"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Penton-Man]

In reference to this *wearing of the green* by PJ last week at the panel at Comic-Con…..http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/...ic-con-tintin/
Interesting exchange among a group of fans over-heard by moi in a hotel elevator (at the Marriott)….

Fan #1 – Did you notice PJ was wearing that god-awful green shirt at the panel. Do you think that was his *silent* endorsement of the tinting of the
FOTR Blu-ray and that it truly was intentional?

Fan #2 – Nope. It means he is well aware of the FOTR coloring controversy and that WB has him by the short hairs!

Fan #3 - Damn straight!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

They don't like it, huh?

I say, "f" 'em.

I hope that the 3D treatment of ‘The Great Gatsby’ does to drama…..the same as what AVATAR did to the action genre.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

The trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man (Penton's recent project) has been officially released:

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=6903
I can't wait!!!! Looks amazing (slight pun intended).

The 3D POV shots thru the eyes of Spider-Man as he swings through the city shall henceforth be known as ‘Spidey-Vision’.

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

For the record, top dog acquisition bragging rights in terms of both sensor resolution *8k* and dynamic range should now belong to the F65, as barriers have recently been broken in the field of engineering with the production of this new Sony camera. Concentrate on the paragraph by Curtis Clark ( Chair of the ASC Technology Committee http://www.theasc.com/ac_society/ind...Tech_Committee )

In which he says “"Expanded dynamic range from highlight to shadow—a minimum of 14 stops with the F65 and they are still testing that—in conjunction with tremendous low light level sensitivity without noise, wider gamut (than film print reproduction), along with true 4K spatial resolution. These exceed the benchmark references we normally associate with 35mm film.”
https://www.smpte.org/membership/smp...l_news_2011/#1

Or, perhaps an easier read for some old photochemical timers out there, this bolder headlined article highlights a pretty color gamut showing the diff between Print film, the F65 and visible light –
http://www.eoshd.com/content/609/fil...t-the-sony-f65

Mmmm.. add Dynamic Element Expansion Protocol* in/a chip and... Instant IMAX technicolor coffee.

Send me one for Christmas









*which I had to use to blow up that tiny color map pic to actually see it

[Blu-Ray Watcher]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

The 3D POV shots thru the eyes of Spider-Man as he swings through the city shall henceforth be known as ‘Spidey-Vision’.

It's a cool scene, but I hope it's not over done. It may get distracting.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

It's a cool scene, but I hope it's not over done. It may get distracting.

Yes! Used in moderation it can add an interesting dynamic to a film that may not need a reboot so soon. Of course, being a big comic book collector back in the day...I'm hoping for a good film.
Would like to see this franchise keep putting out film every 2-3 years!

[DenonCI]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...3VXgWKMgNq1dYK

Jeffrey Katzenberg tried to restore Wall Street's confidence in the movie business yesterday a week after he slammed Tinseltown in a screed over corporate greed versus art.

Speaking on DreamWorks Animation's second-quarter earnings, the movie veteran appeared to backtrack, saying, "We have great times, then get into slow times. The first five months were disappointing -- the quality of the movies wasn't great -- but the last five weeks it's picked up substantially."

He added that he stood by his earlier prediction that gross box-office receipts in 2011 would outpace 2010.

Katzenberg caused widespread distress in Hollywood by declaring at a recent conference, "It's unbelievable how bad movies have been," adding that the "bloom is off the rose" for 3-D.

Nevertheless, DreamWorks Animation pleased the street with earnings that beat estimates.

The animation house, which is particularly susceptible to the vagaries of box office, pay-TV and the DVD market since it produces so little and is focused on high-end movie production, was up 5.9 percent after hours after reporting a 42 percent increase in profit to $34.1 million, or 40 cents a share, from $24 million, or 27 cents, in the same period last year.

Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of 37 cents in the latest quarter.

Revenue was $218.3 million, compared to a $191.7 million consensus estimate, driven by pay-TV income.

Tony Wible, entertainment analyst with Janney, Montgomery, Scott told The Post that the quarter was roughly in line with expectations.

" 'Megamind' was surprisingly good -- people were worried they'd lose money on it -- and pay-TV revenue on 'How to Train a Dragon' and 'Shrek Forever After,' was healthy," he said.

The company told analysts that it had no plans for a share buyback because of the need to conserve cash. The stock is off some 27 percent year to date.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...#ixzz1THX2NvA6

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Send me one for Christmas

And I asked for the brunette model in the high heels, but my wife wouldn’t go for it –
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/video/chann...behind_scenes/

P.S.
I kid….I kid.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

*which I had to use to blow up that tiny color map pic to actually see it

Well, there should be caption next to that little color map pic which reads...“With its significantly wider color space, Dynamic Range and other processing, the F65 is the first image capture system designed from the ground up to support the Academy IIF-ACES, Image Interchange Framework, Academy Color Encoding Specification”

But I agree, that article would do well to have a Photo Zoom feature like this one –

http://www.hdvideopro.com/technology...g-up-aces.html

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

It's a cool scene, but I hope it's not over done. It may get distracting.

Less is more…..in all types of cinematography.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Yes! Used in moderation it can add an interesting dynamic...

You two guys have got me thinking now.
How many G’s does a typical roller coaster hit on the descents? Perhaps we need some *extreme* version alternate clips as bonus material on the eventual 3D Blu-ray edition.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...3VXgWKMgNq1dYK

Jeffrey Katzenberg tried to restore Wall Street's confidence in the movie business yesterday a week after he slammed Tinseltown in a screed over corporate greed versus art.....

Well, first of all, that article cherry picks one quote from Jeffrey’s spiel from last week in Aspen. Give me a moment and I’ll try to find a more complete report of what he said about 3D and the context of such. Sure there are a few well-known cases of 3D projects being rushed out the door by people eager to capitalize quickly on the novelty of 3D but, to surmise that “greed” is exclusive to Hollywood is quite naïve at best and ostentatious, at worst.

There are doctors who cheat Medicare for millions, lawyers and judges who take bribes, and I don’t even want to get into Wall Street and the banking system or politicians as their unscrupulous behavior knows no bounds (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Insid...lu-ray/19936/# ) for it will just raise my blood pressure.

Another reality check which I never hear Jeffrey mention, given his animation roots, is that with animation you have virtual actors who stand still while you are moving the camera around and you don’t have to worry about things like lighting, waves hitting the camera rigs off of Kauai, etc. Animation is a silver-spooned world for the filmmaker, plus Jeffrey has one of the best stereographers on the planet at DWA. Live-action 3D is significantly harder to produce and it needs much more time in post.

Anyway, 3D imagery is not a 100 yard dash, it’s a marathon. There will be peaks and valleys along the way, the important and exciting thing is that 3D has exceptional potential and all we have to do is continue working toward the ideal rather than crying over spilled milk. The future is bright. At the risk of boring you with technical details in the attached pdf presentation, I recommend you playing the video-clip from the Blu-ray Disc Academy where people are not prone to making headline-grabbing comments….

https://www.dvd-intelligence.com/video/?id=126

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

plus Jeffrey has one of the best stereographers on the planet at DWA.

Hey, Phil, if you’re reading, I think we can offer you a better dental plan than your current employer.

[MerrickG]

Penton,

How is paidgeek doing these days?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, first of all, that article cherry picks one quote from Jeffrey’s spiel from last week in Aspen. Give me a moment and I’ll try to find a more complete report of what he said about 3D and the context of such....

Here ya go, I think this is more complete –
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-...works-ceo.html

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Merrick Gearing

Penton,
How is paidgeek doing these days?

He just returned from this (vacation)…. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/791/10...ults-2011.aspx

And he’s currently back to working his butt off like all of our Senior V.P.’s.

[JimSD]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Trifecta post today (+1) –

JimSD – there once was a former mountain biker who went on to win The Tour de France , named -
https://forum.blu-ray.com/insider-di...ml#post4964138

And became the first Aussie winner of thee most prestigious race in bicycling.

You certainly had a good read of what was happening at the time. Has the maillot juane ever had a worse final time trial as Andy Schleck? I think a non-time trialer like Carlos Sastre was able to get in the top 10 of the TT the year he won.

[Penton-Man]

Tired legs don’t care what color jersey is on your back despite what the pundits like Paul Sherwen and Bob Roll said the day before the Time Trial.

I’m happy for Cadel , given his age, it may have been his last good shot at the top podium spot…..and he’s CLEAN. Did you hear what he said to the people in his team car, I think during the rollout in the neutral zone, something like……“Nobody can take this away from me”.

Andy S. seems to be a great guy and well loved by the Tour followers…..given his young age, his time will come too.

[sharkshark]

'bout goddamn time...

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-B.../24464/#Review

The Dude abides...

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

He just returned from this (vacation)…. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/791/10...ults-2011.aspx

And he’s currently back to working his butt off like all of our Senior V.P.’s.

I always liked paidgeek. He had that serious, dry sort of humor at times. Not sure if he's like that off the forum. I had a nice PM conversation with him over at AVS right after Paramount went HD DVD exclusive during the format war.