AVATAR Update: Sequels Pushed Back 1 Year - Cameron Buys Giant Studios - Further Insight From Source!!

Cameron in Wellington, NZ - Jan 12, 2014. Peter Jackson in background.

Well I had heard rumors that this was happening, but nothing was solid enough to publish so I let it slide. Now it is official and James Cameron has pushed back the AVATAR sequels 1 year. AVATAR 2 is now slated to screen around Christmas 2017.

So what does this mean? It means the movies are technically complex. It means the stories may not be as complete as previously thought.

So let's talk about it being technically complex. How about complex enough for Cameron to go out and buy Atlanta based Giant Studios? Yes you heard right - Lightstorm Entertainment is going to close down that facility and take their intellectual property in house, including Giant's talented creative team. This is a big deal folks. Giant was a world leader in motion capture technology and this gives Cameron a tremendous sandbox with which to play in - with more autonomy.

Now here's where I have gotten some information from a top source that plugs into this. As you know by now, extensive amounts of AVATAR 2 will be underwater (as of now of course - another year can bring about changes). My source says Cameron will be shooting scenes based on a triage of complexity: The harder scenes will be done first to allow ample time for post-production. That means mo-cap / perf-cap. There is a tremendous amount of mo-cap to be done and this is where Giant's talent comes in. Cameron now has an army of experts at his beck and call. Plus he has consulted with Andy Serkis' The Imaginarium for the use of some advanced techniques. It's all very exciting! However it is also time consuming and thus the delay. Shooting mo-cap for underwater scenes is going to be very tricky and has got to be done right. Better than right - James Cameron right.

Let's talk story. My source says there will be the exploration and magical moments, but there is also the retribution of corporate Earth and Stephen Lang. His words: "It's going to be the most elaborate  production in cinema history, bar none." I believe him. He's one of my top sources and besides - Cameron with an astronomical budget will deliver far and above our expectations, I'm sure. He always has.

I'll have more for you as soon as I can. Some of this is breaking news - other bits are just nicely plugging in now. It is certainly a clearer picture - but too bad for audiences, it'll be another year to wait.

Sources: AP | Variety | Deadline
Photo: AP / Nick Perry

Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale Head the Ensemble of Warner Bros. Pictures’ 3D Adventure JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS

Young actor Rohan Chand to star as Mowgli in the cast, also including Peter Mullan, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, Eddie Marsan, and Andy Serkis

Tim here, and I came upon a press release earlier today for Andy Serkis' Jungle Book adaption being handled by Warner Bros., which is not to be confused with the Disney one being directed by Jon Favreau. The press release (below) announces the cast of the Serkis headed movie, and it's quite the impressive cast. If you remember earlier in the year when I interviewed Andy Serkis at CinemaCon we spoke briefly about Jungle Book: Origins, which he had just been announced to direct.

Press Release:

BURBANK, Calif. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Warner Bros. Pictures has assembled an impressive roster of stars for "Jungle Book: Origins," its new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis. The action adventure, which will blend motion capture and live action, will be released on October 21, 2016. The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
The actors performing the roles of the story's central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug") as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Oscar winner Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine") as the sinister snake, Kaa; Oscar winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter," the "Dark Knight" Trilogy) as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Andy Serkis ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") as the wise bear, Baloo; Peter Mullan ("Hercules") as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui; Naomie Harris ("Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom") as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan ("Ray Donovan") as Nisha's mate, Vihaan; and Jack Reynor ("Transformers: Age of Extinction") as Mowgli's Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand ("The Hundred-Foot Journey," "Bad Words") will play the boy raised by wolves, Mowgli.
The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the blockbuster "Harry Potter" films. Jonathan Cavendish ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age," performance capture producer "Godzilla") is also serving as a producer. The screenplay is by Kloves' daughter, Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.
The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

Look for production to begin as soon as Andy Serkis wraps up his duties on Star Wars Episode VII. Jungle Book: Origins hits theaters in 3D on October 21, 2016. More details when we get it.

MUST WATCH: New Performance Capture BTS Clip From DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES!

Wow - I love this! Take a look at how far technology has come - even since AVATAR - when it comes to the performance capture of actor's facial expressions. This Behind The Scenes (BTS) clip features a split screen approach to showing the on set action and what the end result is after digital post production.

Of course this whole movement has been spearheaded by a very capable actor (Andy Serkis) AND the artists behind the creation of these performances.

The digital work that's being done is of course married up with the industry leading native 3D produced from 3ality Technica's native 3D rigs. Man - can't wait to see all the technical execution done on this movie! I think I'll have to see it twice within a weekend; once with my Apes fanboy cap on and once from a purely technical view.

