Disney to shut down Zemeckis-run motion-capture studio where ‘A Christmas Carol’ was shot

Disney to shut Zemeckis-run motion-capture studio

LOS ANGELES — To further cut costs at its movie studio, The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it will shut a San Francisco-area facility used to capture the performance of Jim Carrey for his digitally animated character, Scrooge, in “A Christmas Carol.”

The closure of the facility in Marin County, north of San Francisco, will be completed by January and result in the loss of 450 jobs.

The facility was built by ImageMovers Digital, a company co-founded by “A Christmas Carol” director Robert Zemeckis and partially owned by Disney. Motion-capture technology in that facility was used to make the movie; Carrey wore sensors as he acted out scenes, and the data were used to recreate his character on the screen.

Before it closes, the complex will continue to be used by Zemeckis and his team to complete production of “Mars Needs Moms!,” a 3-D movie set for release in March 2011.

“Given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model,” Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman said.

In a statement, Zemeckis said he was “incredibly proud” of the ImageMovers team and the work it accomplished.

Disney said it hoped to come to a new long-term production deal with Zemeckis and his ImageMovers partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, including one for a future project called “Yellow Submarine.”

Disney’s studio has been paring costs and decreasing its movie slate, most recently putting a halt to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” ”Wedding Banned” and “Wild Hogs 2.”

The cuts have occurred since Rich Ross, formerly the head of Disney Channels Worldwide, took over the studio in October following the abrupt resignation of Dick Cook and more than a year of disappointing results.

Disney is also looking for a buyer of its Miramax Films division, which it bought from the Weinstein brothers in 1993. It shut down Miramax offices in January, and Disney CEO Bob Iger said last month that new investment in the unit would be limited to releasing its six remaining films through 2011.