File this item in the “No Hope for Humanity” category. According to a story in The Guardian, a five-foot replica of Aardman’s beloved Gromit (Wallace’s dog), which is on display in a Bristol fundraising event, has had its tail broken off.
The giant statue of the beloved pooch, which was designed by actor Joanna Lumley, is one of 80 on display in the city as part of the 10-week Gromit Unleashed arts trail, which aims to raise funds for Bristol Children’s hospital. It had its tail broken off on Friday night, according to organizers. Police is currently investigating the crime.
“We’re very sorry to say that late Friday night, one of our Gromit Unleashed sculptures was damaged,” said organizers of Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal in a statement. “We are dismayed that anyone would want to damage one of the Gromit sculptures, which have been created to raise money to treat sick children in hospital and to provide something for everyone in Bristol to enjoy. We have reported this to the police and are currently assessing the damage to the sculpture.”
ITV also reported that a second statue was damaged as well. Both have now been taken away for repair. Lumley’s design was named “Poetry in Motion” while the other was called “Carosello Gromit”.
Nick Park, the Oscar-winning creator of Wallace & Gromit, brought many of the sculptures into the city on a special steam train last week. Others were created by illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, One Direction’s Zayn Malik, comic The Beano and comedian Harry Hill. The special Wallace & Gromit charity drive was founded 17 years ago. The event hopes to raise £3.5 million towards new equipment for the hospital.
The rear of a Gromit statue which had its tail ripped off.Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park with Gromit sculptures.Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club will offer a special 3D screening of next month’s Planes feature. D23 Expo attendees will be among the first to see Disney’s Planes on its opening day, August 9th, at a 3D presentation introduced by special guests.
Directed by lifelong aviation enthusiast Klay Hall (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), and produced by Traci Balthazor-Flynn, Disney’s Planes features the voices of Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Priyanka Chopra, John Cleese, Cedric the Entertainer, Carlos Alazraqui, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Sinbad, and John Ratzenberger. The pic centers on Dusty Crophopper who dreams of competing as a high-flying racer.
The screening is slated for Friday, August 9, 2013, at 3 p.m. at the Arena inside the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information, check out www.disney.com/planes.
Another popular animated TV show from the 1990s will be making its way to the big screen. Mark Gordon, Don Murphy and Susan Montford are attached as producers to a live-action feature based on Captain Planet and the Planeteers, per The Hollywood Reporter. Sony is in final stages of negotiations for the project.
The original show, which ran from 1990 to 1992, was produced by DIC Entertainment, created by Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle and developed by Pyle, Nicholas Boxer, Thom Beers, Bob Forward, Phil Harnage, Andy Heyward, Robby London and Cassandra Schafhausen. The series’ sequel The New Adventures of Captain Planet was produced by Hanna Barbera and Turner and aired from 1993 until 1996.
The environmentally themed toon centers on five teens from around the world who are given power by Gaia, the earth spirit to protect the world from the devastation of polluters. When their powers are not sufficient, the teens summon a hero named Captain Planet. Villains included Dr. Blight, Verminous Skumm, Duke Nukem and Looten Plunder. Previous live-action adaptations of the property ended up stagnating in development.
Well, it’s not actually Harry Potter. It’s Daniel Radcliffe, who played the hugely popular character in the eight feature adaptations who will be a voice guest on the upcoming season of The Simpsons, says ew.com. Radcliffe will voice a strange older boy named Diggs, who is described by the show’s exec producer Al Jean as “a combination of Holden Caulfield, Finny from A Separate Peace and the kids in Lord of the Flies — only a little more screwed up.”
This isn’t the first time the Harry Potter star has visited the Springfield gang. In the 2010 episode of
“Treehouse of Horror XXI,” Radcliffe voiced the son of Dracula. As Jean explains, “I had the pleasure of meeting him after one of his performances in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and he is one of the people who actually listens to Simpsons DVD commentaries… Also, he was terrific.”
The 25th season of The Simpsons which will begin on September 29 on Fox-TV, will showcase the talents of several top guest stars including Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Eva Longoria and Elisabeth Moss.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.
The 2013 invitees in animation and visual effects are:
Short Films /Feature Animation
Eric Darnell (Madagascar, Shrek)
John C. Donkin (Ice Age Continental Drift, Gone Nutty)
Ken Duncan (9, Shark Tale)
Danielle Feinberg (Brave, WALL-E)
Sam Fell (ParaNorman, The Tale of Despereaux)
Matt Groening (Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare,’ The Simpsons Movie)
Vicky Jenson (Shark Tale, Shrek)
Travis Knight (ParaNorman, Coraline)
Steve May (Brave, Up)
Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph, Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!)
Robert Neuman (Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled)
Brandon Oldenburg (Rise of the Guardians, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore)
PES (Fresh Guacamole, Western Spaghetti)
Steve Pilcher (Brave, Shrek the Third)
Clark Spencer (Wreck-It Ralph)
Visual Effects
Jason Bayever (Life of Pi, The Wolfman)
Mark Breakspear (The Great Gatsby, Tropic Thunder)
Philip Brennan (Snow White and the Huntsman, Minority Report)
Tony Clark (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
David Clayton (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Avatar)
Michael Dawson (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Devil’s Double)
Erik-Jan De Boer (Life of Pi, Night at the Museum)
Donald R. Elliott (Life of Pi, Seabiscuit)
John Goodson (Red Tails, Marvel’s The Avengers)
Charley Henley (Prometheus, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
John McLeod (Django Unchained, The Aviator)
Mark Noel (Oz The Great and Powerful, Transformers)
David Prescott (Transformers, X-Men)
Guillaume Rocheron (Life of Pi, Sucker Punch)
Wendy Rogers (Puss in Boots, Shrek)
David Alexander Smith (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Matrix Reloaded)
Wayne Stables (The Adventures of Tintin, Avatar)
Richard Stammers (Prometheus, Angels & Demons)
Richard Stutsman (Zero Dark Thirty, Independence Day)
Christopher Townsend (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Day after Tomorrow)
Stephan Trojansky (Marvel’s The Avengers, Hereafter)
David Watkins (Ali, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Jeff White (Marvel’s The Avengers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Trevor Wood (Prometheus, The Golden Compass)
Each year Academy members may sponsor one candidate for membership within their branch. New member application reviews take place in the spring. Applications for the coming year must be received by March 20, 2014.
New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.
Here’s some good news for all of us who think that Pixar should be focusing more on original movies instead of relying on the instant appeal of sequels. The much-admired studio president Ed Catmull recently told Buzzfeed.com that Pixar will cut down on the number of sequels in the future, planning one original film a year and alternating sequels only every other year.
“For artistic reasons … it’s really important that we do an original film a year,” says Catmull, who is also president of Walt Disney Animation. “Every once in a while, we get a film where we want or people want to see something continuing in that world — which is the rationale behind the sequel. They want those characters, which means we were successful with them. But if you keep doing that, then you aren’t doing original films.”
“We’re going to have an original film every year, then every other year have a sequel to something,” he says. “That’s the rough idea.”
The next sequel from Pixar, Andrew Stanton’s Finding Dory, is scheduled for November 25, 2015.
Here’s a look at the Pixar’s upcoming release schedule:
The Good Dinosaur. May 30, 2014
Inside Out. June 19, 2015
Finding Dory. November 25, 2015
Untitled Dia de los Muertos Feature. June 17, 2016
Two iconic universes collide when Marvel and Disney characters team up in Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, a special Phineas and Ferb episode in which Marvel Super Heroes and the popular animated duo, Phineas and Ferb, defeat Marvel Super Villains and Dr. Doofenshmirtz, in an epic battle of good versus evil. This first ever crossover animated television special for Marvel and Disney characters premieres on Friday, August 16 at 8:00 p.m. on Disney Channel.
Beginning, Monday, August 12, Disney Channel SVOD and verified WATCH Disney Channel users will be treated to a first look of the special episode.
The episode finds Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor and Hulk standing powerless after being struck by Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s power-draining “inator.” Once the Marvel Super Villains – Red Skull, Whiplash, Venom and M.O.D.O.K. – find out that Dr. Doofenshmirtz is responsible for robbing the Super Heroes of their powers, they seek him out and together create mayhem in Danville. Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb do everything they can to restore the Super Heroes’ powers before the evil villains take over the world.
Creators and executive producers Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh worked closely with Marvel’s creative team to ensure the Marvel characters fit seamlessly into the Danville world of the Emmy Award-winning series. The voice cast includes: Vincent Martella as Phineas Flynn; Ashley Tisdale as Candace Flynn; Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Ferb Fletcher; Caroline Rhea as mom Linda Flynn-Fletcher; Richard O’Brien as dad Lawrence Fletcher; Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus; Alyson Stoner as Isabella; Jeff “Swampy” Marsh as Major Monogram; Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz; Tyler Mann as Carl; John Viener as Norm; Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet; Bobby Gaylor as Buford; Jack McBrayer as Irving; Drake Bell as Spider-Man; Adrian Pasdar as Iron Man; Travis Willingham as Thor; Fred Tatasciore as Hulk; Liam O’Brien as Red Skull; Charlie Adler as M.O.D.O.K.; Peter Stormare as Whiplash; Danny Trejo as Venom; and Chi McBride as Nick Fury.
Stan Lee also guest stars as himself.
Here are some details about the multi-platform release:
Beginning Friday, July 26, fans can visit www.DisneyChannel.com/MissionMarvel to play an all new game featuring characters from “Phineas and Ferb” and Marvel. The site will also feature videos and a chance to create your own “Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel” Photo Mash Up.
Beginning Monday, August 12, Disney Channel will feature a weeklong strip of Phineas and Ferb episodes as a countdown to the special event of the summer. Additionally, Disney Channel SVOD and verified WATCH Disney Channel users will be treated to a first look.
On Sunday, August 25, at 10 a.m. the special will air on Disney XD and will be hosted by Dr. Doofenshmirtz via “Doof’s Daily Dirt.” The premiere event will feature six spots, including Dr. Doof dishing on his exploits with the Marvel Super Villains and encouraging viewers to visit www.DisneyXD.com to play an all-new game inspired by “Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel.”
Phineas and Ferb has been the #1 animated TV series the past five years in Tweens 9-14 and the #1 animated TV series in Prime for five consecutive years in Kids 6-11, and in 2013 to date, easily ranks as TV’s #1 telecast in its time period across major youth demos 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14.
If you’re a big Cartoon Network fan, you’ll definitely need to get yourself to Comic-Con next month. The toon cabler has planned a massive promotional program for the fan-centric event, which will include a massive Adventure Time themed booth on the convention floor with the Ice King’s iconic castle and an exclusive fan-centric photo opportunity. Fans again have the opportunity to collect exclusive Comic-Con giveaways including five different Adventure Time buttons.
Directly across the street from the Convention Center, Cartoon Network has joined forces for a second year with the New Children’s Museum of San Diego to offer families and kids-of-all ages a unique immersive experience. Taking its inspiration from the Regular Show, Cartoon Network will transform The New Children’s Museum into the Regular Show Regular Zone – a sensory feast complete with nostalgic 80’s arcade games, Regular Show inspired video games, and groovy neon lighting. Topping the museum with ginormous inflatables of series stars Mordecai and Rigby, Comic-Con goers won’t be able to miss the Regular Show Regular Zone at The New Children’s Museum, which is open and free of charge throughout San Diego Comic-Con 2013.
For the first time ever, Cartoon Network will host back-to-back panels of fan favorite series Adventure Time and Regular Show at the Hilton Bayfront on Friday, June 19. Series creators and stars will participate in interactive panels, where fans can ask their burning questions and get all the behind-the-scenes secrets on their favorite shows! Other Cartoon Network events will include panels and signings for Annoying Orange, Ben 10:Omniverse, MAD, Batman Beyond and Teen Titans Go! as well as a sneak peak of three brand new original animated comedies: Uncle Grandpa, Steven Universe and Clarence.
Below is a list of Cartoon Network series panels, fan events and signings at 2013 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif., Thursday, July 18 – Sunday, July 21, 2013. Panel times and room locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
Thursday, July 18
MAD
MAD
Get a glimpse behind the MADness with MAD television producers Kevin Shinick and Mark Marek.
Annoying Orange
Annoying Orange
Join the cast and crew of Annoying Orange for a slam-packed, manic musical mash-up, featuring: an exclusive look into the show’s unique production process, an epic new episode premiere, a live musical number, a Toby Turner dance, and insight into the emerging creative bridge between Internet and traditional television entertainment. The Annoying Orange panel that includes Dane Boedigheimer (creator, Orange, Pear, Midget Apple, Marshmallow), Toby Turner (Nerville), iJustine (Passion Fruit), Tom Kenny (Coconut, Guava), Rob Paulsen (Broccoli Alien Overlord), Tom Sheppard (co-creator, director, Li’l Squishy, Old Man Banana), Gary Binkow (EP) and Conrad Montgomery (Cartoon Network Executive).
Friday, July 19
Cartoon Network presents a back-to-back Regular Show and Adventure Time Panel Extravaganza!!!
