Oscars Expands VFX Category to 5, Rules MoCap Isn't Animation

Beverly Hills, CA — The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences finalized the rules for the 83rd Academy Awards at its most recent meeting (June 22). The most significant change is in the Visual Effects category, which will now feature five nominees rather than three.

Since 1963, when the Special Effects award was discontinued and new separate categories for achievements in visual effects and sound effects were established, the only period during which it was possible to have five visual effects nominees was 1977 through 1979. In only one of those years (1979) were five achievements actually recognized. Between 1980 and 1995, two or three productions could be nominated; since 1996 the rules have dictated there be exactly three nominees.

In the Animated Feature Film category, the rule governing running time for a motion picture to qualify was changed from at least 70 minutes to greater than 40 minutes, which is consistent with the running time requirements for feature films in all other categories. The running time for a motion picture to qualify as an animated, live action or documentary short film has been and continues to be a maximum of 40 minutes. The previous 70-minute threshold for an animated feature had left a gap for films that ran between 40 and 70 minutes, effectively preventing them from being able to qualify as either features or shorts.

Also in the Animated Feature Film category, a sentence regarding motion capture was added to clarify the definition of an animated film. The language now reads: “An animated feature film is defined as a motion picture with a running time of greater than 40 minutes, in which movement and characters’ performances are created using a frame-by-frame technique.Motion capture by itself is not an animation technique.

In addition, a significant number of the major characters must be animated, and animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time.”

Other modifications of the 83rd Academy Awards rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors for approval.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Andy Serkis is Lead Ape in ‘Rise of the Apes’

by Jeff Leins

Andy Serkis has been cast as the lead ape in Rise of the Apes, also known as the prequel to Planet of the Apes.

We’ve known for a while that WETA, the special effects company of Peter Jackson, was creating CGI apes (rather than the practical, men-in-suit work of the previous versions), but everyone seemed to drop the ball on predicting Serkis for the motion capture suit.  He provided the movements for both Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong in Jackson’s 2005 remake, which means he already has experience with lumbering and knuckle-dragging on set.

Serkis will play Caesar, an ape that develops intelligence after a scientist (played by James Franco) performs genetic experiments on him in an attempt to cure Alzheimer’s Disease.  Once Caeser evolves he leads an uprising against the human population.  Those damned dirty apes!

Freida Pinto is playing a primatologist working with Franco’s character and John Lithgow is set to play Franco’s ailing father.  Marky Mark will not be making an appearance.

Rise of the Apes is expected to be released June 24, 2011.

Christopher McQuarrie to Rewrite Jack the Giant Killer

Christopher McQuarrie, writer of The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie , will once again be working with Bryan Singer on Jack the Giant Killer. McQuarrie is currently working on the latest draft of the script, with New Line aiming to start shooting in July.

Singer is about to begin casting for the fantasy adventure, the tale of which is set in motion when a princess is kidnapped, threatening a long-standing peace between men and giants. A young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giants’ kingdom in hope of rescuing her.

Jack the Giant Killer is an adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk

In a multi-million-dollar extravaganza complete with Hollywood celebrities

and a private performance by the world-famous Cirque du Soleil , Microsoft today unveiled Kinect,

its latest technological creation for game systems, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles .