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May 17, 2006
Worth a Mention - May 17, 2006
Bruckheimer Battles Evil Creatures
(empireonline.com) Jerry Bruckheimer has bought the rights to an action spec script. Yes, we’re exactly as shocked as you.
The producer has nabbed Game Boys by Tom Ropelewski and Evan Katz for Disney. Their story follows two thirtysomething console jockeys who are hired by the government to battle evil creatures that have somehow sprung to life from the very video game our heroes have the top score on. We bet they get paid in crisps.
There’s no director or cast attached yet.
A Dreamscape Remake?
(moviehole.net) Kyle Newman, writer/director of the forthcoming “Revenge of the Nerds” remake, (kill me NOW) tells IESB that he’s had discussions about possibly calling the shots on another 80’s redo, Dennis Quaid starrer “Dreamscape”.
Remember that little video classic?
In it, Quaid (looking very ‘Indiana Jones’ on the VHS sleeve, from memory) played a clairvoyant who decides to use his powers for good – instead of gambling, as one normally would – and enter the minds of some folks who are having disconcerting nightmares. Unfortunately, there’s another psychic on the scene - who is using his powers for eeeeeeeevvvvil.
Kate Capshaw, Max Von Sydow, and Christopher Plummer also starred in the film, which was directed by Joseph Ruben.
It only made about $2 million bucks, stateside, on it’s opening weekend back in August of 1984, but the film did have a good idea behind it, so not really surprised Hollywood’s looking to do it again.
So who do you think would make a good Alex Gardner?
Get Your CG Motor Running
(time.com)
John Lasseter grew up in Southern California, where driving is people's passion and second career, and a car their church and fortress. So if you ask Lasseter about car love, you get an impromptu prose poem. "Car love," he says, "is the sound of a throaty V-8 rumbling and revving, the acceleration throwing you back in the seat--especially when you get on a beautiful, winding road and the light's dappling through the trees. For me, it's a combination of enjoying the beauty of cars, classic or cool modern ones, and also the actual driving: getting out on the open road, whether it's a family road trip or driving by myself on a nice windy road and enjoying the ride."
More: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1194022-1,00.html
Prince Caspian Pushed Back to Summer '08
(The Hollywood Reporter) Walt Disney Pictures' follow-up to Andrew Adamson's blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has been pushed back from December 14, 2007 to summer 2008.
The Hollywood Reporter says Disney rescheduled The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian hours after Columbia Pictures circulated an announcement Tuesday staking a claim on December 8, 2007 for the domestic release of its new fantasy fable The Water Horse. Both sweeping epics are produced by Walden Media and when left to open one week apart were perfectly poised to cannibalize one another's 2007 Christmas box office.
In related news, Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) announced today that "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" has become the number one top-selling DVD of 2006. The film was released on April 5 and has sold over 11 million units in route to claiming this year's top DVD spot.
"We are delighted with the tremendous success of 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.' This award-winning film is a stellar addition to the celebrated Disney collection and has set the tone for the next chapter in this promising franchise," commented Bob Chapek, president of BVHE.
Concurrently, with Narnia in the top DVD spot of 2006, BVHE holds five of the top 10 titles so far this year. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Chicken Little, Lady and the Tramp, Flightplan, and Bambi II are all strongly positioned within the top 10 titles of 2006. "We are very fortunate to have such a strong line up of titles that appeals to every demographic. It is the backbone of what this studio has always been known for," Chapek added.
Mindfire Turning Fear Effect Into Movie
(The Hollywood Reporter) Mindfire Entertainment plans to turn the popular Eidos video game Fear Effect into a feature film, with director Stanley Tong in talks to helm the actioner.
The Hollywood Reporter says Mindfire CEO Mark A. Altman (House of the Dead 2, DOA: Dead or Alive) is set to produce with Mindfire chairman Mark Gottwald and senior vp business affairs Chuck Speed, based on a screenplay by Steve Kriozere.
Altman described the movie as Mission: Impossible meets Silent Hill, adding that the film will faithfully follow the story line of the original PlayStation game. It will be set 10 years in the future, however, rather than in the alternate world of the source material.
Gates Wants To Let You In Your Co-Workers' Heads
(news.zdnet.com) Microsoft is hoping that social networking techniques will help win a few friends for its enterprise search technology.
On Wednesday, as part of a keynote speech to executives gathered in Redmond, Wash., for Microsoft's annual CEO Summit, Chairman Bill Gates will show off new server software that aims to help workers find data stored on their company's computers as well as information located only inside the brains of their colleagues.