Anyway - please enjoy the work in this clip. I've watched it several times now and will continue to do ad nauseam - I like it that much.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES opens on July 11.

New Photos From DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES !

We saw one the apes clutching an assault weapon during a recent TV spot and now we have another one pointing a shotgun. Seems these apes aren't all about spears at all and have adapted to the human technology that suits their needs. Not all of it does apparently though.

It'll be interesting to see Caesar lead his group of apes while the humans struggle to make a comeback. I'm looking for human interest AND ape interest stories here and when the two factions meet - look out!

Here's the storyline for the movie:
A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

Says Serkis: "Caesar not only has a wife, but also an infant son and a teenage son. This film centers around the notion of family — the survival of the family and what lengths you would go to to protect them when life is extremely hard and tough."

Check out our exclusive interview with Andy Serkis (Caesar) if you missed it! Tim and Andy talk about 3D, the 3ality Technica rigs - and you know, cool MarketSaw stuff :-)

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES opens on July 11.

Source: USA Today

CinemaCon - Andy Serkis Interview

Tim here, and I had the great pleasure to sit down with the one and only Andy Serkis at CinemaCon for a One on One Interview! He was a complete gentleman and answered all my questions magnificently. We spoke about Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Jungle Book, Animal Farm, stereoscopic 3D, performance capture, and should the Oscars have a category specifically for actors in performance capture roles. You'll like his response to that last one. Andy was honored that night with CinemaCon's Vanguard Award, which is an award he rightfully deserved.

For those who don't know Andy Serkis has been confirmed by Warner Bros. to make his directorial debut on The Jungle Book, which is a new adaption of the book by Rudyard Kipling that will be much darker than the Disney version from the 1950's. Check out the interview below:

Tim: First, I want to congratulate you on The Jungle Book.

Andy: Oh, yes.

Tim: Got to ask, is it going to be 3D?

Andy: I would think at this point in time it is safe to say that it will be 3D.

Tim: Is it going to be native?

Andy: That is also a good question. It is still early days so I haven't got a definitive answer for that.

Tim: Moving on to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, it was shot with 3ality Rigs, which you shot with on The Hobbit. You were the Second Unit Director, and this time you were acting with them. Was there any kind of difference for you working with the 3ality Rigs as an actor versus being behind the scenes?

Andy: I mean 3ality are fantastic rigs. They are incredible to work with. They're fantastic in the field and, of course, one of the things about Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was that we were shooting nearly every single scene on location. And they worked seamlessly. So they were great to work with, for sure, and I remember that from working with them on The Hobbit. They are very good to work with on the field. It's tough working with 3D in the field, and you need all the help that you can get. And 3ality, certainly, a great brand.

Tim: Yeah they are great. I've gotten to visit their headquarters and seen the awesome things they're doing, especially with their image processors.

Andy: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, it's terrific. And, Michael Seresin is the D.O.P on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and obviously Matt Reeves directing, and it was all very much shot in natural light. There's a real sense that these apes do exist, and it was not going for overly melodramatic lighting. It was very real. Everything was shot with vérité style, so it needed that support from the 3D, you know, so I think it works. I've seen a cut and it looks extraordinary.

Tim: That's awesome. I didn't get a chance to see it in 3D earlier when they showed us the clips...

Andy: Right... right.

Tim: ...but it looked incredible. And, going off of that, the performance capture: it looks like-- Not only has it improved, but so have the visual effects.

Andy: Absolutely.

Tim: What, for you, on this movie improved in terms of just the performance capture technology.

Andy: Well, this really is the first time that so many apes have been captured... once outside on location-- I think it is the first movie that has captured that amount of people at the same time. So that's incredible because really the great thing about performance capture is that is having everyone play off each other. In the first movie it was pretty much a domestic piece if you remember. I mean, Caesar was once-- You know, the first act was Caesar being brought up by Will (James Franco's character), and of course in the second act he goes into the sanctuary. This is a whole ape community that is brought to life. The cameras are now able to rigged very easily and over wide distances. The marker set-ups that we're using on our suits are, you know, they have a greater fidelity to our performances, and then the facial capture system (the head mounted cameras) they are much higher resolution.

Tim: Are they lighter?

Andy: I wouldn't say they are particularly lighter, but the cameras are much higher resolution. And then the visual effects side of it, what WETA is able to do now with interpolating the performance is unbelievable. I mean, it's another layer again. The skin texturing, all of the hair...

Tim: The hair is incredible. One of the things I noticed today.

