The film reveals a unique culture, a history full of adventure, an environment of extreme challenges, a people of strong faith, and a chance for a film to bridge cultures and reduce misunderstanding between peoples.

It is set for release in February 2010 to IMAX and other Giant Screen theaters.

BMZ Film Page >>

To celebrate the launch of The Polar Express 3D, which is sponsored by Grand Canyon Railway’s presentation of The Polar Express™, the theater will host a pajama party complete with cookies and hot chocolate on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Families are invited to wear their pajamas to enjoy the season’s first screening of this holiday classic. Just like in the film, each child attending the pajama party will receive his or her own bell. Attendees will also be entered into a drawing to win Polar Express-themed prizes.

Based on the classic Caldecott award-winning children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg, Polar Express 3D is directed by Oscar® winner Robert Zemeckis and stars two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks. Using state-of-the-art CGI and stop-motion photography to create a unique blend of realism and fantasy, it tells the tale of a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole that shows him the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

The Polar Express 3D will be offered at IMAX Theatre Arizona Mills once a day from Nov. 21 through Nov. 25. Beginning on Thanksgiving Day through the end of the year, the film will be offered at regular scheduled show times. A special Polar Express concession package featuring a cookie, chocolate milk and a bell will be available at the concession stand for $4.50. Guests who wear pajamas to the film will receive a coupon good for $.50 off the Polar Express concession package.

Also opening on Thanksgiving Day is Santa vs. the Snowman 3D – the first ever IMAX animated holiday feature. In the film, tradition is turned on its head when an innocent and lovable Snowman discovers Santa’s Village and reaches in the workshop window to pick up a shiny, new flute. What ensues is an all-out, riotous battle for Christmas, with the Snowman and his minions squaring off against Santa and his elf army for the rights to the worldwide gift delivery franchise of the jolly man in red. Combining the off-the-wall humor of Steve Oedekerk, the Academy Award® nominated creator/producer of Jimmy Neutron with the Academy Award® winning IMAX technology results in a film as funny as it is visually stunning.

Special engagement admission prices apply for Polar Express 3D: adult, $14.50; senior, $12.50; child, $11.50 (children 12 and under; children under two are free when sitting on an adult’s lap).
The cost for Santa vs, the Snowman is: adult, $9.75, senior, $8.75; child, $7.75 (children 12 and under; children under two are free when sitting on an adult’s lap). Or, with a paid ticket to Polar Express 3D, guests can purchase a ticket to Santa vs. the Snowman for only $5 per person!

Press Release >>

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services upgraded its junk ratings on Imax Corp. (IMAX, IMX.T), saying the Canada-based film-projection and sound-system maker is lowering its financial risk by reducing debt that matures next year.

You’ll need to be a WSJ subscriber to read the full article:

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UPDATE: More positive news on IMAX stock from around the web:

StreetInsider.com: JANCO Partners Initiates Coverage on IMAX Corp (IMAX) with a Buy; Upside Margin Leverage, Studios/Exhibitors Win

The eye-popping effects of Hollywood movies will begin appearing next month on a new IMAX screen set to open in the AMC theater inside Quail Springs Mall.

One of the theater’s 24 auditoriums was converted to an IMAX theater, complete with a larger, curved screen, and the latest sound system and digital projector.

“The idea is that you feel like you’re in the movie, not only with immersive images but with incredibly powerful and immersive sound,” said Jackson Myers, IMAX spokesman.

The auditorium will be operational and showing “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” starting Friday; the grand opening, set for Dec. 18, coincides with the opening of “Avatar.”

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UPDATE 1: More on this from The Oklahoman:

“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” will be the first film shown, in 3-D, on the new IMAX screen today.

The official grand opening of the IMAX screen will be Dec. 18 with the release of writer-director James Cameron’s science-fiction thriller “Avatar,” also to be shown in 3-D.

Three free IMAX movie events have been set, featuring writer-director Howard Hall’s documentary “Under the Sea 3D.”

Article >>

UPDATE 2: Other news sources cover the opening of OKC’s new digital IMAX theater:

KOCO Oklahoma City: OKC To Get IMAX Theater

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers this preview:

“Volcanoes of the Deep Sea” looks like an elaborate sci-fi adventure filled with bizarre alien life forms and mind-bending special effects. But it’s science fact, as well as a hypnotic visual foray into an unknown world.

In “Volcanoes,” the IMAX camera takes viewers to the sunless depths of the ocean. The large-format camera has a long history of going where few have gone before, but this is uncharted territory, for scientists and viewers.

. . .

The film explores underwater volcanic sites and hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. At more than 12,000 feet below the surface, it’s a world that even most deep-sea divers and submarine crews have never experienced.

Biologist Richard Lutz, the film’s science director, describes “Volcanoes” as “a Hubble telescope for inner space.” The parallel to space exploration is apt: This is a world as alien as any other in our solar system. The best segments fly through what look like landscapes from another planet — columns of hardened volcanic rock, swarms of bizarre creatures glowing in the reflected light.

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BMZ Film Page >>

Mike Riley, Moody Gardens’ president known for his work ethic and good-natured disposition, died Sunday.

The cause was an apparent heart attack, friends said.

Bates, Cooper and Sloan Funeral Home in Mount Pleasant will host visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Nevills Chapel in Mount Pleasant. Plans for a Galveston memorial will be announced soon.

Riley had captained Moody Gardens through Hurricane Ike in 2008, when emergency power was lost and staff brought in oxygen tanks and refrigerated trailers to sustain cold-water animals. His most recent projects included working with the team designing new innovations at the Rainforest Pyramid, and helping develop a new 302-room hotel convention center in Lubbock.

“When you put Mike in charge of something, it was accomplished in a first-class manner,” said Irwin M. “Buddy” Herz Jr., who worked with Riley on the Moody Gardens golf course and other projects. His friendship with Riley dated back more than 20 years, during the time Riley helped establish a national reputation for Moody Gardens attractions and convention center.

“I was impressed by his gentleness and his ability to work with anyone and everyone,” Herz added. “He truly was the epitome of a gentle man.”

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Directed by James Cameron, the film follows a reluctant hero who embarks on a journey of redemption, discovery and unexpected love, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. Avatar comes to conventional and IMAX theaters in 3D and 2D December 18, 2009.

Source >>

CARSON CITY, Nev.—Carson City supervisors have authorized a study of how much it will cost to turn eight acres of parking lots around the Carson Nugget casino into a downtown technology plaza.

Mayor Bob Crowell says the idea is to revitalize downtown with a knowledge center and discovery library, digital media lab and a business and technology incubator. There also would be an IMAX theater, retail and office space, public plaza and parking garage.

Crowell says the goal is to attract a highly-educated workforce. He says Carson City should be known as a place to locate business in a state capital with a good quality of life, or as he describes it, “a cross between the arts and culture of Los Angeles and the technology of Silicon Valley.”

Source >>

Kyle Rupprecht (MM): The ocean and its inhabitants seem to be a lifelong passion for the both of you. At what point did you decide to make it your career?

Francois Mantello (FM): Our first production was actually a four-minute CGI promo spot in 3-D for a Hewlett Packard, but our ultimate goal was always combine our passion for environmental awareness with our experience as filmmakers to educate the general public on the state of our oceans, which have suffered greatly from the world’s industrialization. One of the greatest challenges with marine issues is that, for the most part, we’re not conscious of the problems because the vast majority of them occur under the water’s surface, out of most people’s sight. Having been divers since our teenage years, we’d seen firsthand the degradation of the ecosystem and its effect on all marine species, and felt a certain urgency to share this with the greatest number of people possible.

Jean-Jacques Mantello (JM): In 2001 we developed a rather ambitious plan to produce a series of three 42-minute “edutainment” films in 3-D for IMAX theaters and a feature-length documentary, OceanWorld 3D, for traditional 35mm cinemas on the importance of ocean conservation. We were very fortunate to have a partner in London-based 3D Entertainment, which helped us secure the financing. With a budget of $14 million, we worked on the feature film throughout the seven years we spent filming our IMAX theatre projects Ocean Wonderland 3D (2003), Sharks 3D (2005) and Dolphins and Whales 3D (2008).

MM: Growing up, a big inspiration for you was Jacques-Yves Cousteau. What moviemaking lessons did you learn from watching Cousteau’s oceanic explorations?

FM: Like most of our generation, we grew up watching Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s adventures and were undeniably inspired by his dedication to exploring the underwater world. In terms of moviemaking lessons gained, I’d say his series taught us that people need to understand what’s happening to our water planet in order to feel compelled to do something to do something about what ails it.

JM: We actually had the great fortune of meeting Jean-Michel Cousteau, Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s son, through a common friend in 2004 while we were working on our second documentary film for IMAX theaters, Sharks 3D. A documentary filmmaker and ocean conservationist himself, Jean-Michel was greatly interested in our project and asked if he could see some of the footage we’d shot in 3-D. He joined us as a special adviser very shortly thereafter and subsequently became the ambassador for Sharks 3D and our two following underwater films, lending his extensive experience and knowledge to each of the projects.

Read the full interview by following the link below:

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