Press Releases: THE EXPRESS RUNS TO CIS HOLLYWOOD

October 10, 2008

THE EXPRESS RUNS TO CIS HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood, CA - Oct. 10, 2008 - CIS Hollywood was the sole visual effects vendor for The Express, which follows the extraordinary life of college football hero Ernie Davis, whose quiet fight for equality and respect forever changed the face of the game, and whose civil rights story continues to inspire new generations. Thomas J. Smith, CIS Hollywood's visual effects supervisor, oversaw 125 shots.

"Our work was a combination of altering existing stadiums and then filling them with crowds of cheering fans," says Smith. "We did a lot of set extensions in 2D and 3D to make them period correct plus we digitally reconstructed Syracuse University's Archbold Stadium’s Arch, which no longer exists."

Born in 1939 and raised in poverty in Pennsylvania coal-mining country by his grandmother and grandfather (Charles S. Dutton of Secret Window, Gothika), before moving to Elmira, New York, Davis (Rob Brown of Finding Forrester, Coach Carter) hurdled social and economic obstacles to become one of the greatest running backs in college football history. Under the guidance of legendary Syracuse coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid of The Rookie, Any Given Sunday), he became a hero who surpassed Jim Brown's achievements and became the first African-American player to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, college football's highest individual honor.

Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury, Kiss the Girls) directs The Express from a script by Charles Leavitt (Blood Diamond) that is based on the book "Ernie Davis: “The Elmira Express" by Robert Gallagher. John Davis (I, Robot, Behind Enemy Lines) produces the drama.

CIS Hollywood was called upon to match the filmmakers' high level of period detail for The Express. Director Gary Fleder and his team were committed to recreating the look and feel of the historical era in which The Express takes place.

"We photographed the movie extras for textures so our CG characters would match the live action," explains Smith. "Overall, we created 150,000 computer generated fans for four different stadiums which was originally shot at two locations in Chicago. We needed over 76,000 for the beautiful aerial matte painting done by Digital Backlot of the Cotton Bowl in 1960."

At CIS Hollywood, Dan Kaufman was the digital supervisor and David Rey was the composite supervisor. Melissa Brockman Kalmus served as visual effects producer.

About CIS
CIS Visual Effects Group is an award winning international visual effects entity with facilities in Hollywood and Vancouver. The company services high-end feature film, television, commercial and gaming clients in the global marketplace. CIS Hollywood, founded in 1984, is one of the industry's most respected visual effects facilities. In early 2008, the company expanded by acquiring Rainmaker Visual Effects, rebranding it CIS Vancouver. With its boutique accessibility, the company has the capacity to service its clientele wherever production is situated. CIS Visual Effects Group is a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. www.cishollywood.com

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