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Previous News
APRIL
2003
04-25-03
* As you probably
already know, Will Vinton Studios was bought out last
year by Nike owner, Phil Knight. The more recent news is that Will
Vinton himself was laid-off or fired from his own studio Will Vinton Leaves. Strange events, front office
politics or something? Here is some additional
info from a source in the Portland area
that use to do some work for Vinton Studios.....
"It was sad to hear but not to
unexpected with all the rumblings and equiptment sales
going on, even the puppet and art dept annex buildiing is
up for sale. Many of the artist and animators have moved
away or have fallen on bad times. Portland's economy is
in the dumps right now, basically a bad time to be into
stop motion in the north west. I did hear that the studio
was taking an executive producer role for Corpse Bride
but I also heard all of three people from the studio are
involved. They were up to a CG Popeye project for
thanksgiving but apparently that too has been shelved as
the producer for the show got their walking papers as
well as Mr Vinton. Will was not the only one to be let go
that day. It will be interesting to see where things go
from here. The studio has been leaning more and more
toward CGI"
So, it looks like the CGI dark forces has dealt it's
final blow to Stop Motion in the USA? If the so-called
"new" Vinton Studios goes completely over to
the other side, do we really need another CGI studio? My
sense is that the CGI market may be starting to get
saturated. There are possibly more CGI wanna-bees being
cranked out by schools than the demand (I see ads all the
time pushing it), and so the gaming companies, TV
commercial ad houses and movie studios will have their
pick-of-the-litter. Kind of like the music & acting
field ..... many unemployed. I had a sense long time ago,
since the release of the first Jurassic Park this is what
CGI might do .... the utopian pancea to ALL visual
entertainment .....homogenization? Again, like I said
many times, my only major critique of CGI, is how it is shutting
out other styles and aesthetics in visual entertainment.
I do not buy the producers and studio "suits"
line, that "This is what the public wants".
That's bull crap. It comes down to: THE AUDIENCES ARE NOT
GIVEN ANY OTHER CHOICE. So it looks like Stop Motion
Animation will probably live-on Underground and it will
maybe have a better chance outside the USA
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04-21-03
* At first, I thought it was
sacrilegious that the original 1933 King Kong was going to be remade
again (by Peter Jackson), but then we saw the 1976 remade
joke, Dino De Laurentis Kong version (Baker's ape suit was okay, just
bad movie) so maybe I should not be so shocked. Did you
know last year, there were rumors that Jason and the Argonauts was going to be remade into a
major film to be directed by Stephen "The
Mummy" Sommers? Also, remember that too
long & dullish NBC television Jason &
Argonauts mini-series version? (read online reviews/many said it
was so-so). Around January 2002 many online news-type
sites announced the Argonauts/Sommers buzz. Here is an
archived article sample Film Force . In other articles, Sommers said it would
not be a remake or sequel but a homage to
Harryhausen? I am not so sure that Uncle
Ray is going to be
really touched or that honored. With Sommers at the helm,
it will most likely be a CGI Orgy Fest. It seems that
Sommers' will be pushing "artistic license" to
the limit. His Argonauts version will be set in
contemporary times in the 1930's or 40's; kind of like
The Mummy and probably will be marketed to the 13 to 20
year old raging hormone "boy" demographics.
What a sad interpretation of that
classic mythological Greek story (I am trying to contain
my real opinion!). Upon further net surfing, I then
discovered, as announced here in another archived news
item Creature Corner that Sommers will definitely be
directing Van Helsing (monster hunter). Another overdose of
digital pixel monsters onto the masses, but I do admit,
the website teaser / hype makes it look
kind of interesting. So, it seems that Sommers' Argonauts
will be put on "hold" or maybe not made at all
!? 
* Julie
Ng's archived commentary on movie remakes Doin' It to Death
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04-17-03
* In our last news item below, I
listed Nimba Creations as a very cool site to visit and
you can kick back and just enjoy all the photos and
explanation how they created a full size T-Rex
animatronic. Nimba's website has had server
problems the last few days but they are online again. If
you cannot reach their site, you should bookmark and keep
trying later ..... it is worth your time to visit them.
The only area not covered in detail, is the internal
animatronic mechanisms in which they used some proprierty
designs & engineering. In designing & creating
the "look" of the T-Rex animatronic, they were
inspired by Tony McVey's Running T-Rex figure.
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04-14-03
* I remember before
the current CGI 'take-over and occupation' of
mainstream Special Effects field  ,
they use to broadcast behind-the-scenes shows, programs,
specials on television and even a series on cable TV
called Movie Magic. These
how-it-was-done shows do not seem to exist today. Maybe
mainstream studio's excess of digital eye candy has jaded
the public? Compared to CGI production techniques,
perhaps it was much more interesting seeing artisans-technicians-craftspeople
build & create real puppets, miniatures and
models. Also, a magazine called Cinefex
use to be the source of traditional effects methods and
we would study the small pictures with a magnifying glass
to dissect their workshop layout & tools. Now,
Cinefex seems to be mostly dry and sterile with pictures
of people staring at their computer monitors (yawn). As I
have said often, Stop Motion is generally perceived by
the mainstream industry as the "Black out-cast
Sheep" of animation & special effects but we do share
some fabrication techniques with other traditional
special effects such as prosthetic make-up,
animatronics, miniatures and modelmaking. These websites Nimba Creations & The Making of a Model have nothing to do with Stop
Motion Animation, but I am sure that you will appreciate
them; you will see many pictures showing
step-by-step, how full size T-Rex display figures
were fabricated using tactile hands-on
crafting and sweat in the creation of real
models. Enjoy.
