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Michael Bay is going from Optimus Prime to Armitage Shanks as Skibidi Toilet goes into production. It’s a film based on a series of viral YouTube videos.

In a move that would make a superb episode of Hollywood satire The Studio, director Michael Bay has officially gone into production on Skibidi Toilet. This is the planned adaptation of a series of viral YouTube videos which first began to emerge in 2023. Initially depicting a staring head rising out of a toilet bowl, the animated shorts have gradually grown in scope as viewing have shot into the stratosphere. The videos have notched up over 35bn views, we’re told.

Word of a film adaptation first bubbled up from the pan in July 2024, but it’s since been announced that Skibidi Toilet has officially gone into production. Media company Invisible Narratives, partly owned by Bay himself, has put out a press release...

The chaotic world of Skibidi Toilet is heading to the big screen, with action maestro Michael Bay officially attached to the film adaptation. The first details about the project have been revealed, including who will develop and finance the movie. Known for his explosive blockbusters, Bay's involvement signals a wild cinematic take on the viral internet phenomenon that has taken over YouTube and TikTok.

An official press release has confirmed that Michael Bay has officially begun work on a feature-length adaptation of Skibidi Toilet, with production now underway at the emerging studio Invisible Narratives. The press release arrived three days after Bay shared an AI-generated video teasing the movie. Known for his high-octane visual style from the Transformers films, Bay is set to reimagine the bizarre internet sensation for the big screen following A Minecraft Movie's box office dominance this year. 

Invisible Narratives is not only producing the project but also fully financing it,...

Production is underway on the Skibidi Toilet movie, Michael Bay's adaptation of the viral web series. Teased as a "creative take on the franchise", the film promises a visual treat, fleshing out the internet meme into a feature-length narrative.

Michael Bay's Skibidi Toilet movie is in the early stages of production, and per a press release, "the piece brings Bay's signature visual intensity to one of the internet's most unlikely breakout IPs". Media Company Invisible Narratives (where Bay serves as chief creative advisor) will be producing, developing, and financing the project. The update comes almost a year after Bay announced that the IP was acquired, with plans to develop film or TV adaptations. It was initially pitched as a live-action/animation hybrid with a tone similar to District 9 and John Wick.

The Skibidi Toilet movie boasts top-notch creatives. Bay's team includes production designer Jeffrey Beecroft and Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Rob Legato.

Invisible Narratives revealed today that production has been underway on filmmaker Michael Bay’s exploration of Skibidi Toilet. An early creative take on the franchise, the piece brings Bay’s signature visual intensity to one of the internet’s most unlikely breakout IPs. The next-generation studio is producing, developing, and financing the project.

Known for redefining the modern blockbuster, Bay is the fifth highest-grossing director of all time and the creative force behind such global hits as The Rock, Armageddon, Bad Boys, and the Transformers franchise. He has been working on Skibidi since it was first publicly announced last summer and has been collaborating with the architects of his creative team, Academy Award-nominated production designer Jeffrey Beecroft and three-time Academy Award-winning VFX supervisor Rob Legato.

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Since its debut from creator Boom! in February 2023, Skibidi Toilet has evolved into a global phenomenon,...

In a world where some ambitious filmmaker has yet to roll cameras for a Fortnite movie, Michael Bay is ready to get intergalactic for a Skibidi Toilet movie. You heard me. A film based on the 2023 viral internet video series is currently in production, bringing smiles to children and confusing the s**t out of grandparents worldwide. The time has come, my friends. Production for Michael Bay’s Skibidi Toilet movie is underway at Invisible Narratives!

An early creative take on the franchise, the piece brings Bay’s signature visual intensity to one of the internet’s most unlikely breakout IPs. The next-generation studio is producing, developing, and financing the project.

Per today’s press release from Invisible Narratives:

Known for redefining the modern blockbuster, Bay is the fifth highest-grossing director of all time and the creative force behind such global hits as The Rock, Armageddon, Bad Boys, and the Transformers franchise.

Twenty-five years ago I experienced Robert Zemeckis’ bone-chilling ghost story What Lies Beneath in theaters. I was thirteen at the time and remember being blown away by it in the moment. At the time, I was ecstatic about X-Men, which I’d seen the week prior. I distinctly remember walking out of the small theater in my home town and declaring, “That was better than X-Men!” I hadn’t seen What Lies Beneath since the early 2000s, and while I no longer think it’s better than Bryan Singer’s original entry in the long running Marvel franchise, it still holds up as a well-crafted ghost story featuring strong performances from two Hollywood icons.

