Worth a mention - 06/28/11

"Green Lantern" Sequel Moving Forward

(darkhorizons.com) The critics panned it. The $52 million opening was considered on the soft side, especially for a film of its budget. While the Twitter-verse liked it, but the steep 66% fall to $18.4 million in its second weekend would indicate audiences don't think much of it either.

In spite of all this, Warner Bros. is reportedly already planning a sequel to the Ryan Reynolds-led superhero film "Green Lantern" says The Hollywood Reporter.

The studio's president of domestic distribution claims "the movie is settling in" and points out the drop of fanboy films can often be high. Yet "Thor" and "X-Men: First Class" saw falls of 47% & 56% respectively in their second weekends.

Also, unlike those films, the movie has decidedly underwhelmed overseas in the various markets where it has been released - the film being trashed by the one-two punch of "Cars 2" and the delayed opening of "Kung Fu Panda 2". It still, however, has yet to open in some territories.

So are the chances of a sequel likely, or will this be one of those "Tron 3" scenarios where the studio keep saying they'll do it (to keep interest in 'Legacy' up) but you know it almost certainly won't happen?




Tentpole Prod Deals Close: “Pacific Rim", “Noah”, & "Xerxes"

(fusedfilm.com) We have a lot of production news to cover today which is why I have decided to hyper-post it into one document to read. There is a lot of production new surrounding two Warner Brothers projects that are pretty “high profile” outside of the superhero tentpoles.

It appears that Warner Bros will release Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim on July 12, 2013. The Legendary Pictures sci-fi action film will star Idris Elba (who according to Deadline just closed his deal to star in a role originally developed for Tom Cruise) and Charlie Hunnam. Elba was recently in house at the studio for his work on The Losers. The trade site says that production is set to get underway in November.

For those who are unaware of the project, Travis Beacham wrote the script, which is set in a future where giant malevolent creatures threaten to destroy the earth, and the planet must band together and use advanced weapons technology to eradicate the growing threat.

Xerxes, now being retitled to 300: Battle of Artemisia, is another big project for the studio as it is a sequel to the immensely successful 300 film from Zack Snyder. The WB has been searching for a director to take over the project since Snyder moved on to direct Man of Steel for Chris Nolan and the studio. Now it seems that Xerxes may have a director soon as the candidates are just down to two: Noam Murro and Jaume Collet-Serra.

Like 300, this film is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel. Revolving around Xerxes, the Persian leader seen in 300. Miller’s graphic novel told the story of how Xerxes became this peculiar god-like entity. That mythology goes back to the death of his father, Darius, from injuries sustained at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. Darius had told his son not to attack the Greeks because they can only be punished by a god, and so Xerxes tried to transform himself into a deity to gain revenge.

Rival studio, Paramount, also has some interesting shake ups in production as they are very much near a deal to take on Darren Aronofsky’s highly anticipated Noah film. The Noah’s Ark story will be the next film from Black Swan director who departed The Wolverine this past summer. According to Deadline, bidding came down to 20th Century Fox and Paramount, both of which were vying to partner with New Regency, which has been involved all the way through the process. Aronofsky wrote a script that is being rewritten by Gladiator scribe John Logan. Noah only has a few pages in the Bible but this plans to be a sprawling fantasy epic that will cost north of $100 million.




Cinesite Wins VFX Work For "World War Z"

(4rfv.co.uk) Leading film visual effects house Cinesite has been awarded a significant amount of shots on the upcoming Paramount Pictures' World War Z.

Directed by Marc Forster and starring and produced by Brad Pitt, the film is based on the post-apocalyptic horror novel by Max Brooks and is due for release in 2012.

Ten years after the human victory over the worldwide zombie epidemic referred to as World War Z, Max Brooks (Pitt) scours the world collecting the stories and experiences of those who have survived the conflict that almost eradicated humanity.

Cinesite Visual Effects Supervisor Matt Johnson will lead Cinesite's work on the film and will work closely with Production Visual Effects Supervisor John Nelson whose credits include The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Iron Man, I, Robot, The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Reloaded.

Antony Hunt, Managing Director of Cinesite, said: "We're very excited to have been awarded such a significant portion of visual effects for this highly anticipated movie. With our work on Battle: Los Angeles and Generation Kill, we've proven our ability to create scenes of epic destruction and realistic character animation. We can't wait to do it again for World War Z."

Additionally, Cinesite are on the look out for talented artists to join their expanding team. The list of current job roles can be found at: www.cinesite.com/jobs




Mind-blowing Technology Drives Pixar Animation to Greater Heights

(dailymail.co.uk) Disney’s Pixar studios devised ‘mind-blowing’ technology that will make the Cars 2 it’s most complex yet.

The pioneering Hollywood studio which brought the world the first computer animated feature said its latest film is almost like looking at the real world.

Director John Lasseter, who shot to fame in 1995 with Toy Story, the first feature-length computer animated film, said the level of complexity in Cars 2 is ten times what the studio has put into other films.

He told The Observer: 'Everything you see has been created by somebody. That took new technology.

'It’s close to reaching the level of complexity you see in the real world.'

Sophisticated techniques mean cities in the film, including London, have been reproduced with a level of detail that was previously impossible.

Mr Lasseter cited Pixar’s earlier hit, Finding Nemo as a film where then ground-breaking underwater effects now looked ‘somewhat geometric’.

With Cars 2 the creative team had developed computer programs to convey mathematically the physics of the natural road, using algorithms to create ocean swells and waves with depth.

'We have had a lot of people say, did you use photography of real water somehow?’ he said, describing advances as mind-blowing.

In the film artists created the minutiae of city life, from dirt in gutters and weeds growing in cracks .

Each frame took an average of 13 hours to complete, which is double the previous film.

For one scene involving a chase around London, Pixar created nearly 20 miles of landscape.

Even though the artists wanted to make the scenes caricatured as possible it was important to get details correct.

Illustrators poured over pictures and photographs of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

Pixar, founded 25 years ago, and acquired by Disney in 2006, has received 26 Oscars, and its 11 films have grossed more than $6 billion.

It has invented some of the industry’s most cutting edge techniques.




"The Avengers" Stuntman Scalped While Falling Off Building

(worstpreviews.com) "The Avengers" is currently shooting and in addition to big superheroes and big special effects, the film also has big stunts. And on Friday, stuntman Jeremy Fitzgerald suffered a head wound during a stunt gone wrong.

The plan was to be shot with an arrow and then fall 30 feet off a building. Unfortunately, he caught his foot on the way down and slammed his head into the brick wall, peeling a part of his scalp. Fitzgerald considers himself lucky, however, because he narrowly missed a razor-sharp rain gutter during the accident.

And the best part... He didn't go to the hospital and didn't get any stitches. He simply put on a bandage and went back to work. "He got right back up and did several more takes," said a Marvel spokesperson.

Gruesome photo: http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=22130





Monty Python Gang Voice Animated Feature

(darkhorizons.com) Despite having died from cancer in 1989, Monty Python member Graham Chapman (or rather his voice) will re-team with his fellow Pythons for the 3-D animated anthology film adaptation of his absurdist memoir “A Liar’s Autobiography: Volume VI" reports The New York Times.

The new film has 15 animation companies working on chapters that will range from 3 to 12 minutes in length, each in a different style, adding up to a film about 85 minutes in length. A UK theatrical release is planned next spring with a TV and online debut to take place in the U.S.

Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Jeff Simpson direct the project in which most of the surviving Python members perform newly recorded voice roles that are cut together with Chapman’s voice from a taped reading made shortly before he died.

John Cleese will voice a scene where he and Chapman engage in a long conversation on a bike. Michael Palin will appear as Mr. Chapman’s father, Terry Jones will play both himself and Chapman’s mother, and Terry Gilliam has multiple roles. Eric Idle hasn't become involved but is being sought.

The book itself is a "deliberately fanciful account" of his life including medical school, alcoholism, acknowledgment of his gay identity and the toils of surreal comedy. The line between what's real and what's not is so blurred that the veracity of practically everything in it is decidedly questionable.




‎Guillermo del Toro on ‘Mountains of Madness’: ‘I’m not giving up’

(Los Angeles Times) Guillermo Del Toro has not had an easy time bringing his dream project, an elaborate big-budget adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness,” to the multiplex. The filmmaker has spent years on the movie, which failed to receive a green light from Universal earlier this year after the studio had concerns about the cost of a project that was likely to receive an R rating for the intensity of its chills.

