Spike TV has greenlit a television series based on Marvel superhero BLADE for the network's first original scripted series to premiere in June 2006. The network has ordered 11 hour-long episodes, in addition to the previously announced two-hour kickoff episode, to be produced by New Line Television, set to commence production in Vancouver this spring.
Talk about surprises. With yesterdays dismissal of George Lucas final STARY WARS entry, REVENGE OF THE SITH, from the visual effects Oscar derby, it now looks to be a wide open race between KING KONG, WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Why the snubbing of SITH from the visual effects branch of the academy? One rationale being offered is that it didnt raise the bar technically, while WAR OF THE WORLDS took people by surprise with its less is more approach.
As part of Warner Home Videos aggressive catalog title launch in 2006 more than 200 movies will be released for the first time or reissued in special editions in standard and hi-def formats look for a 14-disc SUPERMAN: ULTIMATE COLLECTORS EDITION box set late in the year. Along with all four of the original movies will be a SUPERMAN II: SPECIAL EDITION with the DONNER CUT. Editor Michael Thaw is reassembling director Richard Donners original cut (he shot both SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN II simultaneously and was replaced by Richard Lester near the end of the shoot).
Despite the surprising omission of STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH, Industrial Light & Magic received two of the three nominations in the Best Visual Effects category yesterday for the 78th Annual Academy Awards.
ILM was nominated for its contributions to WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. To date, ILM has received 35 Oscar nominations since its founding in 1975, an industry record for visual effects companies. For its work, ILM has received 13 Academy Awards.
Digital Dimension Canada, a division of Los Angeles-based Digital Dimension, has selected SOFTIMAGE|XSI software as the main 3D production for the upcoming 3D-animated feature, THE LEGEND OF SECRET PASS.
Distinguished animation historian John Canemaker, nominated yesterday for an Oscar with Peggy Stern for the animated short THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION, will host the opening night panel for LADY AND THE TRAMP in honor of its 50th anniversary at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday (Feb. 2, 2006).
Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc., has closed on its acquisition of DreamWorks SKG for $1.6 billion in cash and assumption of debt. The announcement was made today (Feb. 1, 2006) by Paramount chairman/ceo Brad Grey. The company noted that it is well along in its process to sell the DreamWorks live-action film library.
Under the agreement, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen of DreamWorks will remain in their respective roles as producer/director and chairman.
Cartoon Networks Exhibit Los Angeles, California, USAFebruary 4-25, 2006.
Raid Projects is hosting an exhibit called Cartoon Networks, featuring artists Thuy Le, Mark Mulroney and Andrew Schoultz, who derive great influence from the graphic novel style.
Award-winning animation director Genndy Tartakovsky (STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, SAMURAI JACK, DEXTER'S LABORATORY) has signed on to direct POWER OF THE DARK CRYSTAL, the much anticipated sequel to The Jim Henson Co.'s 1982 classic fantasy film.
Kristen Bell (VERONICA MARS), Jay Baruchel (MILLION DOLLAR BABY), Chris Marquette (JUST FRIENDS) and Sam Huntington (SUPERMAN RETURNS) are in final talks to join the cast of FANBOYS, which follows a group of STAR WARS geeks, who attempt their dying friends wish of screening the yet-unreleased STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Dan Fogler (forthcoming SCHOOL OF SCOUNDRELS) has already been cast as a hot-headed pizza boy.
D3Publisher of America, Inc. (D3PA) has sealed a worldwide publishing agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG for videogames based on the forthcoming computer animated feature film, FLUSHED AWAY, produced by Aardman Animation. The first games are scheduled to be released for console systems and handheld systems in Q4 2006 to coincide with the release of the film on Nov. 3, 2006.
Rick Sands, most recently the president/coo of DreamWorks SKG and the former coo of Miramax Films, has been named coo of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM). In this newly created position, Sands takes on the initial responsibilities of leveraging and managing the world's largest modern film and television library across all platforms, including the new media landscape of internet and mobile as well as the traditional channels of distribution television, video and international.
KING KONG is up four Oscars in the list of nominees just released by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 78th Annual Academy Awards, starting with Best Visual Effects, up against THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE and WAR OF THE WORLDS. In an apparent snubbing of George Lucas, the visual effects branch of the academy rejected his final STAR WARS movie, EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH, which received a sole nomination for makeup.