The plot

Dr. Norman Spencer and his wife Claire have a seemingly happy existence living in their idyllic, lakeside Vermont home. But when Claire begins to experience unexplainable happenings in the house, she begins to suspect...

Despite the controversy surrounding the seven dwarfs, the recently shuttered Mpc aimed to find the difficult sweet spot between painterly and photoreal in “Snow White,” translating them in a way that does justice to the hand-drawn aesthetic of Walt’s revolutionary debut feature from 1937. It’s shame that it’s one of the VFX studio’s last hurrahs, after working on the Oscar-winning “The Jungle Book” (2016), the Oscar-nominated “The Lion King” (2019), and the “Mufasa” (2024) prequel.

However, Mpc doesn’t stand alone. They followed Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), the first of the Disney live action remakes, which benefited from the tech achievements of Sony Pictures Imageworks, while Weta Digital created something iconic with the friendly dragon from David Lowery’s “Pete’s Dragon” (2016).

Let’s see how the dwarfs stack up against some of these other notable CG characters:

“Snow White”

For “Snow White,” Mpc applied its photoreal animation skills...

Stability AI, the generative artificial intelligence company behind the popular Stable Diffusion image model, has hired visual effects legend Robert Legato as its chief pipeline architect.

A three-time Academy Award winner (for Titanic, Huge and The Jungle Book), Legato is also a longtime collaborator of director James Cameron, and helped develop the virtual cinematography techniques used in Avatar.

Cameron is a board member of Stability AI, having joined the company a year ago.

Stability CEO Prem Akkaraju announced Legato’s hiring Wednesday, tasking the VFX expert with developing a pipeline for the company’s tools in the industry, and developing a relationship with the VFX industry writ large.

“Joining Stability AI is an incredible opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to help shape the next era of filmmaking,” said Legato in a statement. “With dynamic leaders like Prem Akkaraju and Jim Cameron driving the vision, the potential here is limitless.

Robert Legato – the respected VFX innovator who won Oscars for “Titanic,” “Hugo” and “The Jungle Book” – has joined Stability AI at chief pipeline architect. In doing so, he reteams with James Cameron, an influential board member for the AI firm.

Legato is credited with creating the virtual cinematography pipeline for Cameron’s “Avatar,” which went on to surpass the director’s “Titanic” as the highest grossing film of all time with $2.8 billion at the worldwide box office. Legato’s pioneering work has also included “Apollo 13,” “The Aviator,” and the virtual production of “The Lion King.” He’s also held roles at Digital Domain (the VFX studio co-founded by Cameron in the early ’90s), Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Imageworks over his 30-plus year career.

The maker of Gen AI tech Stable Diffusion, Stability AI develops open models for image, video, 3D, and audio, as well as professional applications for enterprise-grade visual media creation.

What Lies Beneath will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release from Scream Factory on May 6.

The 2000 horror-thriller has been newly restored from the original 35mm camera negative, approved by cinematographer Don Burgess, with Dolby Vision.

Robert Zemeckis directed the film while production for Cast Away was on a hiatus so Tom Hanks could lose weight for his character.

Disc 1 – 4K Uhd:

4K Transfer From The Original 35mm Camera Negative Approved By Cinematograper Don Burgess (new) Presented In Dolby Vision (Hdr-10 Compatible) (new) Audio: English DTS-hd Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0 Audio Commentary With Director Robert Zemeckis

Disc 2 – Blu-ray:

4K Transfer From The Original 35mm Camera Negative Approved By Don Burgess (new) Audio: English DTS-hd Master Audio 5.1 & 2.0 Audio Commentary With Director Robert Zemeckis “You Know: Uncovering What Lies Beneath” – Feature-Length Documentary With Robert Zemeckis, Producers Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke, Writers Sarah Kernochan and Clark Gregg, Actress Amber Valletta,...

The American Society of Cinematographers presented a discussion about artificial intelligence, focused on how it’s being used today in filmmaking and its legal implications, during cinematography festival EnergaCamerimage.

To the latter, there were a lot of questions for panelist Angela Dunning, an attorney at Cleary Gottlieb, including those surrounding copyright class-action suits against developers for the training of AI models.

“The position that I think will prevail in the U.S. when all the dust settles after court decisions and appeals, is that that training is fair use,” she said, noting that this is an area in which she is currently working and suggesting that it’s “very much like the human process of ingesting information.” As an example, she suggested that one might “learn what a flower is from a garden, from your books your mom used to read you, from pictures of flowers in a magazine, from...

Over the past couple of years, conversation around AI has been virtually inescapable for any part of the economy, but especially in entertainment. The dual strikes of 2023 put the technology under a bright spotlight, and a series of deals in the year since labor peace was achieved offer more clues about how it is reshaping the landscape.

