Cinefex Weekly Update | Issue 07

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Article by Joe Fordham

Hobbits, elves and black-tied gentry erupted with joy Sunday night at the Hollywood American Legion Hall as Steven Spielberg presented filmmaker Peter Jackson the best picture Oscar for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, capping an evening in which the final Tolkien chapter won in all eleven of its nominated categories. The assembly had gathered in the art deco Highland Avenue venue to celebrate the 76th annual Academy Awards, viewing the ceremony on a massive Jumbotron and cheering on the New Line Cinema epic, which in addition to best picture, took home Oscar gold for best direction, adapted screenplay, art direction, costume design, film editing, sound mixing, musical score, song, makeup and visual effects, tying it with previous Oscar record-holders Ben-Hur and Titanic.

Bringing to conclusion what, for some, was a seven-year odyssey, the awards recipients made their appearance at The One Party -- a festive occasion organized by the fan website TheOneRing.net -- speculating amid the hoopla about their work on the still-in-progress Return of the King: Extended Edition DVD release. "The cut is never locked!" stated film editor Jamie Selkirk, one of the evening's winners and a veteran collaborator with Peter Jackson. "When you're working with Peter, he never really locks the cut until the last minute. We actually ended up doing about four days' editing on it recently, and he said: 'Okay, that'll do for now. I'm going to do this junket overseas, then the BAFTAs and the Oscars; then we'll come back and have a look at what visual effects are finished. So we'll cut when we get back; and, with any luck, it might be a lock!'"

Reportedly, the extended edition will contain anywhere between 40 to 60 minutes of new footage, added to the theatrical release's 201-minute running time, and will include more than 200 new visual effects shots. "When we were working on the film," said visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel, "there were pieces that we almost completed that Peter then pulled out. I think the most infamous one was probably the Christopher Lee scene -- and I think it's a good guess that will be back in."

After three years in New Zealand, Rygiel is planning to return to his Los Angeles home in April, after completing his work on the concluding chapter's final version. Visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri will continue to supervise visual effects for Weta Digital on Peter Jackson's upcoming King Kong. Tolkien trilogy animation director Randy Cook is ceding passage on Jackson's voyage to Skull Island, pursuing directing ambitions of his own, allowing Paul Griffin to take up the reins as Weta Digital's animation supervisor. Jackson's colossal gorilla star has meanwhile been taking shape under the auspices of Weta Workshop co-founder Richard Taylor. "Creature design is pretty well advanced and a lot of the production design is coming right along," noted visual effects director of photography Alex Funke. "It's going to be a remarkable film; an amazing visual treat."

Shooting plans for Kong have so far included discussions with Weta's miniature and digital departments, and with director of photography Andrew Lesnie, who is also returning to the Jackson fold. "As soon as I get back to New Zealand," said Funke, "we're getting into a very intensive session of testing on some of the stylistic issues, working with Andrew Lesnie on which type of film stock we should use and exploring exposure issues in conjunction with the guys at Weta Digital. We're going to get a complete system worked out in advance, so we'll know exactly how the material will scan, or exactly how to place exposures."

Funke mused on recent rumors that Jackson plans to film Kong in black-and-white -- "That's news to me, but I wouldn't put it past Peter!" -- and hinted at plans for creating the lush vegetation of Kong's Skull Island habitat, building on Weta's experience creating the miniature Fangorn Forest in The Lord of the Rings. "Richard Taylor is busy building many, many trees, and we've been doing some tests on the motion of the leaves. One of things that didn't quite work for Peter in The Lord of the Rings was the static look of the miniature trees. In Kong, we're going to be darned sure that we've got moving leaves on our miniature trees!"

With two year's work remaining until Jackson's giant ape bursts onto theater screens in December 2005, the quest for greater realism remains a benchmark for all concerned. "I think Kong is going to be harder than The Return of the King," observed Joe Letteri, "because Peter's not going to hold back. On The Lord of the Rings, we got more and more into the realism of shots -- and that required incredible amounts of detail. That was hopefully apparent in The Return of the King, and it was certainly visible in the other work that we've seen recently. We can do so many things more or less routinely that were once really hard to do that a lot of directors and producers are opting to take shots into the effects realm, rather than saying, 'Oh, gee, we have to do it that way.' It's changed the way we work. Visual effects are now more mainstream."

