The two founders of Tricor Entertainment, Howard Kazanjian and Craig Darian, have a long history of Hollywood box office and critical success. Kazanjian's producing credits include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Demolition Man, The Rookie and the CBS hit J.A.G. As an Executive Producer, Craig Darian has worked on feature films starring some of Hollywood's top talents -- including Academy Award Winners Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Mercedes Ruehl, Lee Grant, Cloris Leachman, Martin Landau and Rita Moreno -- in independent films like The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Devil & Daniel Webster and The Amati Girls.
The joint venture will combine the talents of Hollywood producers with a top video game publisher to develop games and films simultaneously, allowing both sides of the project to collaborate on the creative development and share resources from actors to computer special effects. The alliance will also allow for the simultaneous launch of games and movies, maximizing the exposure for both companies and cross-pollinating the marketing benefit of every project produced.
Solar Studios creates cinema-quality, interactive games for PCs and next generation game consoles. The company is currently in production of several non-movie related titles including Metal Combat set for release in Winter 2005.
The first Solar and Tricor project is an unnamed Sci-Fi action/adventure property. The upcoming project will feature A-list talent and cutting-edge graphics.
"Howard and Craig are two of the most respected producers and entertainment executives in the film business. I have always admired their work, which has included some of the most popular feature films of all time. They are also among the few with an eye to the future of the technologies and innovations that will drive the entertainment business," said Matthew Green, Lead Designer and Software Architect, Solar Studios. "They are bringing the type of top-notch producing, acting and writing talent normally only seen in major Hollywood productions to our cutting-edge
games."
Solar Studios has developed a SubaZ physics engine that allows games to generate unlimited and unpredictable character interactions instead of the canned animations found in most games. This technology is being used to create cinema-quality gameplay for today's computers and tomorrow's next generation gaming platforms.
"Solar is quickly establishing itself as one of the hottest independent publishers in the business with games that hit a new level of production quality, originality and interactivity," said Craig Darian, Co-Chairman & CEO, Tricor Entertainment.
"We are confident that the blend of creative imagination, technical innovation and business maturity between our two companies will make for a dynamic commercial combination." Adds Howard Kazanjian, Co-Chairman, Tricor Entertainment "We worked with Matt Green in the past decade in the post production arena, and have found his technical abilities and cutting-edge vision to be among the finest
we've ever encountered."