This month, at the historic crossroads of Hollywood and Vine, hard by the Capital Records building and the Pantages Theatre, AI talk found a home in the industry’s back yard at Infinity Festival. Unfolding just hours after the jolt of Election Day, the seventh annual edition of the fest brought together various constituencies from across entertainment and technology trying to orient themselves in a changing world.

Co-chaired by Sony Imageworks Cto Mike Ford and production chief Mandy Tankenson, the event welcomed visual effects pioneer Rob Legato; Agbo Chief Scientific Officer Dominic Hughes,...

It’s fitting that the forward-thinking Francis Ford Coppola finally turned to virtual production on his $120 million futuristic passion project, “Megalopolis,” with its reliance on experimental theatricality and fantasy imagery. After all, the director has always been a proponent of tech advancement: “One From the Heart” (1982) introduced the Silverfish electronic hub for enabling simultaneous pre-production, production, and post-production activity. However, his preference for shooting live in-camera effects (“Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) necessitated an embrace of blue screen and LED volume stage work.

But Coppola was in a bind. After disbanding his VFX team (along with his art department) mid-way through production (creative differences became a budgetary necessity), he hired his nephew, Jesse James Chisholm, a Marvel vet, to take over as VFX supervisor (working at Coppola’s new All-Movie Hotel post facility outside of Atlanta).

Chisholm quickly got up to speed with his uncle to understand his creative vision and new streamlined approach.

Shōgun creators and Emmy winners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo and visual effects veteran Robert Legato are among the notable speakers slated to appear at next month’s Infinity Festival.

The seventh annual edition of the fest is set for November 6 to 9 at the Aster and the next door Avalon Theater in Hollywood. Panels, demos and exhibits will span film, technology, gaming and other areas. Deadline is a presenting media sponsor of Infinity Festival.

Marks and Kondo, recently Emmy-minted for their FX series, will be part of the Entertainment, Technology and Los Angeles Thought Leaders track. Also in that part of the speaker lineup is Legato, known for his work on Titanic as well as the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King. Other speakers and companies represented include the Russo Bros.’ Agbo; Z by Hp; Nvidia, Intel, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Aws and Etc at USC. David Simon of Echelon Creative...

There are 178 episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and any devoted Trekkie has likely seen them all. True obsessives, however, probably don't consider the series complete unless they include an episode of "Reading Rainbow" called "The Bionic Bunny Show". "Reading Rainbow," for those unlucky enough not to know about it, was a PBS series for kids, hosted by LeVar Burton, that encouraged kids to read. Burton and others would read picture books to the audience, spur on children to go to their local libraries, and regularly host educational segments. "Reading Rainbow" premiered in 1983 and ran regularly for years, sometimes taking extended breaks, through to 2006. Kids who found the series loved it. They also loved that Burton, so friendly on screen, encouraged them to read. Burton won multiple Emmys for the show, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.

Each episode would feature a book, and in the episode in question,...

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Disney’s “The Lion King” (currently in theaters for a limited run), which coincides with the release of Barry Jenkins’ prequel, “Mufasa: The Lion King” (December 20). The 2D blockbuster and pop culture phenomenon (directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff) was an early digital pioneer. This was vital in introducing a live-action aesthetic with dynamic camera movement and dramatic lighting to its “Circle of Life” adventure story, starring Simba and company, set in the African Pride Lands.

This propelled Jon Favreau’s photorealistic remake in 2019, driven by an innovative virtual production workflow and a Nat Geo-like doc aesthetic. Although it was marketed as “live action” and not submitted for animated Oscar consideration, this was clearly keyframe-animated by Mpc, which nonetheless earned a VFX Oscar nomination (production supervised by Rob Legato).

This, in turn, has led Jenkins to strive for greater emotional nuance and...

Avatar's VFX artist Robert Legato also worked on the live-action 2019 film The Lion King's visual effects and explained how the former influenced the latter. Motion capture techniques used in Avatar paved the way for The Lion King, with its technology changing the realist factor of the Disney remake. Motion capture technology is widely used and advancing, with James Cameron as a supporter.

What do The Lion King and Avatar have in common? According to VFX artist Robert Legato, quite a bit, as it turns out. The artist recently explained how Avatar's groundbreaking VFX technology helped shape Disney's 2019 remake of The Lion King.

Award-winning VFX artist Legato who worked with James Cameron on Avatar sat down with Corridor Crew and broke down how the highest-grossing film of all time paved the way for The Lion King's visual effects. In a video entitled "VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi...

Robert Legato explains how Avatar's VFX innovations influenced The Lion King's visuals. James Cameron's motion capture techniques paved the way for Disney's live-action remakes. Avatar sequels showcase Cameron's continuous push for VFX innovation, which has been adopted by movies like The Lion King remake.

Acclaimed award-winning VFX artist Robert Legato breaks down how his and James Cameron's work on creating the visuals for Avatar helped pave the way for the development of 2019's live-action The Lion King. Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie retold the tale of the 1994 animated Disney classic of the same name, as a young lion cub must rise and embrace his calling amid tragedy, trouble, and betrayal. While The Lion King has been subject to the same criticisms that other Disney live-action reimaginings have faced, its effects were still celebrated as the feature became a box-office success.

Recently, Legato sat down with Corridor Crew...

The Aviator's innovative visual techniques inspired James Cameron for Avatar's groundbreaking CGI. The low-budget film used miniatures and camera rigs, leading to Avatar's advanced CGI just five years later. Avatar forever changed the CGI landscape, setting a new standard with its impressive VFX and motion capture technology.

VFX supervisor Robert Legato explains how The Aviator laid the groundwork for James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar. The Aviator is a 2004 Martin Scorsese film that chronicles the life of famed Hollywood producer and aviation expert Howard Hughes. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role and features a supporting cast including Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, and Danny Huston.

Speaking with Corridor Crew, Legato explains how The Aviator paved the way for Avatar.

Legato recounted that after working on digital effects for The Aviator, he approached Cameron to suggest that he could apply...

Using miniatures and creative editing, the iconic plane crash in The Aviator was crafted to evoke a sense of speed and chaos on a limited budget. DiCaprio's collaboration with Scorsese, influenced by De Niro, has produced successful films like The Aviator and earned Academy Award nominations. Scorsese and DiCaprio's partnership has led to several acclaimed films, with varying budgets but a consistent commitment to visual storytelling.

The VFX supervisor for The Aviator details how the film's iconic plane crash was created. The Aviator is a 2004 Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life Hollywood talent and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, chronicling his life from 1927 to 1947. The Aviator was the second collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio, after the two first worked together on Gangs of New York in 2002.

Speaking with Corridor Crew, VFX supervisor Robert Legato speaks on how the plane crash was created in The Aviator.

Legato explained that crazy...

The most challenging shot in Hugo involved intense planning due to strict filming schedules in England. The VFX marvel of Hugo required 5 sets, and a unique rig for smooth movements, but had a limited time to shoot. Hugo struck a balance between spectacle and intimate drama, winning 5 Oscars for its technical prowess.

Hugos VFX supervisor describes the films most challenging shot. Based on the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo is a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese. It stars Asa Butterfield as the titular Hugo, who is a young boy living in the walls of a Paris train station, where he is tasked to keep the clocks running. In addition to Butterfield, Hugos cast also features Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Ben Kingsley.

Speaking with Corridor Crew, Hugo VFX supervisor Robert Legato explains what the hardest shot in the film was. According to Legato,...

Tom Cruise may have donned a majority of his roles in the action genre to the point where he is renowned for the same, but his one other classic masterpiece from the initial decade of his career literally sets the bar much higher. This movie is none other than the 1994 horror-fantasy film where he played Lestat de Lioncourt alongside Brad Pitt: Interview with the Vampire.

Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire.

If anything, what went into the making and the final result was so incredible that the film even scored two Oscar nods. But despite being such an epic piece of work, the movie’s VFX Artist Robert Legato still holds some regrets about one of the most iconic scenes in the film. Why? Well, the reason is simple: Because, in his eyes, “the idea was better than the execution.”

Robert Legato Regrets One Iconic Scene in Interview...

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have collaborated 6 times over the years. The director-actor duo have never repeated themselves and have constantly worked on reinventing themselves each time. From historical epics, crime dramas, to psychological thrillers, the two have become the ideal pairing that can do no wrong.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street

One of their wild collaborations was the 2013 biographical black comedy film The Wolf of Wall Street. One of the craziest scenes from the film was a lion casually walking through the Stratton Oakmont firm in the presence of office workers. While Scorsese did use a real lion and real people for the scene, a brilliant strategy was used to seamlessly blend them together.

VFX Artist Took a Unique Strategy to Shoot The Lion Scene in The Wolf of Wall Street

This scene from The Wolf of Wall Street was pulled off by...

The CGI in The Wolf of Wall Street was used subtly and brilliantly, showcasing Scorsese's attention to detail. This technology was revolutionized by James Cameron's Avatar, leading to more CGI use in various genres. Despite the difficulty and cost of CGI, Scorsese's seamlessly blended computer-generated images with reality.

