Toho Acquires 50% Stake in Key Frederator Network Shows
The Japanese media company makes multi-million-dollar investment in the animated series ‘Bee and PuppyCat’ and Frederator’s ‘Bravest Warriors;’ companies to co-produce new series’ content and develop global consumer products campaign.
Todd Brian, WildBrain Director of Development, Animation, Dies at 59
The creative executive served in various positions in animation and live-action, honing his skills at Corus Entertainment prior to joining the WildBrain family; he passed away on December 28 after a short illness.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hits Disney+ February 1
Streamer drops new TV spot to announce the hit Marvel Studios’ film, featuring an IMAX enhanced immersive home viewing experience, will debut next month; ‘Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast’ also released.
Gale Anne Hurd to Receive VES Lifetime Achievement Award
The Visual Effects Society to honor the award-winning producer's contributions in visual arts, filmed entertainment and the advancement of storytelling through cutting-edge visual effects; will be presented at the 21st Annual VES Awards next month.
Framestore Shares ‘Kaleidoscope’ Breakdown Reel
Studio serves as lead VFX vendor on Eric Garcia’s new nonlinear, eight-part Netflix crime series inspired by the true story of a $70 billion Manhattan bank heist during Hurricane Sandy; challenging effects-heavy shots included creating a swarm of digital bees to camouflage a character’s movements through a super-secure bank vault.
Apple TV+ Announces ‘Shape Island’ Stop-Motion Kids’ Series
Coming January 20, the new animated show, based on the best-selling picture books by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, follows the silly adventures of Square, Circle, and Triangle; also announced, ‘Helpsters’ Season 3 returns this Friday with all-new episodes.
‘ARK: The Animated Series' Season One Trailer Drops
Based on the popular dinosaur survival adventure video game ‘ARK: Survival Evolved,’ the series features an all-star cast including Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, Michelle Yeoh, and Vin Diesel, set to release on a yet-to-be-named platform later this year.
‘Harry & Bunnie’ and ‘Chuck Chicken’ Heading to MENA
Animasia Studio inks deal with MBC Group, bringing 2 original animated series to the Middle East and North Africa; shows feature the slapstick adventures of a wannabe magician, and Chuck and the Kung Fu master with his magical egg.
FMX 2023 Shares ‘The Beauty’ Conference Trailer
Returning in April as ‘climate-friendly’ certified, the event will feature discussions on sustainability in film and media production; programming announcements include a look at animated shorts ‘A Flammable Planet’ and ‘Can’t Negotiate the Melting Point of Ice,’ and advancements of AI Rotoscoping.
Are DCU Stars Fleeing to the Safety of the MCU?
Following recent change in DC Studio’s executive team, axed actors are rumored to be jumping ship to a more 'welcoming' comic book cinematic universe.
Is Warner Bros. Planning a ‘Harry Potter’ Film Reboot?
Amidst studio’s ongoing upheaval, many major franchises have been affected, from the DCU to ‘Game of Thrones;’ will a reimagined magical world bring audiences back to theaters?
NVIDIA Launches ‘Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine’ Early-Access
New suite of cloud-native AI microservices helps developers build and deploy intelligent virtual assistants and digital humans at scale, including adding animation to any avatar built on virtually any platform – such as Unreal’s MetaHuman tech and cross-platform game avatar development tools - and deployed on any cloud.
Build-A-Bear Producing ‘Glisten and the Merry Mission’ Animated Feature
The ‘stuff it yourself’ teddy bear toy company is teaming with Foundation Media Partners on its first animated Christmas feature, complete with an all-star cast, based on the real-life Holiday plush collection star Glisten the snow deer.
NVIDIA Reveals New Omniverse AI Tools for 3D Artists
As part of tech giant’s CES Special Address, company announced Blender enhancements that include Omniverse Launcher and Audio2Face, Audio2Gesture, and Audio2Emotion — generative AI tools that enable instant 3D character animation.
NVIDIA Releases Major Omniverse Enterprise Updates
The latest release features new deployment options, new Omniverse connectors, and enhanced performance for optimized workflows that connect 3D pipelines to develop and operate large-scale, physically accurate virtual 3D worlds.
Hulu Drops ‘Koala Man’ Trailer
Debuting January 9, the original animated series about a middle-aged superhero dad, his titular not-so-secret identity, and his quest to stamp out crime in his hometown, stars Michael Cusack, Hugh Jackman, Sarah Snook, Jemaine Clement, and Demi Lardner.
Ingenuity Studios Shares ‘Let the Right One In’ VFX Breakdown Reel
The visual effects studio delivered 1,522 shots on the Showtime vampire/horror series, including fully CG chimps that morphed into vicious vampire chimps.
Territory Studio Gets New London HQ Digs
Following studio launches in Munich and Barcelona, the new facility will accommodate company’s growing team and project roster while increasing its capacity and production capabilities.
Will Prime Video’s ‘God of War’ Series Follow Video Game Lore?
Amazon Studios head Vernon Sanders assures fans the first season is ‘incredibly true to the source material,’ despite the synopsis seemingly omitting game events preceding 2018’s ‘God of War’ soft reboot.
Possible ‘Batman Beyond’ Film Starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeifer Canned
The feature, set after the events of the ‘Batman Beyond’ animated series, may have seen Michelle Pfeiffer return as Catwoman, reviving the romance between her and her ‘Batman Returns’ rival.
A Great ‘Thing’ Revealed in ‘Wednesday’ Behind-the-Scenes Photos
Images show the disembodied hand actor Victor Dorobantu doing his ‘thang’ on set, though his role required a surprising full-body contorting performance.
‘Santiago of the Seas’ Creator Niki López Completes Short for Nickelodeon
The Puerto Rico native, one of ‘Variety’s 10 Animators to Watch,’ made the film as part of Nick’s Intergalactic Shorts Program initiative to develop original comedy-driven content with an eye towards eventual series development.
‘Game of Thrones’ Projects Shelved in Wake of HBO Max Shakeup
According to the famed franchise’s creator, while crowd favorite ‘House of the Dragon’ will move forward to its second season, all other spinoffs not yet greenlit have been ‘shelved.’
Framestore Adds Festive Flair to Marvel’s 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’
The award-winning studio delivers 271 shots for the Disney+ special, including a newly built and decorated Knowhere, Cosmo the (digital) dog, and a dancing adolescent Groot.
‘Paul Martin and the Magic Magnifying Glass’ Getting Animated
Creation Entertainment Media and Magic Frame Animation are teaming up to develop and produce and feature film adaptation of Georges Alexander Vagan’s detective adventure book series that follows young Paul Martin as he traverses a land of perpetual Christmas and snow.
