The record, 24 décembre 2003, Supplément 2

Weekly Guide to Arts & Entertainment INSIDE Using leftovers the right way see Page 2 INSIDE Author James Carville gets even see Page 2 in the Eastern Townships THE RECORD, December 24, - December 30, 2003 Small firm brought Lord of the Rings to life XYZ RGB will now work on new version of King Kong By Vito Pilieci A tiny Canadian high-tech firm that helped bring the Lord of the Rings to the big screen is also in the running to bring 20 characters from The Chronicles of Narnia to life, XYZ RGB, a six-person company in Ottawa, has also just started on director Peter Jackson’s $100-million US version of King Kong for Universal Studios, slated for release in 2005.And then there’s Halle Berry’s bust.To make a digital replica of the acclaimed actress, technicians at the company had to scan a cast of her legendary bust for a film version of the comic book villain Catwoman.“We were the first company to get a hold of the actual life-cast of Halle Berry” said XYZ RGB president Helmut Kungl.“When we scanned her life-cast, we even picked up the bra lines on her back from where she took her bra off.” The company used its technology, created by the National Research Council Canada in the early 1980s, to make digital models of massive four-tusked oliphants and the evil spider Shelob in Return of the King, ; the last instalment of the J.R.R.Tolkien Lord of the Rings trilogy.ogy to create the oliphants.So, XYZ RGB talked the studio into sending a piece of a Cave Troll from the first movie in the series so that one of its digital scans could be made.The rest is history.“When they showed the data, there were audible gasps,” Kungl said.“Ever since then they have been sold.They needed a level of detail that they just didn’t have previously.” The company’s work was so impressive on the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings, that the movie’s director, Peter Jackson, ensured that XYZ RGB was involved in rendering digital models for his upcoming remake of King Kong.Last year, Warner Bros., the studio behind The Matrix trilogy, used XYZ RGB to digitally sculpt models of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne and all other actors involved in the movie’s computer-generated world.“Our name is definitely getting out there, which is a big bonus,” Kungl said.XYZ RGB has placed a bid to help bring the magical characters of C.S.Lewis’s Narnia to life, in the upcoming movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which will be produced by New York’s Walden Media.The firm hopes to soon see models of characters such as Aslan the magical lion, Reepicheep the talking -mouse, Tumnus the fawn and ¦jb&7 other magical creatures pay ”a visit.—CanWestNews Service In the movie, oliphants, which stand several stories high, are used by evil ore armies to wage war on humans.Shelob is a giant spider that tries to kill the hobbit Frodo, thanks to nefarious Gollum.The creatures in the recently released film that captivate moviegoers were just clay figurines before being being digitally rendered by XYZ RGB.“They showed up in very large crates,” Kungl said.' 'The fact that they would send their most valuable piece halfway around the world to Ottawa when there are others who will d this says an awful lot.” XYZ RGB took digital scans of the models which ^ had n l n g \tech-nol- been flown to Ottawa from Weta Digital’s production labs in New Zealand.The oliphant sculptures were about three metres in length and stood about two metres high, while the model of Shelob was a little larger than a grapefruit.Using a laser to scan the object in paper-thin sections, XYZ RGB was able to copy and reproduce every crack, raised surface or flaw in the models.The digital scans are super-imposed on computer generated skeletons of the characters and used by producers to bring the imaginary creatures to life.XYZ RGB said it got in-lved with Lord of the Rings about a year ago after watching the second part f the trilogy, The Two Towers.The company said the phants, which audiences only