Disney Studio’s release schedule for 2009 and 2010 includes 10 films, which is more than any other studio, with Bolt barking up a storm this weekend. The two-digit number is caused by the unspooling of re-rendering Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D, respectively. 

Obviously, the Beast is first. The process should take about 9 months but a release date hasn’t been set.

Producer Don Hahn stated in Variety, “By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we’re able to come up with a fun and unique 3-D experience for existing and new fans of the film.”

Next year’s lineup includes the Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Movie, Pixar’s Up, Jerry Bruckheimer’s G-Force, and Robert Zemeckis’ Disney’s A Christmas Carol.

In 2010, the lineup includes Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, Rapunzel, and Step Up 3.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Marc Forster, director of the upcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace, will appear on the next episode of Hollywood Now, a Paltalk originally-produced show, to discuss the movie and interact live with fans of the James Bond film series. 

Forster, who also directed Finding Neverland and the Oscar-winning film Monster’s Ball, will be taking questions from the Paltalk audience about the latest 007 film, starring Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench. 

Hollywood Now is hosted by television personality and former Miss Canada Juliette Powell.  The show connects the Paltalk community in a completely unique way with their favorite celebrities via video chat, enabling users to interact in real-time with the celebrities.

Marc Forster is being featured on Paltalk to connect with James Bond fans and discuss the upcoming movie before the film is even released. This opportunity not only provides great value to film students or wannabe directors, but an excellent way for fans to take advantage of Paltalk’s unparalleled access into the entertainment world.

For more information on Paltalk, and for a complete schedule of shows including Hollywood Now, visit Paltalk.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Watchmen Special look Behind the Scenes. “Dressed for Success” Bluntmation.com  – Thanks to Paramount and network PR for allowing me the exclusive privilege of bringing the Watchmen webisode.

Popularity: 1% [?]

How did they do that?  These clips from behind-the-scenes of Iron Man – take a look.

Making of Iron Man - Suit Construction

Making of Iron Man - Illustration and Mocap

Popularity: 1% [?]

Entertainment Weekly offers a peek, not at the spring 2010 Iron Man sequel; but an image from the two-disc DVD (out Sept. 30) — part of a segment on how Robert Downey Jr., as genius flight-suit inventor Tony Stark, mastered a wire rig attached to his feet. Director Jon Favreau didn’t want Downey flying around in the usual hip-based harness: ”It smacks of Peter Pan.”

Care for another look behind the curtain of comic-book-movie protocol? Favreau points out that ”any superhero outfit you see, I guarantee there’s been 50 hours’ discussion on how the crotch looks.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Making of Iron Man -Robert Downey Jr. Gets Painted

Does it really look like he is having fun?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Director Jon Favreau discusses the special effects involved in making Iron Man fly in this behind the scenes clip from the Iron Man DVD. Available on DVD and Blu-Ray 9/30!

Making of Iron Man - How to Fly

Popularity: 1% [?]

As you know Iron Man DVD and Blu-Ray are to be released on the shelves September 30th. Take a look at this video about making the costume featuring Jon Favreau. 

Making of Iron Man - Costume Design

Popularity: 1% [?]

One of Hollywood’s biggest writers and show creators, Aaron Sorkin, is getting chummy on Facebook.

Sorkin is in talks about writing a film about the founders of the popular social networking site.

According to Hollywood Reporter, Sorkin broke the news on Facebook when he opened up his own account.

“I understand there are a few other people using Facebook pages under my name — which I find more flattering than creepy — but this is me. I don’t know how I can prove that but feel free to test me,” he wrote before going on to talk about the movie project.

“I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I’ve started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she’s been dead for 33 years.)”

Sorkin also asked the Facebook public for any stories relating to the site.

“I feel about this introduction the way I felt about ‘Sophie’s Choice’: It could have been funnier,” Sorkin finished.

Popularity: 1% [?]

New Ratchet Game in 2009
Samsung Tocco From T-Mobile
M&M Plush Screen Cleaners

Popularity: 1% [?]