Andy: Exactly. But, it's actually the nuance of performance that is absolutely transparent now between what the actor is doing and what you see on the screen with the apes' faces on. That is really WETA. WETA has broken so many territories and boundaries, rather... broken so boundaries with both facial and all the texturing over the course of the movies. What's great is that people are recognizing that and seeing it. It allows you to stay immersed in the story when your eye isn't taken away by something not looking one hundred percent.

Tim: Exactly. Okay, I'm going to transition... I just want to see do you have any TinTin updates?

Andy: Not at the moment. I mean, the desire is there from everybody to make another TinTin film.

Tim: Peter's just encumbered in...

Andy: Yeah, he has to finish the third Hobbit movie. You know, it's a huge last film.

Tim: Okay. I'm going to move on to what your expectations are for future performance capture films, like TinTin?

Andy: Well like The Jungle Book for instance.

Tim: The Jungle Book would be a perfect one.

Andy: The Jungle Book is going to be an entirally performance capture movie. As is another project which we at the at the Imaginarium, which is my company... my and Jonathan Cavendish's performance capture studio... we've been developing Animal Farm for a year and a half. And that is a perfect use of performance capture because not only do you get the actors playing all the scenes together and of course what they are metaphorically-- They are human beings portrayed as animals, but also you see a transition say for instance, with the pigs you see them growing from being four legged to two legged animals. You know, a great use of performance capture. So we've been evolving that over the last year and a half. What we intend to do is fairly hot on the heels of The Jungle Book is to bring that into play.

Tim: That would be a great one. I love Orwell. I remember reading that when I was a kid. That is a great one. I'm going to move on to my last question since I'm near out of time. Do you believe that the Academy Awards should create a category for Best Performance Capture Performance?

Andy: I've always said, actually, that I don't think that there should be because really at the end of the day performance capture is a technology; it's another set of cameras that captures an actor's performances. So it's not a two-dimensional camera, or a 3D rig--

Tim: So your saying you want actors to be treated equally?

Andy: Actors are actors, and they are delivering performances. It's just the method by which their performances are caught that's different. How one has to think of it these days is that instead of putting on a costume and make-up and playing a role, the costume and make-up is being applied after the fact. It's digital costume and make-up. The underlying performance is what is crafted and authored on the stage between the other actors, yourself, and the director in exactly the same way. So there is absolutely no difference. Really I've always believed that one is playing another acting role. And, I've never drawn a distinction between live action and performance capture acting.

Tim: Okay, that's awesome to hear because I wish you had been nominated for first Gollum, and then even now Caesar. Hopefully you can get a nomination.

Andy: Thank you.

Tim: And with that I'm out of time. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to chat with me.

Andy: You're welcome.

Tim: And I hope that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a huge success.

Andy: Thank you.

So awesome to sit down with such a great actor! Thank you Andy and 20^th Century Fox for allowing me the opportunity to sit down and talk with him. Funny thing, I interviewed Caesar from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in Caesars Palace. It was a great interview, and I wish I could have got more time. Hopefully again in the future we'll get to talk. Maybe when The Jungle Book is being released. If you'd like more information about Andy Serkis' company The Imaginarium Studios you can check out the site at: theimaginariumstudios.com. And let's hope that Andy gets the well deserved nomination for his performance as Caesar this coming awards season. And, to make Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a huge success go to your favorite movie theater and see it in 3D and IMAX on July 11^th, 2014.

Spielberg Hopes TINTIN 2 Will Release In 2015

We have been waiting for some sort of confirmation of the release year for the TINTIN sequel that will be directed by Peter Jackson and produced by Steven Spielberg. Well the later just confirmed that 2015 still is the date that everyone is aiming for and hopefully they can swing that.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN went on to make $374 million worldwide so one can see why a sequel is in the works. Clearly the overseas market is the driver here with that box office totaling almost $300 million itself.

Here's what Spielberg had to say:
"Peter Jackson is directing the next one, I’m producing. We have a script and we’re going to start performance capture probably at the end of this year. Don’t hold me to it, but we’re hoping the film will come out around Christmas-time in 2015. We know which books we’re making, we can’t share that now but we’re combining two books which were always intended to be combined by Herge."

Can't wait to hear about the first details of the followup. Which books do you think they will be using? Good question! 

Source: Indiatimes via The Film Stage

Hobbit Featurette: The Making Of The Trolls And The Giant Cavern Of The Goblin King! Friday Numbers Are In!

Take a look at this very cool featurette of how Peter Jackson's creative geniuses have crafted the very realistic trolls and Goblin King Caverns in THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.

I thought the scenes mentioned in this featurette were among the best of the movie and certainly bears the time it takes to watch this thing.

My review of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY is coming later today (Sunday) so stay tuned.

