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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Exhibit Builder Brings Romance to Trade Show

The latest short film from BRC Imagination Arts cannot be seen by U.S. audiences. “The Golden Ear,” an eight-minute animated short, is being shown for the next five months only at the European Union Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, a trade fair in that Italian city. BRC, in Burbank, creates and produces exhibits and attractions for museums, theme parks, corporate visitor centers and, for nearly 30 years, world’s fairs from Canada to Shanghai. Expo Milano is the 18th world’s fair the company has worked on in some capacity, said its founder and Chief Creative Officer Bob Rogers. BRC designed an exhibit for the European Union pavilion that opened May 9 to help the organization promote programs on alleviating hunger and sustainable farming methods. It worked with about 40 advisors and consultants from nearly all 28-member EU countries in creating the film and the exhibits. “With that many cooks in the kitchen, it was amazing this turned out so well,” Rogers said. “The Golden Ear” fits in with the expo’s theme of food and feeding people by telling the story of Sylvia, a scientist who comes to a small town to run her grandmother’s bakery. There she meets Alex, a farmer. Initially cool to Alex’s advances, Sylvia eventually warms up and the two bond by combining their expertise in science and agriculture. The couple ends up marrying and creating a sustainable farming and baking operation. “It’s a bit of science and a bit of ingredients to making great bread,” said Christian Lachel, the director of the film. There is no dialogue, and so the story and emotions are told through the “international language” of images and music, Rogers said. Prana Animation Studio, in Los Angeles, did the CG animation for the film. At the pavilion the audience moves through an exhibit giving the backstory on Alex and Sylvia. There is a mockup of a house, one half a modern city apartment for Sylvia, the other a farmhouse representing Alex. The audience then moves into the main show space, where the film is presented. The EU wanted the post-show exhibit to explain other programs. There are touchscreen monitors showing Sylvia and Alex at their farm, in the bakery and giving assistance in an African village. Touching the screen will bring up short videos about such topics as animal health, biodiversity, climate change, food safety, humanitarian aid and recycling. Ticket Challenge The first six weeks of the summer movie season have proven to be a bit of a challenge at the box office, but reinforcements may save the day and deliver a happy ending for the studios. Yes, there have been some big hits in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” with a $438 million domestic take and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which has brought in $300 million globally. But both came out before Memorial Day. Post-Memorial Day weekends have been another story. The three weeks since the holiday have not had any sequels or franchise films released. Instead, there have been modest original films like “Tomorrowland,” “Spy” and the film version of the HBO series “Entourage.” The summer season for Hollywood goes from the first weekend in May to the first Monday in September. About 40 percent of the annual box office take occurs in that stretch. So far, through early June the cumulative box office for 10 summer films was less than $1.1 billion. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst in the Sherman Oaks office of entertainment data firm Rentrak, said there is still time left for box office results to match if not exceed the record summer of 2013. “The momentum has shifted but we are only six weeks into the 18-week summer season,” Dergarabedian said. Summer 2013 is the year to beat when “Iron Man 3,” “Man of Steel,” and “Star Trek into Darkness” contributed to a $4.8 billion total in receipts. By comparison, last summer saw a nearly 15 percent decrease to just over $4 billion. Film industry forecasters, Dergarabedian among them, had been looking to this summer to be more in line with two years ago with high-profile sequels expected to pack in audiences at the theater. “We need a box office hero,” Dergarabedian said. “The one, two punch of ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Inside Out’ can bring that.” “Jurassic World” from Universal Pictures came out June 12 and was expected to bring in $115 million its opening weekend. “Inside Out” from Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar Animation Studios will be released June 19. Late summer releases that can help with a turnaround include comedy reboot “Vacation,” the fifth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and the superhero flick “The Fantastic Four.” “You don’t want to throw in the towel yet because one or two movies can make the difference,” Dergarabedian said. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected]

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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