Producer Dean Devlin (INDEPENDENCE DAY and FLYBOYS) will helm his first film as director, GHOSTING, a vfx-filled paranormal thriller, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Devlin will begin shooting early next year after principal photography is complete on his sci-fi adventure, ISOBAR.
Devlin will also produce GHOSTING for his company Electric Ent. with in-house partners Kearie Peak and Marc Roskin.
Stop-motion vet Mike Johnson, who co-directed the Oscar nominated CORPSE BRIDE with Tim Burton, is headed back to London to replace director Sylvain Chomet on Universal Pictures 3D-animated feature, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX.
Studio B Prods., one of Canadas leading animation studios, is opening up their doors to scholarship winners. The winners were chosen by their portfolios from their respective first and third year animation programs. Three $2,000 scholarships and the opportunity to work with Studio B during a four-week paid internship program were awarded to:
* Capilano Colleges Lauren Airriess from Salt Lake City, Utah working in the Design & Storyboard Department on GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE and RICKY SPROCKET SHOWBIZ BOY.
Focus Features, the art house division of Universal Pictures, named company veteran James Schamus as its sole ceo.
The new title for Schamus, who co-produced the Oscar-winning BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, follows the recent promotion of David Linde from co-head of Focus to co-chairman of Universal Pictures, sharing that job with Marc Shmuger. Previously Schamus and Linde had run Focus together.
Iridas has sold two seats of FrameCycler DI to Framestore CFC. The application provides disk-based, full-resolution playback; conform of Edit Decision Lists (EDLs) for online review of the editors' work; primary color grading for look development; and Iridas' new ReviewLink technology for interactive review session from multiple locations.
Disney has moved THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN from Dec. 14, 2007, to summer 2008, to avoid direct competition with Columbia Pictures fantasy, THE WATER HORSE, which is slated to open Dec. 8, 2007, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Both are produced by Walden Media. The move also gives NARNIA director Andrew Adamson and his crew extra time, according to Walt Disney Studios svp of publicity, Dennis Rice.
Massive Software's artificial life-driven animation system has been adopted by CIS Hollywood to produce digital visual effects for Warner Bros. POSEIDON.
CIS Hollywood acquired single license of Massive to complete a number of POSEIDON shots that required realistic digital characters. These included establishing shots and other sequences showing people in passageways, as well as shots of crewmembers, waiters and cooks in the ships galley and a large party scene.
Stan Winston is collaborating on the first-ever book to reveal all the behind-the-scenes secrets of his groundbreaking and hugely influential artistry and effects work.
Titan Books of London will work closely with Stan Winston and the artists of the Stan Winston Studio on the new book, tentatively titled THE WINSTON EFFECT: THE ART AND HISTORY OF STAN WINSTON STUDIO, written by CINEFEX editor Jody Duncan.
E3 has come and gone, but managing editor Rick DeMott reports this week on the latest gaming achievements, trends, issues and concerns that were voiced at the various E3 conferences. Meanwhile, Peter Plantec reports on the cross-pollination and growing U.S. presence that occurred last month at fmx/06 in Stuttgart, Germany. Were covering features and shorts this month, so Renee Dunlop interviews Kyle Jefferson and Cameron Hood about directing FIRST FLIGHT, the first 3D-animated short from DreamWorks Animations Glendale campus.
AWN has launched the latest free video lesson in its exclusive video learning series taken from Hollywood Camera Work: The Master Course In High-End Blocking And Staging, a comprehensive and ambitious six DVD training series for animation and live action directors. The newest lesson cover focal length, which is primarily thought of as being about picking lenses that give us the right shot size, and fit the characters into the set. However, the primary reason to pick a lens is really to control the Compression of Space.
Focus Features has acquired the world rights to Laika Ent.s stop-motion feature, CORALINE, based on the book by Neil Gaiman, reports VARIETY.
The film features the voice of Dakota Fanning as a young girl who walks through a secret door in her new house where she discovers an alternate version of her life.
Laika supervising director Henry Selick is adapted the script and will co-helm alongside Mike Cachuela. Pandemonium Films head Bill Mechanic is producing with Laika's Mary Sandell. They Might Be Giants will provide the songs.
Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have grabbed the right to GAME BOYS, an action spec by Tom Ropelewski (LOOK WHO'S TALKING NOW) and Evan Katz (TVs 24), according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Jerry Bruckheimer will produce.
