Ataahua sends this in: Dr Sagar, who has worked on Spiderman 2, King Kong and Avatar, began professional life as an engineering PhD, creating an eye surgery simulator that took him to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While there he worked in a lab that drew in businessmen looking to use digital technology for movies…Dr Sagar pioneered the use of the facial action coding system in motion capture for digital characters, a system originally devised by psychologist Paul Ekman to identify and classify facial expressions. This system has been credited with capturing the subtlety of emotion in the faces of digital characters in Weta blockbusters King Kong and Avatar, which have been widely acclaimed in the movie world. More..
Month: February 2011
BAFTA has announced that Christopher Lee (Saruman) will receive the Academy Fellowship – the most cherished prize of the Orange British Academy Film Awards – at prize ceremonies on Sunday.
Awarded annually by the Academy, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film. Previously honoured Fellows include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Julie Christie, John Barry, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Terry Gilliam and Judi Dench. Last year’s recipient was Vanessa Redgrave.
Among the many ads run during the Superbowl yesterday was this little gem from Coca-Cola. Take a look and enjoy!
Monday 7 February, Wellington – Production company, 3Foot7 Ltd, is pleased to announce that the first day of principal photography for THE HOBBIT will be Monday 21 March, 2011.
This date has been chosen following practical considerations of the filming schedule requirements, actor availability and the NZ seasons. Shooting will take place at Stone Street Studios in Miramar and on location around New Zealand.
Confirmed cast include: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Rob Kazinsky, Aidan Turner, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam Brown, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Mikael Persbrant, Sylvester McCoy and Elijah Wood. Director, Sir Peter Jackson, comments: “Despite some delays we are fully back on track and very excited to get started.”
Ataahua writes: This month marks the start of long-awaited filming of The Hobbit. The Dominion Post’s Tom Cardy gives an overview of the long road to get to this point, and the expectations that are have been placed on the two films and Peter Jackson himself.
From: nzherald.co.nz: Hobbiton, near Matamata, has announced it will be closed for five weeks from February 14 – almost certainly meaning filming of The Hobbit is about to start. No one is confirming a start date, but Matamata-Piako Mayor Hugh Vercoe said he understood production was due to begin shortly and it would be a closed set.