Digital Domain Buy-Out

[Alan Lasky]

What does everyone think of the news that VFX facility Digital Domain was bought on Monday by "PEARL HARBOR" director Michael Bay?

 

from the press release:

 

"An investment group including helmer Michael Bay and

former NFL star Dan Marino has purchased visual

effects house Digital Domain.

 

The purchaser of record is Wyndcrest Holdings, whose

principals are Bay, Marino, former Microsoft executive

Carl Stork, former Sims Snowboards chair John C.

Textor, and Jonathan Teaford, formerly of GE Capital

Services."

 

Wow, that's a dream team. I guess Michael Bay needed his own facility for "TRANSFORMERS." I see the acid-tongued devils are already at work on the web:

 

"In related news, Abel Ferrara, United States Senator Diane Feinstein,

and Ollie of "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" fame will be initiating a hostile

takeover of the Post Group, following their successful acquisition of the

Denny's onthe corner of Sunset and Gower."

 

:o

 

Alan Lasky

DALSA Digital Cinema

[Wendell_Greene]

"Rapidly evolving digital visual effects technology is going to allow motion picture directors to tell even more compelling and visually stunning stories in the future, and we believe that Digital Domain is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these new technologies, as well as new distribution channels and platforms.? - Director Michael Bay as quoted in the press release about the purchase of Digital Domain

 

 

I believe the acquistion of DD by Wyndcrest Holdings and Michael Bay is a good thing. Bay's philosphy on the future of VFX are going is very much in line with the view DD Senior VP Ed Ulbrich expressed to me when I interviewed him last year:

 

"David Fincher is directing a feature film, ?Zodiac? that is going to be very exciting. It?s going to be the first all digital movie- well, of course, there are the Star Wars sequels, but ?Zodiac? will be the first in that it?s a live action story, a live action movie. People will watch that film without having any awareness, nor should they have any, of what went into it. Meanwhile, it is jammed packed with what I call digital production. There will entirely CG scenes in the film that no one will know because this is not about blowing things up, or aliens or stunts, it?s just storytelling. And so on that level I think it?s incredibly exciting as a project because it?s a new way of making movies. It?s a new way of making big movies for substantially less money. And when we start to see that, we?re going to watch that trickle through to all of us who make images"

 

 

 

You can read the rest of the interview here:

 

Interview with Ed Ulbrich, Senior VO of Digital Domain

[Ellen D. McCarn]

But, as of now, ILM is doing the VFX (according to a friend who works at there and as listed on IMDB). Crazy, huh?