MUST WATCH: New Trailer For ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Hey guys - here's trailer #3 for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and it looks stunning! I won't spoil it for you, but be sure to watch it on a big screen with the volume up :-)

I'm first in line for this thing! It's been a long time coming and I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's the movie's storyline:
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay by: James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and Robert Rodriguez
Based on the Graphic Novel ("Manga") Series: "Gunnm" By Yukito Kishiro
Produced by: James Cameron and Jon Landau
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keean Johnson

Connect with Alita: Battle Angel Online:
Visit the Official Site Here: AlitaTickets.co.uk
Like Alita: Battle Angel on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AlitaMovieUK

Follow on Instagram: www.instagram.com/20centuryfoxuk
Follow on Twitter: twitter.com/20CenturyFoxUK
Like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/20thCenturyFoxUK/

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL launches on February 14, 2019.

FULL EVENT VIDEO - BATTLE ANGEL Will Be Cameron's Next Project After AVATAR 2 And 3

Director James Cameron dropshipped into the TagDF tech forum in Mexico City this past Wednesday and everything was definitely five by five.

Probably the biggest single piece of news out of the event is that he is going to be focusing on BATTLE ANGEL after the two AVATAR sequels! This is huge news as many of his projects have been sliding from the back burner to the shelves over and over. He says that he will start to develop BA in 2017 once he is done with the Na'vi.

And speaking of Na'vi, Cameron says that he will be honing in on story and characters more so than new technology this time around. This guy knows just what to say doesn't he? Definitely.

Additionally, he was speaking with GRAVITY director Alfonso Cuarón at the conference (see the video below) on stage. Apparently Cameron helped out Cuarón and his movie, giving him advice when needed. I am so looking forward to that movie.

Cameron also expounded on 3D and what is happening in today's market. Again he emphasized the merits of native 3D vs. conversion (something I am steadfastly in agreement with) and that today's directors are having 3D forced upon them, even those who are not comfortable or don't like 3D. He accurately stated that 3D is moving away from directors and into the hands of the studios.

Further he said that MAN OF STEEL and IRON MAN 3 "should not necessarily be in 3D. If you spend $150 million on visual effects, the film is already going to [look] spectacular [and] perfect."

Here's the event - the first part of the video is in Spanish, but it soon switched to English when Cameron gets involved, but with Spanish translation:





Here's an English only segment:




Via The Film Stage | YouTube

James Cameron Diving Into AVATAR 2, 3 And 4 Next, Other Projects Backburnered

Well some good news and some bad news. The good news is James Cameron is back from his dive and while there is a 3D documentary coming out about it, he is hard at work on AVATAR 2 and 3. He's been writing. And filling in where he wants to take us, but he has stepped back from world building for the moment. As you can imagine, building worlds is a tough business to be in. Think about it for a minute: Pandora's environment, flora and fauna, cultures, language, the physics of this new world - unobtainium, floating mountains, etc. Time consuming to say the least!


So will we see another alien race or planet / moon in AVATAR 2 or 3? Looks like the answer is... maybe. I've listened to how some of my readers have interpreted his message and it is feasible that he intends on growing the AVATAR universe to other moons, etc. Cameron has pulled the plug on his development arm though. Let's hope it is ONLY new development.

The bad news is it looks like BATTLE ANGEL may be far in the future. Cameron is now saying he is totally in the AVATAR business (which IS great news) and that there may even be an AVATAR 4 before anything else. So all of you BA fans will have to wait longer (myself included). I am actually ok with this. There is so much he can do with the AVATAR universe that his mind must be racing.

Add in the fact that Ridley Scott looks like he has a diamond soon to be released in PROMETHEUS, Cameron is going to want to answer that movie with resounding: "Ok Ridley, top THIS one!"

So let's get to the quotes:

Cameron on other filmmakers:
"I don’t find my inspiration in movies. I find my inspiration in life – in the natural world, in daily life. There are filmmakers that come along that are quite iconoclastic. And that I’m in awe of, frankly. Zack Snyder’s “300.” I think that was a really revolutionary film, because it was a completely deconstructive form of filmmaking in a way that nobody had done before, other than maybe Robert Rodriguez. That’s inspirational to me. Zhang Yimou’s films are inspirational to me. I have to see them multiple times to really see how he’s doing it and what exactly he’s doing that seems to work so well. So as a fan of film, there are certain films that come along that are just stunning to me, and I’ll study them."

"...You know, there’s the old guard. You know, Spielberg, Kubrick and all that sort of thing. But in terms of new filmmakers, up and coming, I haven’t seen anybody that blew me away in the last year or so."

Cameron on his next projects:
"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the “Avatar” business. Period. That’s it. I’m making “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3,” maybe “Avatar 4,” and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts. And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the “Avatar” landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year."