The next release of Microsoft's SharePoint server software will have a feature called Knowledge Network that automatically builds profiles of employees and their areas of expertise.
That's important because a ton of business data is stored in brains, rather than hard drives. Estimates are that anywhere from 50 percent to 80 percent of a company's institutional knowledge is inside of its employees' heads.
A lot of important knowledge is not written down in a document, said Jon Beighle, a general manager in Microsoft's online services group.
Today, workers in large companies have a tough time figuring out who of their colleagues knows what. Microsoft's technology tries to ease that task by looking through workers' e-mail and other data and then automatically generating working profiles.
The software also takes a page from social networking sites in the way that workers get matched up with in-house experts. The software can see if the information seeker and expert have any worker friends in common who might be able to make an introduction. Workers can also choose whether they want to be open to being contacted directly. Recognizing the obvious privacy concerns, Beighle said the software allows a worker to view and alter his or her profile before it is made available to colleagues.
"It does it in a very open and transparent way so people have an opportunity to see their profile and make changes," Beighle said.
At the summit, Gates will also explain how Microsoft is trying to beef up its capacity to search the information that is in computers and servers.
Within Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft is adding the ability to search through different types of corporate data. The next version is expected to tap not only data stored on intranets, but also data in business applications like Siebel or SAP. Microsoft is in the process of transforming SharePoint from a portal maker to a broader server-based complement to Office.
Gates is also expected to preview a Windows Live Search program that will allow workers to search their desktop, across a corporate network, and the Web from within a single program. That software, still in early development, is scheduled to show up in beta and be released in final form in the second half of this year.
Halloween prequel, now a sequel?
(moviehole.net) Another switcheroo for the next Halloween movie it seems.
According to HorrorChannel.com, Jake Wade Wall's script for the next Hallwoeenmovie will not be the one being used now, apparently.
Wall's script will not be the basis for the new film. His idea took place in the years before Michael escaped from Smith's Grove Sanitarium, which would be a cool idea if it weren't for the noticeable lack of Donald Pleasance, says the site.
We can now tell you that the new Halloween, which will likely be officially announced any day now, will take place at Smith's Grove Sanitarium but will not be a prequel. It will be full-blown Halloween movie, complete with the trademark mask and slow gait.
Pixar keeps the sequels in the house
(showbizdata.com) John Lasseter, the co-founder and creative leader of Pixar, has acknowledged that he worried endlessly during the protracted negotiations with Disney about the possibility that Disney would produce sequels to the original Pixar films like Toy Story and Monsters Inc. if a deal extending their relationship wasn't concluded. In an interview with Fortune magazine, Lasseter said, "It would have been easier just to walk away, but Steve [Jobs] stayed in there for me, because I loved these characters that we have created. They're like family, like children. And if we didn't get a deal, Disney would own our children. Who knew what they would do? These were the people that put out Cinderella II. We believe that the only reason to do a sequel is if you have a great story, period. It's not 'Let's just keep cranking it out.'" Lasseter said that he and Jobs decided to wait until Michael Eisner left as CEO of the studio before resuming negotiations with Disney, and that he received a phone call from Robert Iger on the day he was named to succeed Eisner. "And that said a lot to us, because he was serious about wanting to make a deal with us to keep distributing our films. He understood that the biggest issue for us wasn't money, but to have control of our characters." When he heard that Disney wanted to take over Pixar, Lasseter recalled, "at first I was very nervous." However, he added, Jobs reassured him, saying, "Get to know Bob Iger. That's all I can say. He's a good man."
An Alternative To Motion Capture Hits The Market
"LookAhead Decisions Incorporated (LDI) today unveiled a new service for automatically generating motion for 3D characters based on its breakthrough ActiveMotion (R) software. With ActiveMotion, a game developer or animator can cut their motion generation costs and time by as much as 90 percent.
Until now, motion capture has been the only alternative to produce realistic motion for animated characters. ActiveMotion is the first automated tool to generate arbitrary and realistic motions for any multi-articulated character in any environment. Rather than using cumbersome motion capture equipment and paying for expensive studio time, ActiveMotion automatically generates files in standard motion capture formats by harnessing the power of the CPU. It couples a physics simulator with proprietary Artificial Intelligence technology similar to world-championship chess programs to sort through billions of possible motion sequences to find those motions that are both the most realistic and closest to the target motions.
