position.
Romano Upped to SVP, Corp. Communications for Nick, MTVN Kids & Family Group
Marianne Romano has been promoted to SVP, corp. communications, for Nickelodeon, MTVN Kids and Family Group.
Spider-Man 3 to Get IMAX Treatment
SPIDER-MAN 3 will have a day-and-date release in conventional theaters and on IMAX screens on May 4, 2007. The third installment of the phenomenally successful SPIDER-MAN franchise will be digitally re-mastered as part of The IMAX Experience. To date, the SPIDER-MAN series has surpassed $1.6 billion in worldwide box office receipts.
Buzz Hays to Head 3-D Stereoscopic Production at Imageworks
Buzz Hays has been appointed senior producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks recently formalized Imageworks 3-D stereoscopic pipeline. This pipeline is dedicated to the creation of three-dimensional stereoscopic versions of standard release films for the IMAX 3-D and Real D platforms.
Hays first projects are the 3-D stereoscopic adaptations for Columbia Pictures MONSTER HOUSE for Real D theaters and the first CG feature from Sony Pictures Animation, OPEN SEASON, in IMAX 3-D.
Digital-Tutors Announces Plans for SIGGRAPH 2006
Stop by Digital-Tutors at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston (booth #2616) from Aug. 1-3, to learn more about training products and services, show promotions and giveaways and the opportunities available at Digital-Tutors.
* Digital-Tutors Presents: The Softimage Training Center
Magnolia Draws Colorful Crayons
Exodus Film Group announced that Magnolia Pictures has acquired North America distribution rights to its CG-animated feature THE HERO OF COLOR CITY. The film is the tale of a colorful and diverse band of crayons as they strive to protect their magical, multi-hued homeland from an evil tyrant that threatens to rid their world of joy and color. The crayons of Color City each have personalities that humorously complement their color: Red sports a fiery attitude, Blue is cool, calm and collected and Yellow, the heroine, is the most timid and fearful crayon in town.
Astonishing X-Men Wins Top Eisner Award
At Comic-Con, the Oscars of the comicbook industry the Will Eisner Aewards were handed out. BUFFY creator Joss Whedon took home one of the top prizes for his work on ASTONISHING X-MEN in the Best Continuing Series award.
The full list of winners include:
Best Short StoryTEENAGE SIDEKICK, by Paul Pope, in SOLO #3 (DC)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)SOLO #5, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Best Serialized Story
Iran Government Produces Animation, Khomeini Film Coming
The Iranian Center for Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema is set to produce short and feature animation in an effort to revitalize the industry in Iran, reports IRAN DAILY.
Shahram Safajou, director of the public relations office of the center, said, that under the new policies, the projects will maintain an independent identity and embrace the rich cultural-artistic background of the Iranian animators.
Longoria Plays Dead Fiance
Eva Longoria (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Paul Rudd (THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN) and Lake Bell (SURFACE) are set to star in the supernatural comedy, HOW I MET MY BOYFRIEND'S DEAD FIANCE, VARIETY reports. The Gold Circle Films project will start filming Aug. 24, 2006, in Hollywood, with Jeff Lowell making his directorial debut. Lowell's script follows a female psychic (Bell) who falls in love with a skeptic (Rudd), while the ghost of his dead fiance, played by Longoria, tear them apart.
China to Speed Up TV Animation Censoring Process
In a new Chinese government regulation, the censoring process of domestic animation will be sped up to aid the development of the industry, reports XINHUA.
Starting in August 2006, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) will decide whether or not to approve animated productions every month. Previously, regulators only authorize productions twice a year in January and July.
Lost Ren & Stimpy Found on DVD
Paramount Home Ent. and Spike TV have released REN AND STIMPY: THE LOST EPISODES on DVD. After a 10-year hiatus, John Kricfalusi resurrected his classic cartoon for Spike TV no holds barred.
Contents include: Disc One:* Introduction from Weird Al Yankovic* Hello from John K.* Three never-before-seen episodes:Naked Beach FrenzyStimpys Pregnant (Pt. 1 and 2)The Altruist (Pt. 1 and 2) combined extended length episode
Kelly Ripa Joins Fly Me To The Moon Cast
Kelly Ripa (ABC's LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY) joins an all-star cast for FLY ME TO THE MOON, the first ever, feature-length, computer-generated animated film, conceived and created entirely in 3-D. The film, produced by Illuminata Pictures and nWave Pictures, is directed by nWave co-founder Ben Stassen, who has created, directed and produced world-famous ride and attraction films, including WILD SAFARI (nWave Pictures Distribution), HAUNTED CASTLE (nWave) and ALIEN ADVENTURE (nWave).