News
Production I.G, Fuji TV to Make Computer-Animated Film
posted on by Egan Loo
A Saturday article in the Sankei Sports newspaper reports that the Production I.G anime studio and Fuji TV network are producing a computer-animated film tentatively titled Hottarake no Shima - Haruka to Mahō no Kagami (The Abandoned Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror) for a theatrical release next summer. Shinsuke Satō, the director of the live-action film adaptation of the Sand Chronicles manga and the 2001 Princess Blade remake, is overseeing this family film about a girl who gets lost in a mysterious fantasy world.
Sankei Sports reports that I.G's staff of 200 have been developing, through trial and error over the past three years, a proprietary system that can take hand-drawn 2D drawings and turn them into 3D footage. The two Japanese companies hope to compete with Hollywood and aim for the Cannes Film Festival.
In July, Production I.G's parent company IG Port released materials with its latest financial report that stated I.G's plans to produce four theatrical works in the future. In addition to The Sky Crawlers film from Mamoru Oshii that was released in August, Production I.G has been working on a family-oriented modern fantasy film by director Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade). However, okiura's film has been employing traditional animators as opposed to 3D CG artists. Still, Production I.G's website had posted job listings in August for computer graphics artists and engineers on a unspecified "3D movie project."
Source: animeanime.jp
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