"We’ve spent the last year and a half on software development and pipeline development. The virtual production methodology was extremely prototypical on the first film. As then, no one had ever done it before and we didn’t even know for two and half years into it and $100 million into it if it was going to work. So we just wanted to make our lives a whole lot easier so that we can spend a little more of our brainpower on creativity. It was a very, very uphill battle on the first film. So we’ve been mostly working on the tool set, the production pipeline, setting up the new stages in Los Angeles, setting up the new visual effects pipeline in New Zealand, that sort of thing. And, by the way, writing. We haven’t gotten to the design stage yet. That’ll be the next."

"It’s conceivable (on working in China for the AVATAR sequels). You know, one of the things I want to explore while I’m here is the idea of co-production on those films, but it’s a slightly different case because they’re studio films. There were zero… I can’t say zero exteriors. We did one night in the parking lot next to the sound stage. But there were no locations."

I'll have more when I get it, and when I hear back from my sources. Once work ramps up on the AVATAR sequels we'll have some cool updates guaranteed! :-)

Source: NYTimes

James Cameron Update: AVATAR 2, BATTLE ANGEL, His Top Five Movies And A New Award!

Guys, it's time for a James Cameron update as he has been doing press junkets for his newly minted production SANCTUM.

First off, Cameron has given (via WSJ) some brief tidbits on AVATAR 2 and in particular how to improve the 3D viewing experience:

Says Cameron: “For ‘Avatar 2,’ what I’m most interested in is getting theaters to up their light level,” Cameron told Speakeasy in an interview Saturday in Los Angeles, Calif. “And we want to shoot the movie at 48 or maybe even 60 frames a second, and display it at that speed, which will eliminate a lot of the motion artifacts that I think are causing some people problems.”

“‘Sanctum’ was a cookie-cutter of the camera technology we used on [‘Avatar’],” Cameron explained. “It literally was, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, use it. But it will be in all of these different environments, water and all of that, where specific problems have to be solved that are external to the camera.”

“People talk about feeling sick or something like that, and I think it’s because the image is strobing,” Cameron observed. “That’s a function of the 24 frame frame rate, which has actually got nothing to do with 3D. It’s just made more apparent because the 3D is otherwise such an enhanced, realistic image, that all of a sudden you’re aware of this funky strobing which you weren’t aware of.”

Yes! Higher frame rates is the next holy grail to achieve in the AVATAR batting lineup and it will help S3D in many ways. While light levels for AVATAR were fine in my estimation, it is just like Cameron to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

MarketSaw is and shall be the top source for AVATAR universe updates before anyone else gets them - stay tuned!!

--

Secondly, Collider spoke with Cameron specifically about his upcoming project BATTLE ANGEL. The problem being he has a couple of small art house films he is shooting back-to-back called AVATAR 2 and 3! So poor BATTLE ANGEL has been back-burnered.

Says Cameron: "I’m obviously going to be pretty busy for the next five years [with Avatar 2 and 3]. And so I had to consider, do I hand this project off to another director? And then I thought, ‘No, I love it too much.’ …It’s such a rich world. What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie."

BATTLE ANGEL is one of those movies you KNOW is going to be a massive, MASSIVE hit. Cameron has all the tools required to drive this one home and I will be following developments in this story VERY closely. You should know that I regularly inquire with my sources about anything to do with this film.

Follow all of our BATTLE ANGEL updates right here.

--
Thirdly, Cameron serves up his top five movies of all time (Via RT)! They are as follows in no particular order:

- THE WIZARD OF OZ
- DR. STRANGELOVE
- 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
- THE GODFATHER
- TAXI DRIVER

No real surprises and all of them make my top ten list. I am definitely with him on TAXI DRIVER. No question!

--
Finally, Cameron is set to receive the International 3D Society's first Harold Lloyd Award for 3D achievement!

Says Suzanne Lloyd, who is 3D pioneer Harold Lloyd's granddaughter and chairman of Harold Lloyd Entertainment: "James Cameron has embodied Harold Lloyd's vision and passion for dazzling audiences across the globe. With Avatar and his commitment to 3D storytelling, it is appropriate that he is the first recipient of this most prestigious annual award."

Note: I am not quite sure if the award will look like the one pictured as this is a Lumiere Award from the same society.

This award makes perfect sense for Cameron to pick up and truly kicks off this inaugural award year in grand fashion! Congratulations Jim!

Oh and if you haven't already - add James Cameron for direct Twitter updates from the man himself! His new verified account is @JimCameron (@JamesCameron was already taken, by a pro blogger no less!).

That's it for now - will have more soon...

Alita: Battle Angel Will Include Motorball!

Michael here. MTV has been on quite a roll with their news on James Cameron's adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita. First they had Jon Landau revealing that "Alita" would follow Avatar 2, and that he would like to title it Alita: Battle Angel. Now Landau confirms talk from long ago that the movie will include the sport of Motorball:

From MTV:

“We’re trying to pick what is the best story to tell,” explained Landau, who has served as Cameron’s producer on both “Avatar” and “Titanic."

“It’s sort of like when you do a biopic; you can’t really do a biopic that goes from cradle to grave," he said. "You have to pick out what is the important section in that person’s life, to tell that story.”

And in their “biopic” on the rescued robotic warrior Alita, Cameron and Landau plan to focus on the earlier part of her life.

“I think we’ll tend to err on the earlier side, because it is the more fascinating side where Alita’s lost her memory and she doesn’t know where she comes from,” he explained. “And it’s when she discovers where she comes from, she’s terrified of it and doesn’t believe that that’s who she really is.”

Landau is also partial to that period in Alita’s life because it will give him the chance to see his favorite element on the big-screen.

“If people are familiar with the series at all, there’s something they call Motorball,” Landau said of the one aspect of “Alita” that he’s most eager to see Cameron capture. “That is something that Jim has always been dynamically excited about. It’s racing on a super track, with characters that are built and created in the cyborg world to race against each other in an arena.”

“It’s almost like a gladiator match meets an Indy 500 race,” Landau added. “[Their mode of battle] depends on who they are. It depends how they’ve been modified as cyborgs; they’re not in cars — it’s their physical being that is out there. Some of them are on roller skates — and Alita participates in this, and she’s on roller blades, while other people might have different devices. It’s a wonderful, rich world to design and develop.”

Landau's comments jive with pre-Avatar quotes from Cameron that said that "Alita" would pull the Motorball story forward into the Alita, Hugo, and Ido story. Sounds like they are sticking to their plans. The Motorball arc of the original Battle Angel series has the most completely insane action imaginable, and seeing it given the big budget S3D treatment will be amazing.

"Battle Angel" Retitled, and Coming After Avatar 2?

Michael here. This is interesting. I had the same thought myself regarding the T and A titles, and how Cameron might have to change the name to "Alita" to fit the pattern. Well, it looks like Jon Landau is thinking along similar lines, suggesting that the film be called Alita: Battle Angel.

From MTV: (thanks m4st4 for the heads up!)

“I’m telling people that we have to call it ‘Alita: Battle Angel,’ because Jim only does T&A movies,” grinned Landau, listing the examples. “’Titanic,’ ‘Aliens,’ ‘Terminator,’ ‘Abyss,’ ‘True Lies,’ ‘Avatar.’”

“So, we can’t call it ‘Battle Angel’,” he insisted. “We have to call it ‘Alita: Battle Angel.’”

And it seems that Alita: Battle Angel may go right after Avatar 2:

[‘Battle Angel’] is something that Jim is very, very passionate about. It was actually brought to our attention by another filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro; Guillermo saw those things in the property that he thought would really relate to Jim, and Jim responded to it immediately.”

Although Landau was quick to point out that Cameron plans to shoot an “Avatar” sequel first, he re-affirmed the filmmaker’s intentions to adapt Yukito Kishiro’s manga classic after that.

Sounds good to me! I'm a ravenous fan of the Battle Angel Alita (Gunnm in Japan) graphic novels, and I hope Cameron makes a stunning series of films out of them as soon as he can.

Read Landau's comments on their plans for Alita: Battle Angel below to get even more excited:

“We really wanted to take our time in developing a large arc-ing story that really encompasses the whole world,” remembered Landau. “We were very close to doing that movie before we did ‘Avatar,’ and I think you’ll see that resurface. That’s a story in our minds about: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to fall in love? Are you human if you have a heart? Are you human if you have a mind? Or are you human if you just have a body? It’s a journey of self-discovery for a young girl.”

From everything Cameron and Landau have said, it is clear they understand what makes Battle Angel Alita so great. I absolutely can't wait to see the world and characters come to life on screen!

Cameron Still Wants to Do Battle Angel! Plus more from Cameron/Jackson Panel

Michael here with a report on the James Cameron / Peter Jackson panel. I'll be updating this post soon with videos and audio.

Here is our podcast of the entire panel:




Both the best news and funniest line of the night came when an audience member asked Cameron whether he was still interested in making Battle Angel Alita.

Cameron said that he really wants to do it, but that asking about his next project now is like asking a mother-to-be about her next baby while she's crowning.

Cameron talks Battle Angel:



Cameron also revealed that he hopes to include a feature on the Avatar Blu-Ray where you can see the actors' performances and those of their CG counterparts side by side so the audience will be able to see how perfect the facial capture has become, and how even the smallest details are replicated.

There was also a great discussion on the absolute importance of story and emotion in film that generated a huge audience applause.

More Videos-

Cameron on Filmmaking Tech in 20 Years (including higher frame rates):



Cameron on 3D Titanic, Jackson on Lord of the Rings 3D, and 3D Industry Discussion:



Also, head over to Movies Online, which has a transcript of yesterday's post-footage press conference with Cameron. It's a very good read.

Concept Designer James Clyne Talks "Avatar" & "Battle Angel"!!

Hi everyone, Michael here.  We are very proud to have the opportunity to talk to concept/production designer James Clyne about his experiences working on James Cameron's Avatar and Battle Angel!

Clyne's paintings are like an adrenaline kick to the imagination.  They invoke a sense of childlike wonder and limitless possibility and, well, awesomeness.  His portrayals of alien worlds, futuristic cityscapes, and fantastic characters are rendered at a level of detail and have a sense of scope that define the word "epic."  Indeed, Clyne's resume reads like a list of the biggest and most iconic imagery seen in the past decade of motion pictures: from the drowned ruins of an amusement park from Spielberg's AI to the Trojan Horse of Wolfgang Peterson's Troy to the vertical highways of Minority Report to enormous tripods laying fiery waste to the landscape to Megatron frozen in ice, Clyne's designs have become woven into the fabric of popular culture worldwide.

Given this history, Clyne's collaboration with James Cameron on Avatar and Battle Angel strikes me as one of the most exciting pairings of visionaries I can imagine.  I absolutely cannot wait to see the designs James has come up with for these movies.  One thing is for sure, however-whatever he has come up with is sure to kindle the imagination of the world and push the limits of movie imagery beyond our wildest dreams.

(note: the examples of Clyne's work interspersed throughout this article are unrelated to his work on the Cameron movies.  Click on them for bigger versions)

Michael: James Cameron is an artist himself. On either or both both of these projects (Avatar and Battle Angel), did he often come to you with designs already on paper? Does the fact that he draws and knows so much about technology lead to a more collaborative relationship between director and designer?

James Clyne: Surprisingly Jim didn't provide much feedback drawing wise as far as Avatar and Battle Angel were concerned. Most of Jim's feedback was verbal, along with the artists using the script as the templet for ideas. It's a shame too, one thing I found working on these projects was what a fantastic artist Jim is. I don't remember if it was Avatar or Battle, but one day Jim brought in a collection of his drawings from Aliens and the Abyss. So cool, and so humbling, man the guy can draw! What's so great about his designs, because they are so grounded in real science and engineering, they still hold up years after. Not many film designs (including my own) hold up over time.

Michael: What aspects of the Avatar and Battle Angel worlds were you called upon to create (landscapes / vistas, vehicles, characters, creatures, etc), or was your work spread amongst various aspects of the design of the films?

James Clyne: For Battle I was asked to focus in on the character design, primarily Alita herself. I'd say the first year was spent entirely on the mechanics behind her many incarnations. For Avatar, most of my work's emphasis was on everything "human". Obviously due to contractual agreements i've signed in blood, i can't release too much regarding specifics, but in Avatar I can say there is a large alien aspect to the world, but there is also a contingency of humans involved as well. Most of my job was to envision that world. Fun stuff, the engineering behind the world is very Jim.

Michael: How did you first come on board the Battle Angel project? At what stage of the Avatar project (which has been in serious development / production for almost five years) did you come on board?

James Clyne: Typically the way i'm hired is either by the Director, a Producer, or the Production Designer. In both cases I was hired by the Production Designer. I guess I didn't piss off too many people in Jim's camp to be asked back for Avatar.

Michael: Were you a fan of the Battle Angel manga series before working on the film? If you are a fan now, what aspect of the graphic novels appeals to you the most? How does either being a fan /not being a fan of the source material of a project (either before or after starting work) affect your approach to working on that project?

James Clyne: No, I really knew very little about Battle Angel before jumping on the project. I knew a bit of the artwork, but story wise I was very new to it. I kinda enjoy not knowing too much about the project before starting. Gives me a way to jump in fresh with the material. I guess that's why when I travel I tend to not read up on the country I'm traveling to. Makes the journey a bit more unexpected I guess. Once I was on the show, all the artists of course read through the many published books. There's some really great new ideas in technology and the future of society that i found compelling. For example, the gladiatorial aspect of future sports was a fun one. The wide social gap of the "have and have nots" in the story was intriguing as well.

Michael: What aspect of adapting Kishiro's designs and unique art style for the cinema screen proved the most challenging? The most rewarding?

James Clyne: Because my job was spent mostly developing Alita herself, I'd say the most challenging part was to find a way to successfully blend Kishiro's Anime style with a photo-real look. Jim certainly wanted to retain the look, the soul, of the book's illustrations, but also wanted to step up the visual landscape into something never seen before on film, which in a way, if you can pull it off, is also the most rewarding.

Michael: For me, one of the most fascinating and brilliant things about the Battle Angel graphic novels is how Alita's appearance seems to change along with her personality. As she grows up and accumulates life experiences, the new faces, bodies, and outfits she acquires are very much reflections of where she is in her psychological development. Cameron has spoken about this too. Did you design multiple "looks" for Alita in this fashion?

James Clyne: Without opening my mouth and firmly placing my foot in it, yes there were many "developmental incarnations" explored.

