NVIDIA reported that the rapid adoption of its leading family of 3D graphics processing units (GPUs) has moved it into the number one spot in the Microsoft DirectX 9.0, or high-end performance segment of the market, rising from 26% share in the second quarter of 2004 to 64% share in the third quarter of 2004, according to market analyst firm Mercury Research.
Warner Bros. Interactive Ent., DC Comics and Electronic Arts will join forces to bring BATMAN BEGINS to multiple videogame platforms in 2005. In this exclusive co-publishing agreement, a game based on the upcoming film will be released day and date with the film on the PlayStation 2, the PSP (PlayStation Portable), Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance.
With George Lucas rejecting the last script from Frank Darabont, Lucas and director Steven Spielberg have hired CATCH ME IF YOU CAN/THE TERMINAL scribe Jeff Nathanson to take a crack at penning the fourth installment of INDIANA JONES, reports VARIETY.
When word leaked to us that the shuttered Walt Disney Animation (Japan) studio was reopening with most of the former Disney animators and staff as The Answer Studio, VFXWORLD immediately tried to secure an interview with president Motoyoshi Tokunaga. The former vp/gm of the Disney studio in Tokyo politely asked us to be patient.
Universal Studios Home Ent. announced that VAN HELSING scared up sales of more than four million combined DVD and VHS units in the first six days of release for a total consumer spree of $65 million.
USHE is poised for a record-breaking fourth quarter with a release schedule representing 36% of the domestic box office of all feature titles being released during that period.
Picture Mill introduces the unexpected world of Japanese horror with a sequence steeped in blood and fear for director Takashi Shimizus American debut, THE GRUDGE, the unexpected horror hit from Columbia Pictures and Sam Raimis Ghost House.
The Visual Effects Society (VES) is the recipient of a $46,000 donation from founder Tom Atkins family to honor pioneers in the field of visual effects. Five funds will be established to finance awards and scholarships and be known as the:
* Peter Ellenshaw Fund, in the amount of $10,000* Albert Whitlock Fund, in the amount of $10,000* Linwood Dunn Fund, in the amount of $10,000* Douglas Trumbull Fund, in the amount of $10,000* Tom Atkin Founders Award Fund, in the amount of $6,000
PROMAX&BDA has announced the 2004 PROMAX&BDA Home Entertainment Award winners, honoring the best work and creative skills of marketing professionals in the home entertainment sector.
"PROMAX&BDA is pleased to honor these executives for their stellar efforts and creative vision in marketing Home Entertainment, one of the largest segments in the entertainment industry," said Jim Chabin, ceo of PROMAX&BDA. "Each year, we take great pride in recognizing the best marketing, promotion and creative experts that continue to steer Home Entertainment to new heights."
Director Uwe Boll and producer Shawn Williamson have hired screenwriters David Schneider and Drew Daywalt (STARK RAVING MAD) to write a feature adaptation of Vivendi Universals videogame, HUNTER: THE RECKONING, reports VARIETY. The story follows a group of men and women who are given supernatural to combat monsters. Pre-production is scheduled to start in February in British Columbia. Boll is not new to bringing videogames to the screen with adaptations of HOUSE OF THE DEAD, ALONE IN THE DARK and BLOODRAYNE, which just finished production.
India's two commercially operated IMAX theaters reported the highest grossing screens in the country for SPIDER-MAN 2. The film was converted using IMAX DMR (Digital Re- Mastering) technology and released in India at the same time as the conventional 35mm version. In the 10 weeks since its release, nearly 130,000 people have visited the PRASADS IMAX Theatre in Hyderabad and the Adlabs IMAX Theatre in Mumbai to experience SPIDER-MAN 2 in IMAX's format.
PULP FICTION scribe Roger Avary is writing a bigscreen adaptation of the Konami videogame franchise SILENT HILL, reports VARIETY. Samuel Hadida (RESIDENT EVIL) is producing and financing the film through his Davis Film Prods. BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF helmer Christophe Gans will direct the film. Focus Features will handle sales oversees with Hadida's Metropolitan Film handling the French rights. North American rights are still available. The game follows the story of a mother and daughter who seek to discover the secrets of a seemingly abandoned town. A March production start is planned.
Tiger Aspects documentary for the Discovery Channel, VIRTUAL HISTORY: THE SECRET PLOT TO KILL HITLER, airing Oct. 24 at 8:00 pm throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, adopted cutting edge CGI from The Moving Picture Co. (MPC) to transform the faces of actors into exact replicas of Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin. The program unfolds on the momentous day of July 20, 1944.
