Disney Shutting Down Robert Zemekis’ ImageMovers Digital Next Year
Big news today and not a great one. Robert Zemekis’ ImageMovers Digital, the motion capture studio that brought you ‘The Polar Express’, ‘Beowulf’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ is now closing its doors very soon. LA Times reports that after post-production on its latest ‘Mars Needs Moms’ is finished, up to 450 employees will be let [...]
Big news today and not a great one. Robert Zemekis’ ImageMovers Digital, the motion capture studio that brought you ‘The Polar Express’, ‘Beowulf’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ is now closing its doors very soon.
LA Times reports that after post-production on its latest ‘Mars Needs Moms’ is finished, up to 450 employees will be let go as operations will wind down. The reason? Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman sums it up here:
“Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state of the art studio and produced an amazing film, A Christmas Carol, at a time when the dynamics of the industry are rapidly changing. But, given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.”
In other words, their last two films had disappointing returns. Beowulf flopped domestically (although it was a great film) while ‘A Christmas Carol’ hardly broke even. You don’t get more chances in Hollywood. It’s too bad for motion capture though – it was a big studio and produced tentpoles every year.
Full press release below.
BURBANK, Calif. – March 12, 2010 – The Walt Disney Studios and ImageMovers Digital (IMD) today announced that they will close operations at IMD’s Marin County facility after production is completed on Mars Needs Moms. The IMD facility is expected to be closed by January, 2011.
“Bob and the entire IMD team successfully built a state of the art studio and produced an amazing film, A Christmas Carol, at a time when the dynamics of the industry are rapidly changing,” said Alan Bergman, President of The Walt Disney Studios. “But, given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.”
“I’m incredibly proud of the talented team that we assembled at IMD and the fantastic work they have accomplished,” said Robert Zemeckis, one of the co-founders of ImageMovers Digital. “Their pride and dedication to making quality movies is evident in everything we have produced.”
The Studio is hoping to create a new long-term production deal with Zemeckis and his IMD partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, which will include the continued development of the Yellow Submarine project.
