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Category: Visual Effects

Headline News

Halo Finds a Director

Acclaimed commercial and shorts director Neill Blomkamp will make his feature debut with HALO, to be produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh under their WingNut Films banner for Universal Pictures (domestically) and Twentieth Century Fox (internationally). Visual effects, miniatures and creature design and creation will all be handled by Weta Digital Ltd. and Weta Workshop Ltd.

Effects Headline News

VFX Vets Launch Gradient Effects

Gradient Effects, a new visual effects studio with international expertise specializing in feature work, has set up shop in Venice, California, founded by vfx supervisor/producer Thomas Tannenberger. He will be joined by Olcun Tan as head of R&D, a former lead effects developer at DreamWorks.

Studio Headline News

Sony Pictures Flexes Box Office Muscle

Sony Pictures Ent. has surpassed the $1 billion mark in box office receipts for calendar year 2006, making it the fifth year in a row the studio has reached that milestone at the box office, a feat matched only by Warner Bros.

Animation Headline News

One Rat Short Gets ‘People’s Choice’ Nod at SIGGRAPH

After receiving Best of Show honors, ONE RAT SHORT by Alex Weil of Charlex was the winner of the SIGGRAPH 2006 People's Choice Award. This short film follows a New York City rat from his own gritty world to the interior of a futuristic laboratory. Along his journey, the main character experiences love, danger and his fate.

For the second year, attendees were able to vote for their favorite selection from the Electronic and Animation Theaters within the Computer Animation Festival.

Studios Headline News

Zoic BC Launches in Vancouver

Award-winning visual effects house Zoic Studios has opened Zoic BC. The Canadian-based company is being launched to service Zoic Studios' ever-diversifying client base, and has proven to be a natural step in the company's evolution. Zoic BC has already completed the feature film PATHFINDER for Twentieth Century Fox and is working on two episodics: EUREKA for SCI-FI Channel and BLADE for Spike TV, both of which have proved to be successful for their respective networks.

Headline News

Apple Unveils New Mac Pro Featuring Quad 64-bit Xeon Processors

Apple launched the new Mac Pro, a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad. The introduction of the Mac Pro marks the completion of a rapid and seamless transition for Apple, with the entire Mac family now using Intel's latest processors.

Headline News

NVIDIA Announces Fellowship Award Recipients

NVIDIA Corp., a worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, announced the recipients of the prestigious NVIDIA Fellowship award for the 2006-2007 academic year. The students were selected by a review committee headed by NVIDIA chief scientist David Kirk. Each winner receives a $25,000 grant.

Disney Headline News

Robert Zemeckis Bound for Disney

Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis is in negotiations, according to TMZ, to move his ImageMovers production company from DreamWorks Pictures to The Walt Disney Co., where his preferred performance capture format (created by Sony Pictures Imageworks) will expand the 3D slate for Pixar/Disney Animation studios under John Lasseters leadership. Disney would not confirm.

Zemeckis followed THE POLAR EXPRESS with MONSTER HOUSE (which he exec produced) and is currently directing BEOWULF for release on Nov. 16, 2007.

Media Headline News

Fox and Walden Media Announce Joint Venture

Fox Filmed Ent. and Walden Media have joined forces with the mandate of marketing and releasing family films.

Walden Media, whose recent success includes the worldwide blockbuster THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, is bringing its future feature development slate to the joint venture. Fox will also contribute a number of current and newly developed projects. Walden Media's previously announced films at other studios would remain in place.

Film Headline News

Romero Travels to Solitary Isle

Co-financing partners, Hyde Park Ent. and Kadokawa Pictures, have hired George A. Romero to write and direct the thriller SOLITARY ISLE, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Based on a short story by Koji Suzuki (THE RING, DARK WATER), the $20 million-budgeted film will follow an expedition to a deserted island, which turns deadly as the explorers face an unknown force.

The film most likely will be distributed by 20th Century Fox, where Hyde Park has a five-year, first-look deal. Hyde Park Intl holds the foreign rights.

Film Headline News

Hellboy 2 Finds Home at Universal

Universal Pictures is set to fully finance and distribute HELLBOY 2, Guillermo del Toros sequel to his 2004 film, which was produced by Revolution Studios and distributed through its deal at Columbia Pictures, reports VARIETY. Universal plans to release the film based on the Dark Horse comic in summer 2008.

Del Toro has penned the script and Ron Perlman and Selma Blair will return as Hellboy and his pyrokinetic love interest, Liz Sherman, respectively.

Film Headline News

Pate Director Finds After.Life

Agnieszka Vosloo has been tapped by new production company Constellation Ent. to write and direct AFTER.LIFE, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

The story follows a young woman in limbo between life and death who fights to avoid being buried alive by the funeral director who holds her fate in his hands.

The supernatural thriller will be co-produced and co-financed by the Collective. Production is scheduled to begin in the winter.

Headline News

Die Hard 4 Coming in 2007

20th Century Fox has announced that the next installment in the DIE HARD action franchise will hit theaters next summer on June 29, taking on TRANSFORMERS for the Independence Day weekend, reports the trades.

