Take a look at the new extended trailer for Joss Whedon's AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON which features some new shots AND a cool 2 minute Behind The Scenes (BTS) video of the massive production.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the production value in this thing. There's nothing like a huge budget movie delivering the goods on the screen and with the confidence that Marvel has with it's franchise pedigrees I can see ULTRON topping the original both critically and financially.
Here's the storyline for the movie: Marvel Studios presents AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.
Marvel’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is due to hit theaters on May 1, 2015.
Tim here, and there's a nice little BTS video for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that appeared on IGN the other day. I've included it below followed by two short clips of a scenes from the film. The BTS video shows the challenges that had to be overcome with the performance capture technology and how far it has come since the last Apes film. It's very impressive to witness this kind of technological evolution combined with today's advanced native 3D - provided by 3ality Technica.
The scene that follows was shown to those in attendence at CinemaCon, and it got the most visceral reaction.For me it instantly became a favorite scene. It completely solidifies how insanely awesome the movie will be. Great tension. Enjoy.
Another clip that was released:
We're very close to the release of the movie. It lands in theaters on July 11th.
Ok - first things first. I saw the trailer for EDGE OF TOMORROW in IMAX 3D and it sucked.Instant headache. I am REALLY hoping that this isn't the case for the whole movie - that this was just a rush job to get the trailer out on time. Or, that it was a theatrical projection error. Because the more I see of this movie the more I really want to love it.
Check the movie clips (visual and some minor plot and character relationship spoilers) and the Behind The Scenes (BTS) clips (visual spoilers) to see what I mean. First of all, I like Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in general but I am really impressed with the level of practical effects being employed along with visual effects! I think this will translate to a believable experience. Yet another reason why I hope they didn't blow the 3D conversion.
Here's the storyline for the movie: The epic action of “Edge of Tomorrow” unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.
EDGE OF TOMORROW opens on June 6 in 3D, IMAX 3D and flat. Here's hoping for a good conversion.
Here's a quick tour of one of the sets from X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST given to us by director Bryan Singer. He's amped up about shooting in native 3D (using 3ality Technica rigs, Alexa Ms and Leica lens - my friend John Harper is the stereographer) and the cutting edge technology that's in his employ for this epic movie. The set is very impressive with intricate work done for a fine level of detail. The lighting and green screening is on a large scale as well, so I expect "The Monastary" scene to be accordingly magnificent. Singer looks right at home in the middle of this large scale effort - and I'm going to look right at home in the theater audience watching it!!
Here's the storyline for the movie: The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.
Tim here, WETA Digital has released a brand new two and a half minute video exclusively the The Hollywood Reporter detailing the creation of the dragon Smaug. Video is embedded below. Enjoy!
The Hollywood Reporter also spoke to Smaug VFX artist David Clayton (who is nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the film) about the process of translating actor Benedict Cumberbatch's motion capture performance into the fire-breathing creature you see on the screen in The Desolation of Smaug.
David Clayton:(emphaisis mine)
"The translation of performance from Benedict to Smaug wasn't a one-to-one match like you'd get from a humanoid creature. They have very different physiologies," Clayton explains. "As animators we had to transpose the elements of Benedict's performance that were critical to the shot, such as head nuances and facial expressions. We then built up the majority of his motion with keyframe animation" –meaning that it was animated by hand.
Look out on April 8th when The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits sheleves on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 3D Blu-Ray.
If you've been living under a rock the past year then perhaps you have an excuse but otherwise you should be well aware of the 3D event of the year: Alfonso Cuaron's GRAVITY.
The weight of this movie (if you'll pardon the pun) is staggering. The realism. The extended shots. The effects. The 3D. So when Cuaron says he's been working years on this project, he means he has been working YEARS. And it shows.
The behind the scenes images feature Sandra Bullock and George Clooney decked out in their space suits with Bullock in a couple of underwater shots. It seems Cuaron and his team used water to simulate the weightlessness of space in some capacity. I'm not entirely sure - but it makes sense.
The featurette is from IMAX so obviously it will tout the format as a stellar way of seeing the movie and I agree. Seek out the largest 3D screen possible in your area and nail down tickets because I'm almost certain you'll want to go see this thing again.
You MAY want to avoid looking at how Cuaron has done some of these shots as they could conceivably affect the magic of the movie. Not for me, but perhaps some may feel that way so proceed with caution. Personally I love behind the scenes shots and featurettes! Perhaps it's the filmmaker in me. :-)
Enjoy the featurette!
Click Images To Enlarge
Here's the storyline for the movie: GRAVITY, directed by Oscar nominee Alfonso Cuaron, stars Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in a heart-pounding thriller that pulls you into the infinite and unforgiving realm of deep space. Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney). But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth… and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.
GRAVITY will be released on October 4. Yes, NEXT weekend! It's finally here...
Sources: Entertainment Weekly (Images) | IMAX (Video)
Check the new behind the scenes (BTS) featurette for THOR: THE DARK WORLD! The clips include some BTS shots but not the quantity or duration I would prefer. Undoubtedly there are more coming though and this is a good appetizer! Packed with segments from key cast interviews that will surely be included in the boxed disc releases for home entertainment next year, it shows off the impact that the scale of the movie is having on the stars. Or it's pure marketing fluff. :-) I'm leaning more towards the epic scale knowing how Marvel justly treats it's properties.
