Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” wins Oscar for best animated feature film

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES | Mon Feb 27, 2012 (Reuters) – “Rango,” starring Johnny Depp as the voice of a pet chameleon who tries to bring law and order to a town in the Wild West, won the Oscar for best animated feature film on Sunday.

Depp voices Rango, who ends up stuck in a desert town called Dirt, where he takes on the role of sheriff and leads a quest to replenish the town’s water supply.

The film is directed by Gore Verbinski, the man behind three of the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies that also star Depp. “Rango” is Verbinski’s first animated movie.

The film features references to classic movie westerns and is filled with sophisticated humor appreciated by adults.

“Someone asked me if this film was for kids,” Verbinski said as he accepted the award. “It was certainly created by a bunch of grown-ups acting like children.”

Asked backstage if he had hoped to win an Oscar for live action rather than animation, Verbinski said: “I’m feeling I’m dreaming right now. I don’t think it matters.”

“Rango” has won a slew of other awards, including a BAFTA and a People’s Choice Award for favorite animated movie voice.

The movie distributed by Viacom Inc unit Paramount Pictures has taken more than $245 million at the worldwide box-office and also features the voices of Ilsa Fisher, Abigail Breslin, and Ned Beatty.

Saigon, Vietnam – February 28, 2012 – Sparx has added industry veteran Frederick Lissau to its growing Vietnam Studio.

Frederick brings more than 15 years of animation production experience with companies including Disney Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Imageworks, Universal Studios and SCEA. He joins Sparx as Director of Production.

“Frederick is a seasoned animation professional, able to drive large complex productions while supporting the creativity of his team,” said Sparx CEO Gilles Langourieux. “With the benefit of his extensive production experience, Sparx is well equipped to deliver high-caliber productions.”

Mr. Lissau’s credits include feature films Hercules, Prince of Egypt and El Dorado, Open Season, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Tale of Despereaux, and AAA games InFamous2 and Uncharted 3.

“Sparx’ work is well known and respected in the industry,” said Mr. Lissau. “I am delighted to join the talented team here, and look forward to working together with them on new animation productions.”

Sparx was recently acquired by the Virtuos Group, and has production resources in Saigon, Shanghai and Chengdu, including over 100 3D animation professionals.

About Sparx

Sparx is a 3D animation company for feature films, TV series and game cinematics. Its credits include the 3D animated feature film “Igor” starring John Cusack. Sparx is part of the Virtuos Group, which is one of the largest digital entertainment production companies in the world with more than 800 digital production specialists, and locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo.

Team members from Sparx* parent company Virtuos were nominated for the VES 2012 award for parking garage models in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

January 12, 2012 – Los Angeles, California – Virtuos team members have been nominated by the Visual Effects Society at their 10th Annual VES Awards. The VES awards recognize the most outstanding visual effects of the year.

The nomination is in the category Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture for work on the parking garage model in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Virtuos was engaged by Industrial Light & Magic to contribute work on the model, which is based on the 20-story Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany. “Virtuos is proud to contribute to the visual effects created by ILM,” said Gilles Langourieux, Virtuos CEO.

The Visual Effects Society (VES) is a non-profit professional, honorary society, dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences, and applications of visual effects. For more information, visit www.visualeffectssociety.com

About Virtuos
Virtuos is one of the largest providers of outsourced digital entertainment content production services, specializing in 3D art and game software development. With locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo, Virtuos has more than 900 employees representing 15 nationalities. Virtuos’ clients include 15 of the top 20 digital entertainment companies worldwide as well as renowned independent studios. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuosgames.com

Sparx* Moves into New Saigon Studio

December 12, 2011 – Saigon, Vietnam – 3D animation company Sparx is pleased to announce that it has moved its Saigon studio to a new facility. The new facility is located in the heart of downtown Saigon’s First District.

The move was prompted by the strong growth of the team, which is expected to continue through 2012.

“The move to the new studio is a significant milestone in Sparx’ expansion,” said Didier Montarou, General Manager, Sparx. “We are very excited to set up shop in our new home and continue our growth with more team members and bigger projects.”

Sparx is on pace to surpass 100 staff in Vietnam in 2012. Sparx currently employs over 100 animation professionals in Saigon and Shanghai and aims to employ over 200 by the end of 2012.

Sparx is a company of the Virtuos Group, which has locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Saigon, Paris, Vancouver and Tokyo.

About Sparx

Sparx is a 3D animation company for feature films, TV series and game cinematics. Its credits include the 3D animated feature film “Igor” starring John Cusack. Sparx is part of the Virtuos Group, which is one of the largest digital entertainment production companies in the world with more than 900 digital production specialists, and locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo. For more information, please refer to: www.virtuos-sparx.com

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Shanghai, China, October 28, 2011 – Sparx has added the experienced Cinematics Director Miguel Angel Martin to its growing animation and cinematics teams. Miguel has more than 20 years of experience as a director and nearly a decade of experience with digital cinematics.

His extensive experience in this area includes work for Ubisoft in Canada, Romania and China, with credits on games including Rainbow Six, Far Cry, Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, and I Am Alive franchises. He has also directed independent films and more than a dozen music videos.

“Miguel is a seasoned talent who will fit right in with the team here at Sparx,” said Sparx CEO Gilles Langourieux. “He is creative, energetic and possesses a high level of expertise in creating dynamic cinematics for AAA productions.”

“Having worked closely with the Sparx team in the past, I am looking forward to joining the talented artists and animators here, and providing my talents to a variety of clients’ projects, said Mr. Martin.

Sparx was recently acquired by the Virtuos Group, and has production resources in Saigon, Shanghai and Chengdu, including over 100 3D animation professionals.

Miguel Angel Martin’s reel can be seen on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/31237584

About Sparx

Sparx is a 3D animation company for feature films, TV series and game cinematics. Its credits include the 3D animated feature film “Igor” starring John Cusack. Sparx is part of the Virtuos Group, which is one of the largest digital entertainment production companies in the world with more than 800 digital production specialists, and locations in Shanghai, Chengdu, Vancouver, Saigon, Paris and Tokyo. For more information, please refer to: www.sparx.com

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