Illumination Entertainment’s latest CG flick The Secret Life of Pets took in a staggering $103 million at the box office over its opening weekend. As Forbes‘ film biz expert Scott Mendelson points out, that makes it the sixth-biggest animated debut of all time. And it’s Illumination’s second debut to top $100M. Most impressively, Pets has set a new opening weekend record for a totally original story to hit the big screen.
Pets earned $36M on Saturday and an estimated additional $27.8M on Sunday. Ahead of its release, industry watchers were expecting the inventive comedy-adventure about what pets get up to when their humans are out to prove a box office hit, with many pegging an impressive $75M as the expected total (on par with Disney’s Zootopia back in March). The successful opening and positive reviews prove that Illumination is a formidable animation brand now, and it doesn’t just do Minions. This is a good sign for the studio’s next release, Sing, coming late in the year.
The new release has opened in nine territories so far, bringing in $42.6M overseas. It will roll out in 57 more territories through the summer. You can read more about The Secret Life of Pets in the August/September issue of Animation Magazine!
In second place over the weekend was WB’s The Legend of Tarzan, dropping slightly in its second week and taking $20.6M. Disney-Pixar’s Finding Dory was bumped to third but just barely, earning $20.3M over the weekend for a domestic total of $422.5M, making it the highest-grossing domestic release of 2016 and the third-highest grossing animated release of all time. Finding Dory‘s overseas total climbed to $220.2M, with openings in Mexico, Japan, U.K., Italy and Germany still to come.
CBBC and BBC Worldwide have announced that surreal 2D animated comedy Mystery Soup from Victoria Manifold and Hannah Jacobs has been selected as the winning pitch for the channel’s first ever animation pilot scheme, ANIM8. The project won out over the other worthy finalists: Peeled Prawn and Shaved Sheep (Vincent James & Karina Stanford-Smith; Fat City Films) and Poles Apart (Alex Collier).
Manifold, the writer, and Jacobs, the director, will work with CBBC and BBCWW to develop the project through to a pilot, to be delivered later this year. Heading up the development efforts are CBBC’s Sarah Muller (Creative Director, Scripted, Animation and Co-Production) and BBC Worldwide’s Nathan Waddington (Head of Children’s, Scripted).
Pitch synopsis:
Mystery Soup is a surreal comedy about three plucky thirteen-year-old girls investigating their weird new boarding school and the bizarre goings on there. Created by writer Victoria Manifold and director Hannah Jacobs, Mystery Soup follows the adventures of Hen, Olive and B as they find themselves plunged into mystery at a handsome school for dedicated boys and girls. Hannah Jacobs is an award winning director and animator from London. She graduated with an MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art in 2014. Past clients include Vogue, The School of Life, The Washington Post and Harvard University. Victoria Manifold is an award winning fiction writer from County Durham. She has been published by The White Review, The tNY Press and Squawkback, among others.
Fantastic Planet: A Psychedelic Adult Animation Classic
Rene Laloux and Roland Topor’s mesmerizing ’70s sci-fi toon harkens back to a golden age of adult-targeted, high-concept animation. Oh, and it’s now on Blu-ray and DVD thanks to the Criterion Collection!
Warning: Pokemon GO Is a Death Sentence If You Are a Black Man
Omari Akil sheds some harsh light on the mobile gaming craze that has taken America by storm in the same week as multiple tragedies fueled debates about race and policing in the country.
Universal has released a new trailer for its CG musical-comedy Sing, the latest from Illumination Entertainment and due in theaters December 21, 2016. The newest spot puts viewers on closer terms with leading koala Buster (voiced by Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey) — whose last-ditch plan to save his theater with a singing contest gets the film’s story rolling — as well as his faithful employees, and Tori Kelly’s shy, teenage elephant character.
Written and directed by Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, Singalso features the voices of Seth MacFarlane, Reese Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Nick Kroll, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz, Leslie Jones, Jay Pharoah, Nick Offerman and Beck Bennett.
Synopsis:
Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (Academy Award® winner Matthew McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist—okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel—who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.
