Gizmodo: peter jackson

Parody: Weta's Special Effects Technology Creates Green Screen Boobage

Danny Allen — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT

Something fun (though NSFW) to end your work week: Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop has provided amazing effects for movies like Lord of the Rings, but can it green-screen naughty bits for indie-film makers? This mock behind-the-scenes look answers that question.

With the over-tanned Access ET intro and all, I thought this may have been real for a half a second. Then I saw it was written and directed by Joe Swanberg, an indie-film maker known for his preoccupation with digital technology and non-simulated sex scenes. Oh, and it was on: [Funnyordie]

Birthday Suit from Jason Lewis

Would-Be Halo Movie Director Shows the Alien Ghettos of District 9

Adam Frucci — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:10:00 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Remember those incredible live-action Halo shorts? Well, that director has his first full-length movie coming out, and it looks downright badass.

Neill Blomkamp originally made the Halo shorts with Peter Jackson as proof of concept for the Halo movie that he was supposed to direct. As it was to be his first film, the studios got nervous, and now that film looks unlikely to be made. So instead he made a movie based on his own ideas rather than Bungie's.

So not only is Neill Blomkamp at the helm, but he's again got Peter Jackson's WETA doing the special effects for him. As for the story, it's about a world where aliens have landed and settled on Earth. They want to leave, but we humans brilliantly make them second-class citizens and put them in ghettos while we try to figure their advanced technology out. Things don't go well.

The movie is based on a non-Halo-related short film that Blomkamp made that you can see here. District 9 comes out on August 14th, and I will be seeing it that night.

Full-Size Working Halo Warthog Ready to Annihilate Adoring Fans

kthompson — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 19:50:00 EDT

Thanks to Peter Jackson, New Zealanders have all the fun. Not only do they get to experience epic Lord of the Rings sites as they are recreated in the countryside, but now they get to do donuts around their flocks of sheep with Halo Warthogs. Jackson's WETA workshop recently finished building an accurate, working Warthog (machine gun and all) for their upcoming Halo 3 shorts. If you didn't catch the first trailer that debuted at E3, hit the jump to see what all the fuss is about.

Though its role is limited in the opener, you can bet this labor of love will get some serious camera time in later installments. How long will it take for some crazy Kiwi to toss a bundle of hand grenades underneath one and blow himself to smithereens? [Halo 3 Warthog via Neatorama]

Red and Peter Jackson's "Crossing the Line" Clip Shot on Red One Cameras

Jason Chen — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:30:15 EDT

If you didn't get enough of our coverage of Red and their Red One 4K camera at NAB, here's one more thing to tide you over until the release. It's a clip of Peter Jackson's "Crossing the Line" video that was shot entirely with "Boris" and "Natasha," the Red One prototypes.

This video is only 1/4 the resolution, so you'll probably only be 1/4 as impressed as people were when they saw it live. – Jason Chen

RedUser [via Crunchgear]

Non-Announcement of the Week: Xbox 360

Noah R — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 12:41:40 EDT

Microsoft's X05 got underway in Amsterdam yesterday. It was billed as the first chance to, "fully experience Xbox 360, including the first opportunity to play next generation games and encounter the unique digital entertainment capabilities of Xbox 360." So what was the big news to emerge from the event? That Peter Jackson is executive producing the Halo movie. Yep, WETA Digital and WETA Workshop will supply special effects for the film. Otherwise, Microsofties were on hand to say very little about the launch lineup for the 360. The official word is that there will be 20 games available on November 22, but only Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup have been confirmed. A few new titles were teased out, including the urban-themed Crackdown, but they didn't even put a firm date on Call of Duty 2 or Gears of War.

Hopefully some more solid news will emerge next week when Microsoft brings the 360 to NYC for another tour. But the question remains: Should you buy the Xbox 360 out of the gate, or wait for a few more games to be released and the price to drop?

Xbox 360 launch lineup finalized "in the next few weeks" [GameSpot]
X05 Coverage [Kotaku]
Microsoft Releases Halo Movie Details [Design Technica]