World wide reaction to the movie has been amazingly good: Friday totals are in at $37.5 million pointing at a $100 million weekend - easily a new record. A $200 million worldwide tally is certainly possible as well by Monday morning!

So here's the featurette! Enjoy!!

THUNDER RUN Is A Go. Financing In Place - Shooting Starts This Summer!

I'm thrilled at how fast this project is coming together since we heard about the cast that's attached to THUNDER RUN. Sam Worthington, Gerard Butler and Matthew McConaughy top line this HUGE action film that will use extremely heavy visual effects to capture what to date has been called impossible to achieve with standard live action. In fact most of this thing will be motion and performance captured with voices added, that's how crazy it is. It would have been prohibitively expensive to shoot it with real tanks.

THUNDER RUN is based on the David Zucchino novel entitled THUNDER RUN: THE ARMORED STRIKE TO CAPTURE BAGHDAD. Simon West (THE EXPENDABLES 2, THE MECHANIC, CON AIR) is directing and fully embracing modern 3D technology too.

Here's the book's description: 
In one of the boldest gambles in modern military history, just three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of 5 million people and, in three bloody days of combat, ended the Iraqi war. Thunder Run is the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad—one of the most decisive battles in American combat history—by the Spartan Brigade, the Second Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized). 

Facing Iraqi forces dug into bunkers and firing from rooftops, the brigade punched a hole through the heart of Baghdad with a high-speed charge to Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace and military parade grounds. Many Iraqi soldiers fled or surrendered during the onslaught, but thousands of Republican Guards, Fedayeen militiamen, and Arab mercenaries stood and fought, challenging seventy-ton Abrams tanks in Toyota pickup trucks, school buses, taxicabs, Chevrolet Caprices, ambulances, and garbage trucks.

Iraqi forces destroyed the brigade’s command center, cutting off communications and burning a fleet of signal vehicles. The Iraqis also ambushed the brigade’s resupply column, killing two sergeants and setting fuel and ammunition tankers ablaze in an attack that nearly cut off the main assault column. And even as it appeared that the brigade was seizing control of the capital on the battle’s third day, a fierce counterattack across the Tigris River trapped an American tank company under withering fire and forced a retreat. With the shadow of Mogadishu hanging over every member of the Spartan Brigade, the capture of Baghdad was a brutal and terrifying three days of urban warfare.

Trust me, this movie is going to be MASSIVE. Shooting starts this summer.

For all of our THUNDER RUN coverage, click here. More when I get it!

via Collider

 

TARZAN Set To Swing With Kellan Lutz And Spencer Locke

You may remember Kellan Lutz from the TWILIGHT movies (or may not if you haven't seen them) and his counterpart in TARZAN, Spencer Locke from the RESIDENT EVIL franchise.

Constantin Films has had TARZAN under development for some time now flying under the radar but now things are definitely picking up. 

Details as to how the movie will shoot are turning up too and they will be using Performance Capture, which is music to my ears. The co-directors are Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe who are using an adaptation by Klooss, Yoni Brenner and Jessica Postigo from the original written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Locke is also currently starring in DETENTION with Josh Hutcherson and Dane Cook, a movie co-written and co-produced by a Halifax, Nova Scotia native Mark Palmero (My hometown, so kudos!).

Here is the storyline for the movie, which updates the classic:
Tarzan’s parents, billionaire adventurers, are killed in airplane crash rather than being marooned with their child. And the movie’s villain is the CEO of Greystoke Energies, a man who took over the company from Tarzan’s deceased parents. In the script, Jane is the daughter of an African guide and is committed to the conservation and preservation of the African jungle. She eventually works with Tarzan to defeat the mercenary army of Greystoke Energies.

I don't know how the story will exactly work, but I like that they are going to use PerfCap to get it done technically. The end result should at least LOOK GOOD. Environmental message movies are hot right now, especially after AVATAR so if this is done right, it could pull in some decent dollars and maybe actually do the world some good as far as conservation awareness is concerned.

Source: THR

AVATAR 2 Will Feature Underwater Performance Capture! Probable Release is 2015 At The Earliest

Yes, you heard that correctly, AVATAR 2 will probably be "delayed" until 2015. I placed quotes around delayed because there never was an ironclad release year in mind, it's just because the whole world is clamoring for more AVATAR and you just can't get around conjecture.

Empire recently spoke with my friend Jon Landau, Jim Cameron's right hand man and producer of TITANIC and AVATAR and he informed us that: "Movies make release dates; release dates don’t make movies."

It was great to hear that Cameron will be instilling his experiences of the Mariana Trench dive with the production of AVATAR 2 / 3. Makes total sense of course as the movies will have an underwater component. Note that not the whole movie will be submerged! Landau says that the underwater portions will be similar to how they traveled to the floating mountains in the original AVATAR.