Keyframe™ is digital entertainment. For three seasons KDP has generated thousands of effects for the huge sci-fi series Mutant X. Simultaneously, they worked on films such as, Bullet Proof Monk and Secret Window, created effects for the TV series Adventure Inc. and PlayMakers, developed their own internal animation called HUGGLERS™ and won the prestigious Accolade Award of Excellence for their animation in The Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree. Keyframe™ is truly one of the elite talents in the industry today.

Compiled by Joe Fordham

The Return of the King: Reuters reports boxoffice returns for The Return of the King surpassed $1 billion worldwide on Monday, February 23 -- only the second film in history to do so. According to New Line Cinema, the final Tolkien chapter clocked up $1,005,380,412 in less than ten weeks. Titanic took eleven weeks to reach that mark. Globally, Peter Jackson's Rings trilogy has grossed nearly $2.8 billion.
Open Season: Sony Pictures Animation advises that its first CG-animated feature -- inspired by Steve Moore's syndicated cartoon In the Bleachers -- will not be titled In the Bleachers, as referenced here last week, but rather Open Season. Jill Culton and Anthony Stacchi are helming the Columbia Pictures film, projected for a Spring 2006 release.
Bond 21: Moviehole.com reports that Martin Campbell is in talks to direct the next James Bond movie. Campbell previously directed Pierce Brosnan's first Bond escapade, Goldeneye. There is no indication that Brosnan will relinquish his role as the man licensed to kill, although, as usual with every Bond film, there is much conjecture about the casting of Bond -- with names such as Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Dougray Scott flying around.
The Fountain: Variety reports that filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is resurrecting this ambitious science fiction production, which may now star Hugh Jackman in the lead. The story is described as "a psychological journey about love, death and immortality" that follows its main character from present day through centuries in the past and the future. Originally set for a Fall 2002 start, with a $75 million budget, before its original star, Brad Pitt, left the project, the production is now reportedly budgeted at $35-40 million -- although this apparently does not include $18 million in preproduction costs and pay-or-play monies owed to actors from the first go-round in Sydney.
Aeon Flux: Variety also reports that Charlize Theron will receive $10 million to star in this science fiction film, a Lakeshore Entertainment and Paramount Pictures production, based on MTV's 1991 animated series about a leggy dominatrix assassin clad in skimpy black leather outfits who leaps about a virus-ravaged city 400 years in the future, attempting to kill a government leader. MTV Films and Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Productions are producing, with Karyn Kusama directing a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Production will begin in Berlin in July.
The DaVinci Code: Dark Horizons cites author Dan Brown discussing the assignment of movie rights to his best-selling novel, about a murder investigation that uncovers a centuries-old religious conspiracy. Brown reportedly passed on development offers from Miramax and Tom Cruise, opting instead for director Ron Howard and Imagine Entertainment. The report states that Brown has veto over choice of lead actor, and hopes to see Ralph Fiennes as the lead. The budget is reportedly set at $100 million plus, with filming to include locations in London and Paris.
A Good Year: Variety states that after filmmaker Ridley Scott wraps his Twentieth Century Fox crusader epic, Kingdom of Heaven, he will be switching gears to direct an adaptation of Peter Mayle's upcoming novel, A Good Year. Mayle's story is about a London banker who gives up his drab existence after inheriting a vineyard in Provence, only to find that a Californian woman also has claims on the estate. Marc Klein is writing the screenplay for this Fox 2000 release.
Sin City: Variety reports that Robert Rodriguez is finalizing casting for his next all-digital movie, Sin City, and already has the opening in the can -- or cassette. The film will be a live-action feature incorporating storylines from comic book artist Frank Miller's graphic novels Sin City, That Yellow Bastard and The Big Fat Kill, which are described at Comics2Film.com as "a series of stories of vengeance and redemption set in the grimiest, toughest city in the world." Rodriguez, whose Troublemaker Studios is producing for Dimension Films, will co-direct with Miller.
Inkheart: Variety announced that New Line Cinema has acquired the rights to Cornelia Funke's bestselling children's fantasy novel and two yet-to-be-written sequels. The story is about a little girl whose father is able to bring characters to life as flesh and blood creations by reading from a book.
The Sparrow / The Brave One: The Hollywood Reporter states that filmmaker George Miller, whose last film in release was Babe 2: Pig in the City, will be directing these two new films for Warner Brothers. The Brave One is described as a female Death Wish; The Sparrow is about a Jesuit priest who "leads a mission to a newly discovered extraterrestrial culture." Both screenplays were written by Michael Seitzman.
The Poseidon Adventure: Variety announced that filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen and producers Mike Fleiss and Diana Rathbun are planning to remake this 1972 film that launched a thousand disaster movies. Previously co-directed for Twentieth Century Fox by Irwin Allen and Ronald Neame, with Oscar-winning effects by L.B. Abbott and A.D. Flowers, The Poseidon Adventure this time will be a Warner Brothers production, and will make use of effects technology employed in Petersen's The Perfect Storm.
The Exorcist: The Beginning: THR states that on February 22, director Renny Harlin wrapped 13 weeks of shooting at Cinecitta, Rome, completing the reshoot of this Warner Brothers Exorcist prequel. The report states that "not a single frame of the footage shot by [original director] Paul Schrader will be included in the bedeviled sequel's new cut." Schrader's take on the project -- which also shot over a 13-week period last year -- was rejected by the studio.
Guillermo del Toro: In a recent rollicking interview in LatinoReview.com, director Guillermo del Toro discusses his own and his countrymen's current projects, including his upcoming Dark Horse comic movie, Hellboy. Del Toro reveals he was at one point offered the reins of the third Harry Potter film, and enthuses about his friend Alfonso Cuarón's upcoming version, stating, "it's an absolute delight of a film ... extremely rich and incredibly detailed, incredibly full of spectacle and intelligence ... I was blown away by it."
Constantine: Click here for Dark Horizon's report from the set of this horror comic adaptation, starring Keanu Reeves and directed by Francis Lawrence. Stan Winston Studio, ESC Entertainment and Tippett Studio are among those providing visual effects; with physical effects provided by Allen Hall. Michael Fink is visual effects supervisor.
Serenity: Cinescape reports Universal Pictures and screenwriter Joss Whedon are developing a feature film based on Whedon's short-lived, but acclaimed science fiction TV show Firefly -- about a ragtag group of space travelers navigating alien frontier territories. Universal purchased the rights to a Firefly movie last September, and Whedon's screenplay is reportedly complete. Production on the feature project, named after the lead characters' space vessel, is expected to begin in May.

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In our last Cinefex Weekly Update, Joe Fordham's article on the 2nd annual Visual Effects Awards ceremony noted that the lifetime achievement award presented to George Lucas was sculpted by effects artist Mike McCracken. This attribution derived from a full-page tribute ad in the event's official program, which stated:

"The Visual Effects Society and The VES Awards Committee wish to express their appreciation to Sculptor Mike McCracken for his invaluable contribution to the physical creation of the VES Award. Mike's sculptural interpretation of George Melies' iconic image from his pioneering 1906 production "Voyage to the Moon" played a significant part in what has become a treasured symbol of excellence in the field of Visual Effects."

Tim McGovern, VES Awards Committee Co-chair, responded:

"It is incorrectly stated ... that Mike McCracken sculpted the VES Lifetime Achievement Award... Mr. McCracken was involved in creating the first version of the Moonface with Capsule in Eye which is the basis of the current but much redesigned version seen in both the Statuette as well as the basis of the Lifetime Achievement Award. There are many people responsible for the current version [including] Miles Teves, Gentle Giant and the Awards Committee. The current version ... was resculpted by Monty Shook."