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Digital Media FX News Archives

Tuesday - July 3, 2001
- Tomb Raider: The Ride to Open in 2002
- Final Fantasy PS2 DVD to Have Unique Features
- Final Weekend Box Office Numbers
- News Link of the Day - Cat Lovers Protest Cats as Villains

Tomb Raider: The Ride to Open in 2002
(by digitalmediafx.com) Paramount Parks is bringing the movie Tomb Raider to life via a multi-sensory adventure ride called Tomb Raider: The Ride. It will open in 2002 at Paramount's Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The ride begins with a journey into a foreboding ancient temple. As stone walls give way to others, guests will proceed through mysterious chambers, engraved with strange, runic symbols and the debris of failed expeditions. With only seconds to spare before certain calamity, guests strap in to the only possible vehicle of escape (details of the vehicle type have not been released). Playing off scenes from the motion picture filmed in Cambodia and Iceland, the escape will include rocketing upward for a close encounter in an ice cave with menacing, razor-sharp stalactites and a face-first plunge straight down toward a pit of boiling, red-hot lava.

"Part of the thrill of the Tomb Raider property is the mystery and intrigue that surrounds each adventure. We want to preserve this mystery with the Tomb Raider ride until the first group of adventurers braves it in 2002 -- so, we aren't going to disclose all of the surprises in store for riders," said Tim Fisher, executive vice president and general manager of Paramount's Kings Island. "But this attraction will change the face of thrill ride history and become one of the greatest adventure rides in the world."

In making the announcement, park officials unveiled a 42' x 28' in-park display featuring actual props used in the filming of the motion picture. Members of the project team visited the soundstages at Pinewood Studios outside London, England and hand-selected key props to use throughout the ride experience. Some of these props are a part of the display located at the base of the park's signature Royal Fountain and Eiffel Tower attraction. The movie props on display throughout the summer include:

* The impressive six-armed Brahma statue, known as the Warrior Goddess Durga, featured in the Cambodian tomb

* The evil stone monkeys that are mobilized in the Cambodian tomb raiding scene

"It is our intention to bring the excitement, adventure and technology of Tomb Raider to life in a stunning multi-dimensional experience. Ensuring the authenticity of this experience is of the utmost importance to us," Fisher said. "We want guests to feel like real tomb raiders from the moment they enter the attraction."

Tomb Raider: The Ride is currently under construction in the Rivertown section of the 364-acre theme park. All will be revealed in 2002 when the park expects to unveil the new attraction.

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Final Fantasy PS2 DVD to Have Unique Features
(by digitalmediafx.com) Even though Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within doesn't hit theaters until July 11, plans for a Playstation2 special edition movie DVD have already been announced. The PS2 DVD will contain features not found on the regular DVD, including the ability to manipulate the camera angle on certain scenes. Square demonstrated this technology at last year's SIGGRAPH tradeshow where users could move the camera angle in a scene from the movie.

In other Final Fantasy news, the Final Fantasy Chronicles Playstation compilation has been released. It is a special packaged set consisting of updated versions of Square's classic
role-playing games Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger, originally released in North America for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

The Final Fantasy Chronicles collection enhances the experience of the original games with new opening and closing cinematic sequences, which boost the emotional impact of the characters and environments. The new Final Fantasy IV now incorporates a two-player mode that allows players to participate in battles together, and a "dash" feature, that permits players to progress more quickly through various locales. It also features a completely new and improved localization of the original unedited story and slips in numerous monsters, abilities, items and scenes that were not in the original SNES version. The updated Chrono Trigger also features cinematic re-creations of memorable sequences, answering lingering questions and offering some insight into the game's successor, Chrono Cross.

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Final Weekend Box Office Numbers
(by digitalmediafx.com) Final weekend box office numbers are in and here are the results for the top animated and visual effects movies:

The gain/loss represents the movie's performance when compared to last weekend.

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News Link of the Day - Cat Lovers Protest Cats as Villains

According to the Edmonton Journal:

"The makers of a Warner Bros. big summer comedy are suddenly realizing that there are a lot of cat lovers out there.

In fact, the fur is already starting to fly over the movie, Cats and Dogs, even before its arrival Wednesday in theaters. The reason is simple: this frolic about a battle between cats and dogs for world domination is very much biased in favor of the canine species…"

Click here for the full story.

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