MR. X, INC. ANNOUNCES "CUBE ZERO!"

Digital Effects Studio Co-Produces the Newest Feature Installment of the Popular Sci-Fi 'Cube' Film Franchise

Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) December 2, 2003 -- Toronto-based digital effects company Mr. X, Inc. announces an exciting new milestone, with a Co-Producer credit on the new feature film Cube Zero. This sci-fi feature-length project is financed and distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment, produced by Suzanne Colvin-Goulding and Jon Goulding of Mad Circus Films, and co-produced by Dennis Berardi and Eric Robertson of Mr. X. Cube Zero is the third installment in the celebrated Sci-Fi Cube franchise. This film marks a new achievement for Mr. X, as the studios first official foray into producing on a feature film.

The team at Mr. X is known for its collaborative skills in helping filmmakers to realize the full potential of their vision through digital artistry. The move to co-produce at the feature level was therefore a natural one. Cube Zero represents a vital step for Mr. X," comments Co-Producer Dennis Berardi. Weve provided invaluable production support for years on a variety of high-profile features. Now were at last moving into producing, and we are incredibly excited about the new opportunities this kind of involvement will bring to our studio." Mr. X will also be providing all visual effects for Cube Zero, with Mr. Xs Aaron Weintraub serving as Visual Effects Supervisor.

The Cube series is tailor-made for Mr. X, as it offers a worldwide cult following as well as significant critical praise, and allows the studio to harness its own superb skills in effects as part of the producing package. Comments Cube Zeros Director and Writer, Ernie Barbarash: Despite its modest budget, Cube Zero has very intricate technical and production needs, so we were looking for partners in the process -- not just a visual effects company." He adds, We chose Mr. X for the project simply because they are the best. Theyve always delivered beautiful work -- on time, and on budget. Dennis, Eric, Aaron, and the rest of the team are incredibly creative, and go above and beyond the call of duty. Mr. X is the ideal collaborator -- there was never even a question of going to anyone else." Mr. X plans to pursue other projects as Co-Producers with a view to producing their own projects in the future.

Cube Zero, being the third film in the series that began with Cube in 1997, followed by Cube 2: Hypercube in 2002, will continue the tradition of the series with some truly ingenious traps and scares. Barbarashs primary goal was to create a believable prequel that would mesh seamlessly with the cube mythology created by Vincenzo Natali in 1997. I hope that we raise at least as many questions as we answer," comments Barbarash. After all, that was one of the most successful elements of Vincenzos original film -- its philosophical questioning was really the heart of the film."

In creating the look and feel of Cube Zero, the filmmakers purposely turned away from the hyper-clean look and feel of Hypercube, choosing to go in a grittier direction for the series, with Production Designer Jon Goulding and Director Ernie Barbarash finding inspiration among such raw, dark and critically acclaimed films as The City of Lost Children, Brazil, and Dark City. Even the traps are much more physical and raw than those we had in Hypercube," Barbarash adds.

About Cube Zero
Cube Zero is a sci-fi feature length project being financed and distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX and TSX:LGF ), produced by Suzanne Colvin-Goulding and Jon Goulding of the Toronto and New York based Production company Mad Circus Films, and co-produced by Dennis Berardi and Eric Robertson of Toronto digital effects company Mr. X.

In this prequel to one of the most successful sci-fi thrillers of the last decade, we once again find our unwilling participants frantically moving through a peculiar construct of cube-shaped rooms, each holding the potential threat of hideously inventive and painful death. However, finding the exit is only the beginning of an even worse nightmare. Even as we start to learn more about who and what is behind the Cube, we are left with even more questions as the cosmic mysteries of the Cube universe are revealed.

Writer/Director Ernie Barbarash is shooting Cube Zero in Toronto along with Director of Photography Francois Dagenais, Production Designer Jon Goulding, Editors Mark Sanders and Mitch Lackie, Music Composer Norm Orenstein, and Production Manager Randy Kumano. Cast includes Zackary Bennett, David Huband, Stephanie Moore, Michael Riley, Martin Roach, Michael Nug" Nahrgang, Terri Hawkes and Richard McMillan. Principal photography wrapped in September and is now being posted in Toronto for release in spring 2004.

About Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment is a leading diversified independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, animation and video-on-demand content. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. For more information on Lions Gate, please contact Deborah Schonfeld, Director, Home Video Publicity, at (310) 664-3996 or dschonfeld@lgecorp.com.

Who is Mr. X?
Bringing together a superb team of artists, filmmakers, VFX supervisors, and programmers, Mr. X specializes in partnering with filmmakers to provide story-driven visual enhancements. The artists and creative minds at Mr. X are known for their superb, photo-realistic achievements in CGI, their skills in digital matte painting, VFX compositing, and Post/VFX supervision, as well as for their realistic digital creations of epic-scale and otherwise impossible stunts. With a studio equipped with a rare mix of the latest imaging technologies, the team at Mr. X is committed to pushing the limits of the digital realm, and in making the impossible, possible.

With credits on dozens of distinguished projects including Wrong Turn, Blizzard, Ararat, Cube 2: Hypercube, The Sweet Hereafter and many more, Mr. X helps to define the very look and feel of a film. New projects in the works for the company include such anticipated feature releases as Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Cube Zero.

For more information on Mr. X, please visit their website at www.Mrxfx.com, or for pictures or interviews, please contact Dennis Berardi at (416) 595-6222, or via e-mail at Dennis@Mrxfx.com.

For more information on Mad Circus Films, please visit their website at www.madcircusfilms.com.

For public relations materials, bios, or further backgrounders, meanwhile, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at (954) 983-5877 or Paramitch@aol.com.

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