But Del Toro is optimistic that he might yet figure out a way to mount the story of a scientific expedition to Antarctica that yields unearthly finds. “I’m not giving up,” the Oscar winner said, speaking by phone recently from Canada where he’s readying his next directorial effort, the creature feature “Pacific Rim.” ” ‘Mountains of Madness’ has been with me for 13, 14 years and I really don’t want to give up on it. Look, the movies I do, I stick with them when I think, well, if I don’t do it, nobody will. … ‘Hellboy,’ if I hadn’t done it, I don’t think anyone would have. ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ same thing. ‘Mountains of Madness,’ the way I plan to do it is a very peculiar take, and I think if I don’t stick with it the version I would like to see would never get made.”

The writer-director, who was just in town to present his new version of the 1973 telefilm “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” as the closing-night gala at the Los Angeles Film Festival, conceded that the main hurdles to “Mountains of Madness” remain the budget and the rating.

“I’d rather address the budget than the rating,” Del Toro said. “The movie can perfectly someday be PG-13, but contractually I need to protect it. There’s nothing in the movie that is profanity or sexual situations or any of that. But what we learned with ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ is that sometimes intensity, the intensity of the situations, garners you the R. ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,’ in my mind, should be a PG-13. It’s several intense moments [that] got us the R — I think some of the situations at the end, I don’t want to spoil it, but there are a couple of moments at the end that they deemed were too intense and I didn’t want to water down the movie.”

Katie Holmes in "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." (Miramax/FilmDistrict)

Del Toro produced and co-wrote (with Matthew Robbins) the screenplay for the new horror film, which is set for theatrical release Aug. 26 and tells the story of a precocious 10-year-old (Bailee Madison), who begins to hear creepy voices from the basement of the historic Rhode Island home where she’s sent to stay with her father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes). First-time feature filmmaker Troy Nixey, who previously did the short “Latchkey’s Lament,”- directed the movie, which was initially due out last year but ran into roadblocks because of studio wrangling.

“Pacific Rim” is scheduled to open in 2013, and after it’s completed Del Toro said he has every intention of turning his attention back to Lovecraft’s frigid alien landscapes. “I’m going to keep pursuing it,” he said. “Universal is still really interested in doing it. Coming out of ‘Pacific Rim,’ I intend to see if we can do it immediately.

“I knew ‘Mountains’ was a long shot,” he added. “In fact, it was a miracle we got that close to production.”




Avatar Bails On NZ?

(vfxsoldier.wordpress.com) I say no way Jose but a series of articles raised a legitimate question in my mind: With the next Rings films to be made at Weta, is it feasible to also take on the work of not one but two Avatars?

You would figure Weta would be a shoe-in to continue on Avatar but not according to managing director Joe Letteri:

As far as dealing with the effects or live-action shooting, it’s still entirely possible, and still up for discussion, that Jim will still shoot the live action here and we’ll still do the effects.

Add to that a recent article proclaiming that the Avatar sequels will create hundreds of jobs in the US for out of work vfx artists:

Famed director James Cameron’s groundbreaking hits like “Titanic” and “Avatar” have grossed millions worldwide, but he tells Pop Tarts that the films’ global appeal will not stop him from filming “Avatar” sequels here in the U.S. in a move that will create hundreds of jobs for Americans.

While I have serious doubts about the implication that Avatar will be made in the US, there are some serious issues to consider.

If you remember, I wrote a post about scale.

VFX for films like Avatar are very labor intensive and draw upon a huge workforce to be able to finish the job. There was a ton a work being done at vfx facilities in the UK and California also. At one point Weta was hiring artists with free flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars and all you had to do was finish one shot!

If Weta is going to work on 2 Rings film and 2 Avatar sequels, there is going to be an unprecedented crunch for resources and personnel in NZ.

There is also the issue of subsidies as Avatar Producer Jon Landau mentions:

Landau also told the LA Times the team had seriously considered moving to New Zealand or Canada for the sequels to take advantage of tax breaks.

In fact I previously pointed out that Landau ultimately chose NZ because of the subsidies:

Asked in December why New Zealand was chosen as the film’s production location, Avatar producer Jon Landau said: “To be honest, we went for the tax credit.”

However, if you read my blog, you know that I have pointed out how WB leveraged the NZ government into giving it more subsidy money because of the rise in the NZ dollar and the rise of more lucrative subsidies in other countries.