Of particular note from this interview and something I have been trying to get my head around for some time now, is how will they (Weta) achieve performance capture underwater? Will they fake it? Will it actually take place by submerging the actors? Landau comments briefly on this. Curiouser and curiouser!

Here's Jon Landau:



Wow. I am just beside myself the Landau is actually talking about the AVATAR universe because up until now Cameron and Landau have been very tight lipped. So good to see movement toward the end goals! Time to nudge my sources for some info on that underwater performance capture! Remember our coverage of the PerfCap from the original movie? This is going to be great!!


Source: Empire

Bradley Cooper: PARADISE LOST To Start Production In June?

Well finally some good news coming out of the PARADISE LOST news stream!

Bradley Cooper, who has been attached to director Alex Proyas' performance capture project for some time now (to play Lucifer himself), was quoted recently about the movie and he said it was delayed and not killed.

Says Cooper: "We’re going to hopefully start in June. Everything’s going great. I mean, nothing’s done until we’re up and shooting."

Here's the movie's storyline:
Lucifer and Michael, God's greatest archangels, share the bond of extraordinary friendship until God produces his greatest creation: Man. Unable to remain subservient to God if it means bowing down to humanity, Lucifer begins his dark descent and is cast out — only to plot his revenge.

If Proyas and Cooper get the greenlight from Warner Bros. to shoot this summer, look for a 2014 release for PARADISE LOST.

I get a sneaking suspicion that Cooper may have flexed his nearly acquired Hollywood influence to get this movie finally made. He has been an avid supporter for some time now and perhaps he made the deal for THE HANGOVER 3 with consideration given to this production. Just a hunch.

Source: The Playlist

Reader Review: What Did You Think About TINTIN?

Before I post my thoughts on TINTIN (can you believe I haven't had time to see it yet!) - what did you think? Even our European friends - chime in. I know you have been holding back spoilers for us for a long time! All's fair in the comments section!!

I am DYING to see it, so I'm off to the cinema tomorrow! Obviously I won't be reading the comments until AFTER the movie... :-)

Simon West's THUNDER RUN Attaches Worthington, Butler And McConaughey

I love following projects through their life cycle to fruition but some stand out more than most. Simon West (THE EXPENDABLES 2, THE MECHANIC, CON AIR) has the credentials to get almost anything off the ground and this new project he has percolating is certainly pushing the threshold of what is possible forward.

Motion and performance capture has taken off in amazing ways thanks to a number of visionary individuals and companies, like James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Weta and Giant Studios to name a few.

Now you can add Simon West to that growing list.

A new production company known as Freedom Films is actively pursuing financing /distribution for a film adaption of David Zucchino's book entitled THUNDER RUN: THE ARMORED STRIKE TO CAPTURE BAGHDAD. Freedom has impressively secured Sam Worthington, Gerard Butler and Matthew McConaughy to mocap and perfcap their characters along with supplying their voices for the actioner.

Here's West on 3D itself: “You know the thing I like is the ability to go to the places that you can’t normally go. That’s why the first half of Avatar is so magical to me, because there’s no way that you could physically build that world in the same way. To float around in 3D on a new planet was really mesmerizing, so I definitely want to do 3D and CGI. I’ve got like three CGI films in my company at the moment. I’m going to direct one and produce two others.”

On THUNDER RUN: "It’s a tank battle in the Iraq war, which is a phenomenal story that you just couldn’t physically shoot. There wouldn’t be enough money in the world to shoot it so we can do it CGI and 3D with photo-realistic motion-capture. It’s the only way to do it, because there would be no way to do it for real."

"When I first read Zucchino's book, I realized immediately it was one of the great accounts of modern warfare: heroic, exciting, tragic and ultimately political. I had the same feeling when I found and developed 'Black Hawk Down' with Jerry Bruckheimer."

Here's the book's description:
In one of the boldest gambles in modern military history, just three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of 5 million people and, in three bloody days of combat, ended the Iraqi war. Thunder Run is the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad—one of the most decisive battles in American combat history—by the Spartan Brigade, the Second Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized).

Facing Iraqi forces dug into bunkers and firing from rooftops, the brigade punched a hole through the heart of Baghdad with a high-speed charge to Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace and military parade grounds. Many Iraqi soldiers fled or surrendered during the onslaught, but thousands of Republican Guards, Fedayeen militiamen, and Arab mercenaries stood and fought, challenging seventy-ton Abrams tanks in Toyota pickup trucks, school buses, taxicabs, Chevrolet Caprices, ambulances, and garbage trucks.