Five lead contestants emerge: A mouse (Seth MacFarlane) who croons as smoothly as he cons, a timid teenage elephant (Tori Kelly) with an enormous case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon) run ragged tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Taron Egerton) looking to break free of his family’s felonies, and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend and go solo. Each animal arrives under Buster’s marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.
Get to Know Hanna-Barbera Beyond
DC Comics introduces a line of comics inspired by classic H-B cartoons, including imaginative new takes like Scooby Apocalypse, Future Quest, Wacky Raceland and The Flintstones.
This Wonderful, Crazy Animation Is Absolutely Bananas
Motion designer Elias Freiberger and visual designer Xander Marritt’s new short will make you look at your favorite slightly irradiated fruit in a whole new light.
The official selections in animation have been announced for the 17th Annual TromaDance festival, to be held July 29 & 30 at The Paper Box Theatre in Brooklyn. The announcement was made by Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment and creator of The Toxic Avenger.
The Best of TROMAnimation program has been drawn from submissions for the First Annual TROMAnimation Festival, which was held in April and showcased a variety of works and special guests like online shorts animator Ukino Joe and Maxwell Atoms (creator of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy). A second all-ages TROMAnimation festival is being planned for next year.
Turner has struck a content deal with Nine in Australia that is bringing a weekly one-hour Adult Swim branded block of young-adult comedy to channel 9GO! The Sunday evening block will run weekly starting July 10, and contain hit animated series like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman, Robot Chicken, Squidbillies and The Venture Bros.
Nine has also picked up local format rights to Adult Swim’s FishCentre, which will introduce the block each week. The deal will mark the local free-to-air debut for many series, including Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s Rick and Morty — coming to 9GO! later this year.
“Adult Swim is an iconic brand that continues to challenge its audience with a subversive and irreverent brand of comedy,” says Nine’s Director of Acquisitions, Hamish Turner. “We are proud to be bringing it to our audience in an Adult Swim late-night block on 9GO!, as well as making it available for catch-up and live streaming on 9Now. In partnering with Adult Swim, we have uncovered the network’s next big stars, making their debut on the Aussie version of FishCentre on Sunday July 10 at 11:30pm.”
Aussie audiences can download the Nine Now app or go to 9now.com.au to access Adult Swim content on demand or live streaming. Click here for a sneak-peek of FishCentre Australia style (or here for viewers outside Australia).
Japan-based animation company dwarf Studios has created a pilot episode of a new stop-motion preschool series The Curious Kitty & Friends for Amazon. This marks the first time Amazon has commissioned a Japanese animation studio for the Prime Video pilot program. This year’s pilot season launched June 17 in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria and Japan.
The Curious Kitty & Friends comes from the brilliant mind of Tsuneo Goda, the creator of stop-motion character sensation Domo. The new series follows the adventures of Komaneko and her friends, Radibo, Yeti and Mimmi Bear. By taking videos of the people and events she encounters, Komaneko gains an understanding of her world through the camera lens while making new friends along the way.
dwarf Studios created Komaneko in 2003, and introduced her to the world in a charming stop-motion short, Komaneko – The First Step. Following great success in Japan, the little cat appeared in the feature film Komaneko – The Curious Cat, which also proved a hit in France, and rand in over 900 theaters.
“This new Komaneko story helps children understand that appearances can be deceiving,” says dwarf Studios EP Noriko Matsumoto. “Komaneko and her good friend Yeti go searching for apples and stumble across Mimmi Bear, a possible new friend. Yeti’s scary looks frightens Mimmi at first, but Komaneko makes a stop- motion film that shows her that initial judgements can often be misplaced and we should judge people by what’s on the inside rather than the out. It’s a real heart-warming tale of friendship and compassion that children will both love and learn from.”
The Curious Kitty & Friends is available now on Amazon Video. All Amazon pilots can be viewed with the Amazon Video app — available on a bevy of phones, tablets and connected devices — or via amazon.com.
dwarf Studios is represented in the U.K. by Ground Control for commercial work.
