In “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the gorilla has a new adversary: Skar King, the cunning, lanky, red-haired orangutan-like creature, who lords over the subterranean realm of Hollow Earth like a sadistic bully to keep his ape minions in line. With Shimo, the ancient ice Titan, whom he controls as his slave, Skar King is so formidable that it takes the two titular Titans to stop him from achieving world domination.
In creating the best villain yet in the five-film MonsterVerse franchise, director Adam Wingard relied on Wētā FX — the king of ape films, with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” right around the corner — to animate Skar King. They overhauled the design concept to ensure his biomechanics worked in line with the desired motion and also roughed him up, complete with a cat-eye reflection in one of his eyes.
Wētā additionally aged Kong by altering his fur...
In creating the best villain yet in the five-film MonsterVerse franchise, director Adam Wingard relied on Wētā FX — the king of ape films, with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” right around the corner — to animate Skar King. They overhauled the design concept to ensure his biomechanics worked in line with the desired motion and also roughed him up, complete with a cat-eye reflection in one of his eyes.
Wētā additionally aged Kong by altering his fur...
- 4/13/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Cokie the Bear was more than ready for her close-up with Elizabeth Banks for Variety’s “Cocaine Bear” cover. However, no real bears were involved in the creation of these images.
She is the computer-generated handiwork of photographer Art Streiber and a team of eight visual effects experts from Weta FX, who created the bear for the film.
Over the span of two weeks, Streiber and Weta FX VFX supervisor Robin Hollander created a storyline for the photos, from Cokie having her nose powdered to a glamorous red carpet moment.
“This was fun to see how to capture the essence of Cokie and instill it in single images,” Hollander says. He adds, “We didn’t want Cokie to look like a villain — she’s not inherently aggressive.”
The team came to the photo shoot with a bit of a narrative to help inject personality into the bear. “We wanted to...
She is the computer-generated handiwork of photographer Art Streiber and a team of eight visual effects experts from Weta FX, who created the bear for the film.
Over the span of two weeks, Streiber and Weta FX VFX supervisor Robin Hollander created a storyline for the photos, from Cokie having her nose powdered to a glamorous red carpet moment.
“This was fun to see how to capture the essence of Cokie and instill it in single images,” Hollander says. He adds, “We didn’t want Cokie to look like a villain — she’s not inherently aggressive.”
The team came to the photo shoot with a bit of a narrative to help inject personality into the bear. “We wanted to...
- 2/8/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“War for the Planet of the Apes” from Weta Digital could well be on its way to the elusive VFX Oscar after winning four Ves trophies Tuesday night at the Beverly Hilton (including the top feature prize). Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” won for supporting VFX, Pixar’s “Coco” earned four awards (including VFX for animation), and “Game of Thrones” took home five awards (including VFX for TV).
The “Apes” finale, directed by Matt Reeves, benefited from a Shakespearean performance from Andy Serkis as Caesar, with Weta working its wizardry in much harsher conditions for the performance-captured animation. Not surprisingly, “Apes” additionally won for Caesar, the effects simulations for the thrilling avalanche, and compositing. However, although both “Rise” and “Dawn” captured Ves prizes, neither won the Oscar, so “War” is not a certainty in its race with “Blade Runner 2049.”
Speaking of which, Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner” sequel won two...
The “Apes” finale, directed by Matt Reeves, benefited from a Shakespearean performance from Andy Serkis as Caesar, with Weta working its wizardry in much harsher conditions for the performance-captured animation. Not surprisingly, “Apes” additionally won for Caesar, the effects simulations for the thrilling avalanche, and compositing. However, although both “Rise” and “Dawn” captured Ves prizes, neither won the Oscar, so “War” is not a certainty in its race with “Blade Runner 2049.”
Speaking of which, Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner” sequel won two...
- 2/14/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
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