Joe Letteri, visual effects supervisor on 'King Kong', will be among several high-profile guests speaking at The Tate Modern as part of a series of lectures on digital art taking place in September and October 2006. Hosted by Supernatural Studios and sponsored by Autodesk and Escape Studios, the lectures will examine the development of visual effects and computer animation over the last 20 years and explore their future potential. [More]

Academy Award® winner Joe Letteri and Weta Digital have signed on to create visual effects, creatures and digital environments for James Cameron's much-anticipated and innovative new motion picture, Avatar. "Weta has proven themselves a leader in visionary effects, especially in the area of performance capture based character animation, which is a big part of my new film," says writer/director James Cameron. Cameron continues "Along with their world-class capability comes a genuine passion to blaze new trails and to entertain a global audience with groundbreaking techniques. I'm really looking forward to the collaboration with Joe and his team." Academy Award® winning producer Jon Landau adds "Weta has an incredible depth of creative talent that has continually proven their ability to create technological innovations that allow filmmakers to tell stories which could not otherwise be told. They have the unique ability to seamlessly integrate these technologies into the movie in ways that the audience never questions the reality of the cinematic presentation. We look forward to pushing Joe and his team even further down the road of photorealistic visual effects." [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out 'V for Vendetta: Two-Disc Special Edition' starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Star Trek Fans voted online for their favorite Klingon episodes form the Star Trek television series, the result is 'Star Trek Fan Collective - Klingon' & 'Good Night and Good Luck' in HD DVD. [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out 'Final Destination 3: Thrill Ride Edition', silly comdey 'The Benchwarmers', and a film called 'Scorpius Gigantus', this B-movie is about a giant scorpion on the rampage! [More]

Another of Belfast-born writer CS Lewis's works could be in for the Hollywood treatment following the runaway success of 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. The production team that brought us the vibrant world of Narnia is already working on sequel Prince Caspian - but Lewis's vision of hell could also be on the way to the silver screen. The Screwtape Letters, which portrays hell as the province of bureaucratic demons called Tempters, is in stark contrast to the child-friendly world of Narnia, with its giants and talking animals. Ralph Winter, who produced X-Men and Planet of the Apes, has already confirmed that he is trying to develop a movie based on the novel - a series of letters written by mid-level demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood. [More]

Judging from the large crowd on opening night of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there are a lot of Narnia enthusiasts in the Bluegrass. So it makes sense for the Lexington Shakespeare Festival to cater to this audience. But fans of the C.S. Lewis children's classics should go to the Arboretum expecting only a glimmer of the characters and fantasy the author spins out in the Chronicles of Narnia series. The primary difficulty facing this production is an inadequate script, a toothless adaptation that seems more like a storyboard of the basic moments in the book. Most of the first act is spent introducing myriad characters who explain the plot rather than enact it, and the show ends with a couple of the most anticlimactic scenes ever composed for the stage. [More]

A ton of interesting new films are out on DVD this week. Take an early look on our 'DVD Tuesday' feature...every Monday! Check out 'Carnivŕle: The Complete Second Season', The South African drama 'Tsotsi' and a film no one has heard of, yet has some major stars in it, 'Edison Force'. [More]

From Garfeimao & the folks at WETA: Weta will be out in force (at San Diego Comic Con) showcasing it's dynamic Superman Returns collectibles and unveiling the first of our new Hellgate: London statues, based on Flagship Studios' hotly anticipated new video game. Comic Con will also be your very first chance to view the amazing new Weta Originals. The Weta Originals are like nothing you've seen before. Not to be missed! At the stand will be Weta Originals creator and Weta Workshop designer, Greg Broadmore. Greg designed armour, weaponry and creatures for King Kong and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He will be at Comic Con every day, as will our impressive Kong and Narnia collectibles, so come and meet him and be the first in the world to see his incredible new pieces of art. [More]

Tori Brown had to learn how to speak with a British accent and think like an animal to transform into her character for Sol Children's Theatre Group's production of Narnia. "It was difficult. I'm not talking like I am day to day. And I had to transform my body and thoughts to become an animal," said Brown, who will play Ms. Beaver in Narnia. However, Brown wasn't alone. The 15-year-old will be among the cast of 14 from Sol Children's Theatre to perform the blockbuster hit Narnia July 28 and July 29 at 7 p.m. at the Olympic Heights High School Theatre. [More]