F/X Par's 'Core' issue
Studio pushes pic back to boost visuals
Helmed by Jon Amiel, "The Core" revolves around a group of "terranauts" hired by NASA who must travel deep underground after a change in temperature inside the Earth's core has caused the planet to stop rotating, creating a host of natural disasters that threaten life on the surface.
After recently screening the pic, studio brass decided to pony up more cash in order to allow the filmmakers to insert more CG visuals of the world's cities being destroyed by storms, earthquakes and other natural phenomenon, and to beef up shots of the film's scientists boring to the Earth's core.
That's good news for the group of smaller f/x houses, based in Los Angeles, Australia and Canada, hired to create the majority of the pic's primary f/x sequences, including CIS, CREO, Rising Sun Pictures and Frantic Films.
" 'The Core' is a huge film with exciting, innovative effects, and we always knew we were on a tight post-production schedule," said Rob Friedman, chief operating officer and vice-chairman of Par's Motion Picture Group. "In order not to compromise the quality of the effects, we have decided to give the filmmakers more time to perfect them. It's important to us to make the best film possible, not a release date."
Had "The Core" stayed on Nov. 1, it would have opened against Sony's action comedy "I Spy" and Disney's "The Santa Clause 2."
David Foster, Sean Bailey and Cooper Layne are producing the pic, which stars Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Bruce Greenwood, Delroy Lindo, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci and Alfre Woodard.
