Wednesday, February 16, 2011

3D Glasses? Hasbro Does One Better with Transformers 3D Face Masks


Transformers Cine-Power 3D MasksToy companies aren't immune to the recent wave of custom passive 3D glasses. Hot on the heels of Oakley and Gucci, Hasbro just announced its own line of designer 3D glasses for kids. However, they won't be glasses; they'll be face masks. And they won't have curved, stylish lines; they'll have robots.

The Transformers Cine-Power 3D Masks are RealD-compatible passive 3D glasses built into plastic masks shaped like the faces of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, from the upcoming film Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The masks will work with any RealD movie theater, and are compatible with Vizio Cinema 3D HDTVs and other passive 3D HDTVs. They will retail for $9.99, and will start shipping to stores May 16, six weeks before the film's release.

rob towner: Surprised Kitty. Cutest Kitten In The World EVER!

rob towner: Surprised Kitty. Cutest Kitten In The World EVER!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Breaking Film News: Mr Men set for big screen

Breaking Film News: Mr Men set for big screen: "It's raining Men ... Roger Hargreaves's Mr Men characters have already been a hit with readers in 28 countries worldwide. Mr Men: The Mo..."

.Justin Bieber Hits Cover of Hollywood Reporter (and Debuts New Haircut)

On the eve of his "3D Never Say Never," the megastar appears alongside mentors Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Usher THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, out on Thursday.

Issue 06 Cover

Justin Bieber not only has a new 3D movie out (Never Say Never, opening Feb. 11), he has a new haircut!

Arriving at THR’s photo shoot on Monday, photographed by Jeff Lipsky, the 16-year-old teen phenom (who premieres Never Say Never Tuesday in Los Angeles) sported a fresh trim on his famous locks (styled by Vanessa Price) that he had received just two days before, as he prepared to be photographed alongside Usher, whom Bieber describes as “like a brother,” and Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group, the company that signed him in October 2008 (when no one else would). “We’re like a family coming together,” says Usher. “That’s what makes a great career.” 
 
The piece explores the roots of Bieber Fever, and his team’s near-perfect synergy of social networking prowess, pop instinct, undeniable talent and old fashioned grassroots campaigning. Bieber has sold more than 10 millions albums worldwide, has two Grammy nominations, including the much-coveted Best New Artist award, is a merchandising phenomenon and now likely is a movie star as well.
 
 

Monday, February 7, 2011

Competition to star in 3D movie – Project Borneo 3D

The search is on for 10 people to star in a new 3D movie and at the same time help save the planet!

Virgo Productions an award-winning, boutique screen industries company has just launched their competition that is open to people aged between 18-35 years old. They are searching the globe to find 10 project managers who will be the eyes, voice and ears of the project.

Project Borneo 3D is a project led by Microsoft and TakingITGlobal, the largest not-for-profit social network in the world. The project is also working with Dr. Willie Smitts and Orangutan Outreach.
Millions of young people will join forces to tackle the biggest challenge facing our planet – stopping deforestation. The ten chosen applicants will travel to Borneo and live in a Dayak long house for five months and take action to save the forest and the orangutans. They will connect online with millions of young people across the globe. And they will be the subjects of a 3D movie.

The movie is being developed by Virgo Products who specialise in feature documentaries that tell inspiring, positive, global stories with cross-platform delivery to engage audiences world-wide through cinema, television, online, mobile and DVD release.

Burning Season is one of their famous films : an eco-thriller – about a young Australian entrepreneur, who believes there’s money to be made from protecting rainforests in Indonesia, saving the orangutan from extinction and making a real impact on climate change.

Interested? To apply submit a 90 second clip with the following information:

• Your name and where you are from
• What deforestation means to you?
• Why you want to save forests and orangutans
• What you’ve done in the past to protect the environment
• Why you want to be in a 3D movie
• Must include the URL – http://www.deforestaction.com/

Your clip needs to be creative, interesting and dynamic. The most voted clip will earn a place in the top 20. The more hits, interest, votes and media coverage you create around your clip, the stronger your chance to be selected!!

Who are Virgo Productions looking for?

• Young people aged between 18 and 35
• Able to speak English
• A passion for saving forests and endangered wildlife
• Some past experience in protecting the environment or helping animals
• A spirit of adventure

TakingITGlobal: http://www.deforestaction.com/

To submit your recruitment clip

Upload to YouTube with title (YOUR NAME, Action Agent).