Bruce Willis will again play tough-talking, New York cop John McClane in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, which plans to start shooting next month. Len Wiseman (UNDERWORLD) has been hired to helm the film from a screenplay by Mark Bomback.

Effects Headline News

Vue Helps ILM Create Environments for Dead Man's Chest

e-on software announced that Industrial Light & Magic used Vue for the production of visual effects of Walt Disney's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST. ILM produced more than 60 shots of the Cannibal Island set using Vue 5 Infinite and xStream to model, texture, animate, light and render the different parts of the natural environment.

"We started playing around with Vue and it rapidly became our primary tool for big, exotic 3D environments," said John Knoll, visual effects supervisor at ILM.

Series Headline News

SCI FI Channel to Beam Up Star Trek in Multiple Series Deal With CBS Paramount

SCI FI Channel has acquired the rights to STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, the STAR TREK prequel series, as well as many made-for-television movies and series from CBS Paramount Domestic Television. The deal includes exclusive cable rights to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, several Stephen King miniseries, made-for-TV movies including PRIMAL FORCE and TRILOGY OF TERROR II and series such as HAUNTED, JAKE 2.0 and last fall's THRESHOLD.

David Headline News

New Villain & Composer Confirmed for Potter 5

Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed that Helena Bonham Carter has joined the all-star cast of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Bonham Carter will play Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius Black's cousin and a Death Eater, who is one of Lord Voldemort's followers.

Software Headline News

Massive Ships Version 2.6

Massive Software has shipped version 2.6 of its artificial life-based 3D animation software. The advancements are on display at the Massive Software Booth #1023 at SIGGRAPH 2006.

Version 2.6 builds on Massives Academy Award-winning technology, providing increased pipeline flexibility, expanded rendering options and smarter agents that allow studios of any size and scope to create highly realistic and emotive performances using autonomously responding characters. Key features of the Massive 2.6 release include:

Motion Headline News

Vicon Advances Vicon MX Motion Capture With Hardware Enhancements

VICON announced a new set of hardware advancements for its VICON MX motion capture solutions. These new features simplify high camera-count motion capture set up, automate simultaneous live-action footage capture, provide powerful and production-friendly near-infrared strobes and round out the MX line with a two million-pixel, full grayscale MX camera, VICON MX20+.

Digital Headline News

Digital Domain Takes on $31 Million Of New Financing

VFX powerhouse studio Digital Domain has received a $31 million investment from Falcon Investment Advisors and GunnAllen Financial.Rafael Fogel, a principal at Falcon, will join the Digital Domain board of directors, which is led by Digital Domain co-chairmen John Textor and director Michael Bay.

Headline News

The Dark Knight Returns with New Joker

As a follow up to last year's blockbuster BATMAN BEGINS, Christopher Nolan is set to direct Warner Bros. Pictures' THE DARK KNIGHT, written by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. In addition to Christian Bale returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Warner Bros. has announced that Heath Ledger (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN) has been cast as The Joker. The film will be produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.

Motion Headline News

Mova Contour Moves “Motion Capture To Reality Capture”

At SIGGRAPH, Mova, a San Francisco-based motion-capture studio, unveiled its new Contour Reality Capture System, which allows film and game makers to use digital cameras to capture and depict full-motion, photorealistic computer-generated characters and other imagery. Movas booth at SIGGRAPH is #1027.

"Mova Contour takes us from motion capture to reality capture," said Steve Perlman, founder/president of Mova.

Film Headline News

Kidman Find Evil Side with Golden Compass

Nicole Kidman has signed on to play the villainous and glamorous Mrs. Coulter in New Line's adaptation of Phillip Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS: THE GOLDEN COMPASS, reports VARIETY. The $150-million budgeted film is scheduled to start lensing in September at London's Shepperton Studios.

Chris Weitz will direct from his own script. British actress Dakota Blue Richards will make her major screen debut in the lead role of Lyra Belacqua, who must travel to a parallel universe to save her best friend from the forces of evil.

Headline News

WB Wolfs Out with Benighted

Warner Bros. and Graham King's Initial Ent. Group have snatched the rights to Kit Whitfields werewolf novel BENIGHTED, according to VARIETY. King is set to produce with NARNIA helmer Andrew Adamson, whose eyeing the project as a directing job.

Originally published in the U.K. as BAREBACK, BENIGHTED is an alternate reality story where 90% of the population is werewolf and the other 10% must keep the peace during the full moon. Random House, which published in the U.K., is set to publish the book in the U.S. as well.

Series Headline News

Raimi Options Sword of Truth Series

Producer/director Sam Raimi and his producing partner Joshua Donen have optioned the film rights to Terry Goodkind's bestselling SWORD OF TRUTH adventure series to turn into a miniseries, published by Tor Books, the ComingSoon.net website reported.

Goodkind's novels have been international bestsellers, translated into 20 foreign languages, with more than 10 million copies in print. The SWORD OF TRUTH series began in 1994 with WIZARD'S FIRST RULE. The 10th novel in the series, PHANTOM, is on sale now. The 11th and final volume is under contract to be published in 2008.

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