Los Angeles, March 19th, 2003: Rhythm & Hues has been awarded a large portion of visual effects work for Walden Media’s "Around the World in 80 Days." The epic adventure is being directed by Frank Coraci and stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent, Cecile de France and Johnny Knoxville.

The Visual Effects Supervisor for the production is Rhythm & Hues’ Derek Spears, fresh from recent assignments on "Daredevil" and "The Sum of All Fears," (for which he recently received the Visual Effects Society Award for Best Story Driven Effects). The Visual Effects Producer is Susan Zwerman ("The One," "Men of Honor" and "Alien Resurrection").

Filming begins this month and continues shooting through July 2003 in Thailand, Berlin and other locations worldwide.

Approximately 145 VFX shots are planned as of this date, of which Rhythm & Hues will work on 62 fully digital and mostly character oriented shots. Henson Studios and a vendor still-to-be named will work on the other 83 shots, which include a variety of compositing, 3D, wire-work and CG graphics.

Zwerman and Spears, on location with the production in Thailand, recently outlined the scope of work. Zwerman noted "There are many plate photography shots, but often we’ll be adding matte painting extensions as well as full 3D digital set extensions." Spears added "We also have several complex, fully digital shots that encompass environments, oceans, boats and aircraft as well as digital actors. The digital actors and extras will be realized with cloth simulation, advanced sub-surface skin rendering techniques and a combination of motion capture and traditional CG animation."

Plate photography will be accomplished by both 1st and 2nd Unit crews during principal photography. After principal photography wraps, a separate VFX Plate Unit will be constituted for the remaining plate and aerial work to be shot in Germany, Paris and London.

Zwerman added that she and the director’s choice of R&H as lead VFX house represented "the best choice to do the digital work given its long pedigree in the field."

Rhythm & Hues production slate stretches into 2004, with several projects in the pipeline: "X-Men 2," "Dr. Seuss' 'The Cat in the Hat,'" "Intolerable Cruelty," "Elf" and the untitled Peter Berg project starring The Rock. Recent assignments include "Daredevil," "Solaris," "Scooby-Doo," "The Sum of All Fears" and "Men in Black 2."