VIZ Media Llc. has announced a collection of fourth quarter anime releases that will make unique gift selections for the 2005 holiday season. These DVDs include exclusive box sets, the latest episodic volumes for ongoing series, as well as single DVD volumes for newly launched properties.
Kids WB! kicks-off the holiday season with a Holiday Sock Party filled with wild and wacky wishes, a new Saturday morning schedule and a holiday-themed lineup.
Following its agreement with Canadas Amberwood Ent. for the U.S. broadcast, video and merchandising rights to the animated series, THE SECRET WORLD OF BENJAMIN BEAR, PorchLight Ent. has launched its branding campaign for the preschool hero by signing a home entertainment deal with Genius Products Inc. The inaugural deal grants Genius exclusive DVD and video distribution rights in the U.S. for nine half-hour episodes. The series is already an international hit throughout Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
STAR WARS: CLONE WARS, VOL. 2, released earlier this month on DVD (Fox Home Ent., $19.98), picks up with the third season from Cartoon Network and bridges the gap between EPISODES II and III.
The Jedi are smarting from the battle with General Grievous. The Jedi Council reluctantly makes Anakin a Jedi Knight and he continues being drawn to the Dark Side of the Force. We learn many things about Grievous (how he gets his cough and obtains his collection of lightsabers) and other plot points that help set up and explain REVENGE OF THE SITH.
Avid Technology Inc. announced that editing teams from Big Primate Pictures, the production company behind KING KONG, and Weta Digital, the movie's digital effects house, employed an end-to-end Avid post-production workflow to bring to life Peter Jackson's vision of the 1933 movie classic.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the seven films being considered for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 78th Academy Awards.
The films in consideration are listed below in alphabetical order:
* BATMAN BEGINS (Double Negative, MPC, Rising Sun, Buf, Jim Hensons Creature Shop, The Senate and Cutting Edge)* CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (MPC, Framestore CFC, Digital Domain, Cinesite and Asylum)* THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (Rhythm & Hues, Sony Pictures Imageworks and ILM)
Due to an overabundance of high-profile films, Sony has opted to move the screen adaptation of GHOST RIDER to President's Day weekend, Feb. 16, 2007, reports VARIETY. The $120-million Nicolas Cage vehicle was set to open July 14, 2006.
Set to air Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, at 11:35 pm, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO will premiere 2-0-5, the latest animated spoof from JibJab.
"From Katrina, FEMA, bird flu, insurgents, Cindy Sheehan and Scooter Libby to Tom Delay... there were so many issues facing the President, we had to make the song lightening fast to squeeze them all in," said Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, co-founders of JibJab. "People will want to watch it again and again to catch all the references."
Blue Planet Studio Inc., a 3D animation and digital media design firm in San Diego recently launched its newly developed website featuring its most recent projects, which include 3D animation and graphics support for a wide variety of high-tech companies, both locally and nationally.
Jeff Zucker has been named ceo and Randy Falco has been named president/coo of a newly integrated NBC Universal Television Group. Beth Comstock has been appointed to the newly created position of president, NBCU Digital Media and Market Development.
Massive Software continued pioneering use of the company's AI-driven 3D animation system by Weta Digital for more than 600 visual effects shots on KING KONG. The Massive work on the film, which follows Weta's industry-leading innovation with Massive on such movies as THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and I, ROBOT, creates a living, breathing backdrop of activity on Manhattan and Skull Island.
Peter Jacksons KING KONG captured $9.75M yesterday in its opening box office bow, ranking 21st on the all-time list of Wednesday openers. Falling well below industry expectations, the Universal Pictures release had a per-screen average of $2,735 on 3,567 screens. Overseas, however, KONG opened much stronger, pulling in $8M on 4,659 screens in 36 markets. Biggest openings were in Australia ($860,000), Germany ($664,000) and Jacksons New Zealand home ($297,000). Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com and VARIETY.
The Gnomon Workshop and Design Studio Press have released five new training DVDs, three from veteran Scott Robertson, and the first two from the concept designer known as Puddnhead.
