GKIDS announced today that it has acquired North American distribution rights to My Life As A Zucchini (original French language title “Ma vie de Courgette”), the debut feature from Swiss director Claude Barras, based on a script from Céline Sciamma (director/writer of “Girlhood” and “Tomboy”). My Life As A Zucchini is the official Swiss submission […]
Archive for August, 2016
Gkids Aquires North America Rights To Annecy Winning Feature “My Life As A Zucchini”
August 31st, 2016 
Jerry Beck 
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TRAILER: Raymond Briggs “Ethel and Ernest”
August 31st, 2016 Jerry Beck A new trailer has dropped for Ethel and Ernest, a hand drawn, feature length adaptation of the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman, When The Wind Blows). The film will be initially released by Universal in London on October 28th. The feature was produced and adapted by Lupus Films and directed by Roger Mainwood […]
TRAILER: GKids “Miss Hokusai”
August 30th, 2016 Jerry Beck GKIDS has released its US trailer for Miss Hokusai, the latest feature from Japanese animation powerhouse Production I. G. (Ghost In The Shell, A Letter To Momo). The NY-based distributor will release the film on October 14th in New York and Los Angeles prior to a North American expansion. The film by renowned director Keiichi […]
Bob Bacon Appointed CEO of China’s LA-Based Alpha Animation
August 30th, 2016 Jerry Beck Alpha Group Co. Ltd. is pleased to announce that Bob Bacon will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Animation, a new division dedicated to the development and production of high-quality animated feature content for a worldwide audience, it was announced today by Alpha Interactive Entertainment Division Chief Executive Officer, Chen De Rong. On Bacon’s […]
Asifa-Hollywood’s Animation Educators Forum Selects 2016-17 Scholarship Recipients
August 29th, 2016 Jerry Beck ASIFA-Hollywood and the Animation Educators Forum (AEF) recently selected eight (8) animation students to receive a total of $30,000 in scholarships for academic year 2016-17. According to the AEF judges, applications came in from all around the world including Syria, Australia, Canada, Singapore and the USA, and each had their own passionate stories to tell. […]