Regular Show
Regular Show
Care to join the not so regular cast and crew for an eventful hour of OVER THE TOP regular? Yeeeeeeeeuh you do!! Cartoon Network brings the magic makers of its Emmy Award®-winning original comedy series Regular Show to San Diego Comic-Con 2013! Check out exclusive content and get the inside scoop on your favorite slackers, and some of their closest friends. The panel features: Regular Show creator, JG Quintel (voice of Mordecai), William Salyers (voice of Rigby), Sam Marin (voice of Benson, Pops, and Muscle Man), Sean Szeles (Supervising Director), Toby Jones (Storyboard Artist) and Calvin Wong (Storyboard Artist).
Adventure Time
Adventure Time
What’s ALGEBRAIC and SCHMOWZOW and RIGHTEOUS all over? It’s Adventure Time! Holy Stuff! Cartoon Network is bringing its hit original comedy series Adventure Time to San Diego Comic-Con 2013! As if chatting up the coolest kids in the cartoon kingdom wasn’t enough; get ready for your eyeballs to be fixed on some never-before-seen content, and your jaw to drop at a rad surprise…or two. So come on, grab your friends! Let’s get this party started! The panel features: Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward (Lumpy Space Princess), Jeremy Shada (Finn), John DiMaggio (Jake), Tom Kenny (Ice King), Olivia Olson (Marceline), Kent Osborne (Head of Story) and Adam Muto (Supervising Producer).
Saturday, July 20
Uncle Grandpa
Cartoon Network New Comedies:UNCLE GRANDPA, STEVEN UNIVERSE and CLARENCE
Be the first to see an exclusive sneak peek of Cartoon Network Studio’s all new line up of chuckle-inducing comedies! The panel will feature Uncle Grandpa creator Pete Browngardt, creative director Audie Harrison, and Adam Devine (Workaholics) as the voice of Pizza Steve; Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar and creative director Ian Jones-Quartey; and Clarence creator Skyler Page. All your questions are sure to be answered and your anticipation is sure to be electrified!
Sunday, July 21
Beware the Batman
Beware the Batman
The Dark Knight makes his return to television in this new action-packed CG animated series. Producers Glen Murakami and Mitch Watson will give fans a peek behind the cape.
Teen Titans Go!
Teen Titans Go!
Producer Aaron Horvath joins members of the voice cast, including Greg Cipes and Scott Menville, for this screening and Q&A. Go!
Ben 10: Omniverse
Ben 10: Omniverse
It’s Hero Time! Set your Omnitrix for “AWESOME” with the Ben 10 Omniverse Panel, highlighting the Cartoon Network hero of a million alien faces! Join voice talent Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10), Bumper Robinson (Rook), Paul Eiding (Grandpa Max), and Eric Bauza (Dr. Psychobos), as well as the guys who help make it all happen, Matt Youngberg (Supervising Producer), and Derrick Wyatt (Art Director), as they talk about the show, premiere an unseen episode, and much more!
Adult Swim has unveiled its packed schedule for this year’s Comic-Con event in San Diego. Show panels run from Thursday to Saturday, featuring creators, producers and actors from fan favorites The Venture Bros., Childrens Hospital, NTSF:SD:SUV::, Robot Chicken, Aqua TV Show Show, Squidbillies, The Eric Andre Show, The Heart, She Holler, China, IL, and sneak peeks of several new and upcoming series such as Rick and Morty, Hot Package, King Star King, and Mr. Pickles.
Adult Swim stars on hand will include Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer, Seth Green, Patton Oswalt, Amy Sedaris, Eric Andre, Hannibal Buress, and many more. Fans can also stop by the Adult Swim booth #3721 to enjoy free mini massages and a place to escape from the hectic pace of the convention floor.
The Adult Swim Funhouse will also be making its official grand opening at San Diego Comic-Con: The magic castle will be erected across from the convention center, in the Petco Park parking lot just over the footbridge. Fans will have a chance to enter the world of Adult Swim and get lost within the 10+ rooms. The multiple paths and room challenges will force guests to crawl, dance, and sing their way to get to the end. Those fans who survive and emerge from the Adult Swim Funhouse will receive free custom live screen printed t-shirts. Free for fans, tickets will be distributed at the Funhouse each day starting at 4:00 p.m. and will be open Thursday, July 18 – Saturday, July 20 from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. each night.
Here is the complete schedule of series panels 2013 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif., Thursday, July 18 – Saturday, July 20, 2013. Panel times and room locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
ADULT SWIM PANELS
Thursday, July 18
The Heart, She Holler
The Heart, She Holler
The creators and stars of Adult Swim’s epic TV event, The Heart, She Holler, will explain it all at this panel. Executive producers John Lee (Xavier: Renegade Angel, Wonder Showzen), and Alyson Levy (Xavier: Renegade Angel, Wonder Showzen) will be joined by cast members Patton Oswalt (United States of Tara, Ratatouille), Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) and Heather Lawless (The Campaign). The panel will be moderated by Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers, 30 Rock).
