Dec 20, 2024
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Image Movers’ Final Move
by Lisa Gale Garrigues and Karl Cohen
A Landscaping Woodpile and the space-aged Hangar 7, where the magic happened. photo CineSourceThe sun shining on the outdoor deck at Cafe Joel in Novato on a beautiful spring day wasn't enough to brighten the mood. Slightly suspicious groups of Image Movers Digital employees sat around wooden tables munching on sandwiches and salads. Only a few days before, they had been informed that Disney was laying them all off and closing the lauded production studio, which specialized in 3D performance capture animation, and created "Cast Away," "Matchstick Men," "Monster House," "What Lies Beneath," "The Polar Express," and "Beowulf."
The news hit the press on March 12 and careened through the Internet like a 3D ping-pong ball gone haywire. Sadly, it came just after those employees had worked their hot cross buns off on "A Christmas Carol," the dazzling but perhaps too scary-for-kids and costly feature, starring Jim Carrey and directed by Image Movers founder Robert Zemeckis.
"A Christmas Carol," which cost 200 million dollars to make, opened in December to mixed reviews and brought in $31 million on its first weekend, falling short of the $45 million expected by the Walt Disney Company. Although it grossed $350 million worldwide, as of this writing, it probably hasn't quite broken even yet, since publicity costs often equal production fees. Nevertheless, the film will be brought back every Christmas over the next decade or two, meaning it will probably be quite profitable in the long run.
One reality of today's Hollywood blockbusters is that success isn't based on originality or quality, but on the marketing ability of the studio and distributor. Production cost versus box office gross is what really counts.
Producer/writer/director Robert Zemeckis, who revolutionized animated films in 1998 by mixing real characters with 'toons in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," started Image Movers with Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey the year before. The Walt Disney Company bought it 2007, adding the word Digital, but retained Zemeckis, as they are again. Indeed, he will stay on with some top staff.
Image Movers Digital will continue work into early 2011 on "Mars Needs Moms," a screenplay based on a book by Berkeley Breathed, who created the successful comic strips "Bloom County" and "Opus," with a March 2011 release planned. They were also negotiating with Disney on a 3D remake or sequel to "Yellow Submarine" (Beatles, 1968), a sequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" There was talk in the trades of a feature version of "The Nutcracker;" some of which will continue, albeit through contract or offshore work.
The human resources folks at Image Movers Digital are doing their best to meet with each employee to let them know how long they have before they need to clear their desks, or whether they might be a part of the new longterm production deal that Disney is still negotiating with Zemeckis and associates, which could start with the new "Yellow Submarine."
Both Zemeckis and Alan Bergman, the president of Disney Studios, had nothing but the highest praise for the Novato folks and the work they had done on "A Christmas Carol."
Fears of Big CInema's Reach worry these Image Mover Digital creative types - even though they've already been fired. photo CineSource"I'm incredibly proud of the talented team that we assembled at IMD and the fantastic work they have accomplished," said Zemeckis.
"Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state-of-the-art studio and produced an amazing film, 'A Christmas Carol,' at a time when the dynamics of the industry were rapidly changing," said Bergman. "But, given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model."
The Hollywood Reporter suggested that 'the alternative ways' for Disney might include outsourcing the motion capture work that Image Movers specialized in to cheaper places like Vancouver and India. But a spokesperson for Disney said the company had no plans to send mo-cap [motion capture] or special effects work outside the country. He did not elaborate on what alternative economic models Disney might be considering at this time.
The reaction of the Image Movers employees at Cafe Joel, many of whom were only willing to speak off the record, was mixed.
"It was a shock to a lot of people," said digital trainer Dan Sukiennik, who was recently hired for what he thought was a permanent fulltime job. "Now I'm a contract worker," he said.
At another table, a group of soon-to-be laid-off employees discussed their reactions and future plans.
"Many of us feel betrayed," said one, although most blamed the general economy and recent industry trends. "Employees are being phased out in favor of contract workers," said another. "The trend now in the industry is to hire young people right out of college, pay them little, work them hard, and turn them over,"
Some felt the advent of the Internet was hurting the Big Movie industry the same way it had scalded Big Music. "They're just grasping at straws with 3D," said a third laid-off employee.
"I'm considering a career change and may get out of this industry all together," grumbled his co-worker.
A silver-haired middle-aged man was more optimistic. "When I first got out of art school, there were no jobs in this industry at all. Now there are." He said he was confident he would find his another job in his field.
At the next table, a woman who is close to Image Movers' vice president Doug Chiang said the closure was "very emotional" for everyone involved. "We're like a family," she said.
In fact, Image Movers Digital had cultivated a reputation as a collaborative, employee-friendly organization, advertising musical entertainment at lunch and highlighting the creative talents of its employees, even organizing art show of their workd called CounterPoint earlier this year.
When Image Movers moved into Hangars 7 and 9 of the renovated air force base Hamilton Field in 2007, the local community had high hopes for the creativity and business it would bring to the area. Now, like the 450 employees affected by the closure, businesses that relied on Image Movers Digital for their daily bread are having to re-invent themselves.
Cast Away, with Tom Hanks, 2006, was supposedly risky - for focusing on one man in one setting - but it garnered the best reviews, on the Rotten Tomatoes review site, of any Image Mover movie. Photo courtesy ImageMovers"We're very sad for very many reasons," said Karen Brorby, owner of Cafe Joel, which not only feeds Image Movers Digital employees at lunch but had catered their special events. "We've made a lot of friends and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous set-up there." Brorby found out about the closure when an event she had been scheduled to cater was abruptly cancelled.
"It's going to be a really challenging time. That's where you go, you know, what else can I do? And that's what we're doing." Brorby continued. "The next horizon for us is going to be reaching the community. We're thinking about being a burger and malt shop."
The closure of Image Movers Digital may come as no surprise considering several medium sized Bay Area animation companies closed in the last year: W!LDBRAIN, The Orphanage, and Giant Killer Robots, while Electronic Arts has cut back their worldwide work force by about 25%. But, thanks to the success of "Avatar," performance capture will become an increasingly important part of film production and the IMD folks should be able to find work - albeit probably not in the Bay Area - unless, of course, some scrappy upstart pulls out a great script as well as some investors. The team is already in place. Posted on Apr 03, 2010 - 05:51 PM
by Lisa Gale Garrigues and Karl Cohen
A Landscaping Woodpile and the space-aged Hangar 7, where the magic happened. photo CineSourceThe news hit the press on March 12 and careened through the Internet like a 3D ping-pong ball gone haywire. Sadly, it came just after those employees had worked their hot cross buns off on "A Christmas Carol," the dazzling but perhaps too scary-for-kids and costly feature, starring Jim Carrey and directed by Image Movers founder Robert Zemeckis.
"A Christmas Carol," which cost 200 million dollars to make, opened in December to mixed reviews and brought in $31 million on its first weekend, falling short of the $45 million expected by the Walt Disney Company. Although it grossed $350 million worldwide, as of this writing, it probably hasn't quite broken even yet, since publicity costs often equal production fees. Nevertheless, the film will be brought back every Christmas over the next decade or two, meaning it will probably be quite profitable in the long run.
One reality of today's Hollywood blockbusters is that success isn't based on originality or quality, but on the marketing ability of the studio and distributor. Production cost versus box office gross is what really counts.
Producer/writer/director Robert Zemeckis, who revolutionized animated films in 1998 by mixing real characters with 'toons in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," started Image Movers with Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey the year before. The Walt Disney Company bought it 2007, adding the word Digital, but retained Zemeckis, as they are again. Indeed, he will stay on with some top staff.