Michael: The Battle Angel Alita graphic novels are one of the best examples of the power of setting in a story. The industrial Scrapyard city, with the massive, oppressive and mysterious sky city hovering overhead, immediately draws the reader into the world by becoming a character in and of itself. The characters wouldn't be who they are if it weren't for the setting in which they are living and fighting. How much emphasis was placed on designing the backdrops /settings? Did you have any initial discussions regarding the overall aesthetic or mood you would aim for?

James Clyne: Yeah, Alita is only one of many characters in the story. Another one, which you describe, is the world in which she lives. Along with the Alita designs I worked on developing the look of the scrapyard city. Mark Goerner, who I believe you have also interviewed, spent much of his time on the environments. He was perfect for the job, he has such a proficient knowledge of scale, architecture, and technology and came up with such an amazing catalog of environments. I really wish you could see what we came up with.

Michael: Was there a consensus amongst the art team and director on which aspects of the original manga were the most vital to preserve in the film?

James Clyne: Yes there was, but we were also given freedom to expand the universe a bit. Unfortunately any specifics would get me in hot Cameron water.

Michael: How did the experience of working as a part of such a small art team on Battle Angel influence your creative process? I'd imagine that such a work environment would be conducive to a more free exchange of ideas amongst the artists. Was this the case? How did this compare to your experience working on Avatar?

James Clyne: Yeah, it definitely was the case. With such a small team on Battle, we had time to throw a lot of ideas around, along with shooting hoops on our indoor double basketball hoop. On Avatar it was much more akin to being an ensign on a battleship. We all had our specific daily duties, with captain JC at the helm.

Michael: Do you have any personal favorite pieces that you created from your time working on Avatar and Battle Angel? Any chance we might see some of your work in the recently announced "The Art of Avatar" book?

James Clyne: Nice try Michael, can't really go into too much detail regarding my favorites, sorry. As far as Avatar is concerned, I'm hoping you'll be seeing plenty of my designs in the "Art of" book!

Michael: Without giving away any spoilers, what is it that excites you the most about the Avatar and Battle Angel projects? What was your favorite thing about working on these projects?

James Clyne: I think the favorite thing about working on these projects was the fact that Jim was able to wrangle the best in the industry from the top down. From the concept artist to the Visual Effects supervisors everyone was total pro. It's seldom you have the chance to work in collaboration with such a high caliber level of artists and technicians at one time. For Avatar, I think all that hard work and talent won't be wasted on screen.

Michael: What can you tell us about what you are currently working on?

James Clyne: After Avatar I had the opportunity to work on the upcoming Star Trek film followed by Roland Emmerich's 2012. I'm currently production designing an in development Animated Feature.

A huge thank you to James for talking with us!

For more of James' work, visit www.jamesclyne.com

Head over to CG Channel for a great video interview with James and to CG Society for an in-depth profile

Check out James' professional concept design tutorial DVDs at The Gnomon Workshop, and art books showcasing his work here and here!

First Official AVATAR promo image - Worthington & Cameron on set!!

Michael here. This is awesome - Fox has begun their AVATAR publicity campaign with a first look at James Cameron and Sam Worthington (as Jake Sully) on the Avatar set in New Zealand!

The set looks to be an air/space craft, maybe a personnel transport or drop ship. Whatever it is, the detail and utilitarian design is great. It's also not entirely clear whether Worthington is in full costume, but from what I can see in this pic and from what I've seen of him in Terminator: Salvation, he's gonna nail this role.

And check out Cameron's Battle Angel t-shirt! Maybe we will be seeing Battle Angel sooner than we may think? As we know from speaking to concept artist Mark Goerner, a ton of design work has already been completed. I'm a rabid fan of the original 9 graphic novels, so of course I'm dying to see insane cyborg action in 48 frames-per-second 3D.

Here is the LA Times' very aptly-stated comment accompanying this photo:

"The buzz surrounding James Cameron's big-budget return to science fiction has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. The film, a mix of CGI and live action using new techniques Cameron himself helped to develop, was shot with a special 3-D camera (also developed by Cameron). Mix that with the promise of large-scale, hard science fiction that hasn't been attempted much in the past few years, and you have a project that seems guaranteed to live up to the hype and expectations that are riding on it. The only question (and fear) is what is to become of the cinema geeks overwhelmed by the images that Cameron and his effects crew are putting in front of them. For those with weaker constitutions, we fear the worst."

I couldn't agree more. This photo is an awesome holiday present for the fans. I can't wait to see what Cameron and Fox show us next!

source: latimes.com

Editor's (Jim) note: Wow! I am thrilled that we are starting to see official promo material - and is that ever a hint or what? BATTLE ANGEL? There are plenty of sites jumping on the FORBIDDEN PLANET bandwagon for his next project, but I am sticking with THE DIVE or BATTLE ANGEL right now! That definitely looks like a jump seat to me between JC and SW - looks like a drop ship to me! :-)

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Goerner Talks James Cameron's "Battle Angel"!!!

Hi everyone, Michael here with a very special interview-- Designer and Artist Mark Goerner has been most generous to share with us his experiences working on James Cameron’s 3-D “Battle Angel!” Mark is an incredible talent at the absolute top of his profession. Some of his work not related to the Cameron project is interspersed throughout this article (along with pictures from Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel manga). To learn more about Mark and his work you can visit his website, http://www.grnr.com.

For over a year and a half, Mark focused his artistic skills, perceptiveness, and creative passion towards the creation of the Battle Angel world. The following interview is a special glimpse into the huge amount of work that has already gone into the project.

For those readers out there who have not yet read Yukito Kishiro’s 9 volume Battle Angel Alita manga series, I urge you to pick it up right away. The Battle Angel books combine a fantastic sci-fi artistic aesthetic with a story that delves into the timeless themes of love, loss, family, free will, and finding one’s path and place in the world. They are packed with hilarious and touching moments, and have some of the most amazingly cool action sequences in the medium of graphic storytelling.

Thanks Mark, for your kindness, and I hope you enjoyed the interview!

MarketSaw: The thing I love the most about Kishiro's Battle Angel graphic novels is how he creates such an incredibly immersive, detailed, cohesive, and unique world. Were you a fan of the Battle Angel graphics novels (the original 9) before starting work on Cameron's project? If not, are you a fan now? If so, what do you like most about them?

Mark Goerner: The funny thing about working in the film business is that intense fans of the creative property are not always the best ones to be designing and developing the adaptive content. It's like having a crush on someone for 8 years and then finally getting your chance...preconceived notions prevent growing into the reality at hand. After reading the series and absorbing the content in the first week of work, I couldn't help but look for the influences that lead to Kishiro's story and world he wove together. I loved most of it, and the few things that didn't resonate gave it character that further set it apart from other post-apocalyptic works from the last 20 years of fiction. It is also important to think how young he was when starting to author this epic. His ability to create a layered fable of a poisonous caste system with the despair of fatherhood lost, and a cyber-youth in moral conflict, struck many chords with me.

MarketSaw: When, and for how long did you work on Battle Angel?

Mark Goerner: It was 12, 4, 23 years? It was a long haul that had a couple stops and re-starts, but basically ran over a year and half for me, which was the longest amount for an artist aside from the production designer, Martin Laing.

MarketSaw: Kishiro's art is amazing, and I think your work is
marvelous, too. What can you tell me about the challenge of
turning Kishiro's artwork into something that would work in a
photorealistic film? How was it "adapting" another artists'
creation?

Mark Goerner: 400 million dollar question. This is one of the biggest considerations in the early phases of a themed project that is driven from a popular graphic novel. Potent fandom has to be set aside or at least suspended while tackling the content. I'm sure Marvel deals with this one intensely every time they ponder releasing one of their properties. Cameron had already been armed with a solid understanding of how this would need to be articulated when we entered the studio. What is always exciting in these early stages, is the dialog that occurs when the conceptual art and technology employed informs the director/producer/designer, and causes adjustments in the master plan. The reality is that those that know of the graphic novel are a minute percentage of box office; and those that are obsessed, even less. That is why there are such strong discrepancies in adaptation. Essentially, the movie has to hold its own, in that format, in that era, and with those pan-directional needs to appeal to a wide audience. Look at Akira. The 6 books were turned into 1 anime. Much is lost, and much is distorted to suit the time constraint, format, budget and so-on. That considered, it is still one of my favorite movies. With Battle Angel, there was an underlying consensus from our small crew that Alita needed to retain her inherent style and subtle personality as well as that of most of the secondary characters. Key sets and technology represented in the architecture and robotics were also seen as essential.

MarketSaw: What was your creative working relationship with James
Cameron? What was it like working with him?

Mark Goerner: Oh lord, can I skip this one? Honestly, he is one of the smartest and most resourceful people I've met. Had a few great, creative meetings, and Lightstorm Entertainment had some warm people that evolved into my dysfunctional daytime family on the west side.

MarketSaw: Which other artists worked with you in the Battle Angel
art department? I believe James Clyne and Feng Zhu worked on
Battle Angel as well. How did you all divide the enormous
task of adapting Kishiro's visuals for the screen--did each of
you have a particular focus (i.e. one of you focused on
characters, another on environments, another on props, etc)?

Mark Goerner: It turned out to be a bit of an art buffet with tasks being kicked around. James started a week before I did, jumping immediately into Alita's form and outfits. I initially worked on some of the grand scheme city designs, and then as a few months went by, dove into everything under that world's dreary sun. Seeing as James is my best pal, and one of my biggest heroes, I hope you get a chance to hit him up for further details. Feng was on shortly, and in my opinion was not utilized correctly; but that happens in certain studios and offices on a regular basis. As the last one on, I got to see the whole effort and did my most favorite piece in that last week...wish you could see it.