This Saturday, July 9 at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California will open a new exhibition by Annie- and Emmy-nominated animation artist Elle Michalka: The Tower. Michalka has been preparing the show from her residence in Texas for the past year, and the works are themed on a series of impending catastrophes.
From the announcement: A stab of lightning rips apart clouds to create a temple in the air. They are a balance of the static and kinetic that aims to use that balance to focus the attention onto one point. She is influenced by spiritualism in all forms, and in this series most especially: paganism, catholic mass and tarot cards.
The opening reception will be in the spirit of this occult theme, with a chaos magick ritual that invites attendees into a frame of mind to fully take in the power of these life-sized tarot paintings. The opening is set for July 9 from 6-7 p.m. (RSVP by email: info@gallerynucleus.com).
Michalka began her career as a painter on Gravity Falls, and was an art director on Steven Universe, which earned her an Emmy nod in 2015 in addition to her Annie Award nominations for her production design work. Michalka has also collaborated with game designer and animator David O’Reilly, and illustrated a children’s book with Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar. She began to focus fully on painting with her 2014 series, “Cathedrals.”
Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox’s upcoming animated sequel Ice Age: Collision Course (read all about it in our August issue!) is marking a first in online tie-in marketing by partnering with Pinterest and The Knot for a two-week campaign bringing little mammoth Peaches’ wedding to digital life. Fox and creative agency Armed Mind are working with the popular wedding planning tools for a tongue-and-cheek toon-up of modern nuptials, tied together with the hashtag #HappilyEverMammoth.
The campaign launches July 8 on The Knot, followed by a rollout across social media and on Pinterest over the ensuing weeks. Fox and Armed Mind have created the first-ever authentic wedding profile for a major animated feature on The Knot, parodying every aspect of the modern wedding planning process while expanding the film’s plot — this includes Peaches & Julian’s “Proposal Story,” “Ceremony Details” and even their registry.
And of course, as a modern bride, Peaches must have her very own inspirational Pinterest board to help visualize her dream wedding. Nine prehistoric Pinterest boards will explore everything from P&J’s icy honeymoon destinations to acorn-centric menu items, with content updates throughout the two week campaign — as if Peaches was posting in real time.
Film Synopsis:
Ice Age: Collision Course is produced by Blue Sky Studios. It is the fifth installment in the ICE AGE film series, and a sequel to 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift. The film stars the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Keke Palmer, Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, Adam Devine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Max Greenfield, Jessie J, Nick Offerman, Wanda Sykes, Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Strahan, Melissa Rauch, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Ice Age: Collision Course will be released to theaters on July 22, 2016 by 20th Century Fox in 2D and 3D.
DreamWorks Animation will be holding a panel for its hotly anticipated musical-comedy-adventure Trolls during the San Diego Comic-Con later this month. Set for Thursday, July 21 at 10 a.m. in Hall H, the presentation will be moderated by Chris Hardwick of Nerdist and will feature voice stars Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake and Christopher Mintz-Plasse with director Mike Mitchell, co-director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay.
Arriving in theaters November 4, Trolls also features the voices of Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Russell Brand, Icona Pop, Ron Funches, Kunal Nayyar, Christine Baranski, John Cleese, Meg DeAngelis and GloZell Green.
Synopsis: DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls is an irreverent comedy extravaganza with incredible music! From the genius creators of Shrek, Trolls stars Anna Kendrick as Poppy, the optimistic leader of the Trolls, and her polar opposite, Branch, played by Justin Timberlake. Together, this unlikely pair of Trolls must embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the only world they’ve ever known.
Cartoon Network is planning an epic presence at San Diego Comic-Con this year, with debut panels for the revamped Powerpuff Girls, We Bare Bears and a first-of-its-kind musical panel for Steven Universe. On the convention floor, CN will fly larger-than-life balloons of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup over its Townsville-inspired booth (#3735) — fans can walk away with a custom-printed tee or tote bag using the wildly popular Powerpuff Girls avatar maker, with designs and accessories exclusive to Comic-Con.
Other CCI highlights for CN include the return of Cartoon Network’s Screening and Costume Ball, offering an inside look at hit shows and sneak peeks at new Ben 10 and app-inspired Mighty Magiswords. Adventure Time fans can test their skills at the all-day Card Wars Tournament. Other CN series featured at the Con include Teen Titans Go! and Justice League Action.
Signings this year include Steven Universe (Friday, 3-5:30 p.m.), We Bare Bears (Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m.) and The Powerpuff Girls (Sat., 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.) — all in the SDCC Autograph Area.
See below for the complete Cartoon Network Comic-Con schedule.
THURSDAY, JULY 21
CARTOON NETWORK SCREENING AND COSTUME BALL
8:00p.m. – 9:30p.m. Hilton Bayfront – Room 7AB
Throw on your Finn hats, crystal gems and totally realistic flying tigers, and bearstack your way to the Cartoon Network Costume Ball & Screening extravaganza! We’ll be showcasing brand new episodes and clips of your favorite CN shows and making some big announcements for stuff nobody has ever seen before, including a world premiere look at animation for the upcoming Ben 10 series. On top of it all, we invite you to come dressed up as your favorite CN character for a chance to impress your friends and win awesome prizes. It wouldn’t be a ball without special guests! Joining us as totally objective and impartial judges for the costume contest are Kyle A. Carrozza (Creator of Mighty Magiswords), Spencer Rothbell (Head of Story, Clarence and Voice of Clarence) and Rebecca Sugar (Creator of Steven Universe).
The series cast and musical minds behind Steven Universe will give a never-before-seen performance of the series’ critically-acclaimed music, as well as exclusive previews from upcoming episodes and an extended Q&A. Scheduled to appear: Rebecca Sugar (Creator), Jeff Liu (Writer and Storyboard Artist), Zach Callison (Voice of Steven), Estelle (Voice of Garnet), Michaela Dietz (Voice of Amethyst), Deedee Magno Hall (Voice of Pearl), Ben Levin (Writer), accompanied by series composers Aivi Tran and Steven “Surasshu” Velema. Moderated by former supervising director Ian Jones-Quartey.
Join the cast and crew of We Bare Bears as they make their Comic-Con debut, discussing the hilarious new series, celebrating the fans, previewing exclusive clips and taking your questions. Hang in until the end to catch a sneak peek at the upcoming series Mighty Magiswords. Panelists include Daniel Chong (Series Creator), Eric Edelstein (Voice of Grizzly), Bobby Moynihan (Voice of Panda), Demetri Martin (Voice of Ice Bear), and Lauren Sassen (Storyboard Artist), moderated by Mikey Heller (Series Writer).
Soar into San Diego with The Powerpuff Girls! Join Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup for their first Comic-Con appearance as cast and crew discuss the new series, premiere exclusive clips and take your questions. Panelists include Kristen Li (Voice of Bubbles), Amanda Leighton (Voice of Blossom), Natalie Palamides (Voice of Buttercup), Tom Kenny (Voice of the Mayor and The Narrator), Nick Jennings (Executive Producer), Bob Boyle (Co-Executive Producer), Haley Mancini (Writer, Voice of Princess Morbucks) and Jake Goldman (Writer). Part of the back-to-back panel extravaganza preceded by We Bare Bears at 10:00 a.m.
CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURE TIME CARD WARS TOURNAMENT!
10:00a.m. – 8:00p.m. (Winner takes all begins at 3 p.m.) San Diego Convention Center – Room 16A
The game you know and love has just doubled down on the fun with two all-new ways to play, and we’re bringing the action to the gaming floor of Comic-Con! Grab a partner and battle against another team in the new Card Wars Doubles Tournament tabletop game. Think you’re the Cool Guy? Challenge other peeps in one-on-one PvP battles in the new mobile game Card Wars Kingdom! Free play alongside other Adventure Time fans all day long, with a special winner-takes-all Tournament starting at 3 p.m. for all the Card Wars glory (and amazing prizes, which sometimes is even cooler than glory)!!! Did we mention John DiMaggio (Voice of Jake the Dog) will be there to commentate the tournament?! It’s a not-to-be-missed event!
Preschool audiences will get to meet a new pal from across the pond as new animated series Hey Duggee debuts on Nick Jr. on Monday, July 11 at 2 p.m. ET/PT. The series follows Duggee, a loveable dog who is leader of The Squirrel Club — a place where kids can enjoy activities, learn new skills and earn badges. Hey Duggee (17 half-hours) premieres with two back-to-back episodes. The show is produced by Studio AKA for BBC Worldwide.
Each colorful episode begins with Duggee welcoming the Squirrels — a group of curious little animals dropped off at the club by their parents. They include Tag, a sweet-natured rhino; Betty, a happy and intelligent octopus; Roly, a hyperactive and enthusiastic hippo; Happy, a jovial crocodile; and Norrie, a thoughtful and clever mouse.
In Monday’s Hey Duggee series premiere, “The Drawing Badge / The Cake Badge / The Hair Badge,” Duggee and the Squirrels stay indoors to draw when it’s raining outside, Happy eats a cake he finds in the field that belongs to the rabbits, and Duggee asks the kids for help when he has a bad hair day. Following at 2:30 p.m., “The Rescue Badge / The Super Squirrel Badge / The Teddy Bear Badge” finds Enid the Cat stuck up a tree while chasing a mouse, the Squirrels deciding they want to be superheroes, and Duggee and the Squirrels taking their teddy bears for a picnic.
GKIDS has acquired distribution rights for Miss Hokusai — the latest animated feature from Japanese studio Production I.G, which has delivered Ghost in the Shell and A Letter to Momo, among other acclaimed titles. GKIDS is planning an October 14 opening in New York and Los Angeles followed by a territory-wide roll-out.
Directed by Keiichi Hara (Colorful, Summer Days with Coo), the film has received accolades including an Annecy Jury Prize, jury and audience awards at Fantasia Film Festival, and Best Animated Feature at Sitges and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Adapted from Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi by Miho Maruo (both of whome are women), Miss Hokusai is the untold story of O-Ei, the daughter and artistic collaborator of Katsushika Hokusai — considered by many to be Japan’s greatest artist, and the creator of the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji woodblock print series. Set in Edo-period Japan, the film follows O-Ei’s coming of age as a young woman as she struggles with her identity as an artist, her emerging sexuality, and the search for the sublime through art.
Synopsis:
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the famous painter Hokusai, his daughter O-Ei toils diligently inside his studio, unknown to the public. Her masterful portraits, dragons and erotic sketches – sold under the name of her father – are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman print makers alike. In public, O-Ei knows and respects “her place,” but at home in the studio, she’s as brash and uninhibited as her father, smoking a pipe while sketching erotic drawings that would make contemporary Japanese ladies blush. But despite her talent and fiercely independent spirit, O-Ei struggles under the domineering influence of her father and is ridiculed for lacking the life experience that she is attempting to portray in her art. Miss Hokusai‘s lively Edo (present day Tokyo) is filled with yokai spirits, dragons, and conniving tradesmen, while O-Ei’s relationships with her famously impetuous father and blind younger sister provide a powerful emotional underpinning to this rollicking and sumptuously-animated feminist coming-of-age tale.
Focus Features and LAIKA are inviting you to uncover more of its hero’s story and get a closer look at the magic of Kubo and the Two Strings with a new trailer and newly revealed artwork. Of particular note is more footage of that spectral, caterpillar-like monster teased in an earlier spot! The film arrives in theaters August 19.
Check out the trailer below, and be sure to pick up the August/September issue of Animation Magazine to read more about LAIKA’s most ambitious feature yet. Subscribe, renew, or pick up a copy at Comic-Con International and SIGGRAPH later this month.
Kubo and the Two Strings is directed by Travis Knight and written by ParaNorman scribes Marc Haimes and Chris Butler. The voice cast features Game of Thrones’ Art Parkinson as Kubo, Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron as Monkey and Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey as Beetle, with George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, Ralph Fiennes and Rooney Mara.
Synopsis:
Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of “Game of Thrones”) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Hashi (Cary- Hiroyuki Tagawa), and Kameyo (Academy Award nominee Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Academy Award winner Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara), to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family, and fulfill his heroic destiny.
Marvel’s New Iron Man Is a Black Woman
Writer Brian Michael Bendis talks the creation of Riri Williams, the ground-breaking 15-year-old successor to Tony Stark.
Keys to the Kingdom: The Intersection of Autism and Animation
Tony Phillips speaks to Life, Animated author Ron Suskind, whose book about his son Owen has evolved into a critically acclaimed documentary exploring the storytelling and emotional connection of animated films.
Magic Mall Beijing and Cloth Cat Animation announce their collaboration on a new 52 x 11 animated preschool series, based on the popular Chinese character Luo Bao Bei. Award-winning writer Dave Ingham (The Koala Brothers, Charlie and Lola, Clangers) is also onboard the project, which is set to launch in China in March or April, 2017. Alex Chien serves as Executive Producer.
Luo Bao Bei was created by Magic Mall in 2008, and is a familiar face to kids in Beijing thanks to her role as a local mascot — the charming little girl has served as a city spokesperson, road safety icon and in popular community outreach programs in elementary schools. In her new series, the producers will combine her popularity with a blend of Chinese heritage and a dash of British humor.
“I look forward to working with Cloth Cat Animation, a young studio bursting with brilliant talent and enthusiasm,” says Grace Tian, Magic Mall’s General Manager and co-creator of Luo Bao Bei. “When I went to visit them for the first time at the beginning of this year, I was greatly impressed with the various projects I saw. It was of paramount importance to find a creative and production partner who would work with us tirelessly to get everything right from day one in order to have Luo Bao Bei work in China and overseas. I can’t wait to see our beloved character’s brand new show in early 2017.”
“It’s going to be a wonderful collaboration to bring our expertise to this Chinese creation,” adds Cloth Cat’s Managing Director Jon Rennie. “We’re excited about the opportunity to work on something that’s truly multicultural, and hoping this series will travel, not only in the country where she’s from, but to the UK and beyond.”
The Academy is celebrating the quarter-century anniversary of the Academy Film Archive with summer screening series “Archival Revival – 25 Years of the Academy Film Archive.” Curated from the Archive’s extensive collection of restored and preserved films, the series is running July 18 through September 12 in L.A.
Among the variety of offerings, on August 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater, Archival Revival will present “Plastic Realities: Films by Suzan Pitt and Pat O’Neill” with the filmmakers in attendance. Artistic contemporaries and longtime friends, Pitt and O’Neill are both highly influential artist and have both created diverse bodies of work in a wide variety of mediums, particularly in film. Pitt’s handmade animated films are vivid, visually complex journeys through alternative worlds. O’Neill’s work with elaborate optical printing and other compositing techniques create unparalleled collage-like pieces using both found and original images.
The screening showcases Suzan Pitt’s 1995 film Joy Street and Pat O’Neill’s 1996 film Trouble in the Image. Both works have been preserved by the Archive in the last year from original 35mm camera negatives, as part of an ongoing series of preservations of the filmmakers’ short subjects.
The Archival Revival series will also feature live-action classics like West Side Story, Singin’ in the Rain, The Pit and the Pendulum and My Own Private Idaho, among others.
The CW and Netflix have confirmed a new multi-year agreement that will bring in-demand CW scripted series to streaming more quickly than ever. As reported by Variety, CW shows will arrive on Netflix streaming eight days after each season finale, beginning with the 2016-17 season.
Included in the deal are three new primetime series Frequency, No Tomorrow and the drama-tinged Archie Comics reimagining Riverdale; as well as DC shows Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow; sci-fi/fantasy hits Supernatural, The 100 and The Vampire Diaries; and critically acclaimed comedies like Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex Girlfriend.
“For the past several years, the distinctive, high-quality shows we have been producing for the CW have proven their popularity across linear, on demand and digital properties here and around the world,” said Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution. “This new deal will provide consumers enhanced access to compatible programs like Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, while increasing the value of both in-season rights on The CW and prior seasons on Netflix.”