The Wolf of Wall Streets VFX supervisor breaks down the use of CGI in the modern classic. Directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, this epic comedy crime film recounts the true story of stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the rampant corruption of his New York brokerage firm, Stratton Oakmont. Upon release, The Wolf of Wall Street was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, which highlighted lead actor Dicaprios impressive performance, Scorseses stellar directing work and much more. However, one of the less appreciated aspects of the movie is its subtle and excellent use of CGI.

Now, in a recent video from Corridor Crew,...

VFX director Robert Legato admits mistakes in CGI and lighting techniques used in an Interview With The Vampire scene breakdown. Practical effects and digital VFX were combined in the movie to bring the living dead cast and key set pieces to life. Despite critical acclaim, Legato reflects on how he would handle the movie differently with modern technology and more experience.

Nearly 30 years after the movie hit theaters, VFX director Robert Legato candidly reflects on a specific moment from Tom Cruise's Interview With The Vampire adaptation. The 1994 adaptation of Anne Rice's iconic gothic horror novel starred Brad Pitt as the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, whose life in 18th century New Orleans is turned upside down upon meeting the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt (Cruise), who transforms him into a bloodthirsty creature of the night. Interview With The Vampire is celebrated as both a critical and financial hit,...

James Cameron explores in detail how the Titanic sunk in his 1997 ultra-blockbuster "Titanic." It sideswiped an iceberg on its starboard side, tearing a hole in the hull. The ship began taking on water and the bow began to sink, lifting the stern into the air. The entire ship cracked in half like a Twix bar. The front half continued to sink, shooting to the ocean floor. The stern stuck was next to go, and -- because it was already half-submerged -- stuck straight up out of the water, almost vertically, like a tower. It, too, then slid beneath the waves. It took about two hours and 40 minutes for the ship to sink entirely.

Cameron compresses that sinking time into about an hour of film, careful to dramatize every detail of the ship's final moments. In the final phase of the ship's sinking -- when the stern was standing like a...

Ron Howard's 1995 film "Apollo 13" is an effective thriller even when forearmed with the knowledge that the three astronauts depicted returned to Earth okay. For those unfamiliar with the Apollo 13 mission, in April of 1970, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise took a shuttle into space, hoping to land on the moon. An electrical problem, however, caused an explosion on the craft, and the astronauts lost a great deal of their oxygen supply. With resources nil and communication limited, the astronauts had to find a way to survive in space and return to Earth alive. Sadly, they didn't get to walk on the moon. 

In Howard's film, the astronauts were played by Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton, while Ed Harris played their contact back at NASA. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won two for Best Sound and Best Editing. It...

Matt Sweeney, a pioneering special effects artist who was Oscar-nominated for his work on Ron Howard’s 1995 space epic Apollo 13, died February 19 of lung cancer at Burbank’s Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. He was 75.

His death was announced by the Alliance of Special Effects & Pyrotechnic Operators board of directors. Sweeney was a founder and past president of the trade organization.

“A special effects guru, industry legend, Asepo founding member and past president, recipient of three technical achievement awards, and Oscar nominee, Matt is well recognized for his generous spirit and deep love of his craft,” the board said in a statement posted on social media. “He etched his marks on this crazy business in so many ways that will persist long after all of us are gone. He never quit, even after his retirement.”

Sweeney, whose roster of special effects credits stretches back to such 1980s hits as 9 to 5, The Goonies,...

Matt Sweeney, the inventor and special effects artist who received an Oscar nomination for his work on Apollo 13 and three Technical Achievement Awards during his long career, has died. He was 75.

Sweeney died Monday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after a long battle with lung cancer, Dave Burle, who worked alongside Sweeney at his company for many years, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Sweeney also handled effects for films in the Lethal Weapon and Fast & Furious franchise and for 1941 (1979), 9 to 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Goonies (1985), The Color Purple (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Big Top Pee-wee (1988), Arachnophobia (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994) and Galaxy Quest (1999), among many other movies.

Sweeney won his Technical Achievement Awards in 1987 for an Automatic Capsule Gun, which simulates bullet hits and is known as the “Sweeney Gun”; in 1998 for a Liquid Synthetic Air system, which mixes liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to produce safe,...

Hope Runs High has acquired U.S. rights to Augusto Sandino’s sophomore feature “A Vanishing Fog,” which won the SXSW Zeiss cinematography prize. The film is slated for an early 2024 opening in U.S. theaters. It’s the first feature to be shot in Colombia’s Sumapaz Páramo, the largest ecosystem of its kind in the world.

