Latest news with #Aardman
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
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Annecy Revs Up For 2025 Edition; Kicking Off With Michel Gondry & Matt Groening Honors & Shorts Selection Featuring New ‘Stars Wars: Visions' Title
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival kicks-off this weekend with a masterclass by French filmmaker Michel Gondry, who will also receive a career award alongside The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and UK animation director Joanna Quinn at the opening ceremony. It marks The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Gondry's first trip to the lakeside event, billed as the biggest animation festival in the world, although his work Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?:An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky played at the festival in 2014, winning the best French film prize. More from Deadline 'Wallace & Gromit' Studio Aardman Partners With France's Foliascope On Cross-Border Stop-Motion Training Program Gkids Takes North America For Cannes & Annecy Title 'Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain' Nickelodeon Acquires Animated Kids' Show 'Mr. Crocodile' From Joann Sfar's Magical Society & Mediawan 'Michel is exactly like Terry Gilliam,' says the festival's artistic director Marcel Jean, referring to Annecy's 2024 guest of honor. 'He comes from the world of animation. That's where he started. We've wanted to invite him for a long time and the planets have aligned.' Jean notes that Gondry's visit also coincides with a focus this year on the use of animation in music videos, a domain in which the director is also well-known for his collaborations with the likes Of Björk, The White Stripes and Daft Punk. In a break with tradition, Jean has opted to world premiere five short films at the opening ceremony rather than showcase a single feature film. Recent openers have included The Most Precious of Cargoes (2024), Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams (2023) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022). 'We wanted to reaffirm the place of the short film at Annecy,' explains Jean. 'With the first films, we don't stipulate that they are French premieres, but this year we received an enormous amount of world premieres, so we decided to open with a program of shorts, which are very different and very strong.' They range from 9 Million Colours by emerging Czech director Bára Anna Stejskalová, who won praise for her short film Love Is Just A Death Away, to Shinya Ohira's Star Wars: Visions – 'Black', from Japanese anime studio david production, produced by Lucasfilm for Disney+. The line-up also features The Girl Who Cried Pearls, the latest stop-motion work from Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, the Canadian directorial duo working under the banner of Clyde Henry Productions, who were Oscar nominated for short film Madam Tutli-Putli. Bulgarian Oscar-nominated director Theodore Ushev, who won Annecy's best short award in 2020, also returns with La Vie avec un idiot about a man forced to live with an idiot as a state sanctioned punishment. The opening night mix of filmmakers forging their way in the indie space and globally known animation stars such as Matt Groening and IPs such as Star Wars encapsulates the essence of Annecy, which is one of the few film festivals in the world to truly showcase indie and studio fare side-by-side with equal amounts of respect and attention. This mix and the festival's efforts to cater to animation professionals across all formats and styles has won it fans worldwide. In 2024, there 17,400 accredited attendees, including 6,500 participants at its MIFA market, and 4,120 students, who give the festival its youthful atmosphere. At the heart of the festival program is the 21-title Main Competition, with contenders this year ranging from established names such as Sylvain Chomet with A Magnificent Life and Félix Dufour-Laperrière with Death Does Not Exist, to newcomers such as Ugo Bienvenu with Arco, and Momoko Seto with Dandelion's Odyssey. Jean acknowledges that many of the films have French connections this year but suggests this is more a reflection of the role France plays in financing independent feature films. 'I think the dynamism of French film finance and cultural diplomacy makes it look like there are a lot of French entries but the directors and stories this year are from across the world,' he says. Outside of the competition programs, the festival will also be world premiering Andy Serkis's Animal Farm on Monday and hosting the French premiere of How To Train Your Dragon as special screening events ahead of its release in France on June 11. The other big draw for attendees outside of the films are the works-in-progress, makings of and sneak peaks, as well as the program of close to 200 industry sessions. As ever, all the Hollywood studios will be out in force. Disney kicks off the Making of sessions on Monday (June 9) with a presentation of new action-adventure series Eyes Of Wakanda, which launches on Disney+ on August 6, with director and executive producer Todd Harris leading the presentation. 