|
Digital
Media FX News Archives
Wednesday
- May 2, 2001
- DreamWorks Announces New
Animated Movie Productions
- Pictures From
The Mummy Returns Private Screening
- Writers Contract Deadline
Passes. Talks Continue.
- News Link of the Day
- Video Games to Dwarf Film Industry?
DreamWorks
Announces New Animated Movie Productions
(digitalmediafx.com) Jeffrey Katzenberg announced yesterday
that DreamWorks has acquired the movie and TV rights to Terry
Pratchett's best-selling fantasy novels "Truckers,"
"Diggers," and "Wings," known collectively
as the "Bromeliad" trilogy. "Truckers" will
be the first to be turned into a computer animated feature, under
the direction of Andrew Adamson, who co-directed DreamWorks' upcoming
computer animated comedy, Shrek. Adamson is again collaborating
with one of the co-writers of Shrek, Joe Stillman, with
whom he is adapting the screenplay for "Truckers."
The books
follow the adventures of a group of "nomes" (proper
spelling for the books) living in a department store. When their
home is demolished, the nomes venture into the outside world for
the first time and discover their true, alien origins.
"There
are few authors whose work lends itself to animation as well as
Terry Pratchett's," says Katzenberg. "His Bromeliad
trilogy is a wonderful blend of fantasy, adventure and humor and
I am honored to be able to bring his books to the screen, beginning
with Truckers. Andrew Adamson is the perfect choice to direct
this project. He brought an extraordinary level of ingenuity and
enthusiasm to the production of Shrek, and I am thrilled
to have an opportunity to work with both him and Joe Stillman
again."
In granting
the rights to DreamWorks, Pratchett says he was very impressed
overall with DreamWorks request. "I liked Chicken Run
and Galaxy Quest, and you've got to be impressed when someone
from DreamWorks phones up from Hollywood one night and turns up
for lunch in Wiltshire, England the very next day."
Pratchett
has sold over 23 million books worldwide. His works have been
translated into 27 languages and he was awarded an OBE for services
to literature in 1998. The 26th novel in his phenomenally successful
Discworld series, "Thief of Time," will be published
the first week in May by Harper Collins in the U.S., and Doubleday
in the UK.
"Terry
Pratchett is an incredibly clever and imaginative writer, and
I was drawn into the world of 'The Bromeliad,'" says Adamson.
"It's a story that lends itself extremely well to being a
film, and I immediately wanted to be a part of its telling."
You can purchase
The Bromeliad Trilogy (book series) here.
> Return
to the top of page
Pictures
From The Mummy Returns Private Screening (part one)
(by digitalmediafx.com) On Monday night, Digital Media FX
had the opportunity to attend a benefit private screening of The
Mummy Returns (read
story here). Here are some pictures from the event:
Upon entering
the backlot security gate, you could immediately see the
Universal Studios cast/crew store.
This huge poster
for The Mummy Returns hung on the outside
of the Alfred Hitchcock Theater (where the screening was held)
Arnold Vosloo
(Im-Ho-Tep)
(One of the
FX posters in the foyer)
Oded Fehr (Ardeth
Bay) Hosted the Night's Event
Arnold Vosloo,
Patricia Velasquez, Brendan Fraser, Freddie Boath
Be sure to
visit Digital Media FX tomorrow for another set of pictures from
the screening!
> Return
to the top of page
Writers
Contract Deadline Passes. Talks Continue.
(by digitalmediafx.com) As of today, writers no longer have
a contract with major studios. Even so, negotiations between the
Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and major Hollywood studios continue.
Yesterday evening, the WGA stated:
"Negotiations
between the Writers Guild of America, East and west and the Alliance
of Motion Picture and Television Producers have concluded for
the day and will resume at 12:00 noon PST, Wednesday, May 2nd."
The WGA also
has addressed why it is maintaining a press blackout during negotiations:
"In the
interest of successfully concluding the talks, the Guild and the
companies have maintained a news blackout regarding developments
during the current round of negotiations. The decision to maintain
a blackout allows the focus of negotiators and the Guild leadership
to remain on the talks. Ultimately, it is believed the blackout
will best serve the ultimate goal—the satisfactory resolution
to the negotiations."
A potential
strike would effect everything from animated and live action movies
to TV shows (cartoons, soap operas, dramas, comedies, etc.).
> Return
to the top of page
News Link
of the Day - Video Games to Dwarf Film Industry?
According to CNET:
"Computer
and video games now represent a $10.5 billion industry that eventually
could rival the market for movies, according to a trade-organization
study.
Game sales
have grown 15 percent per year from 1997 to 2000, according to
a state-of-the-industry report released Tuesday by the Interactive
Digital Software Association, a group that represents video game
makers..."
Click
here for the full story.
> return
to the top of page
> click
here for a printable version of this page
> return to
May News Archives
> return to
today's news
> return
to Front Page
|
