Former Digital Domain CEO & Auditors Sued For Fraud By … 
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The fallout from Digital Domain Media Group’s bankruptcy continues with investors in the troubled special effects and 3D conversion firm taking the former CEO, the company’s auditors and other executives to court for fraud. Having lost millions in the James Cameron-founded company just before it went under last September, Iroquois Master Fund and Kingsbrook Opportunities Master Fund late last week 
filed a six claim complaint (read it here) against John Textor, his wife Deborah, various DDMG directors and auditors SingerLewak LLP. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages as well as interest, legal fees and “such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.” The complaint in New York State Supreme Court alleges common law fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, negligent misrepresentations and omissions, negligence, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and civil conspiracy. READ MORE »
Former Digital Domain CEO & Auditors Sued For Fraud By Investors
‘Avatar’ Sequels To Include Underwater Performance Capture: NAB
Producer Jon Landau revealed today at the 2013 NAB Technology Summit on Cinema that Jim Cameron “will do performance capture in water” on the sequels to his 2009 Fox megahit. “We want to take advantage of the technologies brilliant people are putting out to make the next two movies even more emotionally engaging and visually tantalizing, and to really wrap up the story arc of our two main characters”, Landau said in his keynote chat today. The filmmakers are currently exploring technologies to allow for underwater capture of actors’ performances “because we can simulate it visually but can’t simulate it experientially for them”.
Read More »
James Cameron Donates Deepsea Challenger Sub To Help Advance Ocean Sciences
A year ago this week, James Cameron was seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface for the Deepsea Challenge. The unique research and exploration project took him to the bottom of the Challenger Deep — the … Read More »
James Cameron & Fox Denied Dismissal Of Latest ‘Avatar’ Lawsuit
James Cameron and Fox today did not get their request for a total dismissal of Bryant Moore’s $2.5 billion lawsuit claiming that Avatar was stolen from his scripts. The defendants did get some legal traction when federal Judge Roger W. Titus granted a motion Monday to dismiss the breach of implied contract claim in 
Moore’s 2011 suit. However, he did not dismiss Moore’s copyright claims in the hearing in the Southern District of Maryland over the 3D blockbuster. The ruling means the jury trial-requested case will go forward, with discovery to occur next during the next four to six months.
Moore sued the director, his Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation on December 19, 2011. The writer claimed that copies of his Aquatica and Descendants: The Pollination screenplays made their way to Cameron in 1993 and 1994 through Lightstorm production assistants. Though Moore says he was eventually told the company did not accept the submissions, he found “striking substantial similarities” between his scripts and 2009’s Avatar. Cameron has said in court filings that he had Avatar mapped out in a detailed scriptment before any such materials by Moore were submitted to his company. Moore is seeking $1.5 billion in profits and another $1 billion in punitive damages. Read More »
James Cameron Prevails In ‘Avatar’ Lawsuit
“Clear, undisputed evidence” reveals director James Cameron came up with the concept for Avatar, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in Los Angeles. Late last week, Judge Margaret Murrow granted (read the … Read More »
Showtime Orders Climate Change Docu Series Produced By James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub And Arnold Schwarzenegger
Showtime has ordered Years Of Living Dangerously, a documentary series which explores the human impact of climate change. It is executive produced by James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Emmy-winning 60 Minutes producers Joel … Read More »
James Cameron To Direct ‘The Informationist’ For Fox After ‘Avatar’ Films
James Cameron‘s company Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired film rights to the 2011 novel The Informationist by Taylor Stevens to put on Cameron’s to-direct list after he finishes the second and third Avatar sequels. Those are currently in preproduction. 20th Century Fox will release the film, which will be produced by Cameron and his Lightstorm partner Jon Landau, who will soon go out to writers for the adaptation.
The Informationist, which came out in October 2011, centers on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, an information specialist whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget. A second Munroe novel, The Innocent, was published this year. Read More »
MOGUL MEMES: Ron Meyer Makes First Public Statement About Exit Rumors
Ron Meyer turns 68 on Tuesday. So on the eve of his birthday, he finally made a public statement about the August rumors that he would be involuntarily or voluntarily exiting his job at Universal Studios soon. On a panel at the inaugural symposium of the … Read More »
James Cameron No-Show For Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger held his inaugural symposium of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy this afternoon. James Cameron was scheduled to attend but was a no-show – described as “on a creative roll” working on the script for the Avatar sequel – despite prior billing and decades working with Arnold on movies like The Terminator and True Lies. Universal Studios President/COO Ron Meyer joined the former Governor as well as Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chair Rob Friedman, Imagine Entertainment chairman Brian Grazer, and American Idol mentor/Interscope Records boss Jimmy Iovine on “The Power Of People and Innovation — Media/Hollywood Leader’s Perspectives” panel. Read More »
James Cameron, Fox Get ‘Avatar’ Copyright Suit Dismissed
The most successful movie of all time is not a rip off of a screenwriter’s unmade film and novel, the U.S. District court ruled today. “Bats And Butterflies is a children’s story with a simple protagonist,” said Judge Manuel Real, Monday in Los Angeles. “Avatar is a more complex story about a conflicted protagonist.” The judge went on to add that the two were “not substantially similar” to each other. Back in the beginning of the year, Elijah Schkeiban filed a copyright infringement suit against James Cameron, 20th Century Fox, the director’s Lightstorm Entertainment and production company Dune Entertainment claiming that 2009’s Avatar was based on his novel and subsequent film script. The two sides have been chipping away at it legally ever since with the defendants getting successfully getting two motions to dismiss and Schkeiban amending his complaint. Read More »
James Cameron, Ron Meyer, Rob Friedman Part Of Schwarzenegger Think Tank Debut
The former 
California governor has invited a few friends to the first symposium of his new USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which the university announced last month. An invite went out today for a September 24 event announcing that James Cameron, Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chair Rob Friedman, Imagine Entertainment chairman Brian Grazer and Interscope Records boss Jimmy Iovine will participate. Cameron, who helmed Schwarzenegger in the two Terminator films he starred in as well as in True Lies, will join Meyer, Friedman, Grazer, and Iovine on an afternoon panel titled “The Power Of People and Innovation — Media/Hollywood Leader’s Perspectives”. Read More »
Digital Domain Shares In Freefall As CEO Quits Amid Fight With Creditors
Weird things are happening at the James Cameron-founded company that’s responsible for special effects and 3D conversion on many Hollywood productions including Lionsgate’s Ender’s Game. Digital Domain‘s stock is down nearly 34% today to a piddling 65 cents a share and it announced in an SEC filing that CEO and chairman John Textor resigned “effective immediately” with no exit agreement or arrangement. Textor’s Wyndcrest Holdings led an investor group that bought Digital Domain in 2006. He told the board that he left because he’s “in profound disagreement” with the company’s decision to close its animation and visual effects studio in Port St. Lucie, Fla. “Our incredibly talented artists and filmmakers were building something truly special in Port St. Lucie, not just our favorite first film, The Legend Of Tembo, but also our first home, Tradition Studios.” By leaving he says he should have “greater flexibility to independently consider other strategic alternatives for the Company, the Port St. Lucie studio and the people affected.” Digital Domain says the cutbacks in Florida are part of “a strategic realignment that will enable it to focus its resources on its core business.” Studios in California and Vancouuver “intend to operate without interruption.” The board gave COO Ed Ulbrich the additional title of CEO of Digitial Domain Productions while Michael Katzenstein runs day-to-day operations. Katzenstein is is a senior managing director of FTI Consulting, and on August 29 was also named Digital Domain’s interim COO. Read More »
Hot Clip: Keanu Reeves, James Cameron Discuss Babies And 3D In ‘Side By Side’
Here is a clip from a pretty heady discussion between Keanu Reeves and James Cameron on the science behind 3D. It’s from Side By Side, a documentary narrated and produced by Reeves of the past and the … Read More »
James Cameron Forms 3D Technology Joint-Venture With Chinese Partners
James Cameron is the latest to jump on the China bandwagon announcing a joint-venture to offer 3D camera technology to Chinese filmmakers. The news comes as Cameron is in China attending a 3D film forum at Tianjin Polytechnic University. … Read More »
Hot Trailer: James Cameron’s ‘Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away’
Paramount‘s Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away has the scope of the group’s live performances covered thanks to the tech contributions of executive producer James Cameron and Vince Pace. Andrew Adamson directed the hybrid concert pic, which is set for a December 21 release.
