CGI Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical got a sneak peek at several of the scenes from Sony's upcoming CGI film Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs recently, and about the worst thing we can say about it is that it's Pixar ... ish. Which is a bit like saying, "Gee, your watch sure looks like a Rolex." Not entirely insulting. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and Cloudy looks extremely sharp, the jokes are funny, and it made me very hungry. Plus it has a great voice cast featuring Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Neal Patrick Harris, Andy Samberg, Tracy Morgan, James Caan, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Will Forte and Mr. T (!). So who's complaining?

Writer/directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, creators of the gone-before-its-time Clone High (which I can't praise enough -- unfortunately it's only available via bootleg, or in Canada), took us through the story behind the children's book turned into only the third CGI big-screen extravaganza from Sony Pictures Animation (who also doled out Open Season and Surf's Up). They also showed off some of the completed scenes in 3D, and you can read all about it and check out some new images behind the jump. This wasn't very high on my radar this year, but now that I've had a taste, we're ready for a full serving.

Before anyone gets too excited, I should clarify: Jerry Bruckheimer will not be remaking the classic anime Battle of The Planets. Variety reports that Gabriel Casseus (Black Hawk Down) has joined the cast of G-Force, a mix of live action and CGI about "a group of genetically enhanced animal commandos trying to prevent an evil billionaire from taking over the world. Casseus will play an NSA agent who is trying to track down the commandos". The actor has also already sold his script for the action film, Bone Deep, which he will produce and, additionally will take a stab at directing the horror-comedy Boyz in the Wood (and it might just be me, but that sounds awfully similar to the 'urban horror' flick Tales from The Hood released back in 1995).

Bruckheimer has been working on the family-friendly action flick since 2004, but his previous engagements -- mainly Pirates of The Caribbean sequels -- have kept the mega-producer bus for the last few years. Now it looks like G-Force is getting the green light for a Summer 2009 release (previous reports even had Disney putting the brakes on the third installment of Narnia to focus on the action flick instead). Already signed to direct G-Force is Hoyt Yeatman, a Visual Effects Supervisor, who will make his directorial debut. Yeatman is an Oscar winner who has worked on everything from The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension to the Underdog update released back in August. G-Force is scheduled for release on May 1st, 2009.

*Correction: Image has been updated.

So before you get all excited; no, the Weinsteins are not remaking the 1990 Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn action 'classic'. Instead, Variety reports that the Weinsteins have announced their first joint-production with Exodus Films: the animated family film, Navy Seals. Justin Eick has reportedly signed to pen the script for the CG flick about an elite group of Navy "super dolphins" (and even though they're dolphins, I'm holding out for "frickin' laser beams attached to their frickin' heads") who are captured by some bad guys. Their only hope for escape is a rag-tag group of neighboring seals -- and we're talking actual seals, by the way, flippers and all. Exodus' chief executive was quoted as saying the story was "inspired by the very real heroics that marine mammals have played in the defense of our country." -- which might be a little heavy-handed for a family comedy, don't you think?

The Weinsteins and Exodus first crossed paths when TWC picked up Exodus' first animated feature, Igor. That film is set for release on October 24 and stars John Cusack (as Igor), John Cleese, and Steve Buscemi. Seals will be the first co-production to come out of the partnership that was announced during the Cannes festival earlier this year. Now, both companies will work together as a one-stop shop to develop, produce, and finance a slate of animated films. It's no secret that the Weinsteins have had a rough year when it comes to the bottom line, and so you can't blame TWC for wanting to cover their bets with two animated films. I just hope they're ready for the competition.

After seeing the new poster for Alvin and the Chipmunks, I just have to start off by asking, "What the hell has happened to the Chipmunks"? The Movie Blog now has the first look at the one-sheet for the CGI and live action update of Ross Bagdasarian's (a.k.a. David Seville) original creation, and while I'm up all for modernization (they were created in the 50's after all), I can't help but wonder why they decided to outfit the trio in thug wear. For God's sake, Simon is wearing what looks like a kangol.

Bagdasarian first debuted the Chipmunks all the way back in 1958 under the original name David Seville and the Chipmunks. At the time, he had already made a name for himself as the composer of a few novelty hits in the 50's including The Witch Doctor -- you can even hear an inkling of the Chipmunk voices to come in the "ooh ee ooh aah aah" portion of that song. Eventually, a cartoon was based on the "group" (The Alvin Show) and Alvin and the Chipmunks was born. There was also a cartoon series that was created in 83' and ran until 1991 -- although I think most of us could have done without the Chipettes.

Back in March, Monika broke the unfortunate news for Jason Lee fans that he had joined the cast as the put-upon manager/father David, who is for some inexplicable reason the guardian of three singing rodents. The movie was directed by Tim Hill, who you might remember was also responsible for Garfield -- and that really isn't making me feel better about the whole idea. Since this is a family film, it's no surprise that Fox has chosen December 14th as a release date -- tis' the season for family fare. Considering what they've done to the Chipmunks' appearance, I can only imagine what they have planned for Christmas Don't Be Late.

It looks like Warner Bros. has a few things to clear up about their big-screen version of Thundercats. An article in the LA Times confirms that the film will be done entirely with CGI. It was just a few days ago the Patrick had reported that the series had been given the go-ahead for a film treatment with relative newcomer Paul Sopocy on board to write the live-action script. Now, a spokesperson for WB confirmed that despite any talk of the contrary, the film would be animated. Which is probably for the best, since I can't see many big name actors willing to get into cat-suits, or wanting to play a Snarf. Misperceptions about the film aside, WB is still planning on using Sopocy's script.

The original story of Thundercats revolved around a band of "felinesque" characters who suffer the double whammy of having their home planet destroyed and then are forced to go on the run from an evil sorcerer named Mumm-Ra. The series spawned a run of comic books and was revived on The Cartoon Network in the late 90's (if you are feeling nostalgic, you can also get the first two seasons on DVD). The announcement of a big-screen version comes on the heels of news of film adaptations of fellow 80's classics G.I. Joe and He-Man. I just hope Sopocy can fill in some of the blanks of the relatively flimsy story of Lion-O and the gang. To be honest, Thundercats only made sense if you were eight years old -- or if you were high. Then again, it's not like G.I. Joe and He-Man would be mistaken for social commentary either, so who am I to judge?

Whether you are a fan of the Shrek franchise or not, you can't deny that the fairy tale satires are some of the more successful animated films in recent history (I've always enjoyed a good fairy tale subversion, so I've been a fan of the series in spite of their flaws). That success might have sealed the deal for Shrek writer Joe Stillman's latest script. Variety reports that Handmade Films International and Madrid's Ilion Animation Studios are on board to finance Stillman's Planet One, a CGI sci-fi comedy.

The film is the story of an alien world whose idyllic 50's-style civilization (right down to interstellar drive-ins and malt shops) is thrown into upheaval with the arrival of a human astronaut who crash-lands on their planet. Directed by Jorge Blanco (lead artist for the Commandos video game series), the production is set to start this May and they are already eying the family-friendly release dates of either Christmas 2008 or Easter 2009. Also on board to produce is former Nickelodeon head of TV and film production Albie Hecht and already there are plans for a video game and a promotion for mobile phone networks as tie-ins for the film. Shrek The Third opens this May, so until they see the box office receipts; Handmade is going to have to go on faith that Stillman's script is worth Planet One's $50 million price tag.

If you want to know about the specific achievements in visual effects made by this year's Oscar nominees, the CG Society website has a great spotlight on the VFX supervisors of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Poseidon and Superman Returns. Obviously we can see on screen the end results of each effect team's work, but there is a lot of interesting information that isn't so apparent, like how ILM had to invent new software for Pirates and how Poseidon actually created some innovative effects in addition to the simulated tidal wave.

Through the interviews with the four men (two are from Pirates), and some great visual aids, you can get a better understanding of how and why these three films were chosen, what sequences were shown to voters during the shortlist "bakeoff" event and what each supervisor thinks of his competition. In case it wasn't already a given, Pirates seems the best bet to win, evident in the detailing of what was achieved and in the compliments given by the other two films' supervisors (plus it won the BAFTA Award and top honors at the VFX Society Awards). One thing that everyone also agrees on is that Charlotte's Web should have at least been shortlisted for the award.

One thing I love about the guild awards is their need to break things down as specifically as is tolerable. The Oscars only satisfy if you're simply looking to award films with general categorization, but guilds and societies satisfy the more detailed classifications. For example, there is only one Oscar given for Best Visual Effects, but there are nine awards given in different motion picture categories by the Visual Effects Society.

The VES has announced their nominees for their 5th annual awards, which will be given out February 11. Some of the specific honors include Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture (no, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties is not nominated), Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture (read: computer animation), Outstanding Created Environment (think green screen scenes), Outstanding Models and Miniatures (good to see they still exist!) and Outstanding Compositing. There are also awards given separately to both the best effects in an effects-driven movie and the best effects in a non-effects-driven movie (called "supporting visual effects"), an award for best in-camera effect ("special effects") and an award for single best visual effect (very specific -- though only Children of Men's nomination lists a distinct sequence).

As much as I complain about CGI in movies, I do recognize and respect the few films that have used computer effects well. The truth is, some bad movies have great digital effects that go under-appreciated, which is far more tragic than the so-so movies that are ruined by weak CGI. Sure, Tron is a guilty pleasure for me and many others, but its only real worth is in its place in film history. Other movies that are important for their advancement of digital effects include Forrest Gump, Cliffhanger and The Perfect Storm -- none of which needs to be thought of for any other reason.

Popular Mechanics has listed these four films with six other (better) milestones. Many of them are not surprises; everybody thinks of Terminator 2: Judgment Day when thinking of significant digital effects, even though it wasn't even the first movie to feature morphing (Willow is not included in the ten, but it is referenced). Jurassic Park is also obvious, but then, this isn't really an opinion-based list. It is a chronological top ten based on real, monumental breakthroughs. There are a few on the list, such as Cliffhanger, that I didn't even know were of importance. Did you know it was the first film to use digital effects as an eraser?

So, I may have to take a look at this list whenever I'm about to curse the existence of computer effects. A lot of the worst effects are appropriately featured in movies that are already terrible, anyway (personally, I think The Lord of the Rings and its CGI fall into this worst/terrible category, but I probably shouldn't be admitting this, especially since it is on the list).

What do you think was the most important advancement in special effects history (pre-digital era included)?

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Although I've never watched the show myself, according to its recent Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series Drama, as well as the outstanding coverage provided to us by our sister site TV Squad, Heroes is a pretty popular program with you folks at home. And, part of that popularity is due to Masi Oka's performance as Hiro Nakamura -- a "Tokyo nonconformist computer/anime enthusiast who develops a way to pierce the space-time continuum and move back in time through sheer will power," so says the show's official website.

Well, the CGI artist-turned-actor (did you know he was a CGI artist on films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the Star Wars trilogy?) is now making his way to the big screen (and in front of the cameras for a change), as Oka is in talks to co-star in the Kevin Spacey-produced 21. Based off Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House, film will tell the true story of how six M.I.T. whiz kids traveled to Vegas hell-bent on coming up with a way (mastering the art of counting cards) to take back with them as much money as they could. Robert Luketic will direct (now that he's officially done with Dallas) and Jim Sturgess will star in the lead role. Oka can also be seen in the upcoming Balls of Fury.