Image Movers Digital will continue work into early 2011 on "Mars Needs Moms," a screenplay based on a book by Berkeley Breathed, who created the successful comic strips "Bloom County" and "Opus," with a March 2011 release planned. They were also negotiating with Disney on a 3D remake or sequel to "Yellow Submarine" (Beatles, 1968), a sequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" There was talk in the trades of a feature version of "The Nutcracker;" some of which will continue, albeit through contract or offshore work.
The human resources folks at Image Movers Digital are doing their best to meet with each employee to let them know how long they have before they need to clear their desks, or whether they might be a part of the new longterm production deal that Disney is still negotiating with Zemeckis and associates, which could start with the new "Yellow Submarine."
Both Zemeckis and Alan Bergman, the president of Disney Studios, had nothing but the highest praise for the Novato folks and the work they had done on "A Christmas Carol."
Fears of Big CInema's Reach worry these Image Mover Digital creative types - even though they've already been fired. photo CineSource"Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state-of-the-art studio and produced an amazing film, 'A Christmas Carol,' at a time when the dynamics of the industry were rapidly changing," said Bergman. "But, given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model."
The Hollywood Reporter suggested that 'the alternative ways' for Disney might include outsourcing the motion capture work that Image Movers specialized in to cheaper places like Vancouver and India. But a spokesperson for Disney said the company had no plans to send mo-cap [motion capture] or special effects work outside the country. He did not elaborate on what alternative economic models Disney might be considering at this time.
The reaction of the Image Movers employees at Cafe Joel, many of whom were only willing to speak off the record, was mixed.
"It was a shock to a lot of people," said digital trainer Dan Sukiennik, who was recently hired for what he thought was a permanent fulltime job. "Now I'm a contract worker," he said.
At another table, a group of soon-to-be laid-off employees discussed their reactions and future plans.
"Many of us feel betrayed," said one, although most blamed the general economy and recent industry trends. "Employees are being phased out in favor of contract workers," said another. "The trend now in the industry is to hire young people right out of college, pay them little, work them hard, and turn them over,"
Some felt the advent of the Internet was hurting the Big Movie industry the same way it had scalded Big Music. "They're just grasping at straws with 3D," said a third laid-off employee.
"I'm considering a career change and may get out of this industry all together," grumbled his co-worker.
A silver-haired middle-aged man was more optimistic. "When I first got out of art school, there were no jobs in this industry at all. Now there are." He said he was confident he would find his another job in his field.
At the next table, a woman who is close to Image Movers' vice president Doug Chiang said the closure was "very emotional" for everyone involved. "We're like a family," she said.
In fact, Image Movers Digital had cultivated a reputation as a collaborative, employee-friendly organization, advertising musical entertainment at lunch and highlighting the creative talents of its employees, even organizing art show of their workd called CounterPoint earlier this year.
When Image Movers moved into Hangars 7 and 9 of the renovated air force base Hamilton Field in 2007, the local community had high hopes for the creativity and business it would bring to the area. Now, like the 450 employees affected by the closure, businesses that relied on Image Movers Digital for their daily bread are having to re-invent themselves.
Cast Away, with Tom Hanks, 2006, was supposedly risky - for focusing on one man in one setting - but it garnered the best reviews, on the Rotten Tomatoes review site, of any Image Mover movie. Photo courtesy ImageMovers"It's going to be a really challenging time. That's where you go, you know, what else can I do? And that's what we're doing." Brorby continued. "The next horizon for us is going to be reaching the community. We're thinking about being a burger and malt shop."
The closure of Image Movers Digital may come as no surprise considering several medium sized Bay Area animation companies closed in the last year: W!LDBRAIN, The Orphanage, and Giant Killer Robots, while Electronic Arts has cut back their worldwide work force by about 25%. But, thanks to the success of "Avatar," performance capture will become an increasingly important part of film production and the IMD folks should be able to find work - albeit probably not in the Bay Area - unless, of course, some scrappy upstart pulls out a great script as well as some investors. The team is already in place. Posted on Apr 03, 2010 - 05:51 PM