So it’s official, Avatar will be made in the US right? I highly doubt it and here’s why.

The article by Fox News is a farce and just for publicity. The hundreds of jobs to be created comes from a quote by an Art Institute instructor who Fox News deems an “expert”.

Secondly, Avatar’s pre-production was previously done in the US at the Playa Vista studios with many US vfx artists. If anything they’ll re-hire most of those people when shooting begins but that doesn’t mean they can or will do the vfx post-production here. I could totally be wrong. Perhaps Cameron was smart to make sure the Avatar character assets are portable so another company could use them. Not the first time I’ve heard a vfx company sell off it’s birthright.

My money is on Avatar being made by Weta but the capacity issue is a legitimate concern. I believe there will be a bit of jockeying to get the NZ government to give Fox the same deal WB got in increased taxpayer money.

When the king of the world takes on a country with an economy that rivals the state of Iowa, who do you think is going to win?




'Captain America' Director Describes Special Effects

(digitalspy.com) Captain America director Joe Johnston has opened up about the special effects in the superhero film.

He described how actor Chris Evans was shrunk to portray the skinny Steve Rogers in a interview with Film Journal.

Johnston said: "The technique involved shrinking Chris in all dimensions. We shot each 'skinny Steve' scene at least four times.

"When Chris had to interact with other characters in the scene, we had to either lower Chris or raise the other actors on apple boxes or elevated walkways to make skinny Steve shorter in comparison."

Johnston went on to state that he was not that familiar with the character of Captain America prior to shooting.

He said: "I was certainly aware of the character but had not been a regular reader. I didn't see this as a disadvantage of any kind. I was able to approach the character with a more objective viewpoint than someone who would call himself a fan."

Johnston recently revealed that Captain America: The First Avenger features minimal shield throwing, stating that the move is saved for special moments.

Evans previously admitted that he was uncertain about joining the superhero film, which is released on July 22 in the US and July 29 in the UK.




VFX Gigs: Working Directly for The Studios

(blog.cgcareerguide.com) Joe Harkin, Dave Rand and David Stripinis have all expressed a potential solution to some of the problems in today’s vfx industry by having vfx artists working directly for the studios on projects. David Stripinis excellent article goes into more details.

I covered some of this in my VFX Business Models post.

The idealized version goes like this:
If vfx workers were employed directly by the studios that would eliminate some of the potential problems and disconnect going through a vfx company. The vfx workers currently can only interact with the vfx company for working issues but much of the power (including scheduling and changes) is out of the vfx company’s control. If vfx workers were directly employed by the studio then there would be a direct connection in terms of costs and schedules, especially for changes. There would be more incentive to make less changes and to stick to schedules.

Because the workers would be part of production the director would interact with them more and would be able to provide feedback sooner, eliminating waste. These would be creative and schedule wins for the workers. Since most post-production (besides vfx) is still here in California then that would mean that most vfx would remain here as well. This eliminates the need for U.S. vfx workers to travel to other countries to keep working and earning a living.

If only it were all true.

Yes, there can be some real advantages to having vfx artists work directly for the studios. And as with everything, there are some disadvantages. And in some cases it may be a case of “Be careful what you wish for”.

A little background
David covered some of the changes in his article. There were other projects besides Star Wars and Close Encounters (Doug Trumbull, vfx supervisor) which setup a team under production to do visual effects. 2001 and I believe Logan’s Run and many other projects done as the studios were closing up their own vfx departments. I worked on Close Encounters out of high school and was part of setting that up. All of us were paid directly by the studio. I was lucky enough to work in just about every department.

After Star Wars, George Lucas decided having a vfx team was a good thing he set in up ILM in Marin with the intent for himself and his friends to use (Spielberg, Coppola, etc) Others from the original Star Wars team (John Dykstra) setup a vfx company called Apogee at the same location and with some of the same equipment.

After Close Encounter wrapped Universal setup a vfx facility called Universal Hartland to do Buck Rogers (TV and film projects) and Battlestar Galactica (Apogee had done the original work). A number of us went to work there. The vfx for Star Trek: The Motion Picture was setup at Robert Abels, a commercial production company that did very graphical type of work (7UP, etc). Richard Yuricich, the vfx dp on Close Encounters, called myself and a number of others to come work on that project. When it became apparent a commercial production company may not be the most suited for the vfx, Paramount brought in Doug Trumbull. He re-opened the same industrial building used earlier on Close Encounters and added another building.