'It's a big year for Disney at Annecy,' comments Jean, noting all of its divisions – from Walt Disney Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Animation, Lucasfilm, Disney Television Animation to 20th Television Animation – will be at the festival. Further highlights of the Disney program include the Pixar Animation Studios showcase on Friday, featuring footage from Elio and first images from Hoppers and Toy Story 5, teased by the studio's CCO and Annecy regular Pete Docter. 'Netflix and Warner will also be out in force,' adds Jean, noting the presence of the latter's Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. Warner Brother Animation will hold a special conversation event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Cartoon Network Studios' featuring creators such as Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory), Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls), Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), J.G. Quintel (Regular Show), Adam Muto (Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake). 'In recent years, TV series have brought about a huge amount of innovation.,' says Jean. He points to the example of Ward's series Adventure Time, about the adventures of a boy called Finn and his adoptive brother Jake, a dog with shape shifting powers. 'There are lots of independent features and shorts that were influenced by Pendleton Ward and Adventure Time, which in turn also opened the way for Rebecca Sugar to make Steven Universe, which also opened up new subject matter. Channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network have been extremely important,' says Jean. 'Someone like Genndy Tartakovsky who went on to make features and comes from these channels, is a key figure… there's also Adult Swim which last year presented the first episode of Common Side Effects. That series for me, is a major milestone in the history of animated series, which has gained in importance since the election of Donald Trump,' he adds of the show about two high school students who take on big pharma and corrupt government. Warner Bros. Animation will also be running a work-in-progress session for Get Jiro based on the best-selling graphic novel set in a not-too-distant future L.A. where master chefs rule the town, and making of presentation for Bat-Fam. In other studio highlights, Netflix will be running its traditional Next on Netflix Animation event, with a focus on the upcoming From Stranger Things: Tales From '85 animated series and feature film In Your Dreams, which it is positioning for an awards season push. Sony Pictures Animation will also be in town to unveil animated sports-themed production GOAT from Tyree Dillihay and co-director Adam Rosette; DreamWorks Animation will present a first look at Bad Guys 2 directed by Pierre Perifel and co-directed by Juan Pablo Sans, and Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon will showcase Smurfs and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
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Goodfellas Racks Up Sales On Annecy-Bound ‘Little Amélie', ‘Arco' & ‘Angel's Egg'
EXCLUSIVE: Goodfellas Animation has unveiled a raft of deals on Annecy-bound animated features Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain, Arco and Angel's Egg. Having world premiered as Special Screenings in Cannes, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain and Arco are both playing in Annecy's main competition, while 4K restoration Angel's Egg screens in Annecy Classics. More from Deadline 'Wallace & Gromit' Studio Aardman Partners With France's Foliascope On Cross-Border Stop-Motion Training Program Annecy Revs Up For 2025 Edition; Kicking Off With Michel Gondry & Matt Groening Honors & Shorts Selection Featuring New 'Stars Wars: Visions' Title Gkids Takes North America For Cannes & Annecy Title 'Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain' Goodfellas Animation's Annecy slate also includes Andy Serkis' Animal Farm, featuring Serkis alongside Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close and Kieran Culkin among others in the voice cast, on which it will launch sales in unison with the premiere at the festival. In Europe, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain has sold to Benelux (Paradiso), Switzerland (Agora), Spain (A Contracorriente) UK (Vue Lumière), Italy (Lucky Red), Portugal (Cinemundo), Scandinavia (Another World/Njutafilms), Ex-Yugocslavia and Bulgaria (MCF), Romania (Independenta) and Poland (So Films). In the rest of the world, it has been acquired for Turkey (Yeni Bir Film), Latin America (Cine Canibal), Australia and New Zealand (Kismet), Japan (Comstock), Korea (JinJin), Hong Kong (Edko) and China (Blue Media). As previously announced, Gkids has acquired North American rights. Titled Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes in French, the work is the feature directorial debut of French filmmakers Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han. The feature is adapted from award-winning Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb's autobiographical novel The Character of Rain, inspired by her own early years in Japan, where she was born to expat parents. It follows protagonist Amèlie as she grows aware of the world around her; develops a deep attachment to her family's housekeeper and discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family's life as foreigners in post-war Japan. Producers are Nidia Santiago and Edwina Liard for Ikki Films, and, Claire La Combe and Henri Magalon for Maybe Movies. Ugo Bienvenu's Arco, which is produced by Natalie Portman, who features in the voice cast, is also drawing buyers. As previously announced out of Cannes, Neon has taken North American rights. The film has also sold to Benelux (Belga), ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (MCF), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Bionaut), Middle East and Turkey (The Plot Pictures), Japan (Comstock), South Korea (Pan Cinema) and China (Road Pictures). The movie revolves around 10 year old time-traveling rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future of 2932, but gets trapped in 2075 when his maiden flight does not go to plan. Iris witnesses his fall and comes to his rescue, making it her mission to get him home. Portman is producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers. Goodfellas Animation has also racked up sales on the 4K remastered version of cult classic Angel's Egg, by Japanese animation director Mamoru Oshii, who is best known internationally for Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and the Patlabor sci-fi franchise. The restored work, which also played in Cannes Classics, has been acquired for France (Eurozoom), Benelux (Paradiso), Germany and UK (Plaion), Spain (Vertigo), Italy (Lucky Red), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainment), Bulgaria (Pro Films), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Baltics and Ukraine (Ad Astra) and CIS (Russian Report). In the rest of the world, it has sold to Middle East (The Plot Pictures), U.S. (Gkids), Latin America (Sato), Australia/NZ (Umbrella) and Hong Kong (Edko) and Taiwan (Applause). The deals were overseen by Jason Bressand, head of sales at Goodfellas Animation, which recently rebranded from Gebeka International, and is part of Paris-based film company Goodfellas. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
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‘Wallace & Gromit' Studio Aardman Partners With France's Foliascope On Cross-Border Stop-Motion Training Program
Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep animation studio Aardman is joining forces with France's Foliascope and training expert Rhinoceros to launch a cross-studio training initiative in France and the UK to advance the skills of professional stop-motion animators. Oscar-winning Bristol-based studio Aardman and Foliascope, the credits of which include features such as Leonardo da Vinci biopic The Inventor, host some of the largest and most advanced stop-motion sets in Europe and are currently expanding their production slates. More from Deadline Annecy Revs Up For 2025 Edition; Kicking Off With Michel Gondry & Matt Groening Honors & Shorts Selection Featuring New 'Stars Wars: Visions' Title Gkids Takes North America For Cannes & Annecy Title 'Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain' Nickelodeon Acquires Animated Kids' Show 'Mr. Crocodile' From Joann Sfar's Magical Society & Mediawan Per a release announcing the program, the partners recognizing their need for highly skilled animators, decided to work with Rhinoceros to offer the cross-border program. The four-week intensive course will begin with two weeks at Foliascope Studio in France, followed by two weeks at Aardman's training facility, the Aardman Academy in the UK. The training will focus on enhancing animation technique, speed, character performance, and expressivity—preparing participants to contribute to upcoming stop-motion feature productions. Applications for the training program open in September 2025, with the course scheduled to take place in March 2026. The training is fully funded for eight selected animators, with support from AFDAS, France Travail Scène et Image, and the participating studios. 'The Aardman Academy has existed for over 20 years training, nurturing and inspiring new talent,' said Rachel Plant, producer at the Aardman Academy. 'We are delighted to be partnering with Foliascope and Rhinoceros with this new course to inspire the next generation of animators Interested animators can apply via the Rhinoceros website.' The partners will be presenting the new program in a session a the upcoming Annecy International Film Festival next week. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wallace and Gromit: Locations revealed for Bristol sculpture trail