Friday, July 19
The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros.
Show creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer will discuss the original series, now in its fifth season, and answer fan questions. They will be joined by the voice of Brock Samson, Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, The Tick).
Childrens Hospital
Childrens Hospital
Come watch a sneak peek of Childrens Hospital season 5 and hear from the show’s creative team, led by creator and star Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), executive producer Jonathan Stern (Burning Love, Newsreaders) and executive producer David Wain (The State, Wanderlust). They will be joined by members of the show’s ensemble cast of comedic heavyweights, including Lake Bell (How to Make It in America), Erinn Hayes (Parenthood), Ken Marino (Party Down, The State) and Rob Huebel (Human Giant, The Descendants).
NTSF:SD:SUV::
NTSF:SD:SUV::(National Terrorist Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle::)
Come watch a sneak peek of NTSF:SD:SUV:: season 3 and hear from the show’s creative team led by creator and star Paul Scheer (The League), executive producer Jonathan Stern (Childrens Hospital, Newsreaders) and consulting producer Curtis Gwinn (Fat Guy Stuck in Internet). They will be joined by members of their ensemble cast including Karen Gillan (Dr. Who), Brandon Johnson (Funny or Die), June Diane Raphael (Burning Love, Ass Backwards) and Martin Starr (Party Down, Freaks and Geeks).
The Eric Andre Show
The Eric Andre Show and Hot Package
Adult Swim’s late night hosts will share the stage for a season preview and fan questions. Eric Andre (Don’t Trust the B—in Apartment 23), host of the returning late night talk show The Eric Andre Show, and his sidekick Hannibal Buress (30 Rock, SNL) will be joined by Derrick Beckles (TV Carnage), host of the new live-action fictional Canadian entertainment news program Hot Package.
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Co-creators/executive producers Seth Green and Matthew Senreich are joined by head writers/co-executive producers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root, actor/writer Breckin Meyer, writer/director Zeb Wells, and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, to discuss the Emmy-winning series. Come watch a sneak peek and get your questions answered about the upcoming new season and the next Robot Chicken DC Comics Special. Keith Crofford, vice president of production for Adult Swim, will moderate the panel.
China, IL
China, IL
Creator and executive producer Brad Neely and executive producer Daniel Weidenfeld discuss the second season of the animated series China, IL, which will air this fall. They will be joined by cast member Hannibal Buress (30 Rock, SNL). The panel will be moderated by Jonah Ray (The Meltdown, The Nerdist).
Saturday, July 20
Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty
Premiering this winter, Rick and Morty is a show about a sociopathic scientist who drags his unintelligent grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Executive producers Dan Harmon (Community, Channel 101) and Justin Roiland (Channel 101) will preview the new animated series, and will be joined by writer Ryan Ridley and cast members Spencer Grammer (Greek) and voice actress Kari Wahlgren. The panel will be moderated by Rob Schrab (The Mindy Project, SCUD).
[adult swim] Presents
Dave Willis (Squidbillies, Aqua TV Show Show) and Ned Hastings (Squidbillies, Aqua TV Show Show) will discuss the return of long-running animated series Aqua TV Show Show and Squidbillies. Christy Karacas (Robotomy) will preview season 4 of Superjail! and JJ Villard (Monsters Vs. Aliens) and Tommy Blacha (Metalocalypse) will discuss the upcoming new series King Star King. Also fans will get an exclusive look at new Adult Swim series Mr. Pickles from creators Will Carsola and Dave Stewart (Funny Or Die Presents Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time).
Montreal-based Toon Boom Animation has prelaunched two new releases, Toon Boom Animate 3 and Toon Boom Animate Pro 3, which are ideal for frame-by-frame and cut-out rigging animation respectively. With these new versions, the two-time Emmy-winning animation software powerhouse has reorganized its product line to give each of these products a clear set of capabilities required for the animation style of your choice.
Animate 3 is described as the ideal software for paperless, frame-by-frame animation, easy to learn and master, while Animate Pro 3 is perfect for creating cut-out style animation. Users can build character rigs, animate, and do special effects—all in one software.
Among the Toon Boom Animate 3 Highlights are:
True Pencil – Animate 3 gives you the ability to draw with True Pencil, a pencil line with variable thickness that supports pressure sensitivity. Draw clean lines with the pencil and have the ability to modify the lines easily. You can apply the style across hundreds of drawings. Incorporate texture on your lines for cool effects.
