Interview: Steve Emerson, Visual Effects Supervisor for Kubo and the Two Strings

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An Interview with Steve Emerson, Visual Effects Supervisor for Kubo and the Two Strings
By Elizabeth Walker for Creative Media Times

(l to r) Monkey (voiced by Academy Award winner Charlize Theron), Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) and Beetle (voiced by Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey) are on a thrilling quest to unlock the secret of Kubo’s legacy in animation studio LAIKA’s epic action-adventure KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Laika Studios/Focus Features

Some films seemed destined to land among the contenders for best visual effects – like those big-budget offerings from Marvel or the Star Wars franchise. This year, along with Dr. Strange and Rogue One, Kubo and the Two Strings has earned a nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Also nominated for Best Animated Feature, Kubo is the first animated film to be nominated for Best Visual Effects in decades, and the production has received widespread recognition for its use of stop motion animation. Steve Emerson, visual effects supervisor for the film, spoke to reporters by phone from his home base in Portland, Oregon.

This is Emerson’s first Oscar nomination, but he says he has not had a moment to think about a speech. He describes for the group the moment he found out:

It was five in the morning, woke up and was drinking coffee, watching the streaming with my wife and my son.
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Joel and Ethan Coen Tapped To Polish Script For ‘Scarface’ Reboot

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By Armando

Following late last month’s departure of Antoine Fuqua (“The Equalizer”, “Magnificent Seven”) as director of Universal Pictures’ Scarface remake, The Coen Bros is said to have “been tapped to polish” the new movie’s screenplay, Variety reported. Joel and Ethan Coen will work on the original script from Terrence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street).

The Coen brothers are no strangers to writing screenplays that neither of the two directed. They also worked on the script of Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies (2015) and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken (2014).

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SECRET EMPIRE #0 Kicks Off The Next Great Marvel Epic This April!

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New York, NY—February 13th, 2017 — What if your greatest ally was secretly your greatest enemy? What if the most trustworthy, stalwart hero history has ever known has been planning in secret a massive betrayal? That time is now. And you won’t be ready for…SECRET EMPIRE! Before the premier comic launch of 2017, superstar creators Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña toss the every hero of the Marvel Universe into a fiery crucible as Captain America’s master plan is cast into action with April’s SECRET EMPIRE #0!

The Marvel Universe is under siege from within! Captain America, secretly a true believer in the cause of Hydra, has turned his back on the Super Hero community. Using the trust and respect he has gained over the years he has ascended to a position where he can enacts Hydra’s ideals. The death of Jack Flag, the trial of Maria Hill, the second Civil War, the alien Chitauri Queen. All of the dominos of Captain America’s plan have been laid out – and it will take only the slightest push to set them into action!
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New York: Couture Fashion Week – Fall 2017 Collections

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By Armando

New York, NY—February 14th, 2017 – Couture New York Fashion Week began on Friday, February 10 and run throughout the weekend. All of the shows were held on Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan, Broadway, NY.

The Fall 2017 Collections featured collections from around the globe including Belinda Bullshoe, Cory Tran, Laura Moss, Rose Sharifi, Farah Sugar, Paulina Canas, Luis Machicao, Diana Mahrach, Meggie Hadiyanto, Mety Choa, Olga Alicea & Hector Musse, Bella Fashion Designs, Lourdes Atencio, Vanny Tousignant, Ruchika Kabra, Alexandra Popescu, Reuden Banks, Houda El Fechka Eddiouanne, and Andres Aquino who closed the runway shows on Saturday night.

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BAFTA Film Awards 2017 Winners

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By AI Creative Media

With two weeks to go until the Oscars, a familiar crop of winners during this award season took center stage. La La Land, which went into the night with with the maximum of 11 nominations, dominated the night and took home five trophies, including best film, best actress for Emma Stone and best director for Damien Chazelle. The newest Spider-man, Tom Holland, took home the Rising Star award.Producer Jordan Horowitz said: “I think film, when at its best, reveals there is more tying us together than tears us apart.”

Hosted for the 12th time by English comedian and actor Stephen Fry, The 2017 BAFTA Awards took place on Sunday, February 12, at Royal Albert Hall in London. Here is the full list of winners:

Best film
La La Land

Outstanding British film
I, Daniel Blake

Director
Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Leading actress
Emma Stone – La La Land

Leading actor
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
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Grammy Awards 2017: See the Full Winners List

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By AI Creative Media

The 2017 Grammy Awards aired on CBS on Sunday night with The Late Late Show’s James Corden hosting. Similar to what she achieved in 2012, Adele swept the night’s main trophies, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, making history in the process. After winning Album of the Year, Adele dedicated the award to Beyonce, calling Lemonade “so monumental”.

Here’s the full list of winners from the 59th annual Grammy Awards:

Album Of The Year:
25 — Adele

Record Of The Year:
“Hello” — Adele

Song Of The Year:
“Hello” — Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)

Best New Artist:
Chance The Rapper

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

Best Pop Vocal Album:
25 — Adele

Best Pop Solo Performance:
“Hello” — Adele

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World Famous Author R.L. Stine Comes to Marvel – Your New Look at MAN-THING #1

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First Terrifying Issue Available March 8th


New York, NY—February 10th, 2017 — Legendary author R.L. Stine brings his unique brand of horror to Marvel Comics as he makes his mark on one of the most monstrous creatures in the Marvel mythos! That’s right True Believer, the beloved Goosebumps & Fear Street scribe will pen the highly anticipated MAN-THING #1 – in stores on March 8th featuring art from German Peralta (Moon Knight, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and a bevy of comics rising stars.

Attempting to recreate the formula that produced Captain America, biochemist Ted Sallis was transformed into the shambling creature known only as MAN-THING! Now, having recently regained his ability to speak, Man-Thing sets out on a journey to leave the swamp once and for all. But when an ancient and mysterious danger threatens reality, he will have to choose between his new life and the place he once called home!

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CMT Exclusive: Interview with Vivek Maddala on Scoring for The Tom and Jerry Show

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By Elizabeth Walker

Vivek Maddala has written scores for numerous films, and studied jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music. One of his most recent projects has been writing for the Cartoon Network reboot of Tom and Jerry. I reached him by phone to discuss his latest project.

Elizabeth Walker: So is this your first time writing for animation?

Vivek Maddala: My first job writing for film was working for Turner Classic Movies. They were restoring old silent films from the 1920s. Back then, there was no score, because they didn’t have a way of synching music with the film, so I had to create the score. I did five or six of thosefor TCM, and they were not that difference from scoring for animation.

EW: How so?

VM: There is no dialogue between Tom and Jerry, and only a bit from the minor characters. As aresult, it is very visual, and the music has to convey a lot of the emotions. So I did my training for that by scoring the silent films.

EW: Interesting. So how were you approached for this particular project?

VM: On the silent films, I was fortunate enough to work with a tremendous recording and mix engineer – and a very talented musician in his own right – named Dan Blessinger. He was actually the one who recommended me for the Tom and Jerry gig.

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John Malkovich: Actor, Director, Fashion Designer?

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By Shane Brooks

During last Sunday’s Super Bowl, an ad aired to promote the release of the new clothing line by Oscar nominated actor John Malkovich.

The ad depicts some of the struggles Malkovich went through in an attempt to be break from the world of acting into this new art form and represents some of the ideas and inspirations behind his designs. During the ad the actor makes the point, “I’m always a figure in someone else’s dream. I’d really rather sometimes make my own figures and my own dreams.”

Most people recognize John Malkovich for his role in the film Being John Malkovich, however, in an ad for Squarespace that aired during the Super Bowl the actor revealed his desire to take his creative talents in a new direction.

Many do not know that this is not Malkovich’s firststep in the fashion world. With his first fashion company, Mrs. Mudd, being released in 2002. His second, Technobohemian, was released in 2010 and featured many of the actor’s own designs.Along with the theatrical Super Bowl ad Malkovich has launched a website, www.JohnMalkovich.com, powered by Squarespace.

The website showcases Malkovich’s winterand summer 2017 collections. The collections include selections of jackets, knitwear, pants, shirts and accessories. An excerpt from the “About” section of the site reads: “John takes inspiration from his travels and experiences, fine art, and storytelling elements, such as setting and characterization. He sketches designs and patterns, refining every detail, while travelling andduring downtime on set. For over 30 years, John has been a passionate fabric collector. With a meditative approach, he often spends several days purely on fabric selection.”

It is clear that John Malkovich puts his heart into every project he works on whether that be acting, directing or designing fashion. So, if you were watching the big game last Sunday you may be pretty excited for all of the new box office blockbusters coming this summer but you may have also found that new summer look you have been waiting for.

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SECRET EMPIRE Unites the Marvel Universe this May

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The Avengers, X-Men, Defenders, Inhumans, Champions, and more galvanize as one


New York, NY—February 10, 2017 — What if your greatest ally was secretly your greatest enemy? Beginning May 3rd, prepare for Marvel Comics’ SECRET EMPIRE! Blockbuster creators Nick Spencer, Steve McNiven, Andrea Sorrentino and Leinil Yu are ready to challenge the entire Marvel Universe as they unite the Avengers, X-Men, Defenders, Champions, Inhumans, Spider-Man, and more, as an unwavering front against the SECRET EMPIRE!

The Marvel Universe is under siege from within! Due to the manipulations of the Red Skull, Captain America, secretly a true believer in the cause of Hydra, uses the trust and respect he has gained over the years to a position where he can enacts Hydra’s ideals against the Marvel Universe and it’s up to all heroes to unite against one of the greatest challenges they have ever faced.

Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso said, “SECRET EMPIRE is the rallying cry for all the heroes — Avengers, Guardians, Defenders, X-Men, Spider-Man, Deadpool – to put aside their differences and unify in the defense of the Marvel Universe.”

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