I'm a big baseball fan. I go to ESPN and Fox Sports all the time to see how my team sits in their Power Rankings. I thought, why not have a studio Power Rankings? Let’s swing through the list of first tier studios and put them in order. This is of course my opinion and if yours differs. That's cool. Start a blog and bitch and moan there.
Sometime in the next week or so, I will continue the Power Rankings with the second tier studios. Don't touch that dial! ...continued...
#1 : Pixar
With Cars coming to a close in the not-so-distant-future, the production crew will begin to shift to the next movie. Will they come to some compromise with Disney for distribution? I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. Whatever the case, Pixar has several projects in development and pre-production to keep them busy. Expect some announcements very soon. I enjoy their movies the best. Let’s face it; they are the cream of the crop. If there were any negative things I could say about this studio, it would be their 1) their ego and 2) their assumption that the distribution world should be handed to them on a silver platter. They want Lucas terms, evidentially not everyone thinks they are worth such a price. A deal would have been struck a long time ago if they did. The longer they wait to strike something with Disney or anyone else, the more momentum Disney will have in negotiations. Pixar will have to, and needs to lower its expectations.
#2 : Disney
This probably comes as a shock to everyone reading this blog. Why in the world would I list Disney ahead of DreamWorks? After all, what CG films have they released (Uhh, Dinosaur. I’ll give them a mulligan on that!)? I’m basing this decision on Disney’s potential, not what they have done. Chicken Little looks pretty durn good, and some of their projects down the line look even better. These guys are about to make a huge splash. With Eisner on his way out, I think we have even better chances of this studio making a stunning leap forward. Their worst days are over, they are on the uptrend, while I feel DreamWorks is on the downtrend. Although I feel that Rapunzel is a project to keep Keane busy, American Dog and Wilbur Robinson look promising. They have lots more films in development and I expect a lot. However, if Chicken Little does poorly in the box office, things could get interesting at the mouse. Toy Story 3 is still moving along. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this movie. Some believe it is just a ploy to get Pixar back to the negotiating table and that it will be dropped in a second. What are my feelings? I’m not so sure. Although I give Pixar and Disney getting married again a 50/50 chance, I don’t think TS3 is being used a bargaining chip. Disney just wants to get the ball rolling if the negotiations are a bust.
#3 : DreamWorks
Here we are with DreamWorks in third place on my list. Although some of their projects look promising, Disney nudged them out for second place because of Shrek 3 and Madagascar- that I thought was a step down in story from SharkTale. Flushed Away, Over The Hedge, and the Seinfeld Bee Movie are a few other movies on tap. However, I’m not excited about any of these. With the stock problems, SEC investigations, and general rumors surrounding management, I just don’t know where this studio is going to end up. I don’t think they are going to close or anything that extreme, just that it may affect future productions because so much more is riding on each and every release. This could potentially be a disaster.
#4 : Blue Sky
This was another tough one. I almost put SPA at #4 and dropped Blue Sky down to an insulting fifth. I decided to keep them here and see what happens next. While they have a lot going for them, I’m just not excited about what’s coming down the pipe. Ice Age 2? Did Ice Age really deserve a sequel? Crap. Don’t fall into that Disney sequel trap. Horton Hears a Who. I don’t even know what to think here. I can only hope for the best. Financially, they are doing fine and since they have lots of things going on, maybe they will stop firing people during down time.
#5 : Sony Pictures Animation
These guys have yet to release a CG film. Let’s not count Polar Express. This was not their project and was absolutely hideous. Like Dinosaur/Disney, I’m going to extend a mulligan to these guys. Every studio deserves one mulligan. It is just a shame when they have to use them up so soon. I have high hopes for these guys. They have some talent and definitely have the experience as a studio. On the down side, the rumor is that the management/executive system is even more of a mess than Disney. Creatively speaking, the Open Season teaser looked decent enough. The colors felt a little muddy to me, and the animation was pretty good. The quality is certainly above the second tier studios, but not yet on level with Pixar or Disney. I’m really looking forward to Surf’s Up. This film is still a long ways off, but if the final product is anywhere near the descriptions I’ve heard from the people working on it, then it will be a fun movie.
Part 2 will be coming soon.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Lions Gate Gets Into Animation
Lions Gate is really on the animation kick. For those not familiar with them, they are a movie company that has their hands in all sorts of film related businesses. Probably most known for their distribution arm, they are responsible for putting out mid to low budget films. ...continued...
Take for instance "Food Fight". This is an animated film being put together by Threshold. I'm sure you've heard of this movie, it is the one that takes place in a grocery store and uses an unbelievable amount of product placement. So much in fact, that I'm not sure I will even be able to watch the thing. After all, I often grit my teeth when watching a movie and the main character drinks a can of Coke, or the camera discreetly focuses on the Mercedes logo before the hero jumps in and speeds off. Think of an animated film with hundreds of product placements as the main characters! bleh.