National Geographic Orders Special About James Cameron’s Mariana Trench Dive
EXCLUSIVE: At its upfront presentation last month, National Geographic unveiled Deepsea Challenge, a 3-D feature documentary/special chronicling director James Cameron recent one-man dive last month to the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep, the ocean’s deepest point. Now the network has added a half-hour interview special with Cameron, James Cameron: Voyage to the Bottom of the Earth, which will premiere this Sunday at 9 PM. In the special, which incorporates CGI animation to illustrate the scale of the trip, Cameron recalls the highs and lows of the more than seven-year design phase of the spherical sub (called Deepsea Challenger). Read More »
Is James Cameron Investing In Asteroid Mining Project?
Director James Cameron, who just made history piloting a submersible 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific in the Mariana Trench, appears to have his sights on the opposite direction with investors who include Google cofounder Larry … Read More »
‘Hunger Games’ Passes $460M Global Box Office: #1 Domestic Again Through Easter; ‘American Reunion’ And ‘Titanic 3D’ Open Strong Overseas Where ‘Wrath Of Titans’ #1
April 6-8 Weekend Actuals
1. The Hunger Games (Lionsgate) Week 3 [4,137 Theaters] PG13
Friday $12.8M, Saturday $13.0M, Sunday $7.3M, Weekend $33.1M (-43%), Cume $302.5M2. American Reunion (Universal) NEW [3,192 Theaters] R
Friday $9.3M, Saturday $7.5M, Sunday $4.8M, Weekend $21.5M3. Titanic 3D (Paramount/Fox) NEW – Wednesday opening [2,674 Theaters] PG13
Friday $7.1M, Saturday $6.7M, Sunday $3.5M, Weekend $17.3M, Cume $25.6M4. Wrath Of The Titans 3D (Legendary/Warner) Week 2 [3,545 Theaters] PG13
Friday $5.4M, Saturday $5.7M, Sunday $3.7M, Weekend $14.7M (-56%), Cume $58.6M5. Mirror Mirror (Relativity) Week 2 [3,618 Theaters] PG
Friday $4.6M, Saturday $4M, Sunday $2.5M, Weekend $11.M (-39%), Cume $36.6M6. 21 Jump Street (MGM/Sony) Week 4 [3,009 Theaters] R
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $3.9M, Sunday $2.5M Weekend $10.0M (-33%), Cume $109.4M7. Dr Seuss’ The Lorax 3D (Universal) Week 6 [3,003 Theaters] PG
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $1.7M, Sunday $1.1M, Weekend $5.0M (-35%), Cume $198.2M8. Salmon Fishing In Yemen (CBS Films) Week 5 [524 Theaters] PG13
Friday $323K, Saturday $423K, Sunday $246K, Weekend $992K (-22%), Cume $4.7M9. Housefull 2 (Eros) NEW [121 Theaters] NR
FSS N/A Weekend $847K10. John Carter (Disney) Week 5 [1,015 Theaters] PG13
Friday $293K, Saturday $327K, Sunday $210K, Weekend $830K (-59%), Cume $68M
SUNDAY, 8TH UPDATE… Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games continues its 
amazing run for the third weekend in a row for a new worldwide total past $460M. This gives the box office behemoth a 17-day total through Easter Sunday of $157.1M international and $302.8M domestic. In the U.S. and Canada, it overwhelmed both box office rivals Paramount/Fox’s Titanic 3D and Universal’s American Reunion. But the pair showed strength overseas. This weekend, The Hunger Games grossed $33.5M domestic and $25.5M foreign where it has been trying to stave off an onslaught from Warner Bros’ recent 3D entry Wrath Of The Titans. After a disappointing domestic start, this sequel is dominating overseas: over the holiday weekend it dropped just -43% from its opener with a gross of $43M in 60 markets from 13,540 screens. The international cume to date is now $152.5M and Warner Bros declared Wrath Of The Titans “#1 internationally”. It opens in Japan April 21st.
R-rated American Reunion finished in 2nd place with only a so-so $21.5M domestic but did surprisingly well around the globe with $19.3M from the 28 territories where it opened. That’s now $40.8M worldwide for the modestly $50M budgeted fourquel which set the highest grossing opening weekend internationally of all the previous films released theatrically in the American Pie franchise. It posted #1 openings in Russia ($5.1M), Australia ($5M), Netherlands ($1.1M), and Norway ($1.1M). “With schools closed for vacation this week, the good results should continue,” a Universal insider tells me. “We still have 30 territories to open including the major markets Germany April 26, France May 2, and Italy, Spain and the UK May 4.” Domestically, exit poll data showed audiences were almost evenly split between males and females (51% vs 49%) but predominantly aged 25 years and older (61%) vs under 25 (39%). As for the future of the $1.1+ billion franchise with 3 films that made $650M worldwide and 4 direct-to-DVD titles, Universal will try to keep it going to satisfy the foreign appetite for this kind of crappy raunch.
