2012 Cites Mayan Calendar Cataclysm – SWAY Studio Creates Upheaval With Drive-A-Tron™ Software

If the Mayan calendar is to be believed, the end of days is just around the corner, on December 21, 2012. Of course, the end of the world is just the beginning of “2012,” the new apocalyptic sci-fi thriller from Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow). The film follows an academic researcher (John Cusack) who tries to prevent these catastrophic prophecies from becoming a reality. Among the many startling visual effects in Emmerich’s film is an epic sequence in which a limousine races to stay one crack ahead of a crumbling Los Angeles.

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Digital Domain’s new Florida digital production studio is planning to carve out niches in videogames, animation and even military simulation graphics.

The Port St. Lucie studio will bear the Digital Domain name and, for now, movie f/x will be done primarily at the Los Angeles and Vancouver outposts.

In addition to $50 million in new investment from DD parent company Wyndcrest Holdings, the studio is getting a $10 million cash grant from local developers, administered by the city of Port St. Lucie; a 15-acre land grant from a local developer, valued at $10 million; and a $20 million grant from the state of Florida’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development.

Move follows DD’s recent announcement that it will expand to Vancouver (Daily Variety, Oct. 6).

Moreover, Florida State U.’s film school has signed a letter of intent to partner with Wyndcrest on the new facility.

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