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VFX Winner Rhythm & Hues Files for Bankruptcy, Underscores Sector's Economic Woes

News

The fragile economics of the visual effects industry was front and center at last week's Visual Effects Society awards. And even the well-respected company, Rhythm & Hues, that spearheaded and supervised the extraordinary visual effects in Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" --which won best live action feature effects at the VES and BAFTA awards and is favored to win the VFX Oscar-- is in danger.

By Anne Thompson
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February 11, 2013 3:22 PM
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Awards

Kathleen Kennedy confirms that Michael Arndt is the new writer for "Star Wars: Episode VII." She was celebrating the AFI FEST closing night world premiere of Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" Thursday, along with Disney chairman Robert Iger, who when pressed, admitted that he wouldn't have paid $4.05 billion for Lucasfilm if he didn't think Disney, Lucasfilm and Kennedy couldn't turn out the best "Star Wars" film ever made.

By Anne Thompson
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November 9, 2012 9:36 PM
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News

In the wake of Disney's major purchase of LucasFilm for $4.05 billion, EW asks the pertinent question: Which studios own which major franchise characters? Disney's Robert Iger made clear during a conference call after the announcement that he'd rather pay through the nose for an established brand than risk creating anything new. He's making the smart bet that longtime Spielberg producer Kathleen Kennedy, president of LucasFilm, will be able to take consultant Lucas's blueprint for new "Star Wars" episodes and reinvent the series with fresh writers and directors. ("The Empire Strikes Back," directed by Irvin Kershner, is widely considered the best of the saga.)