Burbank’s FuseFX (fusefx.com) announces that two-time Academy Award nominated visual effects supervisor Pat McClung has joined the studio and will bring his 30-plus years of experience to both on-set and facility-based VFX Supervisor duties. His current projects include Scorpion and The Walking Dead.
“There is a lot of great work being done in television today,” McClung says of his decision to migrate from primarily feature film work. “I like the quick turnaround and the opportunity to work on a variety of projects with talented crews … The [FuseFX] pipeline is amazing; they use their time and people very well. The whole company operates like a Swiss watch.”
McClung began his career as a model and miniature artist at Boss Films. His early credits included Blade Runner, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Ghostbusters. Oscar nominations came for his work on 1995’s True Lies and 1999’s Armaggeddon. Recent additions to his 30-plus resume projects include McFarland USA; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Live Free and Die Hard.
London-based visual effects studio Electric Theatre Collective — which also represents BAFTA-nominated animation group The Line (Everything I Can See from Here) — has opened a new West Coast studio: Electric Theatre Collective Los Angeles. The move will open up possibilities for the studio, which began four years ago with just four employees and now has a staff of 80.
ETC LA is set up in a warehouse-style studio a short hop from the beach in Santa Monica, and is being headed by London transplant Kate Hitchings, formerly of Rogue Films, who will serve as executive producer of the new shop. Award-winning ETC head of color Aubrey Woodiwiss is also among the transatlantic talent pool which has been assembled.
Alhambra, California’s Gallery Nucleus will offer visitors a toon spooktacular this weekend with a special costume party opening for its Cartoon Network Halloween art exhibition this Saturday, October 31 from 2 to 5 p.m. The All Hallow’s all-ages reception is being hosted with Cartoon Network and Penguin Books and is free to attend. The accompanying exhibition will run through November 8.
Artists from hit series Steven Universe (including show creator Rebecca Sugar), Adventure Time, Regular Show and Clarence will be on hand opening night for signings and a Cartoon Network-themed costume contest with cool prizes. Other Halloween afternoon highlights will include a CN/Penguin Pop-up Shop, exclusive new CN prints, door prizes, giveaway, refreshments and more. The first 100 attendees to purchase a book or print at Nucleus on Oct. 31 will receive a wristband for the signing line.
Animation Libation Studios and Animation Magazine, the presenters of the 2015 World Animation Celebration international short film festival, have confirmed the winners of this year’s event. WAC 2015 took place over the weekend, hosted by Sony Pictures Animation at its lot in Culver City.
This year’s festival received over 250 submissions from 45 different countries, which were narrowed down to the top three judges’ picks in several categories. The winners and runners-up are:
Student 2D Computer Animation DODOBAby Yon Hui Lee (CalArts, USA) Breathe by Jodelyne C. Arias (School of Visual Arts, USA) In Black by Lai Wei (Univ. of Arts London, UK)
Student CG Animation None of Thatby Isabel Littger, Anna Hinds Paddock & Kriti Kaur (Ringling Coll. Of Art & Design, USA) Escarface by Eva Navaux, Burcu Sankur, Vincent Meunier, Lionel Arnold, Dario Sabato, Pierre Plouzeau (Supinfocom, France) Taking the Plunge by Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, Thaddeus Andreades, Nicholas Manfredi, Marie Raoult (School of Visual Arts, USA)
Student Stop Motion Rosso Papaveroby Martin Smatana (Acad. Of Performing Arts Bratislava, Slovakia) Night of the Living Chef by Sarah Watkins (Columbus Coll. Of Art & Design, USA) The Planet of Cheese by Matisse Gonzalez (Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany)
Student Traditional Animation Riflessoby Alice Guzzo (The Arts Univ. Bournemouth, UK) Seventh Heaven by OR Tilinger (Minshar for Art, Israel) Clown with the Ingrown Frown by Ken Siu (School of Visual Arts, USA)
Student Experimental Animation Threaded by Tatiana Pinzon S. (Univ. of Bogota, Colombia) Chocolate Darwin by Reinhold Ohngemach (Filmakad. Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) Fleischwelt by Ara Joe (Filmakad. Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany)
Professional 2D Computer Animation Claire and the Keys by John Ludwick (USA) Lonely Sound by Sandhya Prabhat (India) Moon Cakes by Chang Liu (USA)
Professional CG Animation Lost Senses by Marcin Wasilewski (Poland) Three Fools by Snobar Avani & Peter Hausner (Denmark) Two Worlds by Andy Lefton (USA)
Professional Experimental Animation Morning Coffee by Tracy Miller-Robins (USA) Grey Elegy by James Duesing (USA) 121 by Denes Ruzsa & Fruzsina Spitzer (Hungary)
Professional Stop Motion By Your Side byTsuneo Goda (Japan) Junk by Walter Tournier (Uruguay) The Grim Reaper Has the Blues by Maximilian Zenk & Florian Hazler (Germany)
Professional Traditional Animation Cooped by Mike A. Smith (USA) Muvfilms by Rodrigo Germano (Brazil) Armenian Genocide by Pablo Gostanian (Argentina)
The fun lovin’ folk at Walt Disney Home Entertainment have released a sneak peek at what fans can expect from the bushel of bonus content on the Inside Out Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray Combo pack and On-Demand releases. Out next Tuesday, November 3, the set will feature deleted scenes like this hilarious animatic for “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.”
The film is available now for Digital HD download and on Disney Movies Anywhere.
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg narrowly escaped life-threatening injury in an accident which one insider says “totaled” the animation exec’s Tesla car. The source told The Wrap it was a “miracle” that Katzenberg walked away from the scene.
Katzenberg was driving the Tesla through Beverly Hills on Sunset Boulevard around 7:30 in the morning when another vehicle moved to cross Sunset through an intersection, crashing into him. Katzenberg reportedly received shattering injuries to his right arm and wrist, which required four hours of surgery and a three day hospital stay.
The accident occurred on October 19 but was not detailed to the press until a week later. Katzenberg made an appearance at a charity event Friday, sporting a bubblegum pink cast.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 recently revealed the winners of its Computer Animation Festival, and now we have some more insight on the Best Student Project Award winner Natural Attraction by Marc Zimmerman from his alma mater, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg. SIGGRAPH Asia will run Nov. 2-5 in Kobe, Japan.
Natural Attraction, Zimmerman’s 2015 diploma film created for Filmakademie’s Institute of Animation program, combines epic 3D images and terrific soundscapes (mixed in Dolby Atmos) to create a natural spectacle that turns a sparse, dry landscape into a fruitful place bearing new life; the interplay between sky and earth expresses the dependency and symbiosis of both elements. Zimmerman also created the film’s visual effects and some of the music.
“It is my passion to visualize emotions via digital landscapes and to convey these emotions to the audience,” says Zimmerman. “This was also my main goal when realizing Natural Attraction. I am thus extremely happy to receive this award which I see as an affirmation of my artistic work.”
The director completed his studies this spring and now works as a visual effects artist for several advertising and film production companies.
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Institute of Animation had four other students accepted into this year’s SIGG Asia festival: Chocolate Darwin by Patxi Aguirre, Electrofly (Natalia Freitas), Jazz Orgy (Irina Rubina) and Some Thing (Elena Walf).
U.K. studio Fettle Animation has received a great international honor for its BAFTA-nominated animated documentary series Children of the Holocaust, picking up the inaugural Special Jury Prize at The Japan Prize 2015 ceremony in Tokyo. The award was introduced this year to mark competition’s 50th anniversary.
“It is such an honor to receive this accolade, and to win an inaugural award from a highly regarded, established international competition, is very special to us and the survivors who told their stories in our films,” said Fettle’s founder and animation director Zane Whittingham. “Children of the Holocaust seems to resonate with global audiences, having been screened at 10 film and animation festivals around the world this year. We feel privileged that a piece of work that started in Yorkshire has allowed us to share platforms with acclaimed film makers from around the world.”
Comprised of six animated retellings of the stories of elderly Holocaust survivors, Children of the Holocaust has been broadcast in Australia, Austria, China, France, Canada, South Korea, Italy and Sweden, and can be seen online in the U.K. now. Fettle Animation is in talks with SND Films for additional international distribution.
King Rollo Films – producers of children’s television series Spot, Maisy, Mama Mirabelle, Humf and Poppy Cat – has announced that it will be offering free training workshops for animators in order to build up a workforce and develop a new series on the U.K. island of Skye.
The workshops are being offered thanks to partnerships with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and creative industries festival XpoNorth. Organizers say the training sessions, which will take place at Gaelic language college Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI in December and January, will “equip talented artists and train up a new workforce for the Highlands and Islands.”
King Rollo’s intention to produce a series on Skye was announced back in March, when studio Managing Director Leo Nielsen said of the island, “Skye is a magical place with a unique tradition of storytelling.”
Season two of Disney Junior’s animated, preschool-friendly Western Sheriff Callie’s Wild West will have a lot of extra star power joining lead voicer Mandy Moore.
Launching Sunday, November 1 at 8 a.m. ET/PT, the roster of guest stars includes:
• Award-winning comedian Keegan-Michael Key as a cardshark rooster named Phineas Foolery • Rock-and-roll legends Iggy Pop and Henry Rollins as the Silverado Brothers, a pair of skating ermine silver thieves • Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Chris Isaak as a singing horse bandit named Johnny Strum
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea will also reprise his role as the Milk Bandit, a thieving wildcat set on stealing all of the milk in Nice and Friendly Corner.
The season two premiere episode “The Good, The Bad & the Yo-Yo / Boots or Consequences” finds loveable kitty Sheriff Callie and her deputy woodpecker Peck teaching the Cowpoke Code to a yo-yo twirling bandit, and offering words of wisdom to Toby about returning things to their rightful owners.
Disney has revealed a slew of voice cast members who will be joining previously announced stars Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin and Shakira in its upcoming original flick, Zootopia (in theaters March 4, 2016). The actors’ I.D.s were revealed in USA Today, along with some pics of the characters they’ll be portraying.
Newly announced are:
Idris Elba as the voice of Chief Bogo, stern cape buffalo head of the Zootopia Police Department.
Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Otterson.
J.K. Simmons as noble Mayor Leodore Lionheart.
Tommy Chong as enlightened, laid-back Yax the yak.
Nate Torrence as ZPD’s Benjamin Clawhauser, a charming cheetah who loves sweets and pop stars.
Jenny Slate as Assistant Mayor Bellwether, a meek sheep.
Alan Tudyk as big-mouthed small-time crook Duke Weaselton (a shout-out to his Frozen role as the Duke of Weselton).
Raymond Persi as Flash, the fastest sloth at the DMV (Department of Mammal Vehicles).
Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake as Judy Hopps’ mom and dad, carrot farmers from rural Bunnyburrow.
Directed by Byron Howard and Riche Moore and co-directed by Jared Bush, Zootopia is set in a major metropolis inhabited entirely by cosmopolitan animals. The story centers on Officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the first bunny on the Zootopia police force who is determined to prove herself. She’ll do anything to crack a tricky case – even if it means teaming up with con artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman).
A new eight-part special series that will answer some questions about one of Emmy winning toon Adventure Time‘s most mysterious characters, Marceline the Vampire Queen. The four-night special programming event for “Stakes” will kick off on Cartoon Network on Monday, November 16 and conclude Thursday, November 19 at 8 pm. ET/PT.
Regular Adventure Time voice cast members Olivia Olson (Marceline), Jeremy Shada (Finn), John DiMaggio (Jake), Hynden Walch (Princess Bubblegum) and Tom Kenny (Ice King) are joined by special guests Rebecca Romijn as The Empress, Billy Brown as The Vampire King, composer/actor Paul Williams as The Hierophant, comedian Ron Funches as The Fool, Beau Billingslea as The Moon and Kyle Kinane as Cloud Dance. And, in her voice acting debut, Steven Universe creator and Adventure Time alumna Rebecca Sugar voices Marceline’s mother.
Synopsis:
Marceline the Vampire Queen wishes to be an undead, red-sucker no more, but can Princess Bubblegum concoct a cure? At the same time, five of Marceline’s most fearsome foes return from her past. What might her most powerful nemesis, the Vampire King, have in store? Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and their friends join the Vampire Queen’s fight against her immortal enemies. But for Marceline, the stakes have never been higher throughout these eight special episodes.
Mirada, the multifaceted storytelling studio founded by Guillermo Del Toro in 2010, received two top honors at last week’s Digital Hollywood conference in Los Angeles for its recent virtual reality projects. “Google Shop at Currys VR Tour” was awarded Best in Mobile VR, and “The Strain” experience snagged Best VR Based on Cinematic and Television Experience.
“Google Shop at Currys VR Tour” launched in April 2015 as the first official app for Google Cardboard, and introduced viewers to a Google retail store before it opened to the public. Viewers can navigate the environment via head positioning and interact with pop-up icons for an engaging and intimate experience.
For “The Strain” VR experience, viewers follow the character Vasiliy Fet on an immersive 360-degree journey through an abandoned warehouse filled with threatening vampires. Mirada’s customized platform also enabled real-time effects and spatial audio.
FranceTV Distribution’s post-MIPCOM announcements contain good news for U.S. fans of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang. The commercial arm of pubcaster France Televisions has finalized a deal with Turner Broadcasting’s Boomerang channel which will bring the Peanuts animated shorts series Stateside.
Produced by France’s Normaal for France Televisions with Peanuts Worldwide, the 500 shorts based on the comic-strip by Charles Schulz will premiere on Boomerang, with promotional crossover on Cartoon Network (U.S.) and the Cartoon Network app. The shorts currently air in over 20 territories worldwide.
V&S Entertainment announces that its CG preschool series Everything’s Rosie has hit a streaming milestone, with worldwide YouTube hits reaching over 100 million. The official Everything’s Rosie YouTube channels first launched in English, Spanish and for Latin America in 2014. These were followed by Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish and Serbian, with more languages in the works.
In addition to growing success across digital platforms, the 104 x 11 series continues to be a staple on traditional broadcasters. Co-produced by JCC, Everything’s Rosie currently airs in over 170 countries, including U.K. (CBeebies), Spain (Clan TVE, Canal Panda), Italy (RAI), Russia (Karousel), South Africa (ETV) and the U.S. (V-me).
Simon Crowe’s SC Films International has announced that it is onboard for upcoming 3D animated family flick Sherlock Hound and the Case of the Missing Santa Claus, which will be directed by Monty Python’s Terry Jones. The announcement was made through ScreenDaily ahead of the American Film Market, set for November 4-11.
Set in the Victorian era, the film will center on the world’s greatest dog detective Sherlock Hound as he unravels the mystery of Santa’s disappearance. Additional characters will include The Queen, a polar bear Father Christmas, penguin Elves, Rudolph the Reindeer, and a felonious feline named Moriarty. Denis Higgins and Stephen Meier are writing the script.
Jones will be tackling the film with his son, producer-director Bill Jones, and his business partner Ben Timlett of Bill and Ben Productions. The trio joined forces to produce the 2012 animated comedy A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman. Sherlock Hound is in development and aiming for a Christmas 2018 release.
At AFM, SC Films will screen animated projects Monkey King: The Hero and Get Squirrely. The company will also have footage of the upcoming Charming.
The New York Television Festival organizers today announced that Emmy Award-winning animation studio Bento Box Entertainment is its first development partner for the 2016 edition. The 11th NYTVF wraps up in Manhattan on Saturday, October 24 (www.nytvf.com). Bento Box co-founder and EP Joel Kuwahara is presenting the “Animation 101: De-mystifying Primetime Animation in the Digital Age” panel Saturday.
Bento Box currently produces the hit primetime comedy Bob’s Burgers and Bordertown for FOX, Legends of Chamberlain Heights for Comedy Central and The Awesomes for Hulu, to name a few of their projects. This is the first time Bento Box is partnering with NYTVF, and through the agreement the studio is guaranteeing that it will award a development deal to a producer or production team selected from the Official Artists at the 2016 event.
In order to be eligible, projects must be named Official Selections in the Independent Pilot Competition, which opens for entries for 2016 this week. Details will be available on www.nytvf.com/submit.html.
South African satirical comedy series Puppet Nation ZA – which was originally shunned by broadcasters – has received a nomination for the 2015 International Emmy Awards in the Best TV Comedy.
Produced by Cape Town’s Both Worlds production house, Puppet Nation ZA is up against Doce de Mae (Globot TV, Brazil), Fais Pas Ci, Fais Pas Ca (Elephant Story / France 2 / AB Distribution, France), Familia en Venta (Fox Int’l / Fox Telecolombia, Colombia) and Sensitive Skin (Rhombus Media / Baby Cow Prod. / The Movie Network / Movie Central / Tricon / CMF / Rogers Cable Network Fund, Canada).
Puppet Nation ZA, now in its ninth season, is a weekly news satire show featuring a cast of latex puppets modeled on celebrities and politicians, from Nelson Mandela to Lady Gaga. Broadcast on Star One on pan-African satellite platform StarSat, the show has previously won seven South African Film and Television Awards, including Best TV Comedy.
For many years, TV wouldn’t touch the series due to its screwy political satire, and it had to exist solely online. However, it has earned praise from such luminaries as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who both got to meet their puppets in person.
SPARK CG Society, organizers of the SPARK Animation festival, conference and job fair taking place in Vancouver this week, announced this year’s award winners during the opening night Spark Animation Celebration on Oct. 21.
The Best Animated Short Award went to Konstantin Bronzit for We Can’t Live Without Cosmos, produced by Russia’s Melnitsa Animation. Vancouver Film School scholar Nata Metlukh took the Best Student Film Award for Fears. Special Mentions were given to Marilyn Haddad for Like There Is No Tomorrow and Nick Salmon for Orbit.
The inaugural SPARK CG Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed on Marv Newland, who founded animated film production company International Rocketship in Vancouver in 1975 and is a current instructor at Vancouver Film School. Newland, perhaps best known for his iconic 1969 short Bambi Meets Godzilla, was honored for his creative contributions throughout his career as well as his valuable mentorship to the next generation of talent.
Outside the shorts competition: Best Cinematic went to The Witcher 3 “Wild Hunt” directed by Istvan Zorkoczy; Sylvain Chomet’s “Carmen” for Stromae won Best Animated Music Video; and “Team Generous 2015 Bornefonden” directed by Tobias Gundorff Boesen won Best Animated PSA/Commercial.
FUNimation Entertainment has announced North American theatrical release dates for Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie. The film is set to screen in over 330 theaters across the U.S. and Canada on November 10, 11 and 16. This is the first new feature in the acclaimed sci-fi anime franchise in over a decade.
Set in a futuristic Japan after the end of a brutal world war, science has advanced by leaps and bounds giving humanity the choice to prolong life and reduce suffering with the use of sophisticated cybernetics. With all of humanity linked into one system of minds and personalities known as ghosts, the biggest threat to civilization is the cyber terrorists capable of hijacking people’s bodies and memories.
When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source. As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.
When your target can be anywhere and look like anyone, the only choice you have is to trust your ghost, and hope you aren’t infected too.
Ghost in the Shell: The New MovieGhost in the Shell: The New MovieGhost in the Shell: The New Movie