saw in a brief scene, looked fake and clumsy.Kungl discovered that WETA Digital had been using out-of-date scan- Stroud • Stanstead’s Festival of Lights • Golden Rule Lodge Note: The Carrefour da wM be doeed December 2MK, January let A 2nd 1 .'00 p.m.to 1:00 p.m.Friday, December 26th: 1:00 weanesoay, uecemrer /«n: y:ju a.m.to b.uu p.m.Thursday, December 25th: CLOSED p.m.to 9:00 p.m.Saturday, December 27th: 9:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.Sunday, December 28th: 9:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.CARREFOUR DE L*ESTRIE page 2 December 24 - December 30, 2003 RECORD ====—=^— TALK James Carville’s own party of anger HID ENOUGH?JAMES A HANDBOOK Jt.tr NUItSAVM By Marc Nadeau Record Correspondent In a few days, 2004 will arrive.And during this year, Democrats will do everything to recapture the White House.They will articulate a vision, in an effort to attract people’s affection and support.James Carville is one of those who contributed to Bill Clinton’s victory in the 1992 presidential election.And he comes out with what his fellow Democrats should do to be victorious again.He’s back with a few good suggestions for his fellow Democrats, on how they could win the next presidential election.His most recent book, ‘Had Enough?’ is thus a highly partisan work.Objectivity not included.The author admits that “if George W.Bush walked on water, I’d be the guy out there yelling that the man can’t swim.” He also writes that “his two dogs could handle our foreign policy better than George W.Bush.” In a word, James Carville hates George W.Bush as president.Carville points out the many areas where he believes President George W.Bush is at fault.He also articulates what he believes should be the Democratic response to these shortcomings.But his book, which is a kind of political manifesto, is unfortunately as strident as manifestos can be.It’s a negative manifesto.For Carville, who preaches “Never just oppose, Always Propose,” it is ironic that he invests little effort proposing and much, destroying.If what he proposes was as lengthy as what he opposes, the book would have many more pages.The author’s arguments on homeland security, the economy, education and other areas of public policy certainly deserve to be read, but Carville’s writing reads like a monologue, very stern, without nuances.Everything can’t be that black and white.A little bit of objectivity could have helped Carville’s arguments.But the author is against the notion of “conceding that the other side has a point.” And, he attacks George W.Bush for being divisive.Reading Carville’s book - and despite the fact the author talks of the need for his fellow Democrats to be positive - one can’t avoid identifying one of the many problems afflicting the party of A1 Gore and Howard Dean.Anger stimulates Carville as much as it motivates hard-core Democrats.But this feeling is not sufficient to win a Presidential Election.If Carville followers want to win, they will have to reach out to “all of the people” as the famous strategist suggests.They also have to stand for something.That’s their first problem.The second is the fact that the 'Party of the People’, as Democrats like to be called, is deeply divided.On this one, Carville is lucid, asking: “You know the difference between a Democrat and a cannibal?Cannibals don’t eat their own.” One only needs to have a look at the actual race within the Democratic Party to realize how long it will take to heal this party.Unfortunately for James Carville, two things might well block the road to a Democratic victory he craves so much.First, Howard Dean - a divisive politician who bases his campaign on anger -will most probably gain the nomination of the party next summer.Second, James Carville won’t be his campaign manager.Had enough?Nope.James Carville fails to convince in his book that the Democrats are ready to occupy the White House.James Carville (with Jeff Nussbaum), Had Enough?A handbook for fighting back, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2003, 306 PAGES, ISBN 