August 22, 2006The USA Network has picked up the Vancouver-lensed sci fi TV series "The 4400" for a fourth season, greenlighting another 13 episodes for production early next year.
The series is co-produced by director Francis Ford "Apocalypse Now" Coppola's American Zoetrope production company, following 4,400 people gone AWOL over a number of years, that suddenly reappear on Earth in a cosmic ball of light, complete with acquired 'supernatural' abilities.
The show initially launched as a limited series July 2004 with high viewer numbers for a basic cable series debut.
ZOIC STUDIOS EVOLVES THE DIGITAL PROCESS
August 13, 2006
Award-winning visual effects house Zoic Studios has announced the official launch of Zoic BC, with Patti Gannon and Randy Goux, two of Zoic's VFX supervisors, setting up the BC office.
Zoic BC has completed the feature "Pathfinder" for 20th Century Fox and is working on episodics "Eureka" for the SCI-FI Channel and "Blade" for Spike TV.
In addition to assuming creative director roles for the Canadian office, Gannon and Goux oversaw the production of 280 visual effects for director Marcus Nispel's Fox feature "Pathfinder".
Following "Pathfinder", Gannon began on-set VFX Supervision for the feature "One Missed Call" in Atlanta, which Zoic will finish in BC in the fall and be distributed by Warners.
Veteran visual effects supervisor Bob Habros also joined the company to oversee the original series "Blade" for Spike TV, while effects producer Patrick Mooney came on board to guide the production aspect of the studio.
Zoic Studios rounds out its talent with 20 key local artists including Kevin Little and Trevor Strand. Little is currently heading the 3D creation of original 'ashing' sequences for "Blade" and Strand is leading multiple teams of compositors working on Tim Minears' original pilot "Drive" for Fox TV.
"Zoic's office in Vancouver is a natural progression in Zoic's evolution," says Zoic Creative Director/Co-Founder Loni Peristere.
"The film and television clients we create with daily, live and work principally in Los Angeles and Vancouver. Our greatest hope is that we bring more opportunity for work to the city by establishing the creation of 'make-believe' as a fluid process that flows effortlessly between LA and Canada."
The Vancouver studio occupies 4,000 sq. feet in the Sun Tower in the neighborhood between Yaletown and the business district.
At full capacity, Zoic Vancouver has workstations for over forty 2D and 3D artists, with over 20 terabytes of storage and over 100 render nodes at their disposal. Additionally, the Canadian team can easily access and utilize the 100 terabytes of storage and over 1,000 render nodes in Los Angeles using high speed Internet and VPN connections established between the two studios.
The Vancouver studio also offers an Avid edit suite, a screening room and a Frame Thrower 2k playback system.
Launched by Executive Producer Steve Schofield, and Creative Directors Chris Jones and Loni Peristere, Zoic Studios is a leader in visual effects and CG animation in the commercial, feature film and episodic television arenas.
In addition to studios in Los Angeles and Vancouver, the company offers an LA-based stage for green screen and other specialty shooting.
Features such as "Serenity", "Zathura", "Talladega Nights" and "Pathfinder" showcase the talents of the Zoic team, as do TV episodic programs "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "CSI: Miami" and "Battlestar Galactica", as well as numerous commercials including spots for HP, Mini, PSP, Lexus, and Cadillac.
August 3, 2006
Here is a list of film productions, currently prepping or shooting in the Vancouver, British Columbia area:
A MOTHER BEHIND BARS
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 2
ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS
ARE WE DONE YET?
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - SEASON THREE
COMFORT HOUSE
CRASH TEST MOMMY - SEASON 3
FANTASTIC FOUR 2
HOT ROD
IMAGINARY PLAYMATE
INTELLIGENCE SEASON ONE
LUNA
MARRIAGE
MASTERS OF HORROR - SEASON 2
MEN IN TREES
OPEN SEASON
POSTAL
PSYCH - SEASON I
SANDLOT 3
SAVED SEASON 1
SEED
SHOOTER
SMALLVILLE - SEASON 6
STARGATE - SG1 - SEASON 10
STARGATE ATLANTIS - SEASON 3
SUPERNATURAL SEASON TWO
THE L WORD - SEASON IV
THE PARTY NEVER STOPS
THE SECRET
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
VIVID DREAMS
BC INVADED BY "ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST"
July 30, 2006
Pre-production has started on Fox' "Alien Vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest", the sequel to last year's AVP.
The Vancouver-shoot will run September 23 to December 14.
Premise of the Shane Salerno screenplay, to be directed by brothers Colin and Greg Strauss, will focus on the 2 species of extraterrestials battling for supremacy throughout the US Midwest.
The 'Predator' character was created by screenwriters Jim and John Thomas, debuting in the 1987 20th Century Fox feature "Predator", starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Fox later optioned character rights to Dark Horse Comics, as well as collaborations with DC Comics.
The official name for the 7-9 foot tall Predator species is 'Yautja', originating from an unknown galaxy and noted as tenacious hunter/killers, forever locked in combat with the 'Aliens' race.
Their weapons include the wrist blade, Maul, Naginata, combat staff, glaive, smart disc, plasma caster, wrist plasma caster, net gun, spear gun, plasma scythe, dagger, shuriken, stealth suit, hydra electro rockets, high focusing heat emitting caster, and micro nuclear self destruction unit.
They can see in infra-red light with helmets enabling electro, micro, ultraviolet, and low light vision modes.
When operating in an environment outside their home world, Predators require special breathing apparatus.
The acid-oozing, "Alien" character debuted in the 1979 science-fiction/horror feature of the same name, directed by Ridley Scott.
Artist H.R. Giger won an Oscar for designing the creature's look.
In 2002, the United States Library of Congress designated Scott's "Alien" feature as being 'culturally significant', selecting it for preservation in their National Film Registry.
"Alien Vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest" opens December 21, 2007.
DC'S "GREEN ARROW" TAKES AIM AT "SMALLVILLE"
July 30, 2006
The DC Comics character 'Oliver Queen' aka 'Green Arrow' will appear in the BC-filmed "Smallville" TV series for a story arc that will run for "at least seven episodes", according to "Smallville" executive producer Alfred Gough.
"He will start to form the nascent 'Justice League'...he's trying to find like-minded people with special powers and put a more formal structure in place...ultimately Clark will see the value of what he is trying to do...but as he's gotten older, Clark has become more cautious. He will always be there to help out, but he doesn't want to be part of a formalized organization."
Actor Justin Hartley, who played the lead 'AC' for the Millar/Gough "Aquaman" TV pilot will play the 'emerald archer'.
The comic book character 'Green Arrow' was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, debuting in "More Fun Comics" #73 (1941).
Dressed like Robin Hood, the character was a proficient archer, bordering on the super-human, with numerous arrows of various design and function.
During the late 1960s, Queen became a crusader for the working class and in 1970, teamed up with 'Green Lantern'.
