Latest news with #Musker
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Government launches Operation Vulindlela II to rejuvenate local municipalities
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana speaking at the launch of second phase of Operation Vulindlela in a bid to rejuvinate local government and the delivery of basic service delivery. Image: GCIS The South African government has decided to zero-in on municipalities in a bid to accelerate the implementation of structural economic reforms for inclusive long-term growth in the second phase of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela II, which was launched on Wednesday, will be focused on strengthening local government and improving the delivery of basic services, harnessing digital public infrastructure, and creating dynamic and integrated cities to enable economic activity. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery by modernising and transforming network industries, including electricity, water, transport and digital communications. The Presidency's director of strategy Saul Musker said the deteriorating performance of local government was a major constraint on growth as it was affecting businesses and holding back investment. Musker said the decline in local government performance was the result of both particular factors in each municipality, as well as structural causes that have their roots in the system itself. He said the reforms proposed in OV II aimed to address those structural challenges, with local government being at the heart of the problem due to a lack of investment in infrastructure and maintenance. 'So the first priority that we've set out is to shift to a utility model for water and electricity services, in future also for waste management, but otherwise termed the trading services in local government, to ensure financial and operational sustainability,' Musker said. 'In simple terms, what this means is that at the moment, most municipalities, including most metros, have these functions fully integrated in the municipality. And that's quite different from how it looks in most other countries, where you've got professional utilities, water utilities, electricity utilities, delivering these services. 'What that means is they don't have control of the full revenue, the full value chain, from revenue and billing, through to asset management and maintenance, and operations, and they're not able to deliver a professional quality service. It also means that the revenue from those services, instead of being reinvested first in the infrastructure and the assets, is just sucked into the pool and used for other functions, compensation of employees, and so on. 'There's one, for example, major metro, one of the largest cities, where water revenues are close to R10 billion per annum, but the water function gets about 10% of that [and] the rest goes into the municipal revenue pool. And so the water network deteriorates.' The first phase of OV was focused on implementing reforms to alleviate load shedding, improving the performance of the logistics system, reducing the cost of data, improving water supply, and enabling the country to attract the skills it needs. National Treasury's director-general, Duncan Pieterse, said the reforms already underway through OV Phase I will provide a significant boost to the economy in the medium term once fully implemented. Pieterse said Phase II will therefore target both long-standing and emerging constraints on economic growth. He said the new reform areas that matter for inclusion, resilience, and spatial equity, included strengthening the effectiveness of local government service delivery, especially in metros, leveraging digital public infrastructure to modernise State capabilities and unlock economic participation, and driving urban densification and spatial integration to reduce transport costs and connect people to opportunities. 'We are building on the lessons of Phase I and embedding clear theories of change for each reform area, setting measurable targets, and ensuring that coordination mechanisms—such as sectoral task teams—are fit for purpose. Crucially, we will expand access to technical expertise, both within and beyond government, and adopt a more dynamic approach to managing reform execution risk,' Pieterse said. 'Our challenge is execution at scale. We need to mobilise the full capacity of the State, crowd in the private sector, and create the conditions for markets to work more effectively. This means creating an enabling environment for investment into key sectors of the economy.' Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said a commitment to swift implementation of reforms was required across government to lower the cost of doing business, reduce regulatory bottlenecks and provide policy certainty. Godongwana said the immediate priority is therefore to sustain the momentum already developed and follow through on the implementation of existing reforms, in order to realise their full impact.
The Independent
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
'Moana' has her origins questioned at trial where man says his surfer boy led to the Disney hit
Was 'Moana' based on a boy named Bucky? Lawyers for a New Mexico writer and animator will say at closing arguments at his federal trial in Los Angeles on Monday that his work was stolen to create the Walt Disney Co.'s 2016 hit about a questing Polynesian princess, whose sequel was among the biggest hits of last year. Buck Woodall wrote a script, whose various titles have included 'Bucky the Surfer Boy," about a teenager vacationing in Hawaii with his parents who befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that involves time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred part of the islands from a developer. Woodall said he first gave the script to a distant relative by marriage who worked for another company on the Disney lot in about 2004, and a dozen years later was stunned when he saw so many of his ideas in ' Moana.' Here are some of the many similarities his lawsuit alleges: Both 'tell the story about a teenager who defies parental warnings and embarks on a dangerous voyage across Polynesian waters to save the endangered land of a Polynesian island.' Both 'involve a main character who encounters a demigod with a giant hook and tattoos.' Both 'involve protagonists who learn about ancient Polynesian culture during a sea voyage' and 'a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors' who 'manifested as animals which guide and guard the living.' Defense lawyers and witnesses — including the woman Woodall gave the script to — said no one at Disney saw his work, and that 'Moana' was developed through the same cultural research and internal collaboration as its other films. A judge ruled that Woodall filed the 2020 lawsuit too late to have a claim on the nearly $700 global box office of 'Moana." What remains are the film's DVD and Blu-ray sales — worth $31.4 million gross with a net profit of $10.4 million. The only remaining defendant is Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 'Moana' was co-directed, along with two others, by John Musker and Ron Clements, a duo that was essential to the 1990s Disney animation renaissance that made the company a global powerhouse. At times with other collaborators, Musker and Clements co-wrote and co-directed 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's ' Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog." Musker testified that they had never plagiarized, and he was angered by the accusation. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety while sitting in the courtroom and were also shown scenes from 'The Little Mermaid' and other Musker and Clements films. Musker testified that Moana's relationship with her chief father was much like the mermaid Ariel's with her father, King Triton. A defense expert said that the relationship between Moana and the shapeshifting demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, reflects Aladdin and his shapeshifting Genie, voiced by Robin Williams. 'So many of the extrinsic elements of 'Moana' have been in previous Musker and Clements films, indeed in Disney films going back a century,' the expert, Jeffrey Rovin testified at trial. Woodall's attorneys must prove the works had substantial similarity and that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work. Both judge and jury will decide on substantial similarity, with the judge using the so-called 'extrinsic test" of comparing individual elements and the jury using the 'intrinsic test' of the 'total concept and feel' of the two works. Woodall in January filed a second lawsuit over 'Moana 2,' which was an even bigger hit that brought in more than $1 billion globally. But the judge declined to combine the lawsuits, and the newer one, seeking as much as $10 billion, will be dealt with separately.
