Category: Visual Effects

Universal has hired Stuart Beattie to rewrite the film adaptation of famed Midway videogame SPY-HUNTER, reports VARIETY. The film has been close to a production start for awhile now with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starring and John Woo directing. Universal hopes to have the film ready in time for a big summer 2006 release.

Beatties credits include story on PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL and screenplay on COLLATERAL and the upcoming DERAILED, which stars Clive Owen.

With editor Bill Desowitz away at ILM getting the skinny on VFXWORLDs STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH coverage, Im giving my musings this week. Alain Bielik covers last weekends #1 box-office champ, SAHARA. Tara DiLullo talks with Tommy Tom about the vfx heavy Hong Kong import KUNG-FU HUSTLE.

NVIDIA Corp. will be demonstrating its NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI with PureVideo technology with a group of partners and customers at NAB2005 (April 18-21) at the Las Vegas Convention Center (#SL5501).

Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. have announced THE HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE videogame, scheduled for a Nov. 2005 release in conjunction with the Warner Bros. Pictures film based on J.K. Rowling's fourth book. In the game, players experience the thrilling moments of the movie and put their magic to the ultimate test in cooperative play with up to two friends.

THE MUMMY helmer Stephen Sommers has been tapped by Paramount to write, direct and produce a remake of George Pals 1951 sci-fi film WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, reports VARIETY. Sommers Co. partner Bob Ducsay will also produce. Paramount co-president Tom J Jacobson is shepherding the film. The original flick followed a small group of humans set into space to stop a runaway planet from colliding with the Earth.

Fox is revisiting the lasagna-loving orange cat Garfield in a sequel to GARFIELD: THE MOVIE, which will be directed by Tim Hill (MUPPETS IN SPACE), reports VARIETY. John Davis will produce through his Davis Ent. label. No word on whether the first film stars Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt will return or whether Bill Murray will again voice the fame fat cat.

Hill was a writer on Nick Films' SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE and along with Tim Rubiner, created the short-lived Warner Bros. CG TV series GAME OVER.

DreamWorks Pictures has pacted with Germany's Constantin Film to acquire the domestic distribution rights to the new thriller, PERFUME, based on the bestselling novel by Patrick Suskind.

Set in 18th-century France, the story of murder and obsession centers around a man who, strangely lacking any scent of his own, has a unique talent for identifying smells, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. His gift leads to obsession when he turns to murdering young women on the verge of womanhood in order to capture their aroma.

Imagineer Systems, the U.K.-based developer of mokey and monet visual effects tools, announced the immediate availability of monet 1.5. Aimed at the broadcast, film and video post-production markets, monet is a vital tool offering a start to finish solution for replacing elements in film and video and is being used frequently for product placement. It is available in two versions monet software and monet extreme, both of which will be on display at NAB 2005 (booth #SL253).