The New York vfx scene has just got more competitive with the formation of Massive Industries, a division of creative design collective PSYOP that is co-founded by former Method Studios vfx artist Chris Staves and exec producer Justin Lane. Massive brings to New York expertise for ultra-progressive vfx along with high-end design.
Ellen Wolff recently spoke with Sony Imageworks president Tim Sarnoff about his three-pronged approach to 3D: photoreal vfx, CG animation and the new performance capture hybrid introduced in POLAR EXPRESS, ImageMotion. The unifying 3D thread at Sony that binds all three businesses together, according to Sarnoff, is character animation. And the secret of Sonys success? The fact that all three businesses work together in a flexible balance?
The long search is finally over for the next Superman. Latino Review originally broke the news over the weekend and VARIETY confirmed that director Brian Singer has chosen relative unknown Brandon Routh to don the red cape. A contract has not been signed, but production hopes to start shooting in Australia in November. Routh has had roles on television series ONE LIFE TO LIVE, GILMORE GIRLS, WILL & GRACE and COLD CASE. He will make his film debut in the forthcoming thriller DEADLY.
Industrial Light & Magic recently opened its MoCap studio in San Rafael, California, to give journalists a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of VAN HELSING, which arrives on DVD Oct. 19, 2004.
Sci Fi Channel has partnered with exec producers Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle (MEDICAL INVESTIGATION, THE PRETENDER) to develop TIN MAN, a four-hour miniseries that puts a sci-fi twist on the fantasy classic, WIZARD OD OZ. Mitchell and Van Sickle have also co-written the screenplay.
Side Effects Software and Sony Pictures Imageworks announced they will co-host the upcoming Los Angeles SIGGRAPH chapter meeting where Imageworks will talk about how Houdini software was used to generate the visual effects in SPIDER-MAN 2. The meeting will take place at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Oct.
UWPictures/O-Group, Ltd. and Three Kings Ent. have optioned YOUNG MERLIN, written by Robert Kahn. The coming-of-age story of Merlin, envisioned as the first chapter in a three-part franchise, is a live-action feature combined with CG. Purchase price for the film, budgeted at $25 million, was mid-six figures. The project will shoot in the U.K. at the end of the year.
Corel Corp. acquired Jasc Software Inc., the award-winning developer of the Paint Shop family of digital-photography and image-editing software. A critical milestone in Corel's ongoing growth strategy, this acquisition follows four consecutive quarters of profitability and a successfully completed turnaround since Corel was taken private in August 2003.
The inaugural UK CGI Festival announced its final speakers participating at the two shows scheduled for Nov. 9-10, 2004, in Leeds (at the Royal Amouries Museum) and Dec. 7-8 in London (at the Business Design Centre).
The focus will be on educational and practical approaches to both CGI techniques and technologies. Workshops and masterclasses will be lead by top talent. In addition, award-winning animated films developed in Europe will be showcased, and there will be an expo featuring the latest tools and techniques.
The Leeds show will include:
Independent-minded effects studio CaféFX helped design the mysterious fantasy world of Eric Small's directorial debut, THE DUST FACTORY, the indie film currently being distributed by MGM.
THE DUST FACTORY is an adventure about the love and friendship between two teenagers who help each other through a difficult time in their lives.
Rushes Postproduction Ltd. has appointed Danny Jones as senior producer. As well as fulfilling his day-to-day responsibilities as Senior Producer, Jones will help to ensure clients understand the full range of options available to them across Rushes HD, SD, inferno, flame, fire and 2K Spirit and C Reality suites.
The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors has announced the nominees for the 2004 "Hollywood Film Awards" competition. The announcement was made today in Hollywood by Carlos de Abreu, founder/exec director of the Hollywood Film Festival.
"This year's Hollywood Film Festival continues its tradition of honoring the very best talent within our community. It is a celebration of all aspects of Hollywood filmmaking and the artists who help to create its lasting legacy on our culture," festival co-chair Paula Wagner said.
George Lucas has been selected by the American Film Institute's (AFI) Board of Trustees to receive the 33rd AFI Life Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Lucas at a gala tribute in Los Angeles in June 2005.
"I've been very fortunate to have had a long career doing what I love to do, and being recognized by AFI for it is really an honor," Lucas said. "I'm proud to be counted among such an extraordinary group of people whose lives are dedicated to the art of making movies."
