July 24, 2009 Now, five months from its release, James Cameron’s Avatar, the first feature film he has directed since Titanic (1997), promises to take 3-D cinematography to an unrivaled level, using a 3-D camera system that he helped invent. Cameron’s heavily hyped return also marks Hollywood’s biggest bet yet that 3-D can bolster box office returns. News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox has budgeted $237 million for the production alone of Avatar….Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, has hired Gareth Kay—formerly head of planning at Modernista! in Boston—as its new director of digital strategy, working closely with Goodby’s chief digital officer Mike Geiger….Comedy film director Steve Carr—whose body of work spans features (the recent box office hit Paul Blart: Mall Cop), commercials, music videos and web fare—has joined The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness, the production company founded in 2001 by CEO/executive producer Scott Gardenhour and director/producer Michael Bay….
July 19, 2004 Executive producer Jonathon Ker has teamed with Don Block and Rich Carter, exec producers at the longstanding GARTNER, to launch production company Tight. The new venture is a sister shop to GARTNER and opens with director Iain Mackenzie. At press time, Tight was moving into its own newly built space adjacent to GARTNER’s Santa Monica headquarters….Hollywood-based Kodak company Cinesite merged into LaserPacific, Hollywood, a postproduction company that was acquired by Kodak this past year. The move combined two of Los Angeles’ most experienced post houses, as well as two pioneers of emerging digital film postproduction processes. The news did not come as a total surprise, as there had been speculation that this would occur since the LaserPacific deal was first announced. The synergies are not difficult to spot. Cinesite’s L.A. office has two fully equipped suites for DI work, and was one of the first to offer the service; LaserPacific’s second DI suite is under construction, and it is also developing processes for digital dailies and digital previews. Across the pond, Cinesite’s London facility, which is primarily focused on feature effects, continues to operate as the sole Cinesite base. It was recently awarded visual effects and model contracts for upcoming features Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Alfie and Sahara….
