Ilan Gabai, FX Technical Director of Rio 2, Talks Digital Wonders

Typically, the job of digital effects animator does not require previous experience working with live explosives. But it certainly looks good on a résumé.

Ilan Gabai, an effects technical director (FX TD) with Blue Sky Studios, can claim that experience. The 33-year-old grew up in Israel and served three years in his country’s defense forces where he handled grenades, mortars, and RPGs. “I got to blow up a lot of things during my training,”

Weekend Watch List: Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle & More

Just about everybody’s aware that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio are back with their fifth film together in their Wall Street bacchanal The Wolf of Wall Street. But Marty and Leo aren’t the only game in town. We take a quick look at what’s out in theaters this weekend as we wind down this incredible year in film.

 The Wolf of Wall Street

Based on the book by stockbroker and former cretin Jordan Belfort,

Video Featurette: Behind-the-Scenes With the Creators of Walking With Dinosaurs

Ever since June of 1993, audiences have grown to expect a lot out of their dinosaur movies. You can thank Steven Spielberg and Jurassic Park for turning audiences into very exacting judges of what does, and does not, look like a believable dinosaur on screen. Jurassic Park was a huge leap forward in what CGI can do for a film, but for dinosaur fans (which is just about everyone who was ever a child at one point),

Steve Coogan on his “Surprising” Serious Turn in Philomena

Steve Coogan is a major star in Britain, but his work in American films (2010’s remarkably funny The Trip and the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, among others) never made much of an impact. He first read about the real-life Philomena Lee in an article in The Guardian newspaper. He then optioned BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee,”

Janty Yates on Dressing Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender & the Cast of The Counselor

Academy Award winning costume designer Janty Yates is a fashion time traveler. In her last 12 films (eight of which were with director Ridley Scott), Yates has designed clothes (and armor, and flight suits, and period piece suits, and…) for characters in ancient Rome (Gladiator, which earned her an Oscar), World War II era Europe (Charlotte Gray), 12th century Jerusalem (Kingdom of Heaven), 1970s New York (American Gangster),

Could This Fall be the Best Film Season in Years?

There are major themes being explored in film in the coming months, in what looks to be a diverse and deeply challenging (in a good way) season of releases. Just going by the excitement of audiences at TIFF, there is reason to hope that we’re looking at one of the most quality-packed stretches in recent cinematic memory.

The plots are diverse, the casts are a mix of globally renown stars and newcomers, but the themes are universal.

The Internship: Bringing “Start Over” Comedies into the 21st Century

To celebrate the release of this weekend’s soon-to-be Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson classic, we’ve chosen ten of our favorite career-in-crisis comedies released since 1980. (Sorry Baby Boom, you were thisclose!)

1) Private Benjamin (1980), dir. Howard Zieff

The poor little rich girl-turned Army recruit comedy was co-written by Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated) specifically for Goldie Hawn,

500 Strong: The Joint Effort in Making 20th Century Fox’s Epic

How do you oversee the work of more than 500 people over the course of several years on a giant 3D animated film without losing your mind? Producer Jerry Davis of Blue Sky Studios, who helped shepherd the production of Twentieth Century Fox's Epic along with his producing partner Lori Forte, gives us the scoop.

Epic, which features characters inspired by William Joyce’s children’s book 

Earth Day Infographic: A Glance at the Six Studio’s Environmental Efforts

As we wrote earlier today, the film studios have long embraced the ethos espoused on Earth Day, working hard to not only raise awareness about environmental issues, but also to do their part to lower their carbon footprint.

Through technological advancements, key partnerships, and education, Hollywood is committed to advancing the cause of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Here's a glance at some of their efforts:

Click to enlarge

CinemaCon Showcase: Twentieth Century Fox’s Upcoming Film Releases

So we’ve gotten a peek at Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Sony Pictures upcoming slate of films during our time at CinemaCon.

Here’s a trailer roundup for you from Twentieth Century Fox, which includes a good cross section of animation, comedies, and big-time action blockbusters.

Epic (May 24)

This 3D animated adventure directed by Chris Wedge and based on William Joyce’s children’s book “The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs”