Visual effects industry suffers from breakneck pace of blockbusters
By Alan Smithee on Jun 2, 2007 in Film Business, Filmmaking, Hollywood, Visual Effects
If the visual effects industry had its way, the Disney tentpole that sailed into theaters May 25 might have been named “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Wits’ End.”
Industrial Light & Magic topper Chrissie England, who’s seen many blockbusters come through her shop, calls the editing/post-production race to the pic’s delivery deadline “about the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” The film’s vfx supervisor, John Knoll, calls it “a freakin’ miracle” that the film was done on time.
“Pirates 3,” warn England and Knoll, is just one tip of an iceberg that’s sending a chill through the visual effects industry. Visual effects houses are worried about the increasing demand for more product, at higher quality, in less time. Some effects houses have been losing key workers, and a few are threatening to shutter, because of the shifting economics.
If a movie star were to topline four summer tentpoles for four different studios, all opening within a couple of months of each other, the industry would be both amazed and aghast.
But that’s pretty much the situation in which f/x house Industrial Light & Magic finds itself this season.
ILM is lead shop or a major contributor to four of the summer’s biggest tentpoles, all opening between Memorial Day and late July: Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” Universal’s “Evan Almighty,” DreamWorks’ “Transformers” and Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” The effort has to be one of the most prodigious technical accomplishments in the history of the biz.
(Source: Variety)
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