MarketSaw: What's the most exciting thing about Battle Angel that you
can tell us?

Mark Goerner: NDA's [non-disclosure agreements] are powerful things, so what I can say without issue, is that when they stopped funding that phase of the production, what was left on the walls and in the digital archives was a massive library of what most fan's and newcomers would see as truly powerful. Near the end of the cycle, we began to hit a consistent tone with regard to atmospheres and characterizations that followed or even amplified on Kishiro's vision.

MarketSaw: What can you tell us about what you are currently working
on (and what you have been working on since completing your
work on Battle Angel)?

I have worked on a few different films including Avatar since then, but have moved out of LA, and have returned to working on theme parks, gaming, and other consulting as I did before I swung into the film side of life. I am also in the process of building prototypes and starting to develop a company to manufacture high design architectural surfacing. I still do film art and love the conceptual buzz I get from it, but feel the real world application of design is something I would be remised if not involved in. I am also in the early stages of designing and building a house that is off the grid and will hopefully be a truly unique statement in not only aesthetics but in it's ecological aspects of long term impact.

MarketSaw: What was your working environment like? I heard that the ceiling of the art department was made up to look like
the hanging sky city (Tiphares / Zalem)...is this true?

Mark Goerner: It was a great neighborhood a few blocks from the central shopping district of Santa Monica, California, housed in a soft-modern building from the mid-eighties that had a dental office where we set up the art department. Our old acoustic ceilinged floor with glass partitions defined our quarters which had a great view of a parking lot where automotive rendezvous of sexual fervor would play out, homeless rants were belted out, and where a bird lady and a 30 pound bag of seed was dumped out. Some mornings I swore I could smell Geltrate and hear the faint squeal of a hand drill. As for Zalem, yes, one of my paintings was turned into a couple hundred dollar foam core donut mounted on the ceiling as a device to get the impact across on one of the occasions when we presented our work. It ended up being a good reservoir for trash and things that needed to be hidden in short order.

MarketSaw: When working on Battle Angel, did you mainly focus on producing photorealistic, detailed, finished paintings, or did you also do a lot of rough conceptual sketches?

Mark Goerner: For that phase of B.A., the focus was in creating exciting large scale visuals that where intended to excite JC when he was in town and available to check out the work and progress. In the process of developing those images, there were the usual rough sketches, but largely we used large printouts to create the biggest impact to push the drama.

MarketSaw: What artistic tools (physical or digital) did you work with on this project?

Mark Goerner: We still did pencil and pen sketches for some of the rough sketches, and some of the half/quarter sections detail orthographic views of Alita and city elements, but the majority was in the fine world of Photoshop with the usual clustering and layering of on-line reference, photos from our own archives, and naturally, painting.

MarketSaw: From your knowledge, has the Alita character design been finalized? Have you seen the

digital model?

Mark Goerner: I believe it was considered final, but then again...even 1 week of time in a production can be enough to provide pause for reflection towards a new design direction. I would gauge that after all of the work on Avatar, and changes in perception, themes in her makeup and suits will evolve further.

A Huge Thanks to Mark for his insight into the creative process on Battle Angel!

I for one really hope that Cameron pushes forward with Battle Angel after Avatar--well, as long as I see it in theaters by the time New Horizons reaches Pluto. I know there are a ton of people out there (both online and people I've spoken to in "real life") who can't wait for a Cameron Battle Angel...and after they read Mark's words I'm sure they will be frothing at the mouth for it even more.

For a great in-depth bio/profile of Mark, check out this article over at CGSociety.

"Battle Angel" Swims With Dolphins

Hi - Michael here.  James Cameron has a history of using code names for his films under development. These decoy titles help disguise his projects from prying eyes.  For instance, Titanic was called "Planet Ice" early in production, Avatar was "Project 880", and now, according to the website of concept artist Mark Goerner, Cameron's Battle Angel is "Dolphin Project".

Goerner, who did "extensive development of characters, vehicles, sets, cities, and infrastructures" on Battle Angel, is a truly amazing artist.  If you are a fan of great artwork with huge scope, I urge you to check out his site here.  I really, really hope we all get to see some of Mark's work on Battle Angel at some future date.

Anyway, what do you all think of the code name?  As a huge Battle Angel fan, I (at first thought, at least) see no relation between the story of the manga and dolphins.  Any readers out there who can help shed some light on this code name?

James Cameron's Ace In The Hole: Rob Legato

Click image to enlarge. Note that the creature image here is NOT the image that Fox wanted taken down from a later post.

Wow. I am suitably impressed with Rob Legato. I was looking high and low for the source of James Cameron's groundbreaking technology in use on the Avatar set because everyone was raving over it and the actors were dumbfounded that they were actually using NON-OPTICAL cameras (first talked about here as a rumor). Huh? Yes, that's right - Legato has confirmed that Cameron is using infrared cameras for some of their shots! Now this isn't entirely new as others have used this before, but Legato took things further and really handed the golden baton to Cameron.