Friday the 13th in January 2006 was far from unlucky for New York Citys animation community. On that date, Too Art for TV, the first gallery show of art created by New York animators opened at the Stay Gold Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
TIM BURTONS CORPSE BRIDE, the critically acclaimed stop-motion feature made at 3 Mills Studios in London, makes its DVD debut Jan. 31, 2006 (Warner Home Video, $28.98) the very day its nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar. Co-directed by Burton and Mike Johnson, CORPSE BRIDE boasts groundbreaking puppetry from Mackinnon & Saunders and digital cinematography that enhances the look and feel of the characters and sets. Short featurettes explore the making of the film rather than a long doc.
Buena Vista Home Ent. has set March 21, 2006, for the DVD launch of CHICKEN LITTLE ($29.99), Disneys first full 3D-animated feature, and April 4 for the release of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE in both single and double-disc editions with lots of extras ($29.99). NARNIA picked up three Oscar nominations: vfx (courtesy of Rhythm & Hues, Sony Pictures Imageworks and ILM), makeup and sound mixing.
At the New York Festivals Awards, Animal Logic was awarded a Gold Medal World for Best Special Effects for its work on Fosters Australia Big Ad and VooDooDog won a Silver Award for Best Main Titles for its end credit sequence on NANNY MCPHEE.
In turnaround, Warner Bros. Pictures has snatched up Roland Emmerich's big-budget 10,000 B.C. from Sony, reports VARIETY. Emmerich will start lensing the prehistoric adventure in late April in South Africa with an eye on a summer 2007 release.
The turnaround comes less than five months after Emmerich and producing partner Michael Wimer initiated the project at Columbia Pictures through their Centropolis company.
Konami Digital Ent. Inc. announced new titles and additional details for its 2006 lineup. On the heels of a year that featured the release of all-new versions of blockbuster franchises such as CASTLEVANIA, DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION and KARAOKE REVOLUTION, this years roster will boast the latest versions of franchises METAL GEAR SOLID, WINNING ELEVEN and SUIKODEN as well as the companys first title for Xbox 360 RUMBLE ROSES XX.
fmx/06, the 11th International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content, will take place May 3-6, 2006, in Stuttgart, Germany.
Topics include the latest animated movies and vfx features, the convergence of games and movies, new fields of work for animators, the latest use of realtime graphics and current trends from the Far East. There is also new cooperation with the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, with overlapping programs, in addition to the festival award ceremony coinciding with the opening of fmx/06 on the evening of May 2.
NAB and partners ETC-USC (the Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California) and SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) announced that immediate and near future applications will be the focus of the Digital Cinema Summit at NAB2006. Set for April 22 and 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Summit will feature case studies, expert tutorials, keynotes and panels that examine practical issues arising from the production, postproduction, distribution and presentation of digital cinema.
Business travelers watching the Steelers and Seahawks battle for the coveted Super Bowl title will be inspired to charge the boardroom and challenge corporate foes with United as their ally. The first United Super Bowl ad in more than a decade and its first to use stop motion, DRAGON, will debut during the Feb. 5 Super Bowl XL game, just prior to the start of the much-anticipated halftime event. The television advertisement will appear in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
With the close of Sundance and Slamdance this past weekend, animated shorts snatched up coveted prizes at the Park City, Utah events.
At Sundance, where animated and live-action shorts compete against each other, Adam Parrish King's animated, THE WRATH OF COBBLE HILL, tied with Carter Smith's live-action BUGCRUSH for the animated jury prize for shorts.
New Line has put a FRIDAY THE 13TH prequel on the fast track, reports VARIETY. The studio has greenlit the script development of a story that would chronicle the origins of hockey-mask wearing killer Jason Voorhees. The studio hopes to have the 10th film in the franchise ready for a Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, opening.
CBS has greenlit a pilot for a new live-action TV program based on the comicbook, ULTRA, reports VARIETY. JOAN OF ARCADIA creator Barbara Hall will exec produce the pilot. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing the show.
The comic is a spoof of celebrity magazines and follows a female superhero who must balance saving the world, advancing her career as super model, Pearl Penalosa, and developing a love life.
David Engel and David Alpert are co-exec producers on the project.