"The ActiveMotion service can be used to generate basic human and animal motions such as walking, running, tackling, and jumping, but it is especially good for generating realistic motion for complex terrains, dangerous or specialized stunts, non-humans, or imaginary multi-limbed characters -- all difficult or impossible to do with motion capture," said Dr. Mukesh Dalal, President and Co-Founder of LDI. "
Uma Thurman buys rights to 'The Swarm'
(AP) Uma Thurman, along with two German producers, has secured the film rights to German author Frank Schaetzing's best-seller The Swarm, his publisher said Tuesday.
The ecological thriller dominated Germany's best-seller lists for nearly a year and was translated into 18 languages.
Thurman, along with Ica and Michael Souvignier, plans to shoot the movie at several international locations, Kiepenheuer & Witsch publishers said in Cologne.
"Several big-name studios and producers have pitched for the stuff in the past few years," Schaetzing said. "For me, Uma, Ica and Michael are the ideal constellation for an international film success. We have the same vision."
Thurman, 36, was nominated for an Oscar for 1994's Pulp Fiction. Her screen credits also include roles in The Producers and the Kill Bill movies.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
"Narnia" Top DVD of Year
(Hollywood Reporter) Disney said Tuesday it has sold more than 11 million DVDs of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," making it the top-selling video in the United States so far this year.
The DVD, released April 4, edged ahead of "Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire," which has sold just shy of 10 million units since its early March DVD release.
Walt Disney Co. stock reached a new 52-week high of $30.45 in late trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, before ending 36 cents higher at $30.35.
Macy cast in HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR
(fangoria.com) Halcyon International Pictures has officially announced that William H. Macy will star as the President of the United States in HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR. The sequel, which reunites the original RE-ANIMATOR team (director Stuart Gordon, producer Brian Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli and lead actor Jeffrey Combs), focuses on a Bush-like president who dies in office. His staff covertly brings in Dr. Herbert West to reanimate the Commander in Chief, and the expected chaos ensues. Yuzna plans on producing a new trilogy of RE-ANIMATOR films with Halcyon partners Ray Haboush and Ted Chalmers.
Fans can ask Gordon about HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR during the director’s talk at the next FANGORIA Weekend of Horrors convention in Burbank, June 2-4.
DreamWorks Pins Hopes For Happy Ending On Creature Feature
(sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com) Dreamworks Animation needs its new animal movie, "Over the Hedge" to help it overcome a beastly year.
Wall Street punished the company for overpromising on "Shrek 2" DVD sales and early box office receipts from "Madagascar." Stock slides and shareholder lawsuits followed. The company, based in Glendale and employing 350 in Redwood City, has watched its stock lose 28 percent of its value in the last 12 months. And DreamWorks' October movie, "Wallace & Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" fared poorly at the box office, dragging down the company's first-quarter earnings, reported earlier this month.
"Over the Hedge," an animated feature about a mischievous raccoon and his pals, is due out May 19. Variety and other trade magazines have given the film mixed reviews but it played well for movie theater owners in March at the ShoWest gathering in Hollywood. The movie will face heavyweight competition, opening opposite "The Da Vinci Code" and less than a month before Disney/Pixar's much-anticipated "Cars."
DreamWorks President Lew Coleman, who said the company's annual performance is largely dependent on the film, acknowledged the crowded market.
"It's a good family story with great characters. However, it's a very competitive time to be releasing a film," he said in a recent earnings call. "We will all be watching closely to see how it holds up against the rest of the summer releases."
Hopes for "Hedge"
Guessing the performance of a movie is a messy business.
Analyst Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch, who doesn't own DreamWorks stock, expects "Over the Hedge" to gross $195 million in the United States and roughly $420 million worldwide -- about what "Madagascar" did last year. But DreamWorks won't likely see a lift until later this year when the film starts to sell as a DVD. "Madagascar" DVD sales have done well, bringing in $30 million in the first quarter and beating some analysts' expectations.
Entertainment industry analyst Dennis McAlpine said "Madagascar" is one of the few animated films to generate solid-but-not-spectacular sales.
If "Over the Hedge" flops, "they've got a problem, if it's a hit, they've got a franchise," he said. "There isn't much in-between."
DreamWorks, which has put out six computer-animated features in its 12-year history, has landed films on both sides of the chasm. It is best known for its mega-franchise based on a lovable green ogre.
Posted by dschnee at May 17, 2006 02:15 PM