“In the middle of the staggering and endangered Sumapaz Paramo ecosystem; F, a solitary explorer, strives to protect the mystical and fragile land he inhabits, while caring for his ailing father,” the synopsis reads.

“Augusto Sandino’s incredible blend of playful surrealism and the overwhelming individuality of the environment in which the film is set has stayed with me since my first viewing. I believe his ability to balance visual scale, cinematic playfulness, and true heart make him an artist we should be engaging with frequently,” said Hope Runs High curator Taylor Purdee.

Industry vets Dominic Glynn, Rob Legato, Nancy Richardson, Deborah Scott, Tom Sito and Sharon Smith Holley have accepted invitations to join the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Visual effects supervisor and VFX branch member Legato won Oscars for Titanic, Hugo and The Jungle Book. His VFX credits also include Apollo 13, The Aviator and Jon Favreau’s The Lion King. He most recently served as VFX supervisor and second unit director on Emancipation.

Costume designers branch member Scott also won an Oscar for her work on Titanic and her additional costume design credits include E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, Heat, The Patriot, Minority Report and Avatar: The Way of Water. She was the Costume Designers Guild’s 2023 Career Achievement Award recipient.

Pixar senior scientist Glynn’s work as an imaging and audio specialist helped to launch the world’s first...

(To celebrate "Titanic" and its impending 25th-anniversary re-release, we've put together a week of explorations, inquires, and deep dives into James Cameron's box office-smashing disaster epic.)

"Titanic" is a truly monumental film, an epic the likes of which we rarely get anymore. James Cameron lead a team that crafted a touching and emotional romance for the ages, and a thrilling disaster movie with incredible effects both practical and digital. Few movies can give us the romantic splendor of Jack and Rose's first kiss, while simultaneously giving us the visual splendor and absolute terror of the shipwreck. This may have started as an excuse for Cameron to be able to see the shipwreck in person, but it is hard to argue against the sheer cinematic joy of the final film.

Despite a skyrocketing budget and a very skeptical studio, "Titanic" ended up becoming one of the biggest movies ever made,...

Click here to read the full article.

It’s getting close to the time of year when the executive committee of the Academy’s visual effects branch selects the 10 shortlisted films that will continue in the VFX category race, and among the anticipated contenders, the branch also has some unexpected choices to consider.

While the presumed frontrunner, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, won’t be released until Dec. 16, the sequel to the director’s 2009 fantasy film seems a fait accompli for the shortlist. The work was led by Weta FX and four-time Oscar-winning senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri (who with Weta also led the work on the original Avatar, which won the VFX Oscar). The Way of Water involves new techniques, including those used in performance capture.

Also expected are multiple contenders from the long list of this year’s effects-laden Marvel and DC movies, which include...

James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster “Avatar” didn’t just decimate previous box-office records — the film that Steven Spielberg once termed an “emotional spectacle” changed the way movies were made and shown. The cultural impact of the sci-fi epic (or lack thereof) continues to be a topic for debate, but its influence on virtual production and 3D viewing cannot be denied. Before Ilm’s StageCraft wrapped Pedro Pascal and Grogu in immersive, reactive “Star Wars” landscapes, before a performance-captured Andy Serkis brought a whole new level of expressiveness as Caesar to the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, before Ang Lee’s mad-science frame-rate experiments in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and “Gemini Man,” there was Pandora, the Na’vi, and the “director-centric” workflow developed for “Avatar” by Oscar winner Rob Legato.

On “Avatar,” Cameron could shoot his actors in the volume like live action using Glenn Derry’s Simul-Cam virtual camera,...

Asg Global has announced the launch of ‘Picturehouse 441,’ a new series featuring intimate virtual Q&As with various filmmakers and actors.

The inaugural edition of the series, created by Adam S. Gordon and Joshua A. Handler, includes Pixar’s Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera discussing 2009’s “Up” on Nov. 1 followed by a Q&a on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. Pt with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh discussing 1983’s “Meantime.”

“This is a dream come true,” Gordon and Handler said in a joint statement. “We wanted to create a way to bring world-class talent to film lovers across the country, and through Picturehouse 441, we have found the way to do so. Promoting great cinema is a cause close to both of our hearts, and we are incredibly excited to introduce or reintroduce audiences to essential films on a more personal level. We are immensely grateful to the dozens of tremendously talented artists...

IndieWire turns 25 this year. To mark the occasion, we’re running a series of essays about the future of everything we cover.

As part of IndieWire’s 25th anniversary series, who better to forecast the future of VFX than three-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Rob Legato? The 2021 recipient of the Ves Award for Creative Excellence, Legato has translated virtual production into a live-action, photorealistic methodology for James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, and Jon Favreau. In fact, Legato’s VR experimentation with Favreau on “The Lion King” led directly to the director’s pioneering work with Industrial Light & Magic on “The Mandalorian” series on Disney+. They created the StageCraft platform, which eliminated the need for costly and time-consuming location shoots. Actors perform in an immersive and massive LED video wall and ceiling at Manhattan Beach Studios in L.A., where the practical set pieces are combined with digital extensions on the screens.

“The Midnight Sky” and “Soul” were the big film winners at the 19th annual Ves Awards, which were presented on Tuesday night by the Visual Effects Society.

George Clooney’s cautionary sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” won two awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Winners in the category have gone on to win the Oscar 10 times in the past 18 years, but the last film to do so was “The Jungle Book” in 2017.

The Pixar film “Soul,” which was shortlisted but not nominated for the VFX Oscar, won five awards, the most of any film or television program. In addition to Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, it won for its animated character, created environment, effects simulation and virtual cinematography.

“Project Power” also won two awards, while additional film prizes went to “Mank,...

Pixar’s “Soul,” George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky” and “The Mandalorian” led the winners at the 19th annual Visual Effects Society (Ves) Awards.

Comedian Patton Oswalt served as host for the 10th time for the virtual ceremony which celebrated the art of visual effects across 25 categories.

“Soul” was named top animated film, winning five awards. “The Mandalorian” was named best photoreal episode and garnered three awards, and “The Midnight Sky” was named the photoreal feature winner, garnering two awards.

Sacha Baron Cohen presented the Ves Award for Creative Excellence to acclaimed visual effects supervisor, second unit director and director of photography Robert Legato, ASC. Cate Blanchett presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter Jackson. The “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker was lauded in a virtual tribute that featured Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum.

Full List of Winners:

Outstanding Visual Effects...

One night during production of 1997’s Titanic, visionary VFX supervisor Robert Legato got a call from Jim Cameron, asking for reassurance that the motion-captured CG actors that would populate sweeping shots of the ship and digital stunt performers employed during the sinking would work. Legato remembers that the call followed an on-set accident involving a stunt performer while shooting a sinking scene, even though safety measures were in place. “He said, ‘Just tell me you can pull it off. Cause I can’t injure anybody.’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s going to work.’ And I kept my fingers crossed....

One night during production of 1997’s Titanic, visionary VFX supervisor Robert Legato got a call from Jim Cameron, asking for reassurance that the motion-captured CG actors that would populate sweeping shots of the ship and digital stunt performers employed during the sinking would work. Legato remembers that the call followed an on-set accident involving a stunt performer while shooting a sinking scene, even though safety measures were in place. “He said, ‘Just tell me you can pull it off. Cause I can’t injure anybody.’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s going to work.’ And I kept my fingers crossed....

The Visual Effects Society has named Oscar-winning director-producer-screenwriter Peter Jackson as the forthcoming recipient of the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 19th Annual Ves Awards, streaming worldwide on April 6 or 7 (depending on time zone) and hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt.

The Ves Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed by the Ves Board of Directors, recognizes an outstanding body of work that has significantly contributed to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry. Ves will honor Jackson for “his consummate artistry, expansive storytelling and profound gift for blending iconic imagery and unforgettable narrative on an epic scale.” Indeed, Jackson made history with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously.

Ves also cited “Jackson’s ability to harness craft to bring his unique visions to life and...

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan and three-time Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Robert Legato are among the members of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ new creative and technology advisory council.

Announced on Tuesday, the first day of standards-setting body Smpte’s virtual tech conference, the council is made up of tech-savvy members of the Hollywood community that will offer input on their needs for new creative tools, standards and services.

In addition to Nolan and Legato, inaugural members include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Google Research’s Paul Debevec, Geoff Burdick of James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, Ian Bidgood of Peter Jackson’s Park Road ...

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan and three-time Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Robert Legato are among the members of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ new creative and technology advisory council.

Announced on Tuesday, the first day of standards-setting body Smpte’s virtual tech conference, the council is made up of tech-savvy members of the Hollywood community that will offer input on their needs for new creative tools, standards and services.

In addition to Nolan and Legato, inaugural members include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Google Research’s Paul Debevec, Geoff Burdick of James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, Ian Bidgood of Peter Jackson’s Park Road ...

‘1917’ leads the way; Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger, ‘Parasite’, ‘Bait’ among the winners.

The 2020 Bafta Film Awards are taking place tonight (2 Feb) at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Screen will be posting all the winners on this page and on Twitter as they are announced.

