Tagged With: Visual

With AMERICAN PIE 2 staying a third week in the top spot, RUSH HOUR 2 held tight in second with JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK debuting in third. RUSH HOUR 2, with primary visual effects by Cinesite, took home another US$11.4 million, raising its cume to $183.3 million. JAY & SILENT BOB, with primary visual effects by Digital Research Lab, MetroLight Studios and Tigar Hare Studios, racked in $11.1 million, making it the highest opening for a film from director Kevin Smith.

With OSMOSIS JONES slipping out of the top ten, the U.S. box office remained mostly live-action. With AMERICAN PIE 2 claiming the top spot for a second straight week, RUSH HOUR 2 held tight to the #2 slot, grossing US$19.2 million. The kung-fu caper, with primary visual effects by Cinesite, has racked up $164.8 million. RAT RACE, with animated opening titles by Wild Brain, debuted at #3 with a gross of $11.8 million. At #6, CAPTAIN CORELLI'S MANDOLIN, with primary visual effects by Double Negative, sung home $7.1 million in its premiere.

With the debut of live-action comedy RUSH HOUR 2, PLANET OF THE APES slipped to second place with a gross of US$27.54 million. The Tim Burton epic, with primary visual effects by ILM, has peeled off $123.7 million thus far. Dropping a spot to finish in fourth, JURASSIC PARK III roared in another $12.27 million. The dinosaur sensation, with primary visual effects by ILM, has gobbled up $147 million to date. In ninth, DR. DOLITTLE drummed up an additional $2.27 million. The animal antics, with primary visual effects by Rhythm & Hues, have grabbed $106.2 million so far.

Last weeks #1, Warner Bros.' CATS & DOGS falls to third behind the debut of live-action flicks LEGALLY BLONDE and THE SCORE. CATS & DOGS nipped another US$12 million. The puppy-powered pic, with primary visual effects by Tippett Studios and Rhythm & Hues, has licked up approximately $48 million in two weeks. The much-hyped FINAL FANTASY: SPIRITS WITHIN faltered in its debut, only taking in $11.5 at #4. Produced by Sony and Square Co.

Visual effects supervisor Stefano Trivelli has joined the staff of R!OT Santa Monica. To make the move, Trivelli has emigrated from his native Italy where he was co-founder, lead compositor and visual effects supervisor at Ubik Visuals Effects, Milan. Through Ubik, Trivelli designed and executed visual effects for four feature films and more than 100 commercials, including U.S. spots for Jeep, Pennzoil and Celebrity Cruises.

Dan Lombardo has been named senior producer at Cinesite Hollywood. He will oversee daily operations of the 2D and 3D departments. He previously worked as an executive producer and vice president of production at Computer Film Company (CFC) and Manex Visual Effects. His credits include MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2, ROMEO MUST DIE, ARMAGEDDON, DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, THE FIFTH ELEMENT and THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. He also led the team that earned an Emmy for Best Visual Effects for the pilot episode of EARTH 2.

Black Logic was worked into the mix for a new musical two-spot campaign for Twix. In "Remote Control," two skateboarders flip channels on the TV moving from teen pop band Dream to polka performers then finally to rapper Lil' Bow Wow. The backgrounds are elaborately animated scenes of caramel, chocolate and cookie. "Our task was to integrate live-action and tabletop footage with our CG elements into a seamless world," said lead visual effects artist Patrick Ferguson.