Speaking of Food Fight, this film has been in production for what seems like forever. I'm not sure what is going on over there. Between them and Delgo, the two movies have been in production for what seems longer than most of us have been alive.
Back to Lions Gate. Looks like they are getting ready for another CG film. The information is confusing. I'm not sure if Threshold is going to do this film, or Lions Gate is doing it (if anyone knows, please chime in). The script is from the 1969 children's book "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble". Is anyone keeping track of all of these movies?! Time to add another one. It will be called "Sylvester".
Take for instance "Food Fight". This is an animated film being put together by Threshold. I'm sure you've heard of this movie, it is the one that takes place in a grocery store and uses an unbelievable amount of product placement. So much in fact, that I'm not sure I will even be able to watch the thing. After all, I often grit my teeth when watching a movie and the main character drinks a can of Coke, or the camera discreetly focuses on the Mercedes logo before the hero jumps in and speeds off. Think of an animated film with hundreds of product placements as the main characters! bleh.
Speaking of Food Fight, this film has been in production for what seems like forever. I'm not sure what is going on over there. Between them and Delgo, the two movies have been in production for what seems longer than most of us have been alive.
Back to Lions Gate. Looks like they are getting ready for another CG film. The information is confusing. I'm not sure if Threshold is going to do this film, or Lions Gate is doing it (if anyone knows, please chime in). The script is from the 1969 children's book "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble". Is anyone keeping track of all of these movies?! Time to add another one. It will be called "Sylvester".
Paramount Wakes Up
Paramount released a normal trailer for Barnyard. If you recall, they put out this dinky postage stamp sized trailer that was practically useless. Now you can find a normal sized trailer at Quicktime.com. ...continued...
First things first, that opening scene going through the dark forest was created by Blur Studios, not Omation. I realize the plan all along was to have the opening contrast the rest of the trailer to give bigger impact to the "joke". But, for some reason I can't help to think that it makes Omations stuff look even cheesier.
I said this last time, and I will say it again. I think the trailer is funny. The cow tipping thing makes for some good laughs. However, now that I've seen the higher resolution trailer, I see how Jimmy Neutron'ish this film is. Maybe Paramount wanted to keep "their" style going, since they were part of that movie too. Or maybe the few people that helped start Omation that came from DNA had a huge impact on the style of this film. I'm not sure. All that I'm sure of, it just doesn't do it for me. The character design is okay, but it just looks plastic-like and weird. Quite a few rungs below DreamWorks, Blue Sky, and Pixar projects.
The outdoor environments are nice. I think they did a good job in this area. The animation in the trailer is decent. Although some of the mouth movements looked pretty stiff. I'm not sure if that is an animation or rigging problem. It looks like some of the animation was rushed and they just tried to do too much. Sometimes less is more. You can chalk that up to budget constraints and inexperience of the animation team. Those mocapped characters in the background. I hope they don't stand out too much in the film.
I try not to make too many judgements on trailers. However, what the hell. If I were to go by this thing, I'd say that this movie will be pretty funny. Steve O is capable of some good stuff. Thumbs up on the environments, thumbs down on the character design and general look of those characters. The animation, is what it is. Serviceable, but anything but impressive.
How will this film do? That is a hard one. Jimmy Neutron was a surprise to me in its success. However, Barnyard ended up coming in over budget and won't have the luxury of Neutrons low negative cost. My prediction it will do okay. Probably around Neutrons numbers, if not a little better.
What will happen to Omation after this over? Well, they will have to hire everyone over again if they get a new project. The company has fallen into the all too familiar pattern of hiring then firing. Most of those on this crew will absorb into other productions and they will have to start over with another inexperienced group.
Somehow I don't think the management really cares.
First things first, that opening scene going through the dark forest was created by Blur Studios, not Omation. I realize the plan all along was to have the opening contrast the rest of the trailer to give bigger impact to the "joke". But, for some reason I can't help to think that it makes Omations stuff look even cheesier.
I said this last time, and I will say it again. I think the trailer is funny. The cow tipping thing makes for some good laughs. However, now that I've seen the higher resolution trailer, I see how Jimmy Neutron'ish this film is. Maybe Paramount wanted to keep "their" style going, since they were part of that movie too. Or maybe the few people that helped start Omation that came from DNA had a huge impact on the style of this film. I'm not sure. All that I'm sure of, it just doesn't do it for me. The character design is okay, but it just looks plastic-like and weird. Quite a few rungs below DreamWorks, Blue Sky, and Pixar projects.
The outdoor environments are nice. I think they did a good job in this area. The animation in the trailer is decent. Although some of the mouth movements looked pretty stiff. I'm not sure if that is an animation or rigging problem. It looks like some of the animation was rushed and they just tried to do too much. Sometimes less is more. You can chalk that up to budget constraints and inexperience of the animation team. Those mocapped characters in the background. I hope they don't stand out too much in the film.
I try not to make too many judgements on trailers. However, what the hell. If I were to go by this thing, I'd say that this movie will be pretty funny. Steve O is capable of some good stuff. Thumbs up on the environments, thumbs down on the character design and general look of those characters. The animation, is what it is. Serviceable, but anything but impressive.
How will this film do? That is a hard one. Jimmy Neutron was a surprise to me in its success. However, Barnyard ended up coming in over budget and won't have the luxury of Neutrons low negative cost. My prediction it will do okay. Probably around Neutrons numbers, if not a little better.
What will happen to Omation after this over? Well, they will have to hire everyone over again if they get a new project. The company has fallen into the all too familiar pattern of hiring then firing. Most of those on this crew will absorb into other productions and they will have to start over with another inexperienced group.
Somehow I don't think the management really cares.
Art Meets Technology
Last night Brad Bird, Bill Kroyer, Eric Goldberg and a few others got together for an event called "Art Meets Technology". Unfortunately I'm out of Los Angeles at the moment and was unable to attend. So, the only thing I can comment about is what others are saying. ...continued...
Judging by what I've heard so far, at least a few things must of been said regarding the so-called death of 2D features. If 2D features are not dead they are definitely on life support. Sure, the art form still lives, but until it is picked up again by a few more studios and is mildly successful in the box office, they will continue to kling to life.
2D will always live on in the hearts of artists. Or at least some of them. Last I heard the artists aren't the ones really flipping the bill when it comes to funding these projects. And until they bring in some coin, they (2D features) will never make a big comeback. So 2D features are alive, just on life support. At least here in the United States and more specifically with the bigger studios.
If your hanging on to some hope that 2D will come back the way it was in the 90's. You can pretty much forget about it. Those days are over. However, I hope that at least one 2D feature is produced each year in this country. It may give a home to those that really don't want to be in 3D and are only there because "they have to be" (see my cry-babies post).
Judging by what I've heard so far, at least a few things must of been said regarding the so-called death of 2D features. If 2D features are not dead they are definitely on life support. Sure, the art form still lives, but until it is picked up again by a few more studios and is mildly successful in the box office, they will continue to kling to life.
2D will always live on in the hearts of artists. Or at least some of them. Last I heard the artists aren't the ones really flipping the bill when it comes to funding these projects. And until they bring in some coin, they (2D features) will never make a big comeback. So 2D features are alive, just on life support. At least here in the United States and more specifically with the bigger studios.
If your hanging on to some hope that 2D will come back the way it was in the 90's. You can pretty much forget about it. Those days are over. However, I hope that at least one 2D feature is produced each year in this country. It may give a home to those that really don't want to be in 3D and are only there because "they have to be" (see my cry-babies post).
Friday, July 22, 2005
Shane Acker to Direct Feature
Remember a few months ago when I said that someone with little CG or animation experience made a short film and it was picked by Tim Burton to be turned into a CG Feature? Well, it has finally hit the wires. ...continued...
The director is Shane Acker, and his short film was "9". For some unknown reason, this short has gotten a lot of attention. I'll admit it, I just don't see it. I thought the short was boring and was extremely uninteresting. The animation was okay, but didn't grab me as impressive. The best part of it were the environments and textures. However, I wasn't that blown away by them either. It does fit Burton's style (which he will act as Executive Producer) though. A deal was made with "Focus Features" to produce the low budget film.
Even though I thought the story was boring and the visuals were okay. I'll wish Shane some luck. As a newbie to the industry and with no directing experience beyond the short, he is in store for some difficult times. Hey, everyone else is getting money to make a CG film, why not this guy?
The director is Shane Acker, and his short film was "9". For some unknown reason, this short has gotten a lot of attention. I'll admit it, I just don't see it. I thought the short was boring and was extremely uninteresting. The animation was okay, but didn't grab me as impressive. The best part of it were the environments and textures. However, I wasn't that blown away by them either. It does fit Burton's style (which he will act as Executive Producer) though. A deal was made with "Focus Features" to produce the low budget film.
Even though I thought the story was boring and the visuals were okay. I'll wish Shane some luck. As a newbie to the industry and with no directing experience beyond the short, he is in store for some difficult times. Hey, everyone else is getting money to make a CG film, why not this guy?
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