Paramount Pictures announced it ended 2011 in the No. 1 position among all studios, having achieved the highest total combined gross of any studio for the year, earning a record $5.17 billion worldwide. The studio, which released a total of 16 new releases domestically this year, placed first in the North American market share with $1.96 billion, while also amassing record grosses at the international box office with $3.21 billion.

“This achievement reflects the combined efforts of our entire team across the globe and the careful process by which we select the projects and partners we believe in,” said Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey. “We produce pictures that aspire to entertain audiences around the world, while at the same time we have sought to find innovative ways to reach movie-goers in this changing entertainment environment.

“This year our studio reached some key milestones, including the release of three vibrant Paramount franchise pictures and our first original CGI animated film. Our studio had its first ever $1 billion worldwide grossing film in Michael Bay’s hit ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’; we successfully re-launched our ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise with Tom Cruise, JJ Abrams and Brad Bird; our latest installment in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise had another $100 million dollar success; our first original animated film ‘Rango,’ from director Gore Verbinski, earned rave reviews and more than $100 million at the domestic box office; and  we released global phenomenon ‘Super 8,’ directed by JJ Abrams, who will now direct the newest ‘Star Trek’ for 2013. We also benefited from our distribution partnerships with DreamWorks Animation and Marvel and I want to thank them both.”

“Film President Adam Goodman and his team in production and development, and Vice Chairman Rob Moore and his team in marketing and distribution, did outstanding work and truly delivered. As we prepare to celebrate Paramount’s 100th year in 2012, we are all grateful to be part of this wonderful institution as it continues to prosper,” added Grey.

In 2012, Paramount’s release slate highlights include ‘World War Z,’ a zombie thriller starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation,’ the next installment in the global franchise starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Channing Tatum, a new chapter in the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise, and ‘The Dictator,’ starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Larry Charles, the team behind ‘Borat.’

The 2011 box office results seen from the studio were built on a wide reaching range of titles, including the following (with current domestic grosses): ‘True Grit’ ($85 mil this year, $171.2 million total), Ivan Reitman’s ‘No Strings Attached’ ($70.7 mil), Jon Chu’s ‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’ ($73 mil), Gore Verbinski’s ‘Rango’  ($123.5 mil), Marvel Studio’s ‘Thor’ ($181 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ ($165.2 mil), JJ Abrams ‘Super 8’  ($127 mil), Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers:  Dark of the Moon’ ($352.4 mil), Marvel Studio’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’  ($176.7 mil), Craig Brewer’s ‘Footloose’ ($51.7 mil), the third installment in the hit ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise ($104 mil), DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Puss In Boots’ ($145.8 mil), Sundance prize-winner ‘Like Crazy’ ($3.4 mil), Martin Scorsese and GK Films’ ‘Hugo’ ($50.2 mil), Jason Reitman’s ‘Young Adult’ ($12.8 mil), Brad Bird’s ‘Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol’ ($142.8 mil) and Steven Spielberg’s ‘Tintin’ ($51.4 mil).

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Legend3D, the leading innovator in 2D-to-3D conversion technology, today announced that it closed on a $19 million Series E Preferred Stock offering, to further expand its leadership in 3D conversion. Secured proceeds will fund ongoing R&D efforts to enhance Legend3D’s proprietary 3D conversion pipeline, helping the company meet the swelling demand for 3D content while continuing to deliver the highest quality material at the most competitive pricing.

Additionally, the financing enables Legend3D to forge partnerships with content owners on 3D film and television projects, funding the 3D conversion in exchange for long-term revenue sharing participation in the 3D content. The financing was led by Northwater Capital Management, which makes strategic investments in intellectual property, and is joined by return investors PAR Investment Partners, L.P.; and Augustus Ventures Limited.

“Legend3D has redefined the art of 3D storytelling, allowing audiences to experience entertainment outside the boundaries of a ‘flat’ world,” said David Patterson, Chair and CEO of Northwater Capital Management. “With the recent success of films such as Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, 3D storytelling is primed to sweep audiences worldwide, making it increasingly critical that the technology behind-the-scenes offers today’s content creators a toolset without limits.

We eagerly await the conversion work that will come to fruition as a result of this commitment to Legend3D.” Legend3D uses a proprietary 2D-to-3D conversion process that combines skilled artistry with technology to enhance filmmakers’ storytelling, deepening their connections with audiences across the big screen and in home theaters worldwide.

The company’s proven conversion process, pipeline and methodology allow Legend3D to deliver incredibly complex scenes in the highest quality 3D—essentially indistinguishable from camera-captured 3D material. Of note, Legend3D’s unique, streamlined conversion process has been utilized to seamlessly match 3D converted scenes to live-action 3D shots for major Hollywood blockbusters such as Hugo, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Green Lantern and The Smurfs.

Dr. Barry Sandrew, founder, COO and CTO of Legend3D, commented, “As we strive to push the envelope for 3D storytelling beyond anything that the industry has experienced to date, our efforts are strengthened by the synergistic alignment with Northwater Capital, among other return investors.

With Northwater Capital’s proven track record in supporting innovation within the intellectual property space, this funding marks an incredible opportunity to further hone our 3D conversion pipeline and develop advanced 3D structures to benefit our industry partners. Marrying these proceeds to our talented team of stereographers will help us make the ‘impossible’ possible in a 3D world.”

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The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards), one of the industry’s most prized honors, will take place on January 29 in Los Angeles. The event is well known since it presents thirteen awards for acting in film and television. The awards focus on both individual performances as well as on the work of the entire ensemble of a drama series and comedy series, and the cast of a motion picture.

“The Help,” has scored a total of four nominations, an admired movie about race relations in the sixties that is based on a book by the same title from author, Kathryn Stockett. Viola Davis, who played maid Airbileen Clark, earned a leading role nomination. Other movies that have been given multiple nominations are sensation comedy Bridesmaids, The Artist and romantic comedy Midnight In Paris.

Nominees were announced on December 14, 2011 from the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.

The full list of nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Viola Davis (The Help)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Armie Hammer (J. Edgar)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight In Paris

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
X-Men: First Class

Tickets are not available to the general public, they are by invitation only. The cost of the tickets are $800 each, and there is a limit of 2 tickets per member. 

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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