Leonardo DiCaprio will provide the voice of Jack Frost for DreamWorks’ Nov. 2 2012 3D CGI feature “The Guardians,” according to Thursday’s USA Today. It’s based on William Joyce’s book series “The Guardians of Childhood” and features Frost teaming with Santa, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy to oppose a spirt called Pitch.
Meanwhile, Sony chief exec Howard Stringer says “Spider-Man 4” will follow the path of this year’s big-budget action movies like “Star Trek” and “Transformers 2” and skip the 3D option, according to the Associated Press in an interview with Stringer at Sony HQ in Tokyo. Neither will any of Michael Jackson’s videos be released in 3D to help push new Sony 3D TVs, he said, noting that he expects one-half to one-third of all Sony TVs sold within three years to feature 3D components. The fate of the 3D elements of Jackson’s “This is It” remain unclear, though Stringer did say a 3D presentation of a possible “Men in Black” sequel could be in the offing.
Meanwhile, Disney just completed work on the 3D conversion of “Beauty and the Beast,” which looked stunning in preview footage shown to at the D23 Expo in September. But the company recently announced it is pushing the release back from its scheduled Feb. 12, 2010 debut to an as-yet undetermined date in 2011 to coincide with the film’s 20th anniversary.
— by Scott Hettrick