I had not noticed his title of "Virtual Cinematography System Creator" until I read a Variety column by Anne Thompson all about Legato. This is the guy who gave James Cameron the ability to look through a viewfinder as if he were shooting 'Live Action' when really they are shooting performance capture - or combinations thereof!

Cameron uses a very similar system to Zemeckis' (Beowulf) 'The Volume' (similar idea to volumetric display) which is a platform surrounded by hundreds of infrared cameras to capture the actor's performance through the use of white tracking dots stuck all over them and also form-fitting suits. But rather than do what Zemeckis does - grabbing as much 360 degree 'footage' as possible, then going in editing and changing camera angles and deciding where the shot goes after the fact - Legato gave Cameron the ability to DIRECT the performance. To CHOOSE what type of camera to use ON THE FLY! He can see the action as he shoots even though the background and other CGI are not complete yet. He can actually build the whole picture at the same time because of Legato's expertise.

Imagine being able to start some live action footage already taken by your 3D Fusion Camera System in a viewscreen. Then tie in 'The Volume' and introduce your sythespians. Then bring in any backgrounds that have been green screened (and believe me do they ever have a green screen for Avatar!). Then, get this, Cameron can choose to start by using a hand held camera and walking through the shot - no wait that's not quite what he is searching for and he switches to a handheld steadicam. After a few moments he zooms back out from the shot with a boom camera, etc, etc. All of this is done while wearing 3D glasses because the whole damn thing is ALSO IN 3D! Do you see what I mean? Complete flexibility - and it is in the hands of one of, if not the greatest, directors of our time.

You tell me why I shouldn't be excited about seeing Avatar in 2009.

Something that is still not clear to me is how they blend the performance capture with the live action segments. That is some powerful computing if its being done. I suspect it can also be introduced into Cameron's viewfinder at will. I will seek confirmation about this asap. Rob Legato has just exposed the technology used on the Avatar set and man, does it ever rock. I can't even imagine the surprises in store for us in Avatar - AND Battle Angel for that matter, which Cameron is expected to jump right into after Avatar wraps.

Well done Rob.

Further acknowledgement goes to Jack Beckett of NB Digital for the first theatrical use of Infrared Cinema Cameras - also first in using them in 4K film scanning, conversions and 3D. Jack holds many patents in the US and Europe. He also designed the Dalsa chip and is regarded by many as the "Father of Digital Cinema Cameras".

James Cameron's Malibu Home In Flames?

A brush fire in Malibu has already taken out a few homes (and a castle) and apparently is threatening James Cameron's home as well. Cameron is in New Zealand shooting the 3D epic "Avatar" and hopefully he has someone local to Malibu to get in there and get any special belongings before the fire consumes it...

Here's hoping he stores his "Avatar", "Battle Angel Alita" and other development material in his offices and not at his house. Godspeed with your home Jim.

Avatar: Why this movie is important...

James Cameron is back. Avatar is planned for release in the summer of 2009. Why should MarketSaw be thinking about this movie now?

We all know what Cameron is capable of, but then again do we? Titanic, Aliens and True Lies exhibited innovative approaches to big budget productions but now Cameron is attempting the holy grail of cinema, 3D. However his approach introduces risk. He is counting on the widespread adoption of 3D digital theaters by 2009, something that I am hesitate to assume. There has to be a catalyst to start that whole ball rolling and perhaps Avatar is it. Before today the 3D world was ruled by IMAX, their system being spectacular and immersive.

Here is what I have heard so far: Cameron is always wanting to push the envelope and tackle projects that REQUIRE new technology to accomplish. In Avatar's case, it's advanced 3D ('Fusion Camera') and CGI (the movie is 60% CGI!!). New theaters just for this new technology? I hope so. The industry has been resting on the old way of doing things for too long. A simple projection screen can be accomplished at home. They will need a couple thousand of these theaters built by mid 2009 though! Now thats what I call a movie launch; theaters built specifically to host this movie (and more to come of course).

Everybody knows the impact Star Wars and The Matrix has had on film making. What Cameron is doing has far, FAR more ramifications and if he succeeds (I think he will) we will be one step closer to actually stepping into the movies themselves.

So how do you PAY for all of this? Well first of all you need economies of scale. Cameron will be filming another movie with the same type of tech. So what is being produced after Avatar? Battle Angel Alita apparently. Another project Cameron has had in the works for some time now.

By the way, Sigourney Weaver (Alien series) has definitely signed on (playing Grace) and there are some good rumors on Angelina Jolie (The Good Shepherd) contributing. For you audio buffs, industry icon James Horner has confirmed his involvement as well.

The budget on Avatar seems to be on par with what Titanic cost: $200,000,000! It should be a spectacle and define yet another threshold of innovation from the Cameron camp.