Marisa Fiechter has rejoined bicoastal creative studio Trollbäck + Company as a producer and is producing projects for HBO as well as the comprehensive redesign of a TV network.
The combination of Marisas nine years of agency experience and her sense of taste and style make her a perfect match for Trollbäck + Co., said exec producer Elizabeth Kiehner.
Walt Disney Pictures confirmed at San Diegos Comic-Con on Sunday that Liam Neeson will be voicing Aslan the Lion in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, opening Dec. 9. Aslan, the noble ruler of the magical world of Narnia, is mostly a CG character, except for a crucial scene involving animatronics from K.N.B. EFX under the supervision of Howard Berger.
Director Darren Aronofsky (PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), Regency Enterprises and Warner Bros. Pictures have invited 15 artists, including top graphic artists from the comic book world, to create original works of art interpreting Aronofskys forthcoming sci-fi fantasy film, THE FOUNTAIN, which will be released this fall (tentatively in December).
Beginning in mid-August, these images will be released on the films official website at www.thefountainmovie.com. A new interpretation will appear approximately once per week leading up to the films release.
Columbia Pictures' all-CG feature, MONSTER HOUSE, the second production to utilize the new performance capture technique developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks, will be released in more than 100 theaters in REAL D's digital 3D format day-and-date with its regular national release on July 21, 2006.
The imagery for the ImageMovers/Amblin production of MONSTER HOUSE is being overseen by Imageworks, which also oversaw the first performance capture feature, THE POLAR EXPRESS, which was a phenomenal success in IMAX 3D with the help of Imageworks.
In April, Electronic Arts and USC teamed up to hold a machinima contest, using the filmmaking feature in THE SIMS 2 and now the winners are in. The contest allowed game players and aspiring filmmakers to submit their 3-minute movie shorts. EA received more than 1,000 entries that were then judged by a panel of USC professors and film experts.
Tim Burtons CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (with delightful vfx from MPC, Framestore CFC, Cinesite and Digital Domain), which opened with a very sweet $56.1M for the weekend ended July 17, 2005, proved to be the best July opening ever for Warner Bros. It was also the best opening ever for a PG-rated movie in July as well as Johnny Depps best bow.
Michael Mintz joins iO Film, a technologically advanced, full-service digital film finishing facility specializing in film and video projects from every sector of the entertainment industry, in the new position of digital intermediate colorist. Mintz will work with clients in the digital grading of feature films.
Steven M. Grossman will become evp/coo of 4Kids Entertainment Inc. starting Sept. 1, 2005 and will report directly to Alfred R. Kahn, 4Kids chairman/ceo.
Grossman has been a director of 4Kids since 2001 and chairman of the Audit Committee since 2003. He has resigned from 4Kids Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees, but will continue as a director of the company.
Curious Pictures newest addition to its roster of award-winning directors is Stefan Nadelman. Nadelmans recent animation work for VH1, HBO, ESPN, Panasonic and Nike has established his reputation in the industry, as well as winning a Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival for his short TERMINAL BAR, which also won RESFESTs Audience choice award.
Comic-Con is more than half over and the masses of comic, sci-fi and genre fans have been treated to a cornocopia of delights. On Thursday, horror master David Cronenberg gave the attendees a sneak peek at his new film, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, which was adapted from a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. Josh Olson wrote the screenplay, which he said is loosely based on the graphic novel.
Softimage Co. announced that leading visual effects studios Giant Killer Robots (GKR) and Stan Winston Digital used SOFTIMAGE|XSI software to create several key visual effects and environments for Foxs FANTASTIC FOUR.
Nominations for the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on July 14, 2005 and FOX and Cartoon Network won the most primetime Emmy nominations for animated shows with four each, but SCI FI Network had six noms in the visual effects arena. FAMILY GUY edges into the primetime Emmy race along with SOUTH PARK, THE SIMPSONS, SAMURAI JACK and SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, which are nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour).
The Gnomon Workshop, in conjunction with Design Studio Press, has introduced three new instructional DVDs from artist Bob Kato, who shows the artist how to draw and paint the adult male head.
Autodesk Inc. announced that its DCC solutions have been used by digital artists to realize their ideas for eye-catching visual effects in many of this summer's movies.
The TRANSFORMERS live-action feature, based on the globally popular franchise will open July 4, 2004, announced DreamWorks, Hasbro Inc. and Paramount Pictures.
