An ongoing feature in our message boards are the ‘Screencap of the Day’ posts. As the name implies, folks post a screencap from the films with a few questions to spark discussion. We’re looking for additional volunteers to help with this particular project. If you are interested in participating or helping, read the following post from Arwen’s Daughter. [More Info]
Month: April 2010
Weta is today hugely excited to bring to the world Weta Legs, a digitigrades leg extension for performers, costumers and anyone who’s ever wanted to walk like an animal. Since they were displayed a year ago on the Internet for the first time, there has been tremendous interest from performers across the world.
Weta Legs are a unique, low profile, professional grade, reverse leg stilt for creature and costume performances in movies, television, theatre, circus, street performances and other creative contexts. Something previously reserved for commercial film and television projects, they are the first of their kind available commercially to the public. More..
Short Films and Feature Animation Branch governor Bill Kroyer will lead an evening focused on two Oscar-winning films – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008) and “Avatar” (2009) – to demonstrate how innovations in performance-capture technology, digital doubles, digital makeup, photorealism and image manipulation are affecting actors. “Acting in the Digital Age” will feature a panel of cast and crew members from both films who will discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with these changing technologies. The program includes film clips and behind-the-scenes footage of the actors at work. More..
Media giant Warner Bros. has acquired independent MMO developer Turbine, creator of Lord of the Rings Online, completing Warner’s internal ownership of all Lord of the Rings-based video games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a Boston Globe report pegs the purchase price as high as $160 million, based on information from “a source close to negotiation.”
Warner has previously invested in Turbine, which since 1998 was heavily funded by a variety of venture capital sources. Last August, the company raised $6.6 million, and the previous year it completed a $40 million round from firms including Highland Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, Tudor Ventures, and Columbia Capital. More..
(CNN) — Before “The Lovely Bones,” the aughts had been a charmed decade for Peter Jackson.
It began with the one-two-three punch of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, a juggernaut that grossed almost $4 billion worldwide at the box office and won 17 Oscars — 11 of those, including best picture and best director, for the final chapter, “The Return of the King.”
Jackson followed “Rings” with his 2005 remake of “King Kong,” which was another huge success both at the box office and with critics. He donned his producer’s hat for 2009’s “District 9,” a low-budget South African film that made $200 million worldwide and was nominated for best picture. [Read Full Story]
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Peter Jackson, Executive Producer of the upcoming Hobbit films says of the films’ behind-the-scenes footage that “We’ve been filming DVD material for about a year. Guillermo has been doing location scouts and design work, with the DVD people following him around, so we’ve shot 20 or 30 hours of DVD material so far and we’re still a few months away from the first day of shooting.”
Asked about converting the LOTR films to 3D, he says, “You can do [2D to 3D] conversions well if you take time. If you do it quickly, fast and cheap, it’s not going to turn out well. If we were going to convert LOTR, I’d want to do it properly, which would be a very long, time-consuming, and expensive process.”
Lastly, his opinion on the not-so-positive fan reaction to the recently released Theatrical BluRay version seems to jibe with the majority of the fans. “I agree with the fans”, he says. “I was heavily involved in the DVD process when the films were being released through New Line, but now that Warner Brothers has taken control over the releasing of the films, they just tell me what they’re doing and don’t involve me in the process. [With New Line,] the one thing we never did with the fans was make them feel cheated. Back in the original release, we always put extra material in, extra documentaries — a lot of added value. I so totally understand why the fans would be upset; I don’t disagree with them.”
Read the entire interview over at The Wall Street Journal.
Thanks to Patty on our message boards for alerting us to this interview.