Visionnaire Jean Giraud takes moviegoers on a Moebius trip.
Graphic novelist Jean "Moebius" Giraud has been producing concept art, developing storyboards, and designing costumes for other people's sci-fi films since 1979's Alien. His credits range from Tron and The Abyss to The Fifth Element. Now, after watching his own projects get shelved over the years (see "Moebius," Wired 2.01, page 96), the 63-year-old artist is taking full creative control for his first feature, Thru the Moebius Strip.
Here's an exclusive preview of this intergalactic take on Jack and the Beanstalk. Moebius revolves around physicist Simon Weir, who becomes lost in a space-time portal of his own making. To rescue him, his family travels to distant planets, encountering oddities like petrified mushroom mountains (previous pages) and giant aliens who rendezvous in crystal temples.
Production has been moving forward since March in Shenzhen, China, where a crew of 150 animators underwent six months of software training before starting work. To preserve Giraud's drawing style, the graphics team pored over more than 400 of his original sketches. They then rendered CG images in 3-D, shading them to further simulate the smooth surfaces and shadows of cel cartoons. As production designer, Giraud oversees every aspect of the film's look from his home studio in Paris, reviewing digital dailies and color proofs and collaborating remotely with LA-based director Frank Foster (f/x guru for Johnny Mnemonic).
"The fun in science fiction is to give the imagination complete freedom, keeping the logic intact," says Giraud. "I want to find a balance between my strange ideas and a movie for everyone." Funded by Hong Kong- based Global Digital Productions, the multimillion-dollar endeavor - $6 million alone has been earmarked for animation - is slated for a Paris premiere in summer 2003. Stay in the loop at www.moebius-strip.com.
