SiM Poster: Alice in Wonderland

144-year-old story gets modern-day Tim Burton twist

Directed and co-produced by the one-and-only Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), the latest Alice in Wonderland epic reunites the legendary filmmaker with star Johnny Depp (Public Enemies) for the seventh time in their careers (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street). Depp will star as the Mad Hatter in the iconic Charles Lutwidge Dodgson tale, which also features Mia Wasikowska (Amelia) as Alice, Helena Bonham Carter (Merlin) as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway (Get Smart) as the White Queen, Michael Sheen (New Moon) as the White Rabbit, Alan Rickman (Die Hard) as the Caterpillar, and Stephen Fry (V for Vendetta) as the Cheshire Cat. The Walt Disney feature hits theatres March 5, 2010.

SiM Pics: Alice in Wonderland

Burton is going to scare the crap out of some people with this film!

When you hear what the next Tim Burton film will be, you usually wonder how his unique vision will be portrayed onto the screen. Planet of the Apes ventured from his usual approach but he came back to his old way of doing things for his next few films. So when it was announced that Burton would do the remake of Alice in Wonderland, everyone knew Burton was the right choice. He does not disappoint with these first set of photos. The 3 pictures below are Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Here is a link to some more photos that also look fantastic (USA Today).

IMAX Success Is Rising

Is IMAX taking over the movie theatre industry?

BY COLIN ENQUIST

Jumping into your seat, staring skyward, wondering exactly where the screen ends and the ceiling begins, you sit, waiting patiently for the film to start. A flash of light, sound bursting inside your eardrums, you can almost hear a drum roll playing as the film is about to start. Extra money well spent you tell yourself, not on the popcorn or the drink but the ticket stub that says The IMAX Experience.

For those who don't know, IMAX is short for Image MAXimum and it is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation which debuted the new technology at Expo ‘67 in Montreal, Canada. IMAX screens have the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems. Standard IMAX screens are 22 metres (72 ft) wide and 16.1 metres (53 ft) high, but they can vary. As of April 2009, there are 320 IMAX theatres in 42 countries (65% of these are located in Canada and the United States). About 60% of these are commercial theatres with the other 40% being located in educational venues. Cinesphere (pictured above right), is the world's first permanent IMAX theatre, opening its doors in 1971 at Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The intent of IMAX is to dramatically increase the resolution of the image by using a much larger film frame. To achieve this, 65 mm film stock is run horizontally through the cameras. While traditional 65 mm film has an image area that is 48.5 mm wide and 22.1 mm tall, in IMAX the image is 69.6 mm wide and 48.5 mm tall (comparison pictured left). In order for the film to expose at standard film speed of 24 frames per second, three times as much film is needed to move through the camera each second.

An IMAX projector (pictured below left) is therefore a substantial piece of equipment, weighing up to 1.8 tonnes and towering at over 70" [178 cm] tall and 75" [195 cm] long. The xenon lamps (pictured right) used are made of a thin layer of quartz crystal, and contain xenon gas at a pressure of about 25 atmospheres; because of this, projectionists are required to wear protective body armour (yikes!) when changing or handling these in case the lamp breaks (so they better not drop them!) because the flying shards of crystal could be extremely deadly when combined with the high pressure of the gas within.

Disney produced Fantasia 2000: The IMAX Experience, the first full-length animated feature released exclusively (on January 1st, 2000) in the IMAX format (the film would later have a conventional theatrical release). Many other films would later open in IMAX the same day they debuted at conventional theatres such as the two Matrix sequels, Superman Returns, Spider-Man 3, Watchmen and all the Harry Potter films released since 2004. Almost all these films had successful runs at the IMAX.

The most successful was the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight which featured six sequences (a total of 30 minutes) shot using IMAX technology. This was the first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras. The film broke box office records for IMAX, taking in about $6.3 million from 94 theatres in the U.S. and Canada over the opening weekend. Star Trek debuted last week surpassing The Dark Knight’s IMAX take, cashing in for $8.3 million. During its second week, Trek’s IMAX portion of its gross was down 29 percent to an estimated $5.1 million at 138 sites, which was a record second weekend for the format. The IMAX tally is $17.4 million, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the overall total. Starting May 22, Star Trek is scheduled to relinquish its IMAX screens to Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, who will have a tough time topping the Star Trek haul.

Slowly but surely IMAX is taking over the movie theatre industry. The only thing stopping them is their lack of theatres. Many people would rather pay the extra $2-$5 for a movie ticket just to see the film of their choice in IMAX. I know I would, the superior picture is nice for sure, but I can’t get over the sound difference compared to a conventional theatre. If the record openings continue we may get more IMAX theatres opening worldwide.

Check out some of these films upcoming in IMAX in 2009 and beyond that you may need to buy tickets for. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, A Christmas Carol and the highly anticipated Avatar are all being released in 2009 under the IMAX 3D Experience banner. Around the corner in 2010 is Alice in Wonderland, Shrek Goes Fourth, The Tree of Life and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I. Three films have already been announced for 2011 as well, Spider-Man 4, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Part II of the Deathly Hollows.

ShoWest Recap

ShoWest, one of several Nielsen Business Media's Film Group events, is a movie theater industry trade show or exposition established by NATO in 1975, usually held in March. This year the show is running from March 30th till April 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Excerpt summarizing the event taken from ShoWest's website

"ShoWest is the most prestigious and longest running convention and trade show for the cinema exhibition and distribution community. Cinema Exhibition professionals come to ShoWest for exciting film screenings of major studio and independent feature films slated for Summer release as well as product reel presentations, exciting special events with Hollywood’s hottest stars, educational seminars and to find the latest products, services and technologies at the largest trade show of its kind."

According to Rick Lyman, of The New York Times, it is "the largest and most important gathering of theatre operators" in the world, at which "the theatrical distribution business takes stock of its problems, which have been legion, and assesses its future, always through the rosiest glasses available."

Probably the biggest news, we are getting a Spider-Man 4 in the summer of 2011. Joining Spider-Man in 2011 will be a couple more sequels, Men In Black 3, which was a surprise but really shouldn't be as the Men In Black series has made over $800 million worldwide. No details were given if Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith will return. Another film in development is a third film in the Ghostbusters series.

3-D news filled a good chunk of the day 2, with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Up, King of the Elves, Mars Needs Moms, G-Force and Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol all getting the buzzed about. Pixar also announced Cars 2, debuting June 24th, 2011. Up and G-Force had 3-D trailers viewing at ShoWest.

Walt Disney Studios previewed its two upcoming 2D films, The Princess and the Frog and Old Dogs. Disney's long-awaited return to 2D hand-drawn animation will be The Princess and the Frog, which promises a lot of the things that long-time fans of Disney animated films have long cherished: comedy, romance, talking animals and musical numbers (provided by Randy Newman). Old Dogs is a live action and starring John Travolta and Robin Williams, two well-to-do executives whose burgeoning careers are suddenly sidelined when they're forced to take care of the formers three illegitimate kids with a woman he hasn't seen in years. Both films are due Thanksgiving weekend.

Not much is known about Neil Blomkamp's District 9, produced by Peter Jackson, which comes out on August 14. Not much about the plot has been revealed but we are told it is similar to Children of Men crossed with Men In Black.

G.I. Joe footage was shown as well, although I am hearing not much more than an extended trailer. We can expect to see the footage in front of either Star Trek or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Many other films showed extended trailers or clips. Year One, The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, Angels and Demons, The Ugly Truth, Julia & Julia and many more.

3-D Films Galore

"Alice" coming to IMAX in 3-D along with many other films over the next few years.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and IMAX Corporation jointly announced that the new Tim Burton film, Alice in Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and Mia Wasikowska as Alice, will be released to IMAX theaters simultaneously with the film's wide release on March 5, 2010. The special IMAX 3-D release will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience. This is the third film confirmed out of the five-film agreement between IMAX and Disney, which was announced on November 19, 2008.

Mark Zoradi, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, spoke fondly of the idea of "Alice" in 3-D, "If ever there was a film that cried out to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D and the premium IMAX 3-D format, Tim Burton's fantastic interpretation of 'Alice in Wonderland' is that film. This is going to be an eye-popping cinematic experience as Tim takes moviegoers down the rabbit hole and into the dimensional world filled with incredible characters, sly humor, and wild adventures. Disney's partnership with IMAX is taking shape with two amazing films already on the schedule. We look forward to working with them in bringing exciting new experiences and quality entertainment to IMAX screens around the world."

"We think that Disney's new 'Alice in Wonderland' is exactly the type of 3-D story telling that will resonate with IMAX audiences," said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "We believe our worldwide commercial theatre network will be approximately 50 percent larger by the time this film is released, giving more and more people a chance to experience the magic of Disney in IMAX."

"'Alice in Wonderland' is a fantastic addition to our 2010 film slate," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Combining a beloved Disney classic re-designed through the imagination of Tim Burton's creative vision with these incredibly outrageous characters and world class actors certainly makes for an event-status film, and we're pleased to add another level of excitement to this highly-anticipated movie. "Visionary filmmaker Tim Burton will put his distinctive touch on the combination live-action and performance capture version of Lewis Carroll's classic tale "Alice in Wonderland." The all-star cast includes Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman and Mia Wasikowska as Alice.

Walt Disney Studios announced that they are now releasing the 3-D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 together on October 2nd. The double feature will be the first place you'll be able to see the trailer for Toy Story 3 and the only place to see it in 3-D. No word yet if double feature means one movie ticket for both films or if the films will also be released in non-3-D theatres as well.

Disney also announced the 3-D version of Beauty and the Beast (of which the studio showed the opening musical number "Belle" in 3-D at ShoWest) is going to be released on February 12, 2010.

Avatar, the James Cameron brainchild is set to debut in 3-D December 18, 2009. Cameron has had the film in development for about 14 years, in 1995 he wrote a 80-page scriptment for Avatar. It should set the stage for 3-D films and more than likely raise the bar higher then ever thought possible by most viewers. Avatar tells the story of an ex-Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Giovanni Ribisi.

With many other films coming down the pipeline with a 3-D release. This could be the new wave of cinema or it could just be a flash in the pan if the first few films don't impress movie goers.