A new made-for-TV horror movie with effects from Grand Illusions will be airing on the Sci-Fi (or SyFy) channel this Sunday, then released direct to DVD. The movie starts Famke Jannse, Bobby Cannavale, and Ed Westwick and shows work from Grand Illusions who created the CG ghost that starts it the film, along with several other effects.
See more pictures of the movie, and the full press release, after the break.
NEW DEAL STUDIOS’ FIRST CO-PRODUCTION, “100 FEET,” PREMIERES ON SCI-FI CHANNEL
Marina Del Rey, CA – (April 23, 2009) – New Deal Studios’ first co-production, “100 Feet,” a thriller starring Famke Janssen, Bobby Cannavale and Ed Westwick premieres on the Sci-Fi Channel this Sunday April 26th, followed by an exclusive DVD release through Hollywood Video on Tuesday, April 28th. “100 Feet” is the first project to be released under the production shingle of New Deal Studios.
In “100 Feet” a woman, played by Famke Janssen, is put under house arrest for killing her abusive husband in self-defense. While confined to a 100′ perimeter in her house, she discovers that the house is haunted by the ghost of her dead husband.
Academy Award® winning producer, Jonathan Sanger and his partners at Grand Illusions, entrusted New Deal co-founder Matthew Gratzner to join the production team in the early stages of the film as visual effects supervisor and then co-producer because of his knowledge of all the visual effects tools, his talents as a director and keen business sense.
According to Sanger, “the highlight of working on “100 Feet” was the opportunity to work with Matthew Gratzner and the staff at New Deal Studios. Their understanding of the need to create a frightening CGI ghost, but one with characteristics of a “real” and palpable presence, made the central idea of the movie possible. Their inspirational work was characterized by their tireless experimentation, constant problem-solving and great grace under fire. It is no surprise that they are some of the premier visual-effects producers in the business and great producers, period.”
Gratzner traveled with the film crew to Hungary to supervise visual effects for the first unit photography. As post-production moved into full swing in Los Angeles, New Deal Studios’ digital division began work on the project and completed over 220 digital effects shots for the film in a short, eight-week period with an extremely tight budget.
Simultaneously, Gratzner worked tirelessly with the editor to re-cut the film, designed and shot several inserts, supervised the digital intermediate, title design, poster design and created a new sequence for the very last scene of the picture. Because Ms. Janssen was not available for the shoot, Gratzner’s challenge was to create an emotional ending for the picture with limited resources. His solution involved a mix of selective editing, shot design, carefully produced 2nd unit photography and digital compositing.
Building on 14 years of experience in design, visual effects and additional photography has earned New Deal a reputation for filmmaking, in addition to its stellar history of effects artistry.
New Deal remains dedicated to working on studio films such as The Dark Knight, Terminator Salvation, Night At The Museum 2 and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island. Its experience on larger studio projects has allowed New Deal to refine the film production workflow and evolve into a 21st Century Studio.
The continued evolution of New Deal has brought to fruition a goal from the inception of the company: to create its own films. The vision for New Deal Studios is to be the live action Pixar. New Deal is passionate about amazing story telling executed with unparalled creativity and production management.
About New Deal Studios:
New Deal Studios was founded in 1995 by Matthew Gratzner, Ian Hunter and Shannon Blake Gans. This artist owned and operated, independent company is housed in two buildings in the heart of the Marina Media District in Marina del Rey, California. NDS has developed over the years into a full-service production and visual effects studio unlike any in the world. NDS contributes to each project by using a diverse palette of artistic tools that range from the art department, workshop, production, to the digital department and DI suite. Creativity and solid management practices are the foundation upon which NDS has grown over the years and why all major studios continue to entrust NDS with high-profile projects such as Iron Man, Hancock, Batman: The Dark Knight and upcoming films Night At The Museum 2, Whiteout, 2012, Alice in Wonderland, Terminator: Salvation and Shutter Island.Also join our Facebook group or follow us on twitter @newdealstudios
# # #
