Carolyn Giardina of The Hollywood Reporter forwarded us news that Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects division of Lucasfilm, has major expansion plans including a new facility in central London, just outside of Soho, and a move for the Vancouver team to a larger space that will allow the group to double from 100 to 200 employees. Lucasfilm also recently opened an ILM facility in Singapore. The VFX arm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Continue reading ILM Has Plans to Open New Visual Effects Facility in London

Marvel Comics is launching a beta version of an API and developer platform, which will give developers and fans access to its massive library of comics for building apps. The API will include artwork, character bios, expanded stories and more from the original creators spanning 75 years. There are more than 30,000 comics, 7,000 series and 5,000 creators in the database, and developers can even build mini-apps around their favorite characters, titles and creators. Continue reading Marvel Comics Launches API Featuring 75 Years of Content

In a move toward all-digital formats, Paramount Pictures announced it will stop distributing major motion pictures in the U.S. using 35mm film. The Adam McKay-helmed “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” was the studio’s last film to be distributed in 35mm, while Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” became Paramount’s first wide release to be made available theatrically only in digital format. This year could mark a complete phase-out of film by major Hollywood studios. Continue reading Paramount: First Studio to Go Digital-Only with Movie Releases

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal filed by broadcasters against the Aereo online TV service. Disney’s ABC, CBS Broadcasting, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox are among those who argue that Barry Diller-backed Aereo violates copyrights by using tiny antennas to access broadcast signals without paying fees. Media companies appealed a decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April that denied their request to shutter Aereo while legal issues are being addressed. Continue reading Broadcasters Head to Supreme Court in Battle Against Aereo

While Ultra HD is clearly a leading theme at CES this week, numerous members of the engineering community believe the technology will require wider color gamut, higher dynamic range and higher frame rates to succeed. Dolby, Technicolor and Sony all presented plans to address these needs, while the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the consortium behind UltraViolet, is looking at support for 4K as well as higher dynamic range and related features. Continue reading UHD Tech: High Dynamic Range Lands on Hollywood’s Radar

DreamWorks has partnered with Fuhu, maker of the Nabi line of children’s tablets, on an Android tablet called the DreamTab designed specifically for kids. The tablets will be available this year with a number of DreamWorks-branded accessories, such as headphones and carrying cases. They will feature original animation, educational videos, and have the ability to communicate wirelessly with DreamWorks-made toys. The studio will be able to program the device similar to programming a cable channel. Continue reading DreamWorks and Fuhu Partner to Offer New Children’s Tablet

Motorola Mobility has announced that animation veteran Glen Keane will work on the third installment of Motorola’s “Spotlight Stories” series, which features short, interactive projects designed specifically for smartphones. The longtime Disney animator’s credits include “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Pocahontas,” “Tarzan” and the Oscar-winning short “Paperman,” among others. The Motorola projects are being made available via the built-in Spotlight app on Moto X phones. Continue reading Motorola Plans Interactive Short Film with Disney Animator

The Tangible Media Group at MIT is developing technology that makes it possible to reach into your computer screen, pull something out, and manipulate it. The group’s new device, inFORM, is described as a “Dynamic Shape Display” that can “render 3D content physically, so users can interact with digital information in a tangible way.” The team believes the tech will be useful for creating maps and architectural prototypes, and simplifying collaboration across distances. Continue reading Tangible Media Group Aiming to Interact with the Digital World

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation are teaming to offer the streaming service’s latest push into original programming. Netflix will release “Turbo: F.A.S.T.” on December 24, a 26-episode 2D animated series based on DreamWorks’ feature film “Turbo,” about racing snails. The series is the first step in a deal that plans to offer 300 hours of programming via the service. Netflix says it exclusively streams 30 children’s series today, each generating more than 2 million viewers. Continue reading Netflix-DreamWorks Deal Delivers Original Kids’ Programming

Forbes reports that Apple was a big winner on Black Friday. The article notes that InfoScout reviewed more than 90,000 shopping receipts in the U.S. and learned that Apple products accounted for 22 percent of Target’s sales on Black Friday. The iPad Air 16GB, iPad mini 16GB and iPad Air 32GB models were the number one, two and three sellers, respectively. Additionally, the iPad mini 16GB model was the number one seller at Walmart. Continue reading Black Friday: Apple iPad a Big Winner at Target and Walmart

Entertainment media execs met with President Obama this week to discuss including copyright protections in new trade agreements and help in facilitating improved relations between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. During the meeting, the president offered his administration’s assistance in bridging the divide between the two industries. A priority in Hollywood is to stop search engines from linking to websites that stream pirated content. Continue reading Hollywood Executives Discuss Piracy with President Obama

A team from Disney Research Zürich led by Wojciech Jarosz has developed a new rendering technique that is expected to save animators significant time in the editing process of feature films. The new computational algorithm, which is being presented at this week’s ACM SIGGRAPH Asia conference in Hong Kong, can reduce rendering times for scenes that are affected by light — like those with water and smoke — by a factor of up to 1,000. Continue reading New Animation Technology to Save Production Time and Cost

Aereo-backer Barry Diller has stated that the online service may grow to the point that 35 percent of U.S. households subscribe. However, this is largely contingent upon the service’s ability to overcome the legal challenges it currently faces from broadcasters. Individuals in their mid- to late-twenties aren’t highly inclined to pay $100 per month for TV cable packages, rendering Aereo’s $8 package highly attractive, according to Diller. Continue reading Barry Diller Predicts Increase in Number of Aereo Subscribers

Netflix has reportedly been approached with a new proposal that could bring movie serials, popularized in the 1930s, back to theaters. The plan would also provide Netflix with content sooner after theatrical distribution. The proposal calls for movie studios to produce miniseries comprised of one- to two-hour episodes that would be released in theaters about every two months. A few weeks after their theater releases, the episodes would then become exclusively available on Netflix. Continue reading Turning to Nostalgia: Will Netflix Bring Back the Movie Serial?

Hulu is reportedly in talks with pay TV providers including AT&T, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Verizon regarding potential partnerships. Among the ideas being discussed is for pay TV operators to sell Hulu Plus as part of their television bundles, said people familiar with the situation. In addition, Hulu hopes that consumers would have access to the service via cable set-top boxes, providing Hulu Plus subscribers with the option to watch full current seasons of broadcast TV shows. Continue reading Hulu Discusses Bundling Possibilities with Pay TV Providers