Then go to the DeforestACTION website and you’ll need to login or register.

You can also sign up to TIG using your Facebook/Windows Live/MySpace IDs!!

Once logged in, you can submit your video by clicking the ‘submit to contest’ link on the right had side of the page. Then click on ‘import from YouTube’ in the Global Gallery section and follow the instructions.

Entries close 5pm, 18th of March 2011.

Check out one of Virgo Productions press releases for more details.

http://www.virgoproductions.com.au/recruitment-call-for-project-borneo

Good luck!

TRON and TRON:Legacy 3D Coming to Blu-ray, Pre-Order Now

Walt Disney took it on the chin with the first TRON when it was released back in 1982 and some eyebrows were certainly raised when they announced their decision to release the sequel TRON: Legacy in 2010. The 3D spectacle was the most heavily marketed film of the year; and certainly one of the most anticipated. The film earned mixed reviews from critics, and did not exactly light it up at the domestic box office as Disney certainly hoped it would. If not for the worldwide box office numbers, TRON: Legacy would have been a disaster for the folks at the magic kingdom.

Sold as the second coming of Avatar (from a visual perspective in 3D), the film did not exactly lower jaws; that was left to the breathtaking and feisty Olivia Wilde who made male viewers feel less guilty for spending $15 per ticket. The grid was certainly electrifying in the modern film; with the fantastic score from Daft Punk keeping things pulsating.

3D TV needs a shot in the arm right now, and Disney (as well as most of the major manufacturers of 3D TVs) certainly hopes that films like TRON: Legacy will inspire fence sitters to get off their duffs and take the 3D plunge in 2011. It is certainly encouraging to see that the studio is being aggressive when it comes to the marketing of its 3D movies for the home audience, offering many titles day and date on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Disc.

Disney has a slew of quality titles coming out in 3D in 2011, and TRON and TRON:Legacy 3D are part of the first batch which includes the utterly charming Tangled. Multiple versions of the box set are now available for pre-order on Amazon, including a really great collector's set which includes an illuminated identity disc as the box to hold all five discs (this set includes both the original film and the sequel in multiple media formats). Sadly, Olivia Wilde is not included in the package.



For those of us who remember cutting school in 1982/1983 to sneak into the local arcade and drop bags of quarters into the original TRON machine, the inclusion of the Blu-ray remaster of the original film is bound to bring back some memories. It was the movie that made all those hours on the Atari 1040ST and Commodore 64 seem worthwhile; when fighting for the users against the Master Control Program meant something to our budding yet immature minds.

The street date for all of the releases is April 5th - which also includes standalone versions of the original film and the sequel on Blu-ray; with prices ranging from $27.99 to $79.99 for the uber cool illuminated identity disc set.

The additional features include behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries from the film's stars (we'll be skipping to Olivia Wilde and then watching her part all over again), documentaries about the creation of the "grid", and a first look at Disney's exciting new animated series, TRON: Uprising.



 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

James Cameron talks about new Theatrical Technical Developments for AVATAR 2

Director James Cameron is currently making the press rounds for his newly produced film Sanctum. But who wants to talk to the director about that when people can talk to him about several other more interesting movies he's working on like Avatar 2. Cameron revealed that he's looking to way to improving 3D projection quality, and it all starts with improving the movie theater standards.
Here's what the director told the Wall St. Journal,
For ‘Avatar 2,’ what I’m most interested in is getting theaters to up their light level… And we want to shoot the movie at 48 or maybe even 60 frames a second, and display it at that speed, which will eliminate a lot of the motion artifacts that I think are causing some people problems… People talk about feeling sick or something like that, and I think it’s because the image is strobing. That’s a function of the 24 frame frame rate, which has actually got nothing to do with 3D. It’s just made more apparent because the 3D is otherwise such an enhanced, realistic image, that all of a sudden you’re aware of this funky strobing which you weren’t aware of.
I was actually just talking to a friend about movies being shown in theaters at 60 frames per second instead of 24. 60fps is more natural for the eye and brain to take in process, allowing us to see things much more smoothly and fluidly. I honestly think the next step for feature film projection is to abandon 24fps and move it up to 60fps. That's still years away from happening though, if it ever actually happens. If anyone can push the theaters in the direction to make this change though it's James Cameron.
What do you all think?