Iraqi forces destroyed the brigade’s command center, cutting off communications and burning a fleet of signal vehicles. The Iraqis also ambushed the brigade’s resupply column, killing two sergeants and setting fuel and ammunition tankers ablaze in an attack that nearly cut off the main assault column. And even as it appeared that the brigade was seizing control of the capital on the battle’s third day, a fierce counterattack across the Tigris River trapped an American tank company under withering fire and forced a retreat. With the shadow of Mogadishu hanging over every member of the Spartan Brigade, the capture of Baghdad was a brutal and terrifying three days of urban warfare.

Ken Nolan and Robert Port are adapting and The Graphic Film Company (Another Simon West company) will be tackling the motion and performance capturing; they will be using the same tech that they are employing for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: ORIGINS 3-D. Oh and GFC is hiring too: Artists and Painters mainly.

I am kinda nervous about how the quality of the performance capture will turn out (mocap less so). I have taken a look at what GFC has for demo reels and the facial capture looks to be a little lacking. One thing that pops out immediately with me is the very few data capture points on the actors face. Compare this with Weta's work and you get the idea. Hopefully they are augmenting this data with some sort of additional mapping technology. Their motion capture volume and data capture suits look fine to me however.

It does bother me that they present their 3D conversion technology in anaglyph - I can't stand seeing that, but that's a personal view. I know there is no other way to show an end result on the Internet currently, but I would rather not see anything at all. ALL of this is mitigated though by the fact that Simon West's name is marbled all through this production. His brand is enough for me to be excited and to waylay fears of something going wrong.

There was actually more than just one Thunder Run undertaken (see the map images) so perhaps this movie will bring them all together (along with an Iraqi counterattack) as the book describes as "3 bloody days of combat". More when I get it...

Sources: Screenrant | THR | Global Security

MUST SEE: Amazing TINTIN Standee From Europe!

I haven't seen any of these over on this side of the pond yet - have you? Check out these awesome standees for TINTIN from Europe, sent to me by F, an awesome MarketSaw reader.

Click to enlarge the images.

Clearly Weta has nailed the uncanny valley - those eyes are just about perfect. Blend in cartoon-like figures yet actual skin pores and bloodshot eyes and we are in the adventure business!

I love the 3D is sweeping the world and that there is an absolutely HUGE market overseas for everything Hollywood produces. TINTIN is one of those worldwide properties that you KNOW will enjoy stunning box office in Europe. It may surprise a few folks and indeed may lead to more European properties being developed by the studios.

Anyway, it looks like we can't go wrong with this one. Spielberg and Jackson looked to have nailed it. With Spielberg's track record one can be assured that the story and adventure will be grand indeed.

More when I get it! THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN hits theaters in Europe starting October 26 (Belgium, Switzerland, France, Netherlands and the UK) and in the US and Canada on December 23.

ROGER RABBIT 2 Is A Drawn Out Process - But Ramping Up: Zemeckis Hires Original Writers!

**UPDATE: Nov 3 - Zemeckis confirms his use of performance capture and 3D for ROGER RABBIT 2. As if we didn't know that!! :-)

Jim here. Well pretty much knew Zemeckis was going to revisit ROGER RABBIT back in April/May this year, but now it seems Robert has announced that the original writers are attached to pen the script for ROGER RABBIT 2. Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman are hard at work on it (via MTV).

Good to see some follow up on this project! It is going to be wicked to see 3D live action (most likely knowing Zemeckis!) mixed with flat 2D hand drawn animation: "I will tell you this - if that ever does happen, the 2D animated characters will remain 2D. They will not be dimensionalized, but that doesn't mean other parts won't be in 3D," (Zemeckis at Comic Con 2009).

:-) Should be spectacular!!

PerfCap + Real Time Live Action = Robert Zemeckis' ROGER RABBIT 2... in 3D?

**SAME DAY UPDATE: Check out this new affordable motion capture technology from MIT - Second Skin!

Jim here. Just a quick note to make sure you guys know that Robert Zemeckis hinted at going back to ROGER RABBIT with a second movie using today's tech - which he is undoubtedly referring to 3D perfcap.

Here is his quote to MTV: "I’ll tell you what is buzzing around in my head now that we have the ability—the digital tools, performance capture—I’m starting to think about ROGER RABBIT."

Moreover, the fine investigators over at MTV went further and contacted Michael Lantieri, the special effects supervisor on the original ROGER RABBIT. What Michael told them had my eyes wide open with anticipation: "He talked about how very soon filmmakers will be able to combine performance capture with outdoor, real-time photography."

Hello. I had been hoping for some time now that this eventuality would take place sooner rather than later and here we go! This means numerous things, but for ROGER RABBIT it most likely means being able to introduce real-time, live action backgrounds, actors and objects into a performance capture 'Volume' feed to the director for shooting AND final processing.

