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Behind The Screen's Latest News
When You Give a Ball a Camera: How ‘Challengers’ VFX Team Created Tennis POV Scene
In Luca Guadagnino’s tennis thriller Challengers, stars Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor litigate their love triangle as much on the court as in the bedroom. As such, the sport has to stay interesting. Guadagnino previously told Little White Lies he doesn’t like watching real tennis because it’s boring. “The way in which [the sport] […]
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‘Civil War’ Sound Editor on Balancing “Oppressive” Battle Noise With Abrupt Silence
In notching A24’s highest-grossing opening weekend to date, Alex Garland’s debate-stirring combat film Civil War has made plenty of noise — both figuratively and literally. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Wagner Moura, the project has spurred conversation over its depiction of a small group of journalists witnessing the violently divided U.S. en route to […]
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How ‘The Creator’ Director Gareth Edwards Used VFX to Make $80M Look Like $200M
After traveling to dozens of exotic locations around the world to film New Regency’s and 20th Century Studios’ The Creator, director Gareth Edwards made one last trek that was among his most consequential: to Industrial Light & Magic in Northern California. There, he showed a rough cut of the film to the VFX pros who […]
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‘The Boy and Heron’ Producer on Why Hayao Miyazaki Came Out of Retirement
Hayao Miyazaki’s decades-long producer Toshio Suzuki — also co-founder and president of the animation icon’s Japan-based Studio Ghibli — admits that even he was surprised when Miyazaki, now 83, reached out to him in 2016 to say that he wanted to make another movie. “It was only three years after he announced his retirement, and […]
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‘Godzilla Minus One’ VFX Oscar Nom Seemed to Be an “Unreachable” Goal
A joyful clip of an ecstatic Godzilla Minus One visual effects team recently went viral, featuring the moment Jan. 23 when it was announced that their film had earned a VFX Oscar nomination — something that must have seemed improbable, or impossible, when the lean 35-person team tackled the Toho Studios’ film that was made on […]
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Space Shuttle Endeavour Lifted Into Launch Position at California Science Center
A jaw-dropping feat occurred Monday night and early Tuesday morning at the California Science Center: Space Shuttle Endeavour was lifted by a 450-foot crane into the site of the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center in downtown Los Angeles, which will be the permanent home of the retired orbiter that stands five stories tall, […]
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‘Barbie,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ Among Editors’ Eddie Nominees
The American Cinema Editors unwrapped the nominees for its 74th Eddie Awards. ACE’s live-action theatrical feature competition is divided into two categories, for drama and comedy. Nominees in the category for best edited dramatic theatrical feature are Laurent Sénéchal for Anatomy of a Fall, Thelma Schoonmaker for Killers of the Flower Moon, Michelle Tesoro for Maestro, Jennifer […]
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Oscars: Special Effects Supervisor Neil Corbould Among Crafts Vets With Multiple Nominations
Special effects supervisor Neil Corbould scored a rare hat trick on Tuesday, grabbing three VFX Oscar nominations, for his work on Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi thriller The Creator, Ridley Scott’s period epic Napoleon and Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. The veteran SFX supervisor previously won Academy Awards for Gravity and Scott’s Gladiator. […]
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Jeffrey Wright to Accept AIS Distinguished Artist Award
Jeffrey Wright will receive the Advanced Imaging Society’s inaugural Distinguished Artist Award in recognition of his performance in American Fiction. Also during the AIS’ upcoming Lumiere Awards, which will be presented Feb. 9 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, The Walt Disney Studios’ research and innovation teams DisneyResearch|Studios and StudioLAB will be honored with the Society’s […]
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Collision Awards Launch Honoring Animation and Motion Graphics (Exclusive)
Underscoring growth in the animation field, the organizers of The Telly Awards and additional industry entities are launching The Collision Awards, a global program to honor excellence in animation and motion design in areas including film, TV, games and XR. It will be run by the Telly Awards, and partners includes Animation Magazine, Animation World […]
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Resurrected ‘Nimona’ Is an Animated “Love Letter to Anyone Who Has Felt Othered”
There was a lot to unpack Jan. 11 when the International Animated Film Society ASIFA-Hollywood announced the nominees for the 51st Annie Awards for animation: For respected animation vet Tom Sito, whose credits include Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and who’s now a USC animation professor, it underscores that […]
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Imax Opens Remastered ‘Queen Rock Montreal’ Concert Film With Input From Band Members Brian May and Roger Taylor
During a resurgence in concert films, Imax is releasing a dynamic, digitally remastered version of a classic Queen performance featuring Freddie Mercury, Brain May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, which will have a limited run Jan. 18-21 in select Imax locations. Queen Rock Montreal, directed by Saul Swimmer for Mercury Studios, originates from filming two […]
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Wynn P. Thomas Among Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees
David Lowery, Greg Papalia, Wynn P. Thomas and Francine West will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 28th annual Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) Awards, which will be presented Feb. 10 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom. Thomas, who won ADG Awards for Hidden Figures and Da 5 Bloods, is the first African American production designer to join […]
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Creating the Sounds of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’: Rerecording Mixer on Working on Two of the Biggest Films of the Year
When the sound shortlist was revealed Dec. 21, several pros were tapped for their work on two movies, among them rerecording mixer Kevin O’Connell, who, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, emphasized that he’s incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with both Barbie and Oppenheimer’s directors and sound teams. O’Connell famously won his […]
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‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ VFX Supervisor Says the Animated Film Is “Like 3,000 Paintings With 1,000 Artists”
It’s unusual to see an animated movie make the visual effects Academy Award shortlist — and even more rare for one to earn a nomination. But this season, Sony Pictures Animation’s bold Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse became the first animated feature to advance to the final 10 since 2020’s Soul from Pixar. To date, only […]
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‘Oppenheimer’ Leads Feature Noms of MPSE Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer leads the theatrical feature competition of the 71st Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards, with a trio of nominations in the categories for effects/foley, dialogue/ADR and music. Close behind with two apiece are Barbie (dialogue/ADR and music), Maestro (dialogue/ADR and music), Napoleon (effects/Foley and dialogue/ADR) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (animation […]
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