Podcast EP 249: Ben Osroosh & Making Motion Control Rigs and Winders for Stop-Motion
LA-based Iranian stop-motion artist discusses his move from Iran to the U.S., his unexpected entry into stop-motion animation and his recently launched Motion Control Kit’s capabilities.
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Now on Digital
Jack Black is back as everyone’s favorite, skadooshiest panda in the latest chapter of DreamWorks Animation’s popular franchise; all-new never-before-released animated short ‘Dueling Dumplings’ included on select digital platforms.
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ to End with Season 5, ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed
Paramount+ has just announced the upcoming season of Mike McMahan’s 2D animated comedy will be its last, while a fourth season of the Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn live-action starrer has been ordered ahead of its 2025 third season premiere.
Jon Snow ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel No Longer in Development
The series never gained traction after being shelved during the WGA strike, with actor Kit Harrington revealing, ‘it’s off the table,’ because the team, ‘couldn’t find the right story to tell.’
Exceptional Minds Announces Summer 2024 Workshops
The academy prepares young adults on the autism spectrum for careers in animation, visual effects and 3D gaming; summer registration deadline is April 19.
Mofac Animation Reveals ‘The King of Kings’ Animated Feature
Directed by Seong-ho ‘Jay’ Jang, the family faith-based film is inspired by Charles Dickens’ short story ‘The Life of Our Lord.'
Watch: PBS KIDS’ Drops ‘Arthur Meets Mychal the Librarian’ Short
In celebration of National Library Day and ahead of National Library Week, the new film features the TikTok personality and librarian who helps out ‘Arthur’ when he loses his library card.
R-Rated Live-Action ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Feature in Development
Paramount and Walter Hamada are producing the project, titled ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin,’ which will adapt a popular storyline from the recent IDW comics; Tyler Burton Smith is set to pen the script.
Paramount Pictures Drops ‘IF’ Final Trailer and Slew of Posters
Ryan Reynolds is at his cheekiest in writer/director John Krasinski’s live-action/3DCG feature that follows a young girl who suddenly realizes she can see everyone’s imaginary friends; in theaters May 17.
‘Velma’ Sets Season 2 Max Premiere
The adult animated comedy series, which tells the origin story of ‘Scooby-Doo’s Velma Dinkley and the formation of ‘the greatest team of mystery solvers ever,’ hits the streamer April 25.
Supercell Celebrates ‘Boom Beach’ 10th Anniversary with ‘#Boomiversary’ Campaign
The Finnish gaming giant, with Waste Creative and in-house production studio This Thing of Ours, create a 60-sec animation that showcases a miniature diorama and a scene from the game brought to life on a 1-meter high cake with help from Emma Jayne Cake Design.
Renderman V26 Now Available
Newest version includes enhanced technology features such as XPU Advancements and Interactive Denoising; core improvements include faster instancing and texture read parallelism and improvements in RenderMan's Stylized Looks toolset for enhanced creative control.
Pitch Black Names Mikaël Damant-Sirois VP of Operations
The parent company of VFX studios FuseFX, FOLKS, Rising Sun Pictures, and El Ranchito brings onboard the former Rodeo FX VP of Creative Operations to promote cross-brand integration, streamline processes, enhance collaboration between teams, and optimize global operations.
Fest Anča Reveals 2024 Competition Selections
Out of 1,340 film submissions from 71 countries, 206 films were selected to participate in this year’s event; The Slovak Republic’s only multimedia festival focused on animation runs June 25-30.
Showrunner Albert Kim Steps Down from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani will now executive producer the Netflix series through its second and third seasons, while Kim will remain as an executive producer.
NVIDIA Holoscan for Media Now Available
The software-defined platform helps developers in broadcast and streaming deliver AI-enabled media solutions.
Warner Bros. Drops First Teaser Trailer for ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’
The gritty ’80s jukebox musical, which centers on the romantic relationship between Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker and Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn, dances into theaters October 4.
HaZimation Sets ‘Max Beyond’ Digital Release
The animated action-thriller, created entirely in Unreal Engine, follows Max, a boy held captive who tries to use his ability to create rifts in space and time to escape; available in the U.K. April 22 and the U.S. April 23 with spin-off video game coming mid-2025.
‘The Fantastic Four’ Finds its Silver Surfer
Julia Garner joins Marvel’s remake that stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing), and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (The Human Torch); the film flies into theaters July 25, 2025.
Superights Brings ‘Silly Sundays’ to MIPTV
Award-winning animation studio’s new 2D animated series follows 3 kids, their folks and Granny, who embrace every little moment together on their family Sundays; series premiered in Ireland and is rolling out in LatAM and the U.S.
Toonz Media Announces ‘Little Sparks’ TV Adaptation
Entertainment company teams up with That Spark Corp to co-produce 3D animated kids’ show based on Chris Parsons’ popular kids’ book series, slated for 2025 release; companion mobile app and Roblox game also announced.
Cartoon Network Studios Launches ‘Artist Stairwell’ Digital Experience
New interactive website invites fans to experience CNS’s Burbank building stairwell, a literal canvas of imagination and innovation, boasting a living history of original drawings, doodles, and sketches by the artists and talent that worked there from 2000-2023.
Drew Goddard to Direct ‘Matrix 5,’ Lana Wachowski to Executive Produce
Although plot details remain firmly under wraps, the film promises to honor ‘what Lana and Lilly began over 25 years ago,’ while ‘offering a unique perspective.’
Chaos Reveals Project Arena, Alternative to Game Engines for Virtual Production
The new toolset enables the moving of 3D scenes quickly from industry-standard creation tools onto LED screens without the slow data conversion process.
Disney Shakes Up Release Slate, Live-Action ‘Moana’ Delayed
The feature adaptation of the original animated feature has moved from June 27, 2025 to July 10, 2026, while the animated ‘Moana 2’ sequel will still premiere November 27, 2024; the anticipated ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ has been confirmed for a 2026 release.