Imagine a perfcap Volume scene with say Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant riding a motorcycle with an actor in a perfcap suit playing Roger Rabbit - Zemeckis can see this happening on his monitors WITH a real time, live action bar fight taking place on another set IN HIS BACKGROUND. He can order his real time actors and set design around to suit his perfcap action needs. As he adjusts his virtual camera throughout the Volume, it is coordinated with the live action set cameras in real time!

You can bet that Michael Lantieri would return for any ROGER RABBIT sequel.

I don't know about you, but I personally love seeing this technology being born in our generation. We are witnessing the beginning of a cinematic revolution; nothing short of the introduction of sound and color. Take part in it. Relish in all these movies and don't let the naysayers ruin the experience for you - in 10 years it is they who will say: " I should have stopped and watched." Watched guys like Cameron, Spielberg, Jackson, Burton, Scott and Zemeckis play in a brand new sandbox.

I welcome your comments on how this new technology could be used for upcoming movies. Do you think Cameron has already done something like this with AVATAR?

New "Tintin" Set Photo: Facial Performance Capture Camera Revealed

Jim here. Looks like Empire has got the goods on TINTIN as they release their Steven Spielberg guest edited edition this weekend. Looks like there could be some very nice shots coming our way from this edition. What do you pay a top 5 director to edit your stuff? Hmmm...

In this photo, Tintin (Jamie Bell) and Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) are reviewing a scene with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. I refuse to post *any photo* with ridiculous sized watermarks on it. Sorry. However I have managed some nice images cropped around it posted here. Or you can click that link.

Check out all the tiny white dots on their faces for the performance capture requirements. Those dots will catch every tiny facial motion they make as they act out their scenes. See the tiny camera being held in place in front of Bell's face? That is the camera that captures those facial dot movements. Now you KNOW Gollum is gonna have some fun with that! The facial camera rigs if memory serves is 100% Weta property and they are the world leaders in this technology.

Further, have a look at all the TINTIN comic strips on the walls in the background. Surely these are hints as to what will actually be shown in the movie - are there any TINTIN fans that can shine any light on that? Yes, we know the adventure that will be focused on (SECRET OF THE UNICORN), but what can these strips tell us?

Could someone please scan the magazine (EMPIRE) and send us the photos as I *HATE* posting images with huge, obtuse watermarks on them - like this one. I don't do it (unless hiding a face or something) and I wish other sites wouldn't either. With scans at least we can post something viewable. Thanks!

3D LOL: Obama Outfitted With 238 Motion Capture Sensors For 3-D Record Of Presidency

Jim here. I couldn't resist. The geniuses over at THE ONION have struck again!

Here is an excerpt: "According to sources at the National Archives, Obama will spend the next four years in a custom-made, lycra-and-neoprene bodysuit, featuring 238 reflective "marker balls," which will instantly relay trillions of bytes of information to a central computer in Centennial, CO.

Careful to only move in short bursts, Obama reads to first-graders at a Chicago-area school. Designers at the motion capture firm Vicon Motion Systems will then use this information to build a lifelike 3-D wire-frame model of the nation's 44th president, before digitally "painting" over the structure with computer-generated skin, hair, and clothes. The data will be stored on a hard drive at the National Archives, where curators will employ it as a complete record of Obama's tenure in office."

Be sure to read the whole hilarious post right here. LOL!

Pulled "Avatar" Images

Jim here. I pulled AVATAR images that were posted today because - well, because they aren't AVATAR images. Tough luck for my reader who sent them in to me as the originating site had them listed as AVATAR and also 20th Century Fox copyright. They are not.

In keeping with providing the best AVATAR coverage possible I pulled these immediately. However cool they looked. In fact, it is similar technology that is being used on AVATAR, but not worth the confusion of keeping them up.

Meet The Mo-Cap Giants: Nope It Is Not WETA

**UPDATE III: Oct 15th: Got an email from a Weta employee (who is very serious about their NDA btw) who very clearly pointed out that they do not use Giant's services for any of their in-house stuff like LOTRs or KING KONG (one would imagine this continuing for THE HOBBIT) unless they are collaborating with Giant outside of New Zealand. Giant provides them with software updates so that they can continue to do this on NZ for themselves. In fact if you go here and scroll down to "Post Production Diary - 31 Weeks To Go" (King Kong), you can view their mocap system (which is now their old one) in action, with Giant software running the system for the motion captured body. Obviously a lot of collaboration taking place.