The locations for the upcoming Gromit Unleashed sculpture trail have been characters Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw, along with new character Norbot the smart gnome, will be on display across Bristol from 30 Gromit Unleashed 3 trail will raise money for The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital 53 locations include Aerospace Bristol, WWT Slimbridge and Clifton Suspension Bridge. The original 80 Gromit sculptures attracted 1.2 million visitors in the summer of 2013 and raised £2.3m at then, Gromit Unleashed has generated more than £20m for The Grand Masters, co-founder and director of The Grand Appeal, previously said "Aardman and Bristol go together like cheese and crackers". The Gromit Unleashed 3 locations are:Aardman Animations, Gas Ferry RoadAerospace BristolAshton Court, Long AshtonAshton Gate Stadium, Ashton RoadBeaufort Arms, Hawkesbury UptonBrabazon, PatchwayBristol Bus & Coach Station, Marlborough StreetBristol Children's Hospital, Upper Maudlin StreetBristol Museum and Art Gallery, Queens RoadBroadmeadCabot CircusCheddar Gorge and Caves, CheddarClifton Observatory, CliftonClifton Suspension BridgeCollege GreenCribbs MallCrossFit Henleaze, Henleaze RoadFlaxpits Lane, WinterbourneFreemasons Hall, Park StreetGardiner Haskins Interiors, Straight StreetHargreaves Lansdown, Anchor RoadIKEA Bristol, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Eastgate RoadKingswood Park, High Street, KingswoodM Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping RoadNarrow QuayNoah's Ark Zoo Farm, WraxallNorth Street, SouthvillePuxton Park, HewishQuakers Friars, BroadmeadSt Mary Centre, ThornburySt Mary Redcliffe, RedcliffeSt Nicholas Market, The Corn ExchangeTemple Meads StationThe Kendleshire, Coalpit HeathThe New Inn, BlagdonThe Rose & Crown, PucklechurchThe Wave, Easter ComptonThunderbolt SquareTOUT'S, Main Road, CleeveUnderfall Yard, Cumberland RoadValentine's Bridge, Temple QuayVictoria Park, Windmill HillVictoria Rooms, Queens RoadVictoria Square, Clifton VillageWai Yee Hong, Eastgate RoadWarmley Waiting Room, Bristol and Bath Railway PathWe The Curious, One Millennium SquareWest Country Water Park, Frampton CotterellWhiteladies Road, CliftonWillow Brook, Bradley StokeWWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Shaun the Sheep celebrates 30th anniversary
He is one of a kind... white, fluffy and a cheeky chap - can you guess who? It's Shaun the Sheep, of course!The mischievous sheep is a well loved character who made his debut back in 1995 in the Wallace and Gromit film, A Close forward to now, and not only is Shaun a global superstar but he is also celebrating his 30th anniversary! Who is Shaun the Sheep? Shaun the Sheep is a global superstar. His TV adventures are enjoyed across 170 countries, whilst he has over 5 million Facebook fans and 1.7 billion views on first came to our screens in Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave! and since 2007 has had his own series on BBC is a cheeky sheep who is also leader of his flock. Whilst Shaun is smart and resourceful, his love of adventure is well known for getting him in trouble! The Making of Shaun the Sheep Shaun the Sheep's TV show and films are made at Aardman's studio in Bristol. Like Wallace and Gromit, Shaun is created using something called stop-frame animation. This is where objects are filmed frame by frame so that they appear to be moving when played back at normal takes a long time to make just one second of a Shaun the Sheep animation as it requires between 12 and 24 individual puppets in Shaun the Sheep are made from different materials but modelling clay is a key ingredient. Did you know these facts about Shaun the Sheep? Shaun the Sheep animators have boxes of spare heads, eyes, arms and other body parts incase any of the puppets need to be replaced or swapped each Shaun series and movie there are multiple Shauns used - in the Farmageddon movie 22 Shauns were used! Shaun has won lots of awards including two International Emmys and two Fletcher (aka CBeebies star Mr Tumble) is the voice of Shaun the 2022, Shaun was announced as the first 'sheep' to go into space! He was appointed the first woolly astronaut to join the European Space Agency, ahead of its Artemis 1 mission to the new series of Shaun the Sheep starts on Saturday 24 May on CBBC.