Robertson offers a three-volume series on rendering matte surfaces. The titles cover shading planar, round and complex curved surfaces. While he uses analog tools, such as charcoal and pencil, the skills are vital for anyone interested in foundation lighting concepts.
Pipelinefx has launched Qube! 4.0, the latest major release of the companys flagship enterprise-class render farm management software for film production and game development.
Announced at SIGGRAPH 2005, the new version of Qube! offers some of the following sophisticated features:
* Enhanced support for applications, including Maya, Softimage, 3ds Max, Shake, NUKE, mental ray and compatibility with OSX Tiger.
* Enhanced GUI called Qubic, which allows easy configuration of the Qube! Supervisor.
Midway Games Inc. announced that it has shipped the latest installment in the legendary franchise, GAUNTLET: SEVEN SORROWS for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Alan Bergman has been promoted to president, The Walt Disney Studios (TWDS). In his new role, Bergman will continue to report directly to Dick Cook, chairman, TWDS and oversee strategy and operations for all business units, including Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, Buena Vista International, Miramax, Buena Vista Home Entertainment worldwide, Disney Theatrical Productions, The Buena Vista Music Group, Buena Vista Television and Buena Vista Television International.
Majesco Ent. Co. announced that it has sold all of its rights and obligations related to game titles, THE DARKNESS and GHOSTRIDER, to a videogame publisher for $8 million. The assignment included all of Majesco's agreements with the licensors and developers for these titles.
The sale will help financially troubled Majesco reduces its financial obligations, improve its capital structure and added flexibility to pursue additional opportunities and execute initiatives related to its core business.
Post Logic Studios has hired well-respected colorist Frank Roman for its Hollywood-based DI team and vastly expanded motion picture services pipeline and infrastruture. Romans career includes a stint at pioneering DI facility Cinesite; he joins Post Logic from Laser Pacific Media Corp.
Roman recently collaborated with legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, on the 4K digital intermediate for the upcoming feature, THE BLACK DAHLIA. Roman also worked with cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on the digital intermediates for SOMETHING NEW and INTO THE BLUE.
Color grading for Universal Pictures' KING KONG was realized using media and entertainment technology from Autodesk Inc. Visual effects facility Weta Digital relied upon Autodesk's Discreet Lustre system to digitally color grade the entire film.
Respected industry vet Joni Jacobson has been hired to head the new Los Angeles offices of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Jacobson steps into the newly created role of exec in charge of Production Marketing, and will lead marketing efforts going forward.
Jacobson will also develop the L.A. marketing beachhead for Skywalker Sound. The new Los Angeles offices will be opened in January and are located at The Lot in West Hollywood.
KING KONG has arrived and VFXWORLD has a two-part series exploring Wetas innovative CG characters and environments in the highly touted Peter Jackson remake thats expected to be the box office juggernaut of the holiday season. In fact, Jackson was so pleased with the animation for Kong that, in an unprecedented move, he upped Christian Rivers and Eric Leighton to animation directors. Read all about the new technology advances and aesthetic choices in re-envisioning a classic 30s romantic adventure.
Bill DesowitzEditor
The ION Animation, Games and Short Film Festival, held at the James Bridges Theater on the UCLA campus in Westwood, is only a couple of days away.
DIC Ent. has been appointed the global entertainment licensing agent for Zizzle Toys new, innovative musical icon iZ. As part of the licensing initiative, DIC will translate the toy into animated direct-to-DVD movies.
The winner of Miss Digital World 2005 is the Asian model Mi, designed by Shinichi Yoshimoto. Miss Digital World is a virtual beauty competition, open to only exceptionally beautiful models designed in 3D graphic.
Animation master Hayao Miyazakis son Goro Miyazaki will make his feature directing debut with an animated version of Ursula K. Le Guin's EARTHSEA fantasy novel series, reports various online outlets. The Studio Ghibli production will be titled GEDO SENKI (TALES FROM EARTHSEA) and is set to hit theaters in Japan July 2006. The film will be based on the third and fourth books in Le Guin's six-volume series, which was first published in 1968. Le Guin's series was previously adapted as LEGEND OF EARTHSEA, a live-action miniseries that aired in 2004 on the SCI FI Channel.