Texture Brushes – Animate allows you to draw with texture brushes using the Brush tool. Take advantage of this to do rough drawings just like you would on paper, simulating that pencil-on-paper feeling.
Tool Presets Toolbar – When creating paperless animation, you often want to save frequently used brushes or pencils so you can quickly go back to those preferences. Using the new Tool Presets toolbar, you can save presets for any tool, remembering the properties of that tool.
Toon Boom Animate Pro 3 highlights include:
Bone Deform – Animate Pro 3 now comes with Bone-style Deform! Bring your cut-out characters to the next level by adding deformers to bend drawings around bones and articulations. Apply deform to vector drawings, textures, or imported bitmaps.
True Pencil – Animate Pro 3 gives you the ability to draw with True Pencil, a pencil line with variable thickness that supports pressure sensitivity. Draw clean lines with the pencil and have the ability to modify the lines easily. Incorporate texture on your lines for cool effects.
Tool Presets Toolbar – When working in cut-out animation, you often want to save standard brush or pencil settings for different areas of your character rig. Using the new Tool Presets toolbar, you can save presets for any tool, remembering the properties of that tool.
Both products are now supercharged on a 64-bit core, which offers the freedom to use more of the computer’s resources, and output high-resolution files for a professional-quality production. In addition, they both support standard two-finger Touch Gestures for zooming, rotating, and scaling of the canvas, when using a tablet. Finally, they both benefit from interface enhancements designed to simplify workflow and streamline the animation process.
Special Pricing: During this time-limited pre-launch period, you can buy Toon Boom Animate 3 for $599 and Toon Boom Animate Pro 3 for $999 (a saving of $100). Customers will receive a version 2 license which will be replaced by version 3 upon release. Customers owning previous versions of Animate and Animate Pro may upgrade on release day only.
Amazon Studios is now accepting concept video shorts which deliver a compelling idea for a commercial, theatrical feature film as a development option.
Hollywood’s creative community and talented filmmakers worldwide are invited to submit 2-15 minute videos to the Amazon Studios site, following a process similar to a script submission. Creators can submit publicly or privately; there is a 45-day option and evaluation period; creators of projects added to the development slate will receive a $10,000 payment.
Cinedigm has announced that it will distribute Mondo Media’s slated of animated shows in theaters and via VOD, home video and digital outlets. With over 2.3 million subscribers, Mondo Media’s teen and adult-skewing animated shows such as Happy Tree Friends, Dick Figures and Deep Space 69 have generated over 1.6 billion views. The two companies will distribute the Happy Tree Friends web and television series franchise and the 2006 animated Korean feature film Aachi & Ssipak in theaters, on VOD, home video and through digital outlets, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Cinedigm’s release of 13 Happy Tree Friends half-hour episodes will include never-before-seen episodes and bonus materials. There are also 75 short films based on the same series. First introduced in 2006, the Flash animated show was created and developed by Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo, Kenn Navarro and Warren Graff for Mondo Media.
Here’s a sampler:
Aachi & Ssipak, an animated, post-apocalyptic feature film that explores the worlds of cross-dressing, break-dancing and decapitations, will be released this winter on Mondo’s YouTube Channel as well as in theaters and on VOD, home video and through digital outlets. The 2006 South Korean film was directed by Jo Beom-jin.
Here is a trailer for the film:
As Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk tells The Reporter, “Cinedigm has a history of working with new media content creators and developing ground-breaking revenue opportunities across all platforms and marketing the properties via nontraditional windowing strategies. From our work with Felicia Day and The Guild to Red vs. Blue, we know a successful property needs to be accessible to its fans across all platforms and devices. We are certain the 2.3 million subscribers that clamor to see the latest Mondo offerings online will be equally enthusiastic to see them — curated with new, original content — across all platforms.”
Summit Entertainment will showcase the studio’s highly anticipated film Ender’s Game at Comic-Con 2013, on Thursday, July 18. The panel will feature filmmakers and cast members, including producer Bob Orci, director Gavin Hood and cast members Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Abigail Breslin.
In addition, attendees are invited to visit an elaborate, specially constructed Ender’s Game exhibit outside of the Hilton Gaslamp, featuring eight unique rooms representing the most iconic environments of Ender’s world, complete with original film props and set pieces used in the movie. Throughout the experience, attendees will be able to see exclusive film footage on LED screens, interact with new digital content, integrate photos of themselves into the highly anticipated Battle Room, and register to win a home make over.
Summit’s booth located within the Grand Hall will also feature film highlights. Premium promotional items will be distributed to the 120,000 attendees walking the convention floor, and booth visitors will be given the opportunity to win “fast passes” to the film’s Exclusive Fan Experience, granting them entry without having to wait in line.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
“Based on the best-selling, award winning novel, Ender’s Game is an epic adventure directed by Gavin Hood starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford. In the near future, a hostile alien race has attacked Earth. In preparation for the next attack, the humans begin training only the best students to find their future leader. Ender Wiggin, a shy, but strategically brilliant young man is pulled out of his school to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters the training, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. He is soon ordained as the military’s next great hope and is charged to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.”
Ender’s Game will be released in U.S. theaters on Nov. 1, 2013.
Seth Green and his team at Burbank-based Stoopid Buddy Stoodios are teaming up with L/Studio, the Lexus-owned channel behind Web Therapy and Puppy Love, for a new web series called Friendship All-Stars. The new stop-motion animated comedy series follows the mundane and offbeat adventures of pretend celebrity neighbors (such as Ron Perelman and Guillermo del Toro) living together in a giant apartment building. The series will consist of 10 episodes that will air every other week beginning July 24 on LStudio.com.
Harry Chaskin, Dan Lippert and Justin Michael co-created Friendship All-Stars, which will be executive produced by Robot Chicken‘s Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, as well as John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“This is a really unique, original and funny series. It’s unapologetically silly and at times, just plain ridiculous,” said Green in a statement. Towner and Harvatine IV added in a joint statement: “This project comes from a place of pure love and admiration for the eccentric personalities it showcases. It’s so absurd and fun!”
Friendship All-Stars will be discussed at a Nerd HQ panel by the Robot Chicken team at San Diego’s Comic-Con next month.
Pixar Animation Studios announced the release of RenderMan Pro Server 18, continuing the studio’s commitment to advancing the state of the art in cinematic quality rendering. This major version upgrade presents core enhancements in lighting workflows including important new features such as path tracing and accelerated re-rendering, while at the same time delivering a new level of lighting performance through geometric area lights, beam diffusion subsurface scattering facilitating the physically correct simulation of human skin, and enhanced processing of volumes.
“Geometry lights are awesome!” says Mitch Prater (LLC), shading system architect for Laika vfx. “It’s a fantastic achievement with geometric area lights that have tons of great features, better sampling for faster and better results, interactive path tracing, and expanded controls and shading information access. It’s a huge step up from 17.”
“The all-round improvements in RenderMan Pro Server 18, such as memory usage, a new path tracing hider and improved subsurface scattering, have enabled us to greatly extend our physically-based lighting and shading workflow,” notes Dan Seddon, creative director at Method Studios, New York. “The addition of geometric area lights has provided us with vastly improved sampling whilst simplifying their control with fewer parameters. More than ever, we can now render with the same setups regardless of whether we are rendering hard surfaces, organics, or volumes. All of this while having the familiar tricks and tools we often need to fall back on when the schedule crunch arrives.”
Comic-Con’s Saturday (July 20th) session schedule just got a lot more interesting thanks to the folks at Lionsgate. The studio is offering panels on two of its upcoming big sci-fi/fantasy titles Hunger Games: Catching Fire (opens Nov. 22nd) and I, Frankenstein (opens Jan. 24, 2014) on that day. Rumor has it that Marvel is also going to serve up some killer sessions on that same day. Fandango’s chief correspondent Dave Karger will moderate the Comic-con panels.
The Hunger Games sequel stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, and I, Frankenstein stars Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovksi and Bill Nighy. The studio will screen an exclusive new trailer for Catching Fire and new footage from I, Frankenstein for the Comic-Con attendees who make it to Hall H next month.
Paramount Pictures has tapped Sabrina Ironside to be its Senior VP of brand management, where she will be developing strategies for the new Paramount Animation division. She will report to LeeAnne Stables, president of consumer products and exec VP of worldwide marketing partnerships. Ironside will oversee activities for the pre-theatrical, consumer products, theatrical and home media windows and develop strategies for enhancing profiles with retailers.
Prior to joining Paramount, Ironside was VP of worldwide marketing at WildBrain, where she managed partnerships, promotions, social media and event strategies for the popular Yo Gabba Gabba! brand. Before that, she held marketing roles in licensing, integrated media and marketing and home entertainment at 20th Century Fox and News Corp, as well as jobs at Disney and Universal Studios.
Moving Picture Company played a big role in bringing Marc Forster’s current blockbuster thriller World War Z to cinematic life, contributing 450 vfx shots to the overall picture. The film centers on United Nations employee Gerry Lee (Brad Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.
MPC vfx supervisor Jessica Norman worked closely with Scott Farrar, the film’s multi-award-winning vfx supervisor to create the hordes in Jerusalem, the plane crash sequence, the Wales sequence and the epilogue. The largest portion of MPC’s work was for the Israel sequence, a combination of live action plates with added CG environments, CG humans, CG helicopters and FX passes for dust and helicopter wash.
To create the impressive crowd scenes, MPC’s CG supervisor Max Wood captured mo-cap clips, adapted MPC’s proprietary crowd system ALICE, and tested the technology needed to render these huge crowds. The crowd characters were built from reference photography and scans gathered on set. Modeling Lead Ashley Tilley and Texture Lead Jung Yoon Choi oversaw the asset team, creating 24 different body types with different textures, which resulted in 3,000 crowd variations.
Lead by Marco Carboni, crowd shots started with the layout, shape and speed of the crowd being defined. For the pyramids, the team began with geometry, which was then populated based on inclination using ALICE. The larger pyramids typically included around 5,000 agents.
In all of the complex crowd shots, MPC then added layers of hand- animated figures. For falling and landing figures, they used PAPI, its in-house rigid body dynamic solver (based on the Havoc engine).
MPC’s Crowd team worked closely with the film’s animation department, lead by animation supervisor Gabrielle Zucchelli, to ensure that the figures moved realistically in a crowd and while interacting with the live action. For the larger crowds, they used MPC’s in-house cloth solver that is integrated with ALICE. One of the largest tasks for the lighting team, lead by Jonathan Attenborough and Wes Franklin, was to render crowds of up to 250,000 in a single shot.
World War Z is currently playing in theaters around the world. The film has made close to $120 million during its first week in release.
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Workstation and rendering system provider BOXX Technologies, has unveiled its new 3DBOXX 4150 XTREME, a new, compact, professional workstation featuring an overclocked 4th generation Intel Core i7 processor. The latest Intel processors offer a significant performance increase over previous Intel technology while also providing better power efficiency. BOXX is the only workstation manufacturer featuring the new micro architecture safely overclocked and backed by a three-year warranty.
“Architects, engineers, and visualization pros require the latest technology and reliable innovation for greater efficiency and productivity,” says Shoaib Mohammad, BOXX VP of Marketing and Business Development. “From the overclocked Haswell Intel Core i7, to features like liquid cooling, NVIDIA Maximus technology, and a new space-saving chassis, BOXX delivers maximum workstation performance in a minimal space.”
The integration of an overclocked, 4th generation (Haswell) Intel Core i7 processor enables 3DBOXX 4150 XT to outperform its predecessor, the 3DBOXX 4050 XTREME. Capable of running up to 4.3 GHz, 4150XT also features advanced liquid cooling and a new compact chassis ensuring quiet operation while making it ideal for space-constrained environments. The new workstation is available with NVIDIA Maximus technology which combines the visualization and interactive design capability of NVIDIA Quadro GPUs with the high-performance computing power of NVIDIA Tesla C2075 GPUs. Maximus enables users to complete simulation or rendering plus visualization simultaneously on the same workstation.
“Visualization professionals get the best possible experience for complex simulations, rendering, and ray tracing using NVIDIA Maximus technology, a key component of the 3DBOXX 4150 XTREME,” said Sandeep Gupte, senior director of the Professional Solutions Group at NVIDIA. “With its continued innovation and the integration of NVIDIA graphics cards, BOXX offers workstation users the latest tools essential for creating and perfecting ideas.”
With solid state drives and a gold-level power supply, 4150 XTREME provides support for engineering, architectural, and product design applications including Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks, Autodesk Revit, and other frequency-driven applications. The new workstation also delivers exceptional performance for visualization, 3D animation, modeling, and motion media.
Amazon has expanded its multiyear licensing agreement with PBS for hundreds of additional episodes of shows including children’s show such as Caillou, Arthur, Daniels Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts. The expanded deal follows Amazon’s multi-year deal with Viacom to offer content from Nickelodeon, MTV and other networks after the end of their partnership with Netflix.
Shows from PBS Kids that are available on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video will be available in Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, which provides books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows on the tablet.
“This deal is exciting for Prime members and particularly for those with families — this new deal combined with the recently announced Viacom deal brings some of the most popular kids programming to Prime Instant Video, making it the perfect place for the whole family to catch up on all their favorites,” says Brad Beale, director of digital video content acquisition for Amazon.
