Visual effects and animation studio DNEG has hired Eric Brevig and Greg Butler as VFX supervisors.
Brevig’s notable credits as VFX supervisor include Total Recall (1990), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Hook (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Men In Black (1997), which earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Visual Effects, and Pearl Harbor (2001), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Butler’s portfolio of credits as VFX supervisor includes Sam Mendes’ “single shot” war drama 1917 (2019), which earned him an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Visual Effects, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), which earned him his first BAFTA. Earlier in his career, Butler received a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Character Animation for his work on Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).
“Eric and Greg will certainly help us continue to push the creative boundaries of what is possible during this period of technological advancement in our industry and unprecedented demand for our services," said Namid Malhotra, chairman and CEO of DNEG which maintains offices and studios across North America (Los Angeles, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver), Europe (London) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai and Mumbai).
Brevig said, “I have had the pleasure of working with DNEG and Namit on several projects in the past and I am delighted to become part of this world-class creative team.” He added, “My approach to the craft of VFX has always been to find the right techniques to create the most believable, engaging and immersive experience for the audience. Using both virtual and physical tools, we can now realize anything the filmmaker can envision.”
Butler joins DNEG from Method Studios, where he worked as a VFX supervisor on various feature, episodic and advertising projects, including most recently on a large scale, yet to be announced project for Amazon.
“I have been following DNEG for many years–even before my London Soho days–as a competitor, a collaborator and as the home to many of my favorite people in visual effects,” said Butler. “I am very excited to join DNEG’s Montréal office and I know we are going to make some great work together.”
“Visual effects is a magic trick. Its purpose, to keep the audience engaged in the story and the world of the film,” Butler continued. “Whether it is used to create fantastic wand duels in Harry Potter, or invisible cuts in 1917, visual effects is a series of illusions created in service of the story. While it’s the end result that matters, I have always been enthralled by the filmmaking process; the dynamic behind the scenes collaboration of VFX artists and the live action crews whose work is their foundation.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More