Based on the true story of college professor and part-time inventor Robert Kearns’ (Greg Kinnear) long battle with the U.S. automobile industry, Flash Of Genius tells the story of one man’s fight to receive recognition for his ingenuity would come at a heavy price. But this determined engineer refused to be silenced, and he took on the corporate titans in a battle  nobody thought he could win.  Opens in theaters October 17th.

The trailer looks good!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Producer Charlotte Huggins (Journey to the Center of the Earth, Fly Me to the Moon) is set to work with Hollywood-based studio Super 78 to produce Flight of the Dragon.

The live-action film will be made in 4K resolution for release in Imax and other giant-screen venues. 4K contains four times the amount of picture information normally used in digital-cinema production.

Dragon is a combination of hybrid documentary and fantasy, which tells the story of a young boy’s yearning to discover China from the sky by flying with a mystical dragon over exotic and mysterious landscapes.

The plan is to film Dragon completely in mainland China, primarily from aerial perspectives in locations across the country.

Popularity: 1% [?]

A German news coverage of the Metropolis find in Buenos Aires shows footage from the original, unedited Fritz Lang film.  Even though the clip is in German, you can still see some of the special effects used in this 1927 film.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Sundance Channel continues with its “The Green” Program.  I’d love to see more of these shows to support being green.

Tuesday, June 24^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Animals”

Animals don’t generate carbon footprints like we do, but having furry friends living among us is not without ecological impact.  From zoos to shelters to pampered pets, this episode will explore how animals’ diets and living environments are increasingly reflecting the “green-ness” of their human guardians. 

9:35pm e/p

The Great Warming – Directed by Michael Taylor.  Narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, “The Great Warming” explores how a changing climate is affecting the lives of people around the world. The film taps into the growing groundswell of public interest in climate change to present both an emotional and an accurate picture of the future of our planet. It includes comments from scientists, opinion-makers, and the emerging voice of the American Evangelical community about America’s lack of leadership in one of the most critical environmental issue of the 21^st century.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Sundance Channel’s “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” series educates us on what others are doing to keep the planet green.  Tomorrow night tune into the following episodes and learn how you can be greener.  

“Strait Through the Ice” is a French documentary detailing the melting of the Arctic polar ice. 

Here are the complete details.  Let me know your thoughts on this series.  Is it effective? Do you learn from a series like “Big Ideas”? If so, what?

Tuesday, June 17^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Gadgets”

It’s hard to resist the siren call of cutting-edge consumer gadgets, but it certainly mitigates guilt if the shiny new toy in question helps repair the planet.  In this episode we’ll preview the technology, the products, and the innovators that may re-write our future, whether through circuit boards made from chicken feathers or shopping malls powered by the shoppers themselves.

9:35pm e/p

Strait Through the Ice - Directed by Yves Billy.  The melting of Arctic polar ice has led to an unexpected and radical geographic development: the emergence of a new maritime route between the Atlantic and the Pacific that is far shorter than the Panama or Suez Canals.  Industrialized nations are keen to exploit the commercial possibilities of the strait, which courses through one of the most vulnerable and biologically unique places on earth.  This French documentary explores the critical issues to be resolved by a handful of powerful countries as they weigh economic potential against environmental consequences.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filmmaker Sally Potter (Orlando) who is participating in the project, putting her entire oeuvre on Reframe said in a press release from Reframe, “This is a fantastic initiative. For years I have been looking for ways of making my films, especially the very early ones, some of which have never been distributed, available to anyone, anywhere who wants to see them. Reframe is finally making that possible.” 

“Too many films remain unavailable to the public, even the best researchers and scholars, because they are literally ‘stuck on the shelf’ in analog formats, or in hard to find catalogs. Reframe will essentially digitize our visual heritage and give these important works new life,” said Brian Newman, CEO of Tribeca Film Institute.

“CreateSpace’s partnership with Tribeca Film Institute enables us to make classic film and video content easily accessible to educators and film aficionados everywhere,” said Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, managing director of CreateSpace. “Our DVD on Demand technology is a cost-effective way to quickly and efficiently provide rare content to customers who might otherwise never have had access to these valued materials.”

Reframe’s website is designed to become a community hub that will collect content from numerous sources of independent and alternative media, and allow users to find content in new ways. As more works become digitized, and video proliferates on the internet, Reframe will be a trusted source to help guide quality content.

Reframe will help end users find the best films through a combination of expert and user generated curation and specialized search functions as well as by combining the best features of social networking, recommendations from friends and colleagues, good cataloguing, and other methods to help find the best films online. Reframe curators and bloggers already include: John Hanhardt (Consulting Senior Curator for Film and Media Arts - Smithsonian American Art Museum) and Kathy Brew (Curator, Former Managing/Co-Director - Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival) among others.

Many filmmakers, distributors and archives can’t afford the high conversion cost to the digital format, and have been reluctant to invest in digitizing “niche” content. Reframe converts all content to high-quality digital files; Works in video formats will be digitized for free, and film formats will be digitized “at-cost.”

In a unique arrangement, Reframe returns a digital copy to the rights-holder for free, and allows them to make their content available to others in a nonexclusive arrangement. Reframe then makes these works available for sale to the public, sold at prices based on the suggested retail price set by the rights-holder. All content is made available for sale on DVD on Demand at Amazon.com as well as digital download to own or rent through Amazon’s Unbox service.

Reframe Link

Popularity: 1% [?]

 

Tuesday, June 3^rd

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Live” 

The recent building boom - one of the biggest in history - used enormous quantities of resources and generated millions of tons of garbage through the demolition of older structures.  This episode surveys some fresh ideas for eco-conscious construction and de-construction.    

9:35pm e/p

Weather Report - Directed by Brenda Longfellow. There are places in the world where climate change is not an abstract notion, but a factor in the daily weather report.  Weather Report journeys to the frontlines of climate change in the U.S., Canada, Kenya, India and China, visiting ordinary people whose lives and livelihoods are being dramatically impacted by persistent droughts, high winter temperatures, dust storms, sudden monsoons and other extreme weather events.  The film also looks at how individuals, communities and companies have begun to reckon with the dangers of a warming earth, and are implementing new approaches to energy production, farming and other environmentally sensitive practices.  

Popularity: 1% [?]

Developer Zabeel Properties has recently announced that 44-year old actor, Brad Pitt, will join their team of consultants to help design a new 5-star hotel that will pop up in Dubai.

Among other consultants from LA based architecture firm GRAFT, Pitt will give his insights on the 800-room hotel currently in development.

Zabeel states that this hotel will add to its $5 billion property portfolio joining various residential, commercial, and hospitality developments.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Just how did the “Indy” visual effects team make the effects look so real?  What exactly did they do to create the world of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”?

The Hollywood Reporter’s article Indiana Jones and the Digital FX by Carolyn Giardina answers those questions and more in her short piece about the sophisticated techniques Industrial Light & Magic applied to the picture.

 

Popularity: 1% [?]

 Tuesday, May 20^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Grow”

Green spaces are essential to the health and welfare of cities and suburbs alike.  As urban populations swell, creative environmentalists are scouting surprising spots for vegetation amidst the cement and concrete. Suburbanites lucky enough to have green space are introducing a new level of environmental consciousness to their lawns and gardens.

9:35pm e/p

Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa - Directed by Jeremy Stulberg and Randy Stulberg.  Some 400 people make their home on a rugged 15-square mile stretch of New Mexico desert known as the Mesa.  Devoid of basic amenities like running water, paved roads and power lines, the Mesa isn’t an easy place to live, but it does offer solitude and autonomy to those who need it, as well as an alternative to contemporary consumer society.  This candid documentary captures the tenor of a proudly self-contained and democratic society while profiling several residents, including Maine, a magnetic Gulf War veteran; Mama Phyllis, an even-tempered former psychiatric nurse; and Stan, a kindly pig farmer and father figure to the teenage runaways that have come and gone for years.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Heads up everyone! The “What’s the Big Idea?” contest will be accepting entries until May 20^th!! Please do enter as the prizing ($10,000) and the purpose (creative new ways to go green) is pretty phenomenal! In the link below you will find a Call-To-Action clip that you can feature on your site that explains more about it as well as the info and links below.

Sundance Channel invites consumers to share their inspired eco-solutions in the second annual national contest entitled “What’s The Big Idea?” presented by Lexus Hybrid Living.  The contest, in which consumers submit a short film or photo essay demonstrating how they work green, play green, eat green or live green, helps to kick off season two of Sundance Channel’s original series “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” which launches on April 1 as part of The Green, Sundance Channel’s weekly destination focusing on environmental topics.  The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 to help make their “Big Idea” a reality as well as a private green audit by “Big Ideas for a Small Planet” subject Current Energy.  Four runners up will receive a Sundance Channel Green VIP Bag.

Current Energy provides energy-efficient solutions that are environmentally sensitive or advanced. Focusing on home and business systems as a whole, Current Energy saves customers money on products, services and utility bills.  They are featured in “Big ideas for a Small Planet: Gadgets” airing on June 17^th.

Contestants will submit their one-minute short film or photo essay featuring their “Big Idea” at the contest site between April 1 and May 20.   Sundance Channel will select the top 25 entries to be viewed and voted on by users between May 27 and June 24. The five proposals to receive the most votes will be reviewed by a panel of environmental experts who will pick the winner.  Pieces will be judged on creativity, overall theme, feasibility and presentation.   The winner will be announced the week of July 7^th.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isabella Rossellini’s eight-part short film series about the sex life of insects and various creatures “Green Porno,” premiered on Sundance.com and on HELIO’s mobile service on May 5, 2008.   The series will be available on Sundance Channel VOD in June, 2008 and will air on Sundance Channel in July, 2008.   A selection of Rossellini’s “Green Porno” shorts premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and the 2008 Berlin international Film Festival.  The series will be available beginning May 5^th, 2008 at Sundance Online; for more information on HELIO go to helio.com. Meant to be shown individually or as a series, the “Green Porno” films are a comical, but insightful study of the curious ways certain creatures “make love.”  The inventive costumes and colorful sets contribute to the playfulness of the films. Their graphic look was specifically conceived for smaller screens such as cellular phones, computers, and various mobile devices. ”I’ve always been interested in animals and animal behavior,” said Rossellini.  “I wanted people to laugh, but then to leave and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know about that.’ That was my green intervention.  It was to make people aware of animal life.”

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tuesday, May 6^th

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Fashion”

Environmental consciousness has hit the fashion world in a big way; from T-shirts and jeans to haute couture, style is coming to mean sustainable fabric and earth-friendly manufacturing practices.  In this episode, we’ll meet several men and women who are bringing green to fashion, clothing stores and to the dry cleaners, too.  

9:35pm e/p

Escape from Suburbia - Directed by Gregory Greene.  Will the American lifestyle - epitomized by the single family home and two-car garage - remain tenable as we advance into an age of declining oil supplies and rising prices?  Escape from Suburbia considers the possibilities as it examines the burgeoning grass-roots movement to “power down” from energy-intensive habits.  Mixing the stories of ordinary citizens with expert analysis, the film offers an inspiring look at how people are changing their lives and their communities by pulling up stakes, organizing conferences, and even re-thinking local economies.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Check this article in Variety by David S. Cohen who conducts a Q&A interview with James Cameron about his film “Avatar” and the use of 3-D in making a film.  If anyone needs an education on 3-D movie production or camera work, this article is the one to archive. 

Popularity: 3% [?]

Do you ever find yourself wishing you can turn on the TV and find shows like Miami Vice and A-Team staring back at you?  Now it’s as easy as walking to your computer and logging onto NBC.com every Wednesday for Way Back Wednesdays, and stream shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Night Gallery, Kojack, Miami Vice and A-Team!

Guess what?! Today is Wednesday. Check it out at Way Back Wednesdays!

Popularity: 4% [?]