SONY PICTURES IMAGEWORKS CONGRATULATES MONSTER HOUSE ON BEST ANIMATED MOVIE OSCAR NOMINATION®
Sony Pictures Imageworks congratulated MONSTER HOUSE, the family-friendly thriller from Columbia Pictures, on its Academy Award® nomination for best Animated Feature.
The movie was directed by Gil Kenan and executive produced by Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg and Jason Clark. The filmmakers relied on a specially-refined version of Imageworks' proprietary motion-capture process, Imagemotion, which provided a creative instrument with which they could record the live-action performances in richly detailed data upon which the animation is then based.
Additionally, one of the central goals of the MONSTER HOUSE was to anthropomorphize the house, to give it expression and breathe life into the inanimate bricks and mortar structure. Imageworks' talented artists hand-animated every aspect of this amazing central character, which on January 6th received a nomination from the Visual Effects Society for Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture.
The film also was recognized by ASIFA Hollywood with 7 Annie Award nominations, including Best Feature and Best Director for Gil Kenan.
MONSTER HOUSE is the second feature to use Imagemotion, following its debut on THE POLAR EXPRESS, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Imagemotion allows for simultaneously capturing the entirety of a performance, including detailed facial expressions and subtle body movements by multiple actors, which then can be integrated into CG characters. The process, which also is being used on Zemeckis' upcoming BEOWULF, retains all of the spontaneity and dynamic interactions of the live rendition.
Sony Pictures Imageworks was engaged because of its renowned expertise in the highly specialized work of creating photo-real CG characters and environments. The company rose to the exciting challenge by harnessing its unique combination of artistry, talent, pioneering digital production and top quality animation.
MONSTER HOUSE is an ImageMovers/Amblin Entertainment presented by Columbia Pictures. In addition to the Academy Award® announced today, it has received many other honors including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Film, 7 Annie Awards nominations including Best Animated Feature and Best Director Gil Kenan, and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards nomination for Best Animated Feature.
Sony Pictures Imageworks recently completed work on GHOST RIDER for director Mark Steven Johnson and currently is in production on such projects as SPIDER-MAN 3, SURF'S UP and BEOWULF.
