Warner Bros. has launched "WATCHMEN - 6 Minutes to Midnight."
Visit the site and enter your name to experience a 10-minute long interactive trailer for WATCHMEN. You will enter the world of WATCHMEN, interact with one of the characters, and unlock exclusive content from the film.
In the days leading up to the much-anticipated March 6 release of WATCHMEN, brand new clip montages from the film will air exclusively during the broadcast of six different shows across three NBC Universal networks. Each of the action-packed segments focuses on one of the film's central figures -- Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, Ozymandias, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre II -- introducing the film incarnations of the characters who have moved from the pages of the legendary graphic novel to the big screen in the new film presented by Warner Bros.
Walden Media and Fox 2000's THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER will be written by Michael Petroni, according to VARIETY.
Richard LaGravanese wrote the last two installments of the C.S. Lewis series at Disney. A summer start date is being looked at by Walden to make a holiday 2010 release through the Fox Walden label.
GenArts recently conducted two surveys to quantify productivity gains of its Avid customers who have upgraded from version 1 to version 2 and version 3. The first survey compared an artist's time spent applying transitions with footage before and after upgrading to Sapphire version 3, while the second compared an artist's time spent applying an effect to a complex Avid title before and after upgrading from Sapphire version 1. Beyond productivity gains, the survey also highlights the dramatic return on investment delivered by the new version of Sapphire.
Visual effects studio Radical 3D has hired of Richard "Dickie" Payne as its lead character modeler for a new series it's producing called ANIMAL ARMAGEDDON.
Payne will be in charge of modeling and texturing characters for the eight part series airing now on Animal Planet.
Intelligent Creatures created the dynamic and continuously changing inkblot concealing the face of WATCHMEN's vigilante hero, Rorschach. IC animated his inkblot movement to reflect the mood and emotion of the actor, while maintaining the integrity of this celebrated graphic novel. IC replaced the character's live action head through complex cranial and facial-motion tracking, which was seamlessly positioned between the live action scarf and fedora.
Los Angeles-based Svengali FX has deployed PipelineFX's Qube! to manage the rendering visual effects for visual effects work including STAR TREK.
"Svengali FX is a Nuke based facility running in a Mac environment," said Stefano Trivelli, VFX Supervisor at Svengali FX. "Qube! was rock solid throughout the production of STAR TREK. Our team was able to focus on the high standard of quality work that the film demanded knowing we had a solid render management solution in place. Stability within the render farm is important to us and Qube! delivered."
Corel Corporation has released Corel Painter 11, the newest edition of the painting and illustration software. With more than 40 new and enhanced features, Painter 11 provides the most inventive drawing and painting tools available, making it the ultimate art studio for those ready to expand their definition of creativity.
Warner Bros. has set up DC Comics' SUICIDE SQUAD for Dan Lin to produce as a potential franchise, according to VARIETY. The series is about a group of jailed supervillians and started life as a DC Comic in 1959 and got its own series in 1987.
Lin (SHERLOCK HOLMES) will produce with Stephen Gilchrist at Lin Pictures. Justin Marks, working now on 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, will write the script.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago will extend its world premiere run of "Harry Potter: The Exhibition," which opens on April 30, 2009, by nearly three weeks in response to fan feedback and the demand for tickets.
Columbia Pictures and Neal Moritz's Original Films are in final discussions for a contemporary version of TOTAL RECALL, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
The 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action film was directed by Paul Verhoeven and based on Philip K. Dick's story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," which explores Dick's favorite topic of reality vs. delusion.
The Kennedy/Marshall Co. and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way are discussing with Warner Bros. the possibility of a fourth NEVERENDING STORY film, according to the trades.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER says the studio recently bought the rights to the property and is looking at a new film in the 25-year-old franchise.
Original producer Dieter Geissler is set to produce the reboot with Sarah Schechter and Jesse Ehrman overseeing at WB in what is said to be a more nuanced take on the source material.
Gore Verbinski is attached to develop a feature film adaptation of the board game CLUE at Universal, according to VARIETY. He will produce under his Universal-based Blink Wink banner with Hasbro's Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, who have an overall deal at the studio.
Allegorithmic is opening a new subsidiary office in Seoul, South Korea, called Allegorithmic Korea.
A South Korean presence will extend the company's business into Asian markets and allow them to provide dedicated support on Substance and ProFX, Allegorithmic's technology solutions for Korea's fast-growing sector of online, casual and Free2Play games. Allegorithmic's South Korean office will be led and operated by Christian Taewon Kim.
Sci Fi will premiere the two-night movie event KNIGHTS OF BLOODSTEEL (formerly titled MIRABILIS) on Sunday, April 19 at 9 p.m. ET with the second half of the four-hour fantasy adventure airing on Monday, April 20 at 9 p.m. ET. David James Elliott, Natassia Malthe and Christopher Lloyd star in the movie event set against the backdrop of knights, sorcerers and dragons where heroes battle the forces of darkness.
The winners of the CGSociety's CGChallenge XXIII: 'Steampunk - Myths & Legends' have been announced. Digital artists, from many nations, battled to claim the biggest prizes ever offered. More than $220,000-worth of software and hardware were available in many categories, including Video, Animation, Modeling and Illustration. To win, CG wizards had to give a Steampunk edge to famous stories and legends - to create a future that could have been; an age when steel and steam propel machinery, men and monsters.
Sony Electronics and RealD are working together to provide exhibitors with 3D digital cinema systems that combine a single Sony 4K projector and its new 3D dual lens adapter with RealD technology, including a specially designed optical filter tuned for the projector, resulting in the ability to deliver crisp 3D images to screens up to 55 feet in width.
The University of Westminster in London has enhanced its portfolio of courses within animation, games and interactive media with a one-year Masters of Science degree in Digital Compositing and Visual Effects starting October 2009.
Graduates from the course will be exposed to the theoretical, technical, practical and professional competences enabling them to follow a variety of careers within film, television, animation, advertising and gaming.
Warner Bros. announced release dates for several tentpole films on Wednesday, including a Dec. 17, 2010 unspooling of GREEN LANTERN and the eighth and final HARRY POTTER film for July 15, 2011, according to multiple news sources.
According to ERCBoxOffice.com, that same weekend is the home of Marvel's THE AVENGERS. Summer 2010 will also see the debuts of Marvel's IRON MAN 2, THOR and THE GREEN HORNET.
Samuel L. Jackson and Marvel Ent. have come to a deal for the actor to play Nick Fury in IRON MAN 2 and up to nine more future Marvel superhero releases, reports VARIETY.
Marvel reportedly upset Jackson when he was offered pittance to reprise his role in future films, which has also been the root of problems in offers to talent like Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, according to sources, despite a gross of upwards of $600 million for IRON MAN.
Cate Blanchett will be the Maid Marian to Russell Crowe's Robin Hood in Ridley Scott's epic for Universal Pictures, according to VARIETY. Originally called NOTTINGHAM, the film will have a new title and is set to begin production in early April in the U.K.
Producers include Brian Grazer (Imagine Ent.) with Scott under his Scott Free banner. The film was originally written by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, then rewritten by Brian Helgeland as the project morphed into a GLADIATOR-like version of the Medieval legend.
Summit Ent.'s ECLIPSE, the third film in the TWILIGHT saga, will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.
Melissa Rosenberg, who wrote the scripts for both TWILIGHT and NEW MOON, is currently writing the script for ECLIPSE and continues to consult with TWILIGHT book series author Stephenie Meyer.
Big Stage Ent., a media technology company that lets consumers project themselves photo-realistically into the digital realm, has named digital media industry veteran Patrick Barry to the role of vice president, content alliances. In this newly created role, Barry will focus on growing partnerships with media and entertainment companies interested in developing both new digital revenue opportunities and deep consumer engagement.
Michel Gondry is in negotiations to direct Columbia Pictures' THE GREEN HORNET, starring Seth Rogen and Stephen Chow. The screenplay is by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, who will also executive produce. Neal H. Moritz will produce the film through his Original Film production company. The film will begin shooting this summer and is set for release June 25, 2010. The film will also be exec produced by Michael Grillo.
Chow dropped out as director in December, but is still a part of the project, playing sidekick Kato.
Marvel reported a Q4 2008 profit of $63 million, compared to $27.6 million for the same period in 2007, driven principally by DVD sales of IRON MAN.
For all of 2008, Marvel's profit grew 47 percent: $205.5 million, up from $139.8 million in 2007. The revenue and net income growth principally reflects the contribution from Marvel Studios which released its first two feature films, IRON MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK, in the summer of 2008.