* Since I
am not much of an eBayer, I have not
posted many links to them. You can probably find good
bargains but I have read of unethical ways sellers
jack-up the bids/price and if it is something you really
desire, you might pay too much especially if you cannot
control your urge. Anyway, check this out Stop Motion Luke Puppet . At the time of this posting, the
bid was about $-930. Very pricey
and how the hell did the puppet end up in Germany or is
it really the original?
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04-09-03
* Back in mid 2002, Steven
Speilberg was quoted as somewhat criticizing
CGI. Read this Spielberg slams CGI. If he is quoted correctly, you
have to wonder though, he did help unleash onto this
planet, the current CGI juggernaut with
the first Jurassic Park. Maybe Steven
has seen the light and has been saved!?
..... Here is very short article about overuse of special
effects Scripts vs. Special FX in
Sci-Fi/Fantasy It
is not as deep as the Not Very Special Effects article
previously posted below, but some good points ...... In
another forum that is about Indiana Jones
they briefly discuss about the use of CGI in any possible
sequel Indiana Jones / Special Effects
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04-07-03
* Following a similar theme to last
week's news item about the announced remake of King
Kong (the CGI debate), here is an article Not Very Special Effects.....with the author's very
perceptive comments about his ocassional dislike of CGI
when used in live action applications, especially when
the CGI is in your face. I have
commented often in my little rants, that I do not
really criticize CGI-digital techniques and that my
primary complaint is how the mainstream movie biz is
excluding or shutting-out other film visual styles or
aesthetics (maybe using more traditional special FX). In
the Music Industry, it seems they are more
open and there is much more
diversification of music. It is amazing to me
how close-minded Hollywood is..... like
lemmings and just copy each other ..... they do
not take chances with fresh material. If the
studio "suits" would just consider investing
in smaller budgeted films to offer more
variety instead of putting all their eggs in one
basket .... their greed always chasing for that one movie
$mega blockbuster hit$. On the stop mo message board,
there has been many interesting comments about the Kong
remake, and even Special Effects & Stop Motion
Master, Jim Danforth has been putting his 2 cents in !
Check it out King Kong remake
P.S. Yeah,
I know it is a hopeless cause to whine &
complain about all this especially when it comes
to the Mainstream Movie Biz .... their primary goal is $$$
first, and any artistic merit is
secondary or it happens by accident.
I thought the King Kong remake news deserved some
commentary especially with regards to the Stop Motion Art
& Craft, as Roger Evans very insightfully said, Kong
is the Rosetta Stone of animation; the source of the Nile
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04-01-03
* Variety's yearly subscription is $259.
.... the online articles are teasers, but if you want
more in-depth information about the entertainment biz,
you have to $pay$. Well, I am not a subscriber and cannot
link to their online news/article story that Peter
Jackson will be remaking King Kong, however
someone at the stop motion board was generous enough to
share with us, the actual Variety article (saving me that
pricey subscription!) Universal Going Ape for 'Kong'
I thought, I would be more excited by the Kong remake
news but my reaction seems subdued. I think Peter Jackson
is an incredible talent and his style & sensibilities
just seems different than our USA Lucas/Speilberg-type
directors. The Original 1933 King Kong,
evoked something surreal and fantasy-like
which had a lot to do with the characters & scenery
having stylized qualities and not being
over photo-realistic (especially on Skull Island).
As Harryhausen has often said, a Dream-like
atmosphere in which Stop Motion
can project that Sense of Wonder. Now if
Peter Jackson makes Kong look too hyper-real,
I just do not know if that is the way to go. Everyone
seemed momentarily ga-ga about Gollum
(LOR: 2 Towers) and I am guessing that Kong will be
purely CGI-synthesized with much of the giant ape's
animation done via a person in a motion capture suit. If
Kong looks and moves exactly like a real gorilla, I just
do not know how that will come off in a fantasy story.
One might as well have Rick Baker make a Kong suit and go
that route .... like the Mighty Joe Young
remake which was enhanced with some CGI Joe Youngs. In
Lord of the Rings: 2 Towers, the giant
talking-walking trees, known as The Ents
really had a Stop Motion sense, feel and look
(more than any other CGI characters in Rings). I hope
that Peter Jackson considers this in the Kong remake
...... to take us into a Fantasy & Dream-like
adventure, with the scenery, backgrounds, etc.
and CGI characters perhaps not being
excessively photo-realistic but try to capture
some of the Obrien/Harryhausen Spirit
....perhaps mix-up the special effects using Traditional
FX & CGI. Here is a brief interview with Peter,
earlier this month (before Kong remake news) Backstage: Dialogue with Peter
Jackson .... in
which he said, that he loved seeing models and
miniatures and stop-motion animation and creatures.
Hopefully, Universal Studios will leave Peter Jackson
alone and give him total creative freedom. It is good
that he is in New Zealand .... far away from Hollywood.
Some other news links about Kong remake 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
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