The tale follows two thirtysomething videogame addicts whom are recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to lead a geek army set to battle creatures that have emerged from a videogame they have mastered.
New Line Cinema has obtained domestic rights to writer-director Michel Gondry's next project, BE KIND REWIND, starring Jack Black, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Gondry's partner in Partizan Prods., Georges Bermann, is producing.
Animation studio Dygra Films has opened an in-house international sales arm, headed by Tania Pinto Da Cunha, VARIETY reports.
The new arm will focus on Dygra productions, starting with its CG toon, THE SPIRIT OF THE FOREST, set to delivery in early 2007. Next up will be the family comedy, HOLLY NIGHT!, due for Christmas 2007.
Dygra's A MIDSUMMER'S DREAM, which opened last summer, will continue to be handled by Lumina Films.
The SCI FI network has launched its new content-rich online broadband channel, SCI FI Pulse. The launch lineup includes full episodes of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and GHOST HUNTERS, deleted scenes from those shows, as well as from Stargate SG-1. The channel offers the popular BATTLESTAR videoblogs by exec producer David Eick, audition tapes for the new reality show, WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO, behind-the-scenes featurettes from BATTLESTAR and DR. WHO, a full complement of channel ID spots, brand films and more.
Digital Domain, the Oscar-winning vfx studio and production company based in Venice, California, has been acquired for a reported $35 million by South Florida-based Wyndcrest Holdings Llc., a group led by director Michael Bay, former NFL quarterback Dan Marino and investor John Textor.
Liberty Media Corp. is buying IDT Ent. from parent company IDT Corp. it was announced today, May 16, 2006. Liberty will give up its holdings in IDT Corp. to add this diversified production/distribution group of companies to its holdings, which includes Starz Ent. Group that will have the capability to create a wide array of CG-animated and live-action programming for domestic and international distribution in all major channels, including broadcast syndication, premium television, theatrical and home video/DVD.
A Scanner Darkly Remix ContestWorld Wide WebJune 15, 2006Deadline: June 7, 2006
WALT DISNEYS ITS A SMALL WORLD OF FUN VOLUME 1 &2 (Walt Disney Home Ent., $14.99) is a new collection of Disney shorts released on DVD May 16, 2006. Starring Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and friends, each volume features entertaining adventures that are themed to different countries from around the world.
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) credits mental ray, the Academy Award-winning high-end rendering software, from mental images, for significant advances in virtual cinematography that ILM achieved in creating the vfx for POSEIDON.
With more than 11 million units sold, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (from Buena Vista Home Ent.) is this years top DVD seller so far.
Commented Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista Home Ent.: "We are delighted with the tremendous success of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE DVD. This award-winning film is a stellar addition to the celebrated Disney collection and has set the tone for the next chapter in this promising franchise."
Anifest 2006 closed its 5th year in Trebon, Czech Republic on May 10, 2006, with its presentation of awards. The Anifest Grand Prix goes to KARNEVAL ZVÍAT (THE CARNIVAL OF ANIMALS) by the Czech director Michaela Pavlátová. The film had its world premiere at AniFest. The Prize for the Best Feature-Length Film stays in the Czech Republic as well, going to FIMFÁRUM 2 by the directors Jan Balej, Vlasta Pospíilová, Betislav Pojar and Aurel Klimt.
MGA Ent. Inc., Avi Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures will team to bring MGA's famous BRATZ dolls to the big screen. A screenplay, tentatively entitled BRATZ, is in the process of being written with a targeted production start of late fall 2006 in Los Angeles.
Under the deal, Crystal Sky Pictures will finance a live-action feature film based on the popular BRATZ characters. MGA's founder/ceo Isaac Larian, Avi Arad and Crystal Sky's chairman Steven Paul will produce the picture, and Crystal Sky Pictures president Benedict Carver will exec produce.
The Weinstein Co. (TWC) has acquired all theatrical and video rights in the U.S. to the martial arts epic, SEVEN SWORDS, directed by the master of kung-fu action films, Tsui Hark (ZU WARRIORS, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA). Cheung ChiSing and Chun TinNam adapted the screenplay based on the original novel, SEVEN SWORDSMEN FROM MT. TIAN, and it was produced by Lee JooIck, Ma Zhongjun and Pan Zhizhong. Richard Wong, Hong BongChul and Zhang Yong serve as exec producers.
Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Co., announced its largest and most diverse lineup ever of console, computer and handheld videogame titles at E3 last week.