James Cameron’s $18M 3D conversion of his ocean epic met domestic expectations and, according to Paramount, made $17.3M this weekend. Titanic 3D reached $25.7M for its first 5 days in release despite a marathon running time. IMAX had 9 of the top 10 locations for the film earning $2.0M in 79 theaters. Exit polls showed that the audience was 51% aged 25 and under vs 49% aged 25 and older as well as 60% female vs 40% male. Amid reports of sold-out shows, Fox said the first international numbers steamed to $35.5M from 5,579 screens in 53 markets (84 countries). “That’s a per screen average of more than $6,300 per screen! It’s a fantastic start,” a Fox exec emails me. “We needed a $30M opening weekend to be on pace to $100M for international (not including China), and we exceeded that estimate by 18%.” Despite half the daily show times of the top competitors, Titanic 3D grabbed the #1 market share position in the UK, Germany, Italy, Austria and Sweden, while in a tight struggle for #1 in Russia with fellow opener American Reunion. Titanic 3D was the #1 MPA title in France, Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland and #2 title overall in Holland, Belgium and Denmark. To illustrate how much the theatrical world has changed since the 1997/1998 release, the 2012 Russia opening weekend ($4.9M) is 97% of the lifetime theatrical result of what the original did in Russia in 1998 ($5.1M). China opens Tuesday, followed by the majority of Latin America (17 markets) including Mexico, Brazil and Argentina next weekend.
Here is the Top Ten this Easter Sunday:
1. The Hunger Games (Lionsgate) Week 3 [4,137 Theaters] PG13
Friday $12.9M, Saturday $13.1M, Weekend $33.5M (-60%), Cume $302.8M
International $157.1M, Worldwide Cume $460.0M
2. American Reunion (Universal) NEW [3,192 Theaters]
Friday $9.3M, Saturday $7.5M, Weekend $21.4M
International $19.3M, Worldwide Cume $40.8M
3. Titanic 3D (Paramount/Fox) NEW – Wednesday opening [2,674 Theaters]
Friday $7.1M, Saturday $6.6M, Weekend $17.3M, Cume $25.7M
International $35.5M, Worldwide Cume $52.8M
4. Wrath Of The Titans 3D (Legendary/Warner) Week 2 [3,545 Theaters] PG13
Friday $12.4M, Saturday $5.4M, Weekend $15.0M, Cume $58.8M
International $152.5M, Worldwide Cume $211.3M
5. Mirror Mirror (Relativity) Week 2 [3,618 Theaters] PG
Friday $4.5M, Saturday $3.9M, Weekend $11.M (-39%), Cume $36.4M
6. 21 Jump Street (MGM/Sony) Week 4 [3,009 Theaters] R
Friday $3.6M, Saturday $3.8M, Weekend $10.2M, Cume $109.5M
7. Dr Seuss’ The Lorax 3D (Universal) Week 6 [3,003 Theaters] PG
Friday $2.2M, Saturday $1.7M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $198.1M
8. Salmon Fishing In Yemen (CBS Films) Week 5 [524 Theaters] PG13
Friday $320K, Saturday $417K, Weekend $975K, Cume $4.6M
9. John Carter (Disney) Week 5 [1,015 Theaters] PG13
Friday $290K, Saturday $322K, Weekend $820K, Cume $67.9M
10. Safe House (Universal) Week 9 [482 Theaters] R
Friday $212K, Saturday $229K, Weekend $580K, Cume $124.7M
Read More »
James Cameron To Address 2012 NAB Show On ‘The Secrets Of Making 3D Profitable’
James Cameron will be addressing the 2012 NAB Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The session is titled, appropriately enough, “The Secrets of Making 3D Profitable”, on April 16th from 10:30 to 11:45 AM conducted by Cameron and Vincent Pace for their company Cameron | Pace Group (CPG). The decription of the session follows: Read More »
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