Category Archives: Studios

New “Harry Potter,” “Super 8″ and “Twilight” Clips from MTV Movie Awards

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Ok, so I didn’t watch the Twilight, I mean, MTV Movie Awards last night. I was too busy watching Jurassic Park for the 400th time (that’s not really an exaggerated estimate… when I was about 7 I watched JP every day after school). Based on the news I’ve been reading, JP was the better choice.

The awards show did bring audiences a few exciting gems, mainly clips and new trailers for upcoming films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, Super 8, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I (Team Edward).

Let’s take a peek, shall we?

In the clip from Harry Potter 7.2 (that’s way easier to type), we get a glimpse of Harry and Volde- sorry, He Who Shall Not Be Named meeting for what could be the last time.

Next is a brand-new and totally J.J. Abrams’ed-out trailer for the upcoming (this weekend!! Yes!!) Super 8. Lost fan or no, come on, Star Trek and Cloverfield were pretty awesome.

And for those of us willing to admit that we indulge in the guilty pleasure saga that is Twilight, here’s the official trailer for the next-to-last installment, Breaking Dawn Part I (November).

Ah hell, here’s the trailer for Rise of The Planet of the Apes (August 5), giving us a look at scientist James Franco’s relationship with Caesar, the lead primate. I’ve been holding off on watching this, but the trailer is about to hit theaters, so I’ll would have seen it sooner or later. Well done, WETA.

 

Who Directed “Kung Fu Panda 2?” A Woman!

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Congratulations to Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the director of Kung Fu Panda 2. There hasn’t been much fuss about it, but Nelson, 39, is the first woman to be given sole director credit on an animated feature from a major Hollywood studio.

Female directors account for only 7% of Hollywood filmmakers, and in the realm of animation, the percentage is significantly lower. Nelson is one of four women to have directed a feature at DreamWorks Animation: Brenda Chapman (Prince of Egypt), Vicky Jenson (Shark Tale) and Lorna Cook (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). However, Nelson will be the first to not share directorial duties and credit with at least one male counterpart.

No Pixar films have had a female director, as Brenda Chapman can tell you. Last year, she was removed from the upcoming Brave, the story of a young Scottish princess, after Chapman had spent six years developing the project with co-writer Irene Mecchi. I believe Chapman will ultimately receive story credit for the film. She is currently on leave from Disney.

Kung Fu Panda‘s Nelson graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in illustration and soon after joined DreamWorks as a story artist and then head of story (on Spirit and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, respectively). She then worked as head of story on the first Kung Fu Panda, and she is who we have to thank for the beautiful opening sequence in 2D. Nelson directed the two-minute, hand-drawn segment, which was heavily influenced by the style of classic anime films.

Kung Fu Panda 2 has received great reviews so far and will open wide on Friday, May 27. To read more about Nelson, check out this article from the LA Times and this interview from Cartoon Brew.

Photo from Yahoo! News.

Updates on “Snow White” and “Little Mermaid” Reboots

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On the heels of announcements of Snow White reboots from both Relativity Media and Universal Pictures comes news of a dark adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Sony has acquired the rights to Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale, a novel by Carolyn Turgeon. Shana Feste, the director of Country Strong will adapt the book and direct the film version.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

The story gets its point of view shifted and the tone is definitely not Disney. It centers on a princess who, in order to save her ravaged kingdom, sets out on a dangerous journey to marry the prince of her rival kingdom, not knowing that a beautiful mermaid has fallen for the same man and has sacrificed everything to be with him.

Good idea? Another childhood classic ruined?

Also, if you can’t keep the two Snow White films straight, here’s a nifty guide. The only updates are some casting news and a new release date for Snow White and the Huntsman. Prince Charmant will be played by Sam Chaflin, the dreamy Brit most recently seen charming mermaids in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The Huntsman is to be played by Chris Hemsworth of Thor. Universal Pictures has just announced that the film will be out on June 1, 2012 to beat Relativity Media’s film to the theaters.

Wait, there’s more! If those two films aren’t enough, Disney will be retelling the classic themselves with a live-action film tentatively titled Snow and the Seven.

According to The Huffington Post:

Snow White will be an Englishwoman who goes to Hong Kong for her father’s funeral – where she realizes that her evil stepmother is out to get her. That’s when she heads to mainland China, where she meets not lovable (if grumpy) dwarves, but renowned warriors.

Natalie Portman was in talks for both Relativity Media and Disney’s film, but nothing’s set in stone. She is, after all, pregnant. And was just in Black Swan, No Strings Attached, Your Highness, and Thor.

 

ILM: Creating the Impossible

Posted on by kathryndurfee
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Star Wars. Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jurassic Park. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Iron Man. Transformers. It doesn’t matter how you feel about these movies, you can’t deny that they’ve each had a profound effect on how contemporary filmmakers view and utilize CG effects.

From the early days of miniatures to the current industry standard of in-camera motion capture, George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), currently based in San Francisco, has been a major frontrunner in developing new techniques to make the seemingly impossible possible.

Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible, a documentary from Leslie Iwerks, chronicles the rise of ILM following the international phenomenon of Star Wars and some of the artists who helped make the studio what it is today.

Though this documentary glosses over many of the hardships and technical details that come with complex computer graphics, it is a nice basic overview of what studios like ILM do. As someone who fancies herself a character animator rather than an effects or creatures animator, I appreciate any glimpse I can get of the process effects workers at studios like this go through.

Check it out here:

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 1)

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 2)

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 3)

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 4)

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 5)

ILM: Creating the Impossible (Part 6)