The movie will be directed by Michael Bay (THE ISLAND and ARMAGEDDON) from a screenplay being written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (THE ISLAND). Steven Spielberg is exec producing with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto (the first two X-MEN) and Don Murphy (THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) serving as co-exec producers.
CG training facility Escape Studios offered new details about the new VFX|Production Grade initiative previously announced last spring. Launching in October 2005, this new course, which is funded by the Skillset Film Skills Fund, offers the most intensive and focused production training available for the aspiring CG artist. The free program consists of five months of full-time training at Escape Studios working on production projects followed by a two-month work placement at a top U.K. post-house.
Travel to hell and back when CONSTANTINE blasts onto DVD.
We turn our attention to digital art this month good timing with Comic-Con happening this weekend in San Diego (for those attending, please stop by our booth, #418). Ellen Wolff gets great insight from ILM concept artist Ryan Church on what it was like working on both REVENGE OF THE SITH and WAR OF THE WORLDS. Mary Ann Skweres gets a sneak peek at what we can expect at the SIGGRAPH 2005 Art Gallery next month. And Henry Turner catches up with the talented and tireless Syd Mead. Have a good show at the Con!
Bill DesowitzEditor
The SIGGRAPH 2005 Sketches program is a premier forum for presenting the best new ideas, methodologies and cutting-edge applications of computer graphics and interactive techniques taking place at SIGGRAPH 2005, the 32nd International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques being held July 31 through Aug. 4 in Los Angeles.
Sketches cover a broad spectrum of topics in art, design, science, and engineering, and include academic research, industrial development, practical tools and behind-the-scenes explanations of commercial and artistic works.
Side Effects Software announced that U.K.-based Vanguard Animation utilized Houdini software to create new levels of realism in the 3D-animated VALIANT, which Disney will release domestically on Aug. 19, 2005.
Key to the believability of this bird-centric world about carrier pigeons in London during World War II was the feather effects needed for virtually all of the characters. In order to create this visual effect, Vanguard selected Houdini software to achieve realistic motion in the feathers while providing an efficient and cost-effective pipeline.
Warner Home Video will soon announce the fall release of the four-disc LOONEY TUNES GOLDEN COLLECTION VOLUME 3 ($64.92), reports TV SHOWS ON DVD. The set will include 60 cartoons, nine docs, 32 commentary tracks and 11 music and sound effects-only audio tracks.
WHV will also release THE LOONEY TUNES MOVIE COLLECTION, a two-disc set containing THE BUGS BUNNY/ROAD-RUNNER MOVIE and Bugs Bunny's third movie: 1001 RABBIT TALES.
Coinciding with the release of the FANTASTIC FOUR live-action feature, the complete FANTASTIC FOUR animated series recently arrived on DVD in a four-disc set (Buena Vista Home Ent., $49.99). The 30-minute series aired from September 1994 to February 1996 as part of the MARVEL ACTION HOUR along with IRON MAN. Produced by Genesis Ent., Marvel Prods., New World Ent. and TMS Ent., 15 of the 26 episodes were direct remakes of episodes of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera FANTASTIC FOUR series.
For the first time ever, Kent, England-based Runemaster Studios Jack Lawrence, Mike Bullock, Theo Bain and Scott Kinney will be together at a major convention signing, sketching, unveiling new properties and making announcements regarding the future of the popular studio best known for its all-ages comic work.
Theo and I really cant wait to just take it all in, said LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS artist Jack Lawrence. Weve heard what a huge event the convention in San Diego is and just knew we had to make sure we were there.
Comic-Con International 2005 will be the event of the year for readers of SLG Publishing's comics, as SLG pulls out all the stops to bring fans their favorite creators and comics, news about new projects and portfolio reviews for aspiring artists. At the year's biggest comicbook convention, which will take place in San Diego from July 14-17, nearly 40 comicbook creators will be appearing at SLG's booth including the company's two top artists, Roman Dirge and Jhonen Vasquez who will be on hand to meet fans and sign books.
Along with the vast list of DC Comics writers and artists set to attend Comic-Con International: San Diego 2005, DC also offers a full slate of programming. Panels at the convention cover new projects and coming events from the DCU, WildStorm, VERTIGO, CMX and more.
Thursday, July 14:
