Latest news with #CarolineParot
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Accepting the VFX Oscar, ‘Dune: Part Two' VFX Supervisor Salutes ‘Incredible MPC' Following Technicolor's Shutdown
Accepting the visual effects Oscar for 'Dune : Part Two,' production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert acknowledged the contributions of the film's VFX vendors, including DNEG and Wylie Co. as well as the 'incredible MPC.' MPC – whose work has included 'Mufasa' The Lion King,' 'The Lion King,' and 'The Jungle Book' – is the VFX company that closed on Monday when its parent company Technicolor ceased operations. In a memo to employees, Technicolor Group CEO Caroline Parot wrote, 'due to inability to find new investors for the full Group, despite extensive efforts, [Paris-headquartered] Technicolor Group has filed for Court 'recovery procedure' before the French Court of Justice.' More from Variety Andrew Garfield's Reading Glasses Are His New Awards Show Signature What Does the 'Planet of the Apes' Franchise Have to Do to Win a VFX Oscar? Behind 'Flow's' Surprise Oscar Win, The First For Latvia: 'I Hope That You'll Open Doors to Independent Animation Filmmakers' The news was met with shock and sadness in the visual effects community. MPC operated in countries including the U.S., UK, Canada and India and employed thousands of artists. It was founded as The Moving Picture Company in the Soho section of London in 1970, and moved into features when the 'Harry Potter' movies were made. In addition to 'Mufasa,' MPC's recent work include 'Kraven the Hunter,' 'Young Woman and the Sea' and 'Emilia Perez.' For many VFX veterans, the timing of the shut down, just prior to the Academy Awards, was a sad reminder of the demise of respected VFX studio Rhythm & Hues, which filed for bankruptcy less than two weeks before the 2013 Academy Awards, where its work on 'Life of Pi' won the VFX Oscar. Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune: Part Two' contains 2,156 VFX shots, using practical and digital techniques to expand the world of Arrakis. The harrowing wormriding sequence was a stunning highlight. Veteran production VFX supervisor Paul Lambert collected his fourth Academy Award, and special effect supervisor Gerd Nefzer earned his third. (The category record is held by Dennis Muren who holds eight VFX Oscars for films including 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Jurassic Park.') Lambert and Nefzer won tonight's award with first-time nominees Stephen James and Rhys Salcombe. Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in March 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Los Angeles Times
27-02-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
VFX giant Technicolor lays off more than 200 workers in Culver City
Technicolor Group, the storied visual effects, motion graphics and animation company behind some of Hollywood's most memorable films, is shuttering operations, including in California. The company is laying off 217 workers and permanently closing its Culver City studio on Lindblade Street, according to a notice filed with California's Employment Development Department on Feb. 24 . Technicolor, headquartered in Paris, owns companies such as the Mill, MPC and Mikros Animation that have operations in Los Angeles County. The 110-year-old business —which famously brought color to the big screen — worked on such film classics as 'The Wizard of Oz,' Disney's 1940 film 'Pinocchio' and 'The Lion King.' In recent years, the company attempted to pivot from its reliance on film to adapt to the digital revolution. In 2022, Technicolor opened a sprawling campus in Culver City to handle the growing demand for physical effects from streaming services. But the film industry has also been plagued by several challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes and the rise of artificial intelligence. Technicolor Group Chief Executive Caroline Parot told employees in a memo on Monday that the company has been experiencing financial difficulties, citing the pandemic and writers' strike in 2023 that lasted 148 days. 'As we have communicated over the past months, the Group has been experiencing difficulties linked to a variety of factors and has not been spared from external headwinds,' she wrote in the memo, viewed by The Times. The company, she told workers, hasn't been able to find new investors and filed for court 'recovery procedure' before the French Court of Justice to give Technicolor a way to keep afloat. Technicolor Group didn't respond to a request for comment. The company also operates in other major cities throughout North America, Europe and the United States, working on media, entertainment, advertising and games. In the United Kingdom, Technicolor's business has been placed in 'administration,' a legal process for companies that aren't able to pay off their debts and 440 workers have been made redundant, the BBC reported. Some studios have found other lifelines as Technicolor edges toward the brink of collapse. Variety, which previously reported on the memo, said that visual effects artists at the Mill are teaming up with Dream Machine FX on a new venture called Arc Creative. 'It goes without saying, the past few days have been filled with emotions: shock, anger, sorrow, concern, and ultimately, resolve,' artists who previously worked at the Mill told Variety in a statement. 'While the Mill as we know it has shut its doors, its spirit, its passion, and its legacy live on through its amazing and talented people.' Mikros Animation, Dream Machine FX and the Mill didn't respond to a request for comment. Technicolor Group has gone through several leadership changes since its start in 1915. The company has more than 14,600 employees, according to estimates based on LinkedIn data. Technicolor emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2020. Since then, it has sold off parts of its business, including its postproduction unit Technicolor Post for nearly $36.5 million in 2021.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lion King visual effects studio on brink of collapse
The visual effects group behind Disney's Mufasa The Lion King and its upcoming Snow White remake, is on the brink of failure. Technicolor owns a brace of leading visual effects studios including MPC, Mikros Animation and The Mill, with operations in the US, UK, Canada and India The Paris-based company employs 446 people in the UK, according to recent corporate filings and has told staff not to come into the office. The BBC has approached Technicolor for comment Visual effects (VFX) studios play a key role in film production. Most modern big-budget movies and television will rely heavily on visual effects to transport actors and audiences into outer-space, the distant past or the deep-sea. And the appearance and non-vocal performances of characters and creatures, fantastic and otherwise will often be partly or fully the creation of animators and other specialist staff. As well as purely animated films and TV, many live action releases are in large-part the work, of the employees of VFX studios. Many staff work film-to-film on fixed-term contracts, so redundancies if they are announced, may not reflect the total impact of the business' troubles on jobs. Technicolor owned MPC, was founded in 1970 as a Soho based production company. It has been a major force in the VFX industry delivering big budget movies such as recent computer-animated remakes of Disney's The Lion King and the Jungle Book. Recent projects include "Kraven the Hunter," "Young Woman and the Sea" and "Emilia Perez" according to Variety. Mikros Animation projects include two recent Mutant Ninja Turtles titles and the Paw Patrol series of films. In an email sent to UK staff, Technicolor said the group's UK entity Technicolor Creative Studios UK Ltd filed for administration Monday. Staff were told not to come into the office. US employees were also notified the company could fold via email. According to animation news publisher Cartoon Brew an email sent over the weekend by chief executive Caroline Parot said "external headwinds" had exacerbated problems caused by factors including post-covid recovery. She also said the US writers' strike which led to a slow-down in demand for VFX work causing "severe" pressure on cash-flow. Those same issues will add to the anxiety of staff and may fear re-entering what has been a relatively lean jobs market for VFX professionals. "Render in peace" one self-described 13-year veteran of The Mill wrote on Reddit - a reference to the computationally intense process of producing final, film grade images, a process known as rendering.
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lion King visual effects firm Technicolor on brink of collapse
The visual effects group behind Disney's Mufasa The Lion King and its upcoming Snow White remake, is on the brink of owns a brace of leading visual effects studios including MPC, Mikros Animation and The Mill, with operations in the US, UK, Canada and India The Paris-based company employs 446 people in the UK, according to recent corporate filings and has told staff not to come into the BBC has approached Technicolor for comment Visual effects (VFX) studios play a key role in film production. Most modern big-budget movies and television will rely heavily on visual effects to transport actors and audiences into outer-space, the distant past or the the appearance and non-vocal performances of characters and creatures, fantastic and otherwise will often be partly or fully the creation of animators and other specialist well as purely animated films and TV, many live action releases are in large-part the work, of the employees of VFX staff work film-to-film on fixed-term contracts, so redundancies if they are announced, may not reflect the total impact of the business' troubles on owned MPC, was founded in 1970 as a Soho based production company. It has been a major force in the VFX industry delivering big budget movies such as recent computer-animated remakes of Disney's The Lion King and the Jungle Book. Recent projects include "Kraven the Hunter," "Young Woman and the Sea" and "Emilia Perez" according to Animation projects include two recent Mutant Ninja Turtles titles and the Paw Patrol series of films. 'Render in peace' In an email sent to UK staff, Technicolor said the group's UK entity Technicolor Creative Studios UK Ltd filed for administration were told not to come into the employees were also notified the company could fold via to animation news-site Cartoon-brew an email sent over the weekend by chief executive Caroline Parot said "external headwinds" had exacerbated problems caused by factors including post-covid recovery. She also said the US writers' strike which led to a slow-down in demand for VFX work causing "severe" pressure on same issues will add to the anxiety of staff and may fear re-entering what has been a relatively lean jobs market for VFX professionals."Render in peace" one self-described 13-year veteran of The Mill wrote on Reddit - a reference to the computationally intense process of producing final, film grade images, a process known as rendering.