**UPDATE II: Oct 10th: Got a reply from my source. Again - this is ONLY TO CLARIFY, not start/expand a rift. He insists that while Weta does have a mocap department, the software they use is Giant's. And he is quite certain that you cannot "purchase" that software, but must use Giant's services team that happens to come with the technology. The "headrigs" are another matter entirely though - not Giant's tech. So in the end, Weta does do their own mocap (100% end to end) for facials, but for full body work, the technology and service team is predominantly Giant. Not to say that Weta is not collaborating with them! They are. And together is where the magic is. From what the world has seen, there is no need to change anything - you make damn good products.

**SAME DAY UPDATE - *sigh* Could it be that I have hammered out a post too quickly again all in the same week? Yep. I trusted a source that I had who definitely seemed to know what he is talking about, but obviously who is VERY wrong. RETRACTION: WETA was and is responsible for working with mocap LOTRs and KING KONG. The only research that was done on those couple of statements in the opening paragraphs about WETA was simply from one of my sources that has not let me down before. We now he has. Regardless, the true nature of what I wanted to get across with this post was not inflamatory, but rather of collaboration. FAIL. So, in an effort to polish this the way it is intended for the new readers coming to view: Weta and Giant work together as a team to produce their work. There is a lot of magic there obviously. The aim for the post is to introduce readers to Giant, not alienate WETA. Damn poor week for me. Oh and I WOULD HAVE fact checked with WETA themselves if they would ever return my emails. But they don't. One too many exclusive inside sources contacting me I guess. Frankly, I don't give a shit about the PR people for WETA. I do love their technical work though, and thus this retraction.

Jim here. I thought I would clear up a lot of misconception of who is doing most of the big time motion capture work for the studios, and it is NOT Peter Jackson's WETA.

Meet Giant Studios. Giant are specialists in motion capture and boy are they focused. In fact, they are the folks responsible for the major motion capture scenes for IRON MAN, THE HULK, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, I AM LEGEND, PRINCE CASPIAN and THE MUMMY. And more recently, they are working on James Cameron's AVATAR and the Spielberg / Jackson trilogy TINTIN.

Furthermore, Giant are the ones who did the motion capture work for the LOTRs trilogy and KING KONG - many believe that WETA was responsible for that work. Yes WETA is a large VFX house and are damn good at what they do - effects. But they have not done mocap and have always called on Giant to do so.

There work has evolved and has taken us on a cinematic journey that just keeps getting better. For example, they have built a 70 by 36 foot grid-marked space (or Volume) for performance capture (same as motion capture but also captures the actor's facial performances) on AVATAR. Lightstorm and Giant further augment the larger, truss based, near infrared lighting system of the Volume with a single camera solution that they call "Headrigs" for capturing facial performances.

There are other players. A case in point is Imagemovers. From Post Magazine: "Imagemovers Digital's mocap stage, which was built for A Christmas Carol, also uses near infrared lighting, but had a separate truss system built for wirework so the mocap cameras wouldn't be effected by truss movement. Instead of upping the camera count, they relied on 100 cameras, using the HMCs for facial motion capture.

As it stands, in the world of mocap there is always a tug of war between increased accuracy and realtime performance. The greater the resolution and number of cameras, the more points can be captured with greater the accuracy of the points and the reduced incidents of occlusion. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of realtime preview. The flexibility of shooting anywhere, especially outside of a soundstage or volume restricts the normal flexibility of 3D motion capture in that it often solves only the mocap from certain perspectives, which is fine when you are mixing with a traditional camera since its perspective is determined at the time of recording.

As processing gets faster and the tools, which combine multiple technologies, are developed, we can expect higher resolution while still providing realtime playback. There will also be a larger number of tools, and a larger pool of talent. The systems will be more flexible, quicker to set up, provide more accurate data, and provide more integrated workflows."

So as you can deduce, Cameron is going for better storytelling and then amping up the photo-realism in post production. I firmly believe this is the best tact to take with today's technology but as reported by POST, eventual higher resolutions in real time will serve to enhance the director's real time look at what he is shooting and speed up post production - saving money.

With experts in their field like Giant Studios, Hollywood is truly empowered to go places they have never dreamed possible before. How lucky are we to have the best minds in the business for both directing and for delivering the direction. 2009 can't come soon enough!

The photo on the left with the two horses and human being "mocapped" is from the performance capture volume of Cameron's AVATAR - Take a look at the first ever, super high resolution image of the AVATAR set here.

Here is an interesting thought: Who owns the rights to the actor's performances and the subsequent data that has been generated from it? Can a studio re-purpose that data at a later date on an entirely different project? Or is it the actor who has the right to assign where this data goes? How will you be able to trace the performance's origins if it has been "Image Metric'ified"?