“The Suicide Shop” is animated in stereoscopic 2D, like a children’s pop-up book

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Production forum Cartoon Movie will take place March 2-4 in Lyon, France. The conference is a place for European animated films to find financing for the in-progress movies and distributors for the completed ones. Among the films unspooling at the forum this year are Tim Ollive’s “1884,” Patrice Leconte’s “The Suicide Shop” and Fernando Trueba’s “Chico and Rita.”

“1884” is a futuristic fantasy, and though it’s directed by Tim Ollive, the film is getting recognition because of its producer, presenter and creative adviser, Terry Gilliam (the two have worked frequently together in the past on films like “The Life of Brian,” “The Meaning of Life,” “The Fisher King” and “The Brothers Grimm”). Most of the voice cast consists of as yet unnamed former Monty Python members. Gilliam is known for the fairytale-like quality he brings to his live-action films, so it’s no surprise that he has now segued into animation. The ambitious project “imagines a film made in 1848 with steam power, narrating a tale of laughable imperialist derring-do and espionage set in a futuristic 1884, when Europe is at war, steam-powered cars fly in the sky and man has landed on the moon.” “1884” will use actors’ filmed eyes and mouths and insert them onto CGI heads, while “backgrounds will feature collages of miniatures, film, graphics and period photography.” All of this will be done on a tiny $8 million budget. But that’s not the only project that will be turning heads.

French filmmaker Patrice Leconte, know for arthouse fare “Man on a Train” and frothier pics like “My Best Friend,” will show pieces of his work-in-progress “The Suicide Shop,” in the hopes of attracting financiers and a possible buyer. This movie is animated in stereoscopic 2D, like a children’s pop-up book, and clips already attracted much attention from the Annecy Animation Festival last June. Finally, Spain’s Fernando Trueba’s will show off “Chico and Rita,” a romantic comedy set in the 1940s Latin jazz scene. Trueba won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1993 for “Belle Époque,” and his first animated effort has already earned rave reviews and had a brief UK run last fall. All three men are involved with animated films for the first time. You can check out a trailer for “Chico and Rita” and some animation tests for “1884” below.

The forum itself has seen 20% growth since last year, with 90 submissions for consideration and a growing total budget for all films at a little over $523 million. About 85 distributors and 64 investors have signed on, according to Cartoon Movie’s general director Marc Vandewyer, with over 570 participants, the festival’s highest number yet. Interest in animated films continues to grow as the market for children and young adults expands rapidly throughout the U.S. and Europe; we’ve also seen a raise in the number of adults coming to appreciate animated movies. There are a lot of projects with modern, ethnic and adult content. That’s the trend this year,” Vandewyer said.

See original post with video clips here: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/2011/01/25/terry_gilliams_1884_and_patrice_lecontesthe_suicide_shop_to_screen_at_carto/#

Christie, the world leader in digital cinema projection, is the brand of choice for the first multiplex in Missouri that eliminates the traditional projectionist booth and requires no human operator, B&B Theatres’ Wildwood 10. The groundbreaking multiplex’s booth-less auditoriums, installed by Kansas-based Sonic Equipment Company, are powered by Christie Solaria™ Series digital cinema projectors.

The projectors sit on platforms supported by 16-foot beams that moviegoers can walk under, with a control room on a lower level that is the heart of the digital cinema system. A total of 10 Christie Solaria CP2220 4K-ready DLP Cinema® projectors were installed with six of them set up for Real D 3D presentations.

“The booth-less auditoriums are a first for us. They create a ‘cool effect’ that we believe is the way to go in our new theatres,” said Dennis McIntire, Director of Strategic Planning for B&B. “We have a very strong track record with Christie. Since the projectors platforms are designed to be low maintenance, we needed a projection system of the highest quality and durability, and Christie was the best fit.”

“Booth-fewer auditoriums are an exciting new development and, at Sonic, we thrive on being on the leading edge,” said Eric Olson, Director of Operations, Sonic Equipment Company. “We needed digital projectors that would eliminate the fear of the unknown, and Christie took the fear factor out of the equation. Their projectors perform continuously, without worrying about frequent access for servicing. We have enormous confidence in the reliability of Christie projectors and wouldn’t have attempted the booth-less auditoriums without them.”

The Wildwood 10 Theatres represent the new face of the B&B brand. In addition to being Missouri’s first, all-digital multiplex, it features two plush “Marquee Suites” for patrons who are over 21, as well as a spectacular 56-foot wide, wall-to-wall Grand Screen, also lit up by a Christie projector, that offers the latest in 3D video and audio technology. The building’s façade incorporates an Art Deco spire and vertical signage that were built from the ground up on the site of a former bank, while the interior décor features murals of stylized Hollywood scenes. The Wildwood 10 had its grand opening in October, bringing the family-run chain’s total digital screens to 62 and putting them on track to digitize all of their 204 screens within two years.

Sonic’s Eric Olson noted that Christie Managed Services also played an integral role in his decision to recommend Christie projectors.

“The service allows us to offer our customer a wider range of support and maintenance to help them best manage their new high tech digital systems,” he said. “Christie Managed Services blends seamlessly with our technical capabilities to provide a solid foundation of support that includes expertise in planning, procurement, logistics, pre-staging and integration, as well as implementation of system rollouts.”

Olson added, “I am amazed with how little the theatre manager has to worry about, considering the sophistication of these projection systems. Christie Managed Services is like a full time projectionist continuously monitoring the systems.”

“The best projection systems in the world are of little value if they are not also highly reliable,” noted Craig Sholder, vice president, Entertainment Solutions, Christie. “Christie’s strong reputation in the exhibition community is based on providing products of proven dependability, backed by unmatched technical expertise. B&B’s new booth-less theaters are a tribute to the confidence they have in Christie projectors and our commitment to meeting the most challenging needs of our customers.”

Original press release here: http://www.dcinematoday.com/dc/pr.aspx?newsID=2168