Full Article: http://blog.cgcareerguide.com/scott-squires-working-directly-with-the-studios/




Former Marvel Studios Chairman Joins "Angry Birds" Game Studio

(comingsoon.net) Rovio has announced that David Maisel, former Chairman of Marvel Studios, will become special advisor to the company to help drive entertainment and corporate strategy:

Rovio has announced that David Maisel is becoming a Special Advisor to Rovio. In his previous role as Chairman of Marvel Studios and EVP, Office of Chief Executive at Marvel Entertainment, David transformed Marvel Entertainment by launching Marvel Studios and its first self-produced and self-financed films including Iron Man. He also most recently led the sale of Marvel Entertainment to Disney.

As a Special Advisor to Rovio, David will help build the company’s entertainment strategy and transition Rovio to new areas in the entertainment business. He also plans to serve as Executive Producer of future Angry Birds films.

“David was instrumental in rebooting Marvel Studios and turning it into a blockbuster-producing powerhouse,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “We welcome his experience and vision as we continue broadening our entertainment production scope at Rovio.”

David Maisel joined Marvel Entertainment in 2003. He was the architect of the strategy to launch the film studio, secured the related financing and distribution and set the stage for the studio to produce a string of box office hits. David is the Executive Producer of the films Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.




Former Laika Animation VP Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash

(dailyjournal.ne) An Oregon woman killed in a hit-and-run crash while walking on a suburban Portland street was a former Intel Corp. executive and author who also served as an executive for the Portland animation studio that produced the hit movie "Coraline."

The Oregonian reports that 47-year-old Cynthia Barton Rabe of Portland spent 10 years with Intel and was also a vice president and chief marketing officer for the entertainment division of the animation studio Laika Inc.

Rabe also ran a home-based consulting company and was the author of a book titled "The Innovation Killer."

Washington County sheriff's deputies said the driver crashed his car into a boulder after striking Rabe on Sunday. A man who deputies said fled on foot was later arrested while walking naked and yelling.




BAFTA Honors John Lasseter and David Yates 11/30

(losangeles.broadwayworld.com) The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles® (BAFTA Los Angeles) will honor Academy Award® winning writer/director John Lasseter with the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment, and BAFTA winning director David Yates with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing at the 2011 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards on Wednesday, November 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Britannia Award is BAFTA Los Angeles' highest accolade, a celebration of achievements honoring individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers or corporate missions to advancing the entertainment arts.




DreamWorks Animation Stock Falls 4.2%

(blogs.barrons.com) DreamWorks Animation (DWA) fell 4.2% today after Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente initiated coverage of the company at Underweight on concerns about DVD sales, a higher risk profile, and the diminishing popularity of 3-D movies.

“Though long a concern for DWA, declining DVD sales continue to cut into film profits. While digital revenues are widely viewed as a potential replacement for lost DVD sales, we believe that the streaming rights to most DWA content in the pay TV window are locked up in a deal with HBO that lasts until 2014, limiting DWA’s near-term ability to further monetize its library content through broadband distributors,” DiClemente writes.

Also, because DreamWorks releases only two or three films a year, its earnings can be very volatile.

“We estimate each DWA film costs $130M to produce, roughly double the cost of an average Hollywood film. The sizeable investment in each film adds risk to the model and raises the required return for DWA shares, ultimately discounting the company’s long-term value and lowering the multiple investors should pay, in our view.”




Korean Artists to Lead CG Blockbuster

(satprep.dowhatisaynow.com) Anyone who has been paying close attention to the end credits of Hollywood blockbusters for the past several years will have noticed the occasional Korean name scroll by. Today, there are actually quite a few Korean VFX artists working on some of Hollywood’s top productions and at some of America’s leading studios. These talented men and women represent the future of the Korean VFX industry. Koreans had a hand in Avatar (2009), James Cameron’s epic 3D motion picture that has fundamentally altered the movie industry. The list includes lighting technical director Jung Byung-gun(above), digital modelers Chang Jung-min and Lo Eung-ho, senior facial modeler Lee Jin-woo, modeler Lee Sun-jin, visual effects artist Im Chang-eui, FX ATD Sean Lee, motion editor Kim Ki-hyun and senior animator Park Jee-young. A total of nine Korean artists were involved in the historic cinematic project, two of whom sat down to talk with KOREA about their lives and the VFX industry.

Q How did you end up working overseas?

A Jung Byung-gun After graduating from Hongik University with a degree in Department of Art Studies, I enrolled at the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco in 1996. I then worked on three feature films and one short animation at the Walt Disney Studios before landing a job at Weta Digital. In the past, I’ve also worked for Paramount Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment, the maker of the Sony PlayStation. Early on in my career I spent three or four years in the field of game cinematics, working for
companies like SNK, Activision and Sony.

Park Jee-young In character animation at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), I started work at an indie movie production company as a 2D key animator. At the time, many 2D animators were transitioning into 3D, and I was no exception. Three years ago, I saw an announcement saying James Cameron’s Avatar was going into preproduction, and, of course, that’s when I applied to join Weta’s animation team.

Q What exactly did you do on Avatar?

A Jung In November 2008, for the first eight months of production, I worked as a texture artist, developing colors and textures for CG character backgrounds and objects, and then for the last four months I worked as a lighting technical director, designing the lighting for scenes to create the final images. This transition between departments enabled me to experience a wider range of the movie’s production process. Park I worked on Avatar as a senior animator. All of these creatures, none of which exist in the real world, were created from scratch through nothing but animation.

Q What did you think was special when you first saw how Hollywood productions were made and became a part of it?

A Park The first things that come to mind are the massive amounts of capital investment, the systematic production pipeline in place, and the abundance of trained professionals. A particular focus is placed on preproduction and planning, during which an efficient production plan is drawn up, while developing the necessary software and technologies and creating a coherent storyline at the same time. Such thorough preparation, combined with an efficient work environment, saves a lot of time. During the preproduction of Avatar, which lasted several years, James Cameron and 20th Century Fox developed a new camera technology called the Pace Fusion 3D camera system. Another strength of the Hollywood VFX industry is that there are so many artists who know how to use all these new technologies really well.

Q How do you think Korea’s VFX technology is coming along?

A Park Thanks to Korea’s soaring interest in VFX and how it’s revitalizing the entertainment industry, investment in VFX movies is growing every year and movies out there are becoming more and more expressive. The use of VFX is only going to increase in Korea in the future. It’s also noteworthy that there are a growing number of professionals who are well-versed in this field.

Q What do you think about Korea’s intention to take its VFX overseas?

A Jung It’s great that Korean VFX companies are collaborating on overseas projects and making inroads in other markets, and they should definitely keep up with this. It’s difficult to expect the Korean VFX industry to grow if companies just target the limited domestic market with its small number of moviegoers. Producers in Hollywood are turning their attention outside the country to cut costs. So as long as you have solid qualifications and a good command of English, there’s a good chance you can sign some kind of a deal with an overseas company for VFX or animation production. We have to figure out what our strengths and weaknesses are, and deal with the particular problems we face. Korea has a domestic movie and game market base, and a professional workforce. On the other hand, there is a lack of experts with high-end production experience and a language barrier in place. You also have to keep in mind that most of the countries doing VFX and animation work for the US right now are English-speaking ones like Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, India and the UK.




Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World To Be Released With Aromascope

(bsckids.com) If you saw “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” you saw one of the first revived 3D movies brought back by director, Robert Rodriguez.

“Spy Kids 4:All The Time In The World” will be released with aromascope. It is a card (free of charge) with simple to read numbers. As those same numbers flash on the movie screen, the audience rubs the matching number on the card. When one of the eight scents are released, one will experience an unusual instant in the film. It is alleged that one will be carried into the scene in the family adventure film.

In my opinion, this is just one more gimmick to generate sales to a mediocre movie. The 3D movie was one of those also. Back in the day, there were only black and white films so the story, acting, and stars had to carry the movie. How many of today’s films can compare to popular films from the past like “Pollyanna” or “Star Wars” These were excellent movies with wonderful plots, actors, and directors. Could you imagine watching these movies with 3D or aromascope? Wouldn’t these gimmicks take away the pervading atmosphere of these movies? I personally would like to see more of the classic movies and not remakes. Hopefully there are new writers and directors who will make new classic movies without gimmicks.