Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: Tim Burton and VFX Master Ken Ralston Talk Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland presented a high degree of difficulty for veteran VFX master Ken Ralston and director Tim Burton, who tends to prefer live action FX to digital ones. He clearly wrestled with the huge volume of CG effects—the film used far more green screen than he’s ever dealt with. “It starts freaking you out after a while,” he said at Comic-Con, admitting that Alice in Wonderland was “the most difficult” movie he’s ever done. Burton insisted on avoiding motion-capture as much as possible (the effects team did mo-cap some actors, for reference). Burton wound up favoring “pure animation and using actors in mysterious ways,” he said.

By Anne Thompson
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February 11, 2011 9:29 AM
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Oscar Talk: Possible King's Speech Sweep, Santa Barbara Fest, Potential Upsets

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I debate a King's Speech Oscar sweep, possible Oscar upsets and share what we learned in Santa Barbara at various tributes and panels.

By Anne Thompson
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February 5, 2011 12:42 AM
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Oscar Watch: Inception Sweeps Visual Effects Awards with Four Wins, Dragon Beats Toy Story 3

It's no surprise that Chris Nolan's Inception swept the 9th Visual Effects Society Awards with four wins including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture. The epic visual extravaganza is also expected to score the VFX and other technical awards on Oscar night February 27.

By Anne Thompson
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February 2, 2011 3:39 AM
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Behind the Visual Effects on Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is one of those movies that is creepy, scary, believable and psychologically taut partly because he deploys 250 visual effects shots to such good effect. They aren't obvious, or on a big-budget scale. While we probably figured out that Nina morphing into a Black Swan at the film's finale is a visual effect (the most complex in the film), most of the film's effects are far more subtle.

By Anne Thompson
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January 19, 2011 9:05 AM
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Oscar Watch: VFX Short List of Seven Includes Alice in Wonderland, Inception, Scott Pilgrim

Seven films will vie in the Visual Effects bakeoff on January 20 for an Oscar nomination, when members of the VFX branch will see 15-minute reels of each film and then vote for the final five to be announced January 25. The list is what was expected.

By Anne Thompson
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January 6, 2011 2:42 AM
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Oscar Watch: Visual Effects Branch Narrows List to 15

Fifteen features have made the semi-finals for the Visual Effects Oscar. In early January, the visual effects branch executive committee members (who selected the semifinalists) will trim the list to seven. At the VFX bakeoff on January 20, the VFX teams screen 15-minute show-reels that show how they achieved their effects. Then the members will vote on the final five nominated films for Oscar consideration. The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT.

By Anne Thompson
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December 10, 2010 11:31 AM
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TRON: Legacy’s 3-D VFX Stretch Current Movie Tech to its Limits

In the current issue of Popular Mechanics, I dig into the edge of the visual effects frontier represented by TRON: Legacy, which Disney opens wide December 17. The sumptuously visual movie will wow moviegoers with its 3-D VFX, if not its compelling storyline. Here's a snatch of the feature:

By Anne Thompson
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December 9, 2010 7:08 AM
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TRON: Legacy Early Reviews: "Visually Stunning," "Flimsy," "Sloppy," "Immersive"

Well, someone let the cat out of the bag on Disney's Tron: Legacy sequel: reviews weren't supposed to to go live until after the London premiere (the Livestream December 5 is here). A sampling of reviews is below. Some like it, some don't.

By Anne Thompson
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December 4, 2010 2:21 AM
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Academy Watch: Star Trek VFX Show-and-Tell

Visual effects wonks (like me) who are lucky enough to live in L.A. may want to show up on Thursday, November 18 for the Academy's Science and Technology Council program “Visualize This: Previs in the Making of Star Trek." Using clips and behind-the-scenes footage, a panel led by Star Trek writer-producer Damon Lindelof (Lost, Cowboys & Aliens) will explore the challenges and opportunities of the previsualization (previs) process at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2010 9:31 AM
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Vanguard Films Forms Alliance with "Kung Fu Panda"'s Stevenson and Moviemill

John Williams' Vanguard Films has inked an overall producing and directing deal with John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) and formed a financing and distribution alliance with former president of Lakeshore International Peter Rogers' new company Moviemill.