Associated Press
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
‘Moana' has her origins questioned at trial where man says his surfer boy led to the Disney hit
Was 'Moana' based on a boy named Bucky? Lawyers for a New Mexico writer and animator will say at closing arguments at his federal trial in Los Angeles on Monday that his work was stolen to create the Walt Disney Co.'s 2016 hit about a questing Polynesian princess, whose sequel was among the biggest hits of last year. Buck Woodall wrote a script, whose various titles have included 'Bucky the Surfer Boy,' about a teenager vacationing in Hawaii with his parents who befriends a group of Native Hawaiian youth and goes on a quest that involves time travel to the ancient islands and interactions with demigods to save a sacred part of the islands from a developer. Woodall said he first gave the script to a distant relative by marriage who worked for another company on the Disney lot in about 2004, and a dozen years later was stunned when he saw so many of his ideas in 'Moana.' Here are some of the many similarities his lawsuit alleges: Both 'tell the story about a teenager who defies parental warnings and embarks on a dangerous voyage across Polynesian waters to save the endangered land of a Polynesian island.' Both 'involve a main character who encounters a demigod with a giant hook and tattoos.' Both 'involve protagonists who learn about ancient Polynesian culture during a sea voyage' and 'a recurring theme of the Polynesian belief in spiritual ancestors' who 'manifested as animals which guide and guard the living.' Defense lawyers and witnesses — including the woman Woodall gave the script to — said no one at Disney saw his work, and that 'Moana' was developed through the same cultural research and internal collaboration as its other films. A judge ruled that Woodall filed the 2020 lawsuit too late to have a claim on the nearly $700 global box office of 'Moana.' What remains are the film's DVD and Blu-ray sales — worth $31.4 million gross with a net profit of $10.4 million. The only remaining defendant is Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 'Moana' was co-directed, along with two others, by John Musker and Ron Clements, a duo that was essential to the 1990s Disney animation renaissance that made the company a global powerhouse. At times with other collaborators, Musker and Clements co-wrote and co-directed 1989's 'The Little Mermaid,' 1992's 'Aladdin,' 1997's 'Hercules' and 2009's 'The Princess and the Frog.' Musker testified that they had never plagiarized, and he was angered by the accusation. The relatively young jury of six women and two men watched 'Moana' in its entirety while sitting in the courtroom and were also shown scenes from 'The Little Mermaid' and other Musker and Clements films. Musker testified that Moana's relationship with her chief father was much like the mermaid Ariel's with her father, King Triton. A defense expert said that the relationship between Moana and the shapeshifting demigod Maui, voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, reflects Aladdin and his shapeshifting Genie, voiced by Robin Williams. 'So many of the extrinsic elements of 'Moana' have been in previous Musker and Clements films, indeed in Disney films going back a century,' the expert, Jeffrey Rovin testified at trial. Woodall's attorneys must prove the works had substantial similarity and that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work. Both judge and jury will decide on substantial similarity, with the judge using the so-called 'extrinsic test' of comparing individual elements and the jury using the 'intrinsic test' of the 'total concept and feel' of the two works. Woodall in January filed a second lawsuit over 'Moana 2,' which was an even bigger hit that brought in more than $1 billion globally. But the judge declined to combine the lawsuits, and the newer one, seeking as much as $10 billion, will be dealt with separately.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Tiana' Musical Series Not Moving Forward At Disney+
Walt Disney Animation Studios has decided not to move forward with Tiana, an animated musical series offshoot of The Princess and the Frog movie set for Disney+, Deadline has confirmed. While Disney did not respond to request for comment today over the Tiana series cancellation, sources confirm that going forward neither animation studio will be providing long form content for Disney +. More from Deadline 'Descendants 5' Adds 4 To Cast As Offspring Of Robin Hood, Dr. Facilier & Mr. Smee 2025 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming 'Doctor Who' Trailer Teases Killer Cartoons, Interstellar Song Contest & New Companion In Season 2 With a Tiana original special now the focus, we hear, it seems that creatively a Tiana series had been going nowhere fast for several years. That creative funk was why all we've seen the past four years is a single image from the proposed Tiana series. First announced in December 2020, the project was expected to feature Anika Noni Rose reprising her role as Tiana from the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, which revolved around Disney's first Black princess. Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the evil voodoo witch doctor Facilier, Tiana becomes a frog as well and the two must find a way to turn human again before it is too late. In addition to Rose, the film also starred Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay co-written by Clements and Musker with Rob Edwards. Musker and Clements also co-wrote the story with writing duo Greg Erb and Jazson Oremland. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery How To Watch Sean Baker's Oscar Winner 'Anora': Streaming, For Rent And More Every Oscars Best Animated Feature Winner Since 2002
