Mr. Coat

Since you did co-reviews of Robert Zemeckis' recent experiments in motion-capture with the cast of TFITC, I thought I'd bring you guys a news update I recently came across.

ImageMovers Digital, the mo-cap studio responsible for the films The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, will be shut down by Disney once the studio has completed its final project, Mars Needs Moms.

What are you guys' thoughts on the matter?

Thank god. It was getting kinda old. However, him and Disney still want to do some work, like a Yellow Submarine remake. They are already near the end of pre-production and have a cast. And yes, it will be in *sighs* 3D.

Even though Motion Capture does look really cool, I don't want every movie in the future to be that way. So, I'm alright with them closing it down.

In fact, I'd like to see a Robert Zemeckis movie that's just regular live-action (or maybe a live-action & animation hybrid, since he is the director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?). Personally, I think he's a great director & here are my favorite movies by him:

-Forrest Gump
-Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
-Back to the Future
-The Polar Express

Now that I think of it, That Fellow in the Coat should do a tribute to Mr. Zemeckis, since he already did a tribute to Speilburg, Kubrick, Brooks, Burton, & even Tarantino. What do you guys think?

I thought Motion Capture was an excellent development in the movie industry, it's a shame Zemeckis won't be using it anymore; he really knew how to use it. The strain it must put on the animators and actors must be enourmus though.

Filmbuff wrote:a Yellow Submarine remake. They are already near the end of pre-production and have a cast. And yes, it will be in *sighs* 3D.

I'm very excited for that film, I loved the original to pieces, it helps when you're a Beatles fan. 3D is getting to be a real pain, it does a number on my eyes.

*Bump a year later*

Well, it's officially over now. Mars Needs Moms bombed so hard that Disney canned the Yellow Submarine remake. Zemeckis is free to shop his project to another studio, but the days of ImageMovers Digital are over.

And considering how much of a bomb Mars Needs Moms, I don't know what studio would even seriously consider giving Zemeckis the budget to make it. My theory of what will happen is Simon Wells will return to DreamWorks and Zemeckis will hopefully get around to that Roger Rabbit sequel.

The aftermath: Zemeckis is returning to live-action.

Zemeckis' next movie will be the live-action airplane drama Flight, about a pilot who rescues his passengers from a dangerous situation but who turns out not to be as heroic as he appears -- he's an addict whose negligence was partly responsible for the danger in the first place.

. . .

The project looks to take precedence over several other Zemeckis films, including a time-travel movie called Replay and a Roger Rabbit-esque hybrid called The Animated American. Both pictures would take Zemeckis back to the future, one more literally than the other.

Full story at the LA Times blogs.