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Peter Jackson reveals the Red Epic secrets behind The Hobbit (video)
Diet and filmmaking legend Peter Jackson's given us another insight into the making of the Hobbit movies, and this time he's talking about his envious collection of tech. Filming with no less than 48 Red Epic cameras at 48fps in full 5k resolution might sound fantastic, but it hasn't all been a bed of cotton candy. Two 3D cameras need to be mounted at the same "interocular" (the inch-or-so distance between your eyes) which is impossible given the size of the Epic and its lenses. The team had to hire specialist firm 3ality to build a rig where one camera shoots the action and the other is pointed vertically at a mirror. Those who would love to shoot with an Epic should also beware that the cameras naturally desaturate the action to such an extent that the makeup, costume and set design teams have to over-color everything to look natural in post production. For more interesting facts, head down past the break to catch the video in full, and try not to imagine how many years bad luck you'd get if you broke one of those mirrors during a key scene.
Halo movie officially postponed
Sad news today for Halo fanatics, the movie has been officially postponed. The postponement stems from Fox and Universal recently pulling out of the project. It's worth noting that the production team is still fully behind first time feature director, Neill Blomkamp. Here is the official statement:"As was previously confirmed, we deeply regret that both Universal and Fox did not choose to move forward with financing the Halo film under the original terms of the agreement. At this time Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, along with their partner, Microsoft, have mutually agreed to postpone making a feature film based on the Halo video game universe until we can fulfill the promise we made to millions of Halo fans throughout the world that we would settle for no less than bringing a first class film to the big screen. We are fully supportive of Director Neill Blomkamp's vision of the film. Neill is a tremendously gifted filmmaker and his preliminary work on Halo is truly awe-inspiring. While it will undoubtedly take a little longer for Halo to reach the big screen, we are confident that the final feature film will be well worth the wait."Whether or not you believe it when corporations say that they're "doing it for the fans," it's heartening to note that the movie is not canceled (though AICN isn't so sure). Then again, oftentimes, movies that take forever to develop eventually fall flat (D&D, anyone?). At any rate, we'd speculate that you won't see any Halo movie before 2008. But hey, at least they're finally rolling out new info about Halo 3, right?[Thanks, Paul]
Bungie optimistic about Halo movie's future
In response to news that Universal and Fox have pulled out of the Halo movie project, Bungie claims there's more to the story than has been reported. For now, Bungie is all "optimism, satisfaction and happiness for reasons [it] can't go into."In its most recent weekly update, Bungie takes a stab at Universal and Fox, suggesting that the studios were too concerned with "the numbers" to be ideal partners. After all, Bungie reminds us that the Halo film is a delicate "creative process," implying that a reported $200 million budget, in the hands of a rookie director, is an investment worth making when Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, WETA, and Microsoft are on-board -- and, Bungie confirms, they are all still on-board and continuing with pre-production. Sounds like a deal to lure a new partner is already in the works.
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to make new Halo game, original IP
Microsoft has confirmed that the Academy Award-winning duo Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) are set to create two "new interactive series" for Xbox 360 and XBLA. The first is a "collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the Halo universe.""It's not Halo 3," said Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft. "It's a brand new game based in the Halo IP. In a phone conversation with Joystiq, Henson disclosed that writing credits will be given to Jackson and Walsh. As for how the full-fledged game will fit within the continuity of the Halo universe among three installments, a real-time strategy game, and a film, Henson was tight-lipped. "It's going to remain a mystery," he said.The second title will be an entirely new intellectual property -- "completely from scratch," Henson clarified -- created with the intention of "bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment." The game will be made in conjunction with Wingnut Interactive, a new studio created via a collaboration with Jackson/Walsh and Microsoft Games Studio."Fran is a really big gamer and really excited about telling stories through games," said Henson. "We haven't talked about any details and we will when we're ready." If the focus is mass appeal, then Jackson/Walsh -- who managed to make Hobbits cool -- are the best people to have at the helm.
DB Weiss takes on Halo script [update 1]
Author D.B. Weiss, whose novel Lucky Wander Boy earned him some critical acclaim, recently spoke to GameSetWatch about the success of his book and his current project: the Halo movie script. What about Alex Garland, who was reportedly paid $1 million for his screenplay? It is not rare for a studio to bring in another author to clean up and tweak a script, and that's our guess for what Weiss is currently doing. Weiss is also working on "an entirely new second draft" for the Lucky Wander Boy adaptation as well as tackling Ender's Game alongside David Benioff. If nothing else (director, actors, production dates), at least the script is working out.[via 1UP][update 1: In an e-mail exchange, Weiss told Joystiq that, while he can't say much, he is "doing a rewrite on the Garland script for Halo." Also, since a Joystiq commentor was curious about Ender's Game, Weiss said this: "Orson Scott Card wrote an Ender's Game script, as did Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, and myself."]