The ceremony started at 18:45 UK time and finishes at approximately 21:30, with Graham Norton on hosting duties for the first time.

Joker leads the way with 11 nominations. The Irishman and Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood follow on 10, with 1917 earning nine nods.

Winners as they happen in bold (latest first), below.

Leading Actress Jessie Buckley...

The VFX wizard behind such films as Titanic and Apollo 13, Robert Legato has made it his mission in recent years to advance the art form of photorealistic computer-generated animation.

Winning his third Oscar in 2016 for his work on Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, Legato then reteamed with the director on a CG remake of The Lion King, taking the techniques and technology he’d developed for the former film to new heights, and a new degree of sophistication.

Referred to now as “live-action animation,” the visual style Legato developed for Jungle Book was immediately appealing to Favreau, because it gave him the ability to tell spectacular, otherworldly stories with a pristine live-action aesthetic.

Filmed on a blue screen stage in Los Angeles, The Lion King was carefully crafted by a team of live-action filmmakers, with state-of-the-art rendering tools and Vr technology at their disposal. The latter allowed cast...

With 10 Oscar overall nominations, Sam Mendes’ World War I epic “1917” is tied with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “The Irishman” as the second-most nominated film at the 92nd Academy Awards (“Joker” leads with 11 bids). One of those bids is in Best Visual Effects for VFX supervisors Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheran and Dominic Tuohy, where the movie competes alongside “Avengers: Endgame,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” “The Irishman” and “The Lion King.” It currently tops the predictions in Gold Derby’s combined Oscar odds, and here are four reasons why it should be topping yours as well.

SEENo female writer has won an Oscar in 12 years — and only 2 have a chance to do so this year

1. It’s a Best Picture nominee.

Since all branches of the academy vote for the winners in all categories at the Oscars, we typically see most races, above and below the line,...

Disney’s “The Lion King” was the big VFX winner Wednesday at the 18th annual Ves Awards at the Beverly Hilton, grabbing three prizes. Meanwhile. Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” won for supporting VFX and feature compositing.

This now gives the edge to “The Lion King” (supervised by three-time Oscar winner Rob Legato) in the VFX Oscar race. Jon Favreau’s breakthrough virtual production and faux live-action aesthetic was due to Mpc Film’s accomplished photoreal animation. Of course, “The Irishman” has been given a boost, too. And we shouldn’t count out “Avengers: Endgame,” seeking to become the first Marvel movie to win the VFX Oscar, even though it came away empty-handed for its extraordinary end battle and outstanding character work on Thanos and Smart Hulk.

Laika’s stop-motion “Missing Link,” the Golden Globe animation winner, took two awards (VFX for animated feature and the Susan Sasquatch animated character...

“The Lion King,” the Disney “live-action” remake that is made up almost entirely of computer-generated characters and backgrounds, has won three awards at the Visual Effects Society’s 18th annual Ves Awards, which were handed out Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

The film won for its virtual cinematography and created environment, and also took the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that corresponds most closely to the Academy Awards’ Best Visual Effects category.

“The Irishman,” with its extensive use of de-aging technology, won two awards, including Outstanding Supporting Effects in a Photoreal Feature. “Missing Link” was the top animated feature with two awards.

Also Read: 'The Lion King' Crosses $500 Million Domestic, Will Soon Pass 'Beauty and the Beast'

In the television categories, “Stranger Things” and “Game of Thrones” each received a pair of awards. So did “The Mandalorian” — including one for “The Child,...

The Visual Effects Society is handing out its 18th annual Ves Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is updating the winners list live as they are announced. Check out the list below.

Patton Oswalt is hosting the ceremony, which recognizes and honors the most outstanding visual effects work of the year and honors the artists who created them. Check out the latest winners and the nominees in all remaining categories below.

Since the Ves Awards launched in 2002, the winner of its top film category — Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Motion Picture — has gone on to score the Best Visual Effects Oscar in 10 of the 17 years. (Hugo won the Ves in the Feature Motion Picture category in 2011 and later won the Oscar.) But Ves and the Film Academy have differed in each of the past two years, with War for the Planet of the Apes losing the...

Jon Favreau's The Lion King won the Visual Effects Society Awards' top category for outstanding VFX in a photoreal feature. The photoreal retelling of the Disney animated classic — made using newly-developed virtual production techniques — bested a field of nominees that also included Alita: Battle Angel, Avengers: Endgame, Gemini Man and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker..

The award went to Robert Legato, Tom Peitzman, Adam Valdez and Andrew R. Jones, and the work was created at VFX house Mpc. The Lion King won two additional trophies, for outstanding creating environment and virtual production. The team ...