0-743 2-5575-5.Golden Rule Lodge donates to fire victims By Nancy Nourse Record Correspondent On Sunday, Nov.9, another one of Stanstead’s landmarks was damaged by fire.This particular building was originally known as the Stanstead Inn which dated back to the mid 1800s.Although most of the main structure was saved, four families were left homeless, able to salvage very little.A common practice for the Freemason Brotherhood (local branch -Gold- en Rule #5), they wanted to show their support for community residents.Thursday, Dec.20, Rt.W.Bro.Louis Barber (W.M.Master of Golden Rule #5), Bro.Grant Meyers (Treasurer) and Bro.Malcolm Molony (S.S.) were on hand to add a cheque to the fundraising effort at P.S.Pellerin.When Golden Rule Lodge #5 told the Grand Lodge of Quebec about their plans to donate $200 to these families, Grand Lodge of Quebec decided to match the amount for a grand total of $400.Stanstead is a town well-known for its community spirit and generosity towards those faced with adversity.This case was no exception.Boxes sprung up in several stores and centres to collect canned goods and non-perishables for the families affected by the fire.The employees of P.S.Pellerin decided to put a different twist on their desire to help out - they placed a box in the store to received donations of money that would be transferred into food vouchers and divided among the four families.This proved to be a much more successful idea than they ever expected.On Sunday, Dec.21, these unfortunate families received the equivalent of $850 worth of P.S.Pellerin vouchers for the purchase of food to make sure they still had a Merry Christmas (only stipulation — vouchers could not be used for alcohol or cigarettes).C» 4t I nc m r) III Vai III Inal SH0WTIMES EFFECTIVE DEC 26TH TO JAN.1ST RETOUR A COLD MOUNTAIN (I3Y) Fri-Tue 6 Thu: 12.15, 15:15, 18:15,2130 Wed, Dec.3L 12:15, 15:15, 1815 LE LUTIN (G) Everyday IMS LE SOURIRE DE MONA USA (G) Fri-Tue & ThU: 13:15, 1540, 1840,2140 Wed, Dec.31:13:15, 1540, 1840_________________ LOONEY TUNES: LÉS REVOILA! (G) Everyday.IL20 4 2 0 4, boul, Bertrand-Fabi MOVIG INFO 821-0999 J QUELQUE CHOSE D'INATTENDU (G) Fri-Tue & Thu.13:15, 1545, 18:35,21:25 Wed, Dec 3 h 13:15, 1545,1835 ANNIE BROCOLI DANS LES FONDS MARINS (G for chlldnn) Everyday: 11:30, 13:20 LE DERNIER SAMURAI (I3Y* vio Icncc) Fri-Tue & Thu: 15:15, 1815,21:30 Wed,Dec 31:1515, 1815 OR SEUS5 LE CHAT DANS LE CHAPEAU (G) Everyday: 11:15 uimui.galaxycinEmas.com LA PAYE Fri-Tue & Thu: 13:10, 1550, IB:50, 2145 Wed, Dec.31:13:10.1550 1850 MOINS CHER LA DOUZAINE (G) FrPTue & Thu: 11:30, 1340, 15:50 18:40, 21:35 Wed, Dec.3L 11:30 1340,15:50, 18:40 , NEZ ROUGE (G) Fri-Tue & Thu, i 1300, 16:00, 19:00,2L35 Wed, Dec.31 : 13:00, 1600, 19:00 PETER PAN (G) Fri-Tue 6 ThU: 12:30, 15:30, 1830,21.20 Wed.Dec.31 : 12:30, 15:30 18:30 BLIZZARD (FV) (G) Everyday: 11:25, 13:35 SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (G) Fri-Tue, 6 Thu: 1545, 1845, 21.35Wed, Dec.3L1545.1845 LE SEIGNEUR DES ANNEAUX III (G r Not PKommcnded for young dildrcn) NO PASS ACCEPTED Fri-Tue & Thu: 1145, 12:15, 1545, 16:15, 20:00, 20:30 Wed, Dec.31: 1145,1215, 1545, 1615 LORD OF THE RINGS 3 (G ?Not recommended tor young children) NO PASS ACCEPTED Fri-Tue & Thu: 12:30, 1700,21:10 Wed, Dec.31 : 1230 1700 Happy Holldayil Enjoy ttw Movlfsl i talk OF ’mv.T>wnships December 24 - December 30, 2003 page 3 Station Guide 6AM 6:30 7AM 7:30 8AM 8:30 9AM 9:30 10AM 10:30 11AM 11:30 rrm n News (CC) News (CC) Early Show Living It Up! With Ali & Jack Dr.Phil Price Is Right B News Today Live With Regis and Kelly John Walsh Show B CBC News: Morning (CC) (:08) Cyberchase Magic School Bus Poko (CC) (:41)Save-l)ms! Nanalan (CC) Clifford-Red Rolie Polie Olie Zoboomafoo Mr.Dressup Arthur (CC) ram B Salut, bonjour! Varied Programs Deux filles le matin (SC) Les Saisons de Ciodine (SC) Movie I’.T.liTi B News (CC) Good Morning America (CC) Live With Regis and Kelly Living It Up! With Ali & Jack The View B Tweenies (SC) (:40) Moi (SC) Matin express Varied Programs Movie Varied Programs t>i: