Archive for April, 2009

Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Tech Stuff, Remakes and Sequels, Religious, Summer Movies

I actually think this is sort of clever, in a "we can afford to do this" kind of way (which is more than I can say for The Da Vinci Code, am I right?!). Apparently, when the production of Angels & Demons had been refused permission to shoot key scenes in the Vatican, special effects director Ryan Cook had a team of people blend in with tourists and take about 250,000 pictures and shoot hours of video to use as reference back in Los Angeles.

Said Cook in an interview with an Italian movie magazine (then excerpted by The Scotsman, and further excerpted here): "The ban really put us in a lot of trouble because we could not use the precision instruments which are used to take photographs and make reconstructions in the computer."

On a mild tangent, I have to ask whether or not our readers are getting excited for the film itself. Of all the anticipation for summer blockbusters, and especially out of the May offerings, this seems to be the quietest title of the bunch (though twice-baked, half-volume controversy and the lack of a Cannes bow will do that to a film). I've only been assured that this book was better than its predecessor (I know, this one's a prequel), so did anyone here like Da Vinci? And whether you did or didn't care for that film, are any of you specifically psyched for round two?

[via MCN]

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Filed under: Tech Stuff

Henry Selick, the magic man behind painstaking puppetry in movies like Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, is thinking way out of the 3D box. As the featured keynote speaker at this year's National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas, Selick discussed "how digital technology has helped to revitalize the handcrafted approach of stop-motion animation." This was clearly apparent from Coraline, which even in its limited theatrical run made $74.8M, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Selick also discussed the limits of 3D filmmaking; besides the cost and the time involved, 3D films have a limited time on the big screen because there just aren't as many theaters able to project 3D films. Now that the industry is hyping 3D, there are more films competing for those precious few theaters equipped with the technology. (Whether or not anyone really needed to see the Jonas Brothers's purity rings up close in three glorious dimensions is another story altogether.) Pixar's Up is even premiering at Cannes.

Meanwhile, DreamWorks's Jeffrey Katzenberg has been talking up 3D tech for years, and at a mini-preview of Monsters vs. Aliens I attended, even discussed the possibility of people eventually buying their own hip, stylish 3D glasses. Personally, I think 3D can make even the shoddiest movie ten times cooler -- I mean, what other reason is there to see the remake of My Bloody Valentine other than to duck a very realistic pick-axe aiming for your eye?

Continue reading Life After 3D: Henry Selick Hearts Holograms

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