It's also interesting to see how Tom Hiddleston's character Loki has evolved into arguably the most popular in the franchise, and that's an impressive feat given the movie titles all have THOR in them! His appearance at Comic-con this year has helped seal that deal I think.
Here's the storyline for the movie: Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Straight away - I don't know if HERCULES will be in 3D, but I'm guessing that they're going to have to convert it to 3D in post to effectively combat Renny Harlin's HERCULES 3D starring Kellan Lutz which is also due in 2014. One thing is certain, that's not a 3D rig in the photo. Either way, you have to enjoy Dwayne Johnson's tweets, especially when the man is on set. That's the case with his current project HERCULES which is currently shooting. Yes it's being directed by Brett Ratner and I've never been a great fan of his, but the RUSH HOUR movies made a mint (and were ok). I'm just not tuned into his work.
Back to Johnson - he seems to always have a great catchphrase with his set tweets too. Take the one that came with this photo:
Got a way with words right? We'll have more on whether HERCULES goes 3D and definitely more on HERCULES 3D from Harlin. Confused? Don't blame you! HERCULES opens on July 25, 2014 while HERCULES 3D is slated for March, 2014.
I know what you're asking yourself: "How many trailers and featurettes should I watch without spoiling myself too badly?"And justifiably so. Yes, there are visual spoilers in these and background stories as to how things work which could be deemed 'spoilery'. It is totally your call to watch them or not, but so far I have sat through them and don't feel as though my experience will be lessened by it.
I've been holding off posting these until we get a couple to discuss and now's the time to start. Just amazing stuff! Especially the dual cockpit and how that works. But I won't get into it here - have a watch and then we can discuss if needed in the comments.
Here's the movie's storyline: When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
PACIFIC RIM opens on July 12. Oh man, I can't wait for this one.
TINTIN is about to land on European shores in a couple of weeks (Oct 26) and the anticipation is through the roof! We are going to have to wait until December 21 over here and by then word from overseas will drive opening weekend numbers sky high.
It's vintage Spielberg guys. A young Indiana Jones adventure in performance capture! You can see Peter Jackson's touch of course as his very own Weta team is responsible for the perfcap and effects - which is the whole freakin' thing anyway!
Prepare to be wowed with this thing. I know I am. Can't wait! So enjoy these clips (some behind the scenes clips too!) in the interim while we patiently wait...
Jim here. As we all know, the past few Harry Potter movies have included select scenes in IMAX 3D and the finales are no exception! HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS part 1 and 2 will both include IMAX 3D!
I quite enjoy how they amp up some scenes with 3D.Personally I would want the whole thing in three dimensions. No surprise there right? The final movies in one of the richest movie franchises of all time should pack a wallop though.
To further whet your appetites for what will surely be the darkest HP movies of all - here is a brief teaser clip with some commentary by David Heyman (Producer) and David Yates (Director) with some behind the scenes stuff:
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS part 1 and 2 are slated for November 19, 2010 and July 15, 2011 respectively. Out of all of them - these are the two that most interests me. How about you?
Jim here. A new photo has popped up over on the Spanish site Estrenosdecine (I can't STAND sites that ruin photos with their logos!) revealing Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson working with the "Virtual Cam" within the volume set up for shooting TINTIN. It reminds me of the ancient art of divining for water! :-)
Cool photo. But it is OLD. It was taken the same day as this photo that I posted back in March - Spielberg merely donned a vest. Still - ultra cool to see the formally analog Spielberg using this cutting edge piece of Hollywood gadgetry.
For those unaware of the tech behind the Virtual Cam, it allows the directors to position the camera (a virtual camera) anywhere in the environment after the mocap (motion capture) has been shot. The environment is within the bounds of the "volume" which is a wide space usually divided into squares. When shooting mocap, infrared cameras are pointed into this volume and tracks the locations of objects (via bright dots on jumpsuits, etc).
By comparison, the SimulCam is used when shooting live action and virtual elements at the same time - this is obviously not needed on TINTIN, but it certainly was on AVATAR. Thanks to a special source for pointing out my error in haste! :-)
I can't wait to some first glimpses of TINTIN. How about it? Shall I enquire with my sources? :-)
Jim here - nice to see almost a regularity behind the revealing of some new shots from AVATAR, even though they are not revealing much. In fact, the most exciting thing in the two released images has been "What's on Jim's t-shirt today"?
Case in point - today's t-shirt says "We (heart) WGTN" - WGTN stands of course for Wellington, NZ. Obviously they are reviewing some recent shot on their on set display.
The two in the front seem to be having a blast, but the two in the back... not so much. Was there division on the set??? Haha - just trying to make it more interesting! Love seeing the pics though Fox - keep 'em coming! Oh, and send them to MarketSaw once and awhile!
Check out the following Beowulf behind the scenes (BTS) video featuring Robert Zemeckis directing Crispin Glover (Grendel) and Ray Winstone (Beowulf) in the great hall action scene where Grendel loses his arm.
Incidentally, Winstone's last movie could be Indiana Jones and The kingdom of the Crystal Skull as he is threatening to retire from movie acting. That will be a loss.
Check out all the infrared cameras framed around the capture area - there has got to be 400 or 500 of them! AWESOME 3D technology.
Now finally I get to see how 3D performance capture is done in Zemeckis' world and I find it absolutely intriguing! The BTS is great because you can see how much fun they are having - yet realize the seriousness of what they are trying to achieve. I can't even count how many computer capture points are plastered on Winestone's face. Love how they sync Glover's movements when Winstone is on top of Grendel punching his ear.
