Film Industry News: Studio's consumer products unit taps exec to oversee growing slate

Fox expands live event biz

Studio's consumer products unit taps exec to oversee growing slate

By Marc Graser

Lombardo

Fox has big plans for live entertainment events based on its “Ice Age” pic franchise, particularly in overseas markets.

'The Simpsons' ride at Universal Studios in California.

Greg Lombardo has been tapped for a new role at Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products that will be key in turning the studio's franchises into theme park attractions and touring shows. Since Jeffrey Godsick became president of the division last October, the exec has focused heavily on brokering deals that get family films like "Ice Age," "Rio" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks," and more adult fare like "Titanic," "Aliens" and "Planet of the Apes," in front of audiences as live entertainment experiences. Lom-bardo, who has a deep background in the event biz, will serve as veep of location-based entertainment. In April, Fox teamed with Stage Entertainment to produce "Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure" as a live arena show that bows Nov. 2 at London's Wembley Arena before going on its five-year tour. This summer, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs -- The 4-D Experience" launched from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. Company also has "The Simpsons Ride" at Universal's theme parks, and is prepping an "Avatar"-themed park for Disney's "Animal Kingdom" park in Orlando. Lombardo will now oversee similar deals around the world, spearheading the sales efforts for branded experiences based on Fox's film and TV shows, especially in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Fox considers the deals as building blocks for growing franchises. "The goal for being more aggressive in location-based entertainment offers our audiences around the world further immersion into our brands," Godsick said. "This will be key in building these properties into true franchises." Godsick cited "Ice Age" as a year-round franchise, with movies, a TV special, live show, Imax experience and attractions at three amusement parks in Italy, Germany and the U.K. housed in themed areas, complete with photo ops with characters and branded rooms in area hotels. Studio is introducing four new characters in the arena show and putting established characters in a new story. Lombardo has spent the last five years as creative director for BRC Imagination Arts, a company that developed branded attractions for General Motors, Pepsi, Bacardi and Hyundai. He also served as the creative director, writer and producer for the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010. Earlier in his career, he served as artistic director for New York's National Shakespeare Co. Fox was attracted to Lombardo given his experience working with Chinese brands China Mobile, Evergrande and Zoomlion as the studio looks to increase its franchises' presence in the region, especially for "Ice Age." Studio also aims to boost its characters in Malaysia, South Korea, Brazil, UAE, Turkey and Russia. "This is a fantastic time to be at Fox," said Lombardo. "These are globally embraced and incredibly relevant properties and I look forward to pursuing new and exciting ways to bring them to life." Even before TV advertising begins in London and Germany, Fox already has sold more than 59,000 tickets to "Ice Age Live!" Lombardo will next look at turning several other Fox properties into arena shows and Broadway stage productions.

Camera Shots

Close-up

Allows the audience to see the object close up and all miniscule details.

Birds-eye view

Allows the audience to see the shot from the 'top'. Gives the audience a superior feeling towards the mug.

High view

We can see the mug from a slightly higher view.

The Rule of Thirds



 In this shot Rag'e is in the middle of the shot.

In this shot Rag'e is in the side of the shot. We pay attention to him more here because he is not right in the centre, making him more important in our view.

Film Industry News: House At The End Of The Street

House At The End Of The Street

21 September, 2012 | By John Hazelton

Dir: Mark Tonderai. US. 2012. 101mins

In her first release since the massive success of The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence adds a modicum of dramatic interest to twisty but not very effective thriller House At The End Of the Street. The young Oscar nominee’s presence should boost the youth audience for this uneasy mix of psychological suspense and horror action but the broader audience may choose to wait for Lawrence’s appearance in buzzed-about November openerSilver Linings Playbook. 

The big plot twists and the woman-in-peril action come in a third act that ups the energy level but feels awkwardly paced. 

Going wide in the US on Sept 21 through Relativity’s Rogue Pictures,House will need to capitalise quickly on Lawrence’s growing reputation. International independents that have bought the film from producer FilmNation may find it harder to take advantage of the casting given thatHunger Games was less of a hit outside the US.

Lawrence - who got this part before she secured herHunger Games role - plays Elissa, a bright high schooler who moves into a new house with her divorced mother (Leaving Las Vegas’ Elisabeth Shue). Rent on the spacious property is manageable because a few years earlier a married couple was murdered in a neighbouring house, leading to rumours of a scary presence in the surrounding woods and social rejection for the couple’s surviving son Ryan (Max Thieriot, from Jumper).

Elissa is drawn to the moody Ryan but what seems at first like a budding romance eventually leads to a psycho killer showdown.

Director Mark Tonderai, a former UK radio DJ who made his feature debut with 2008 British thriller Hush, sets the story up with some style and takes time to introduce subplots involving Elissa’s relationships with her mother and new classmates.

But Elissa and Ryan make a dull, talky couple and the suspense is spread too thin to keep the first two acts interesting. The big plot twists and the woman-in-peril action come in a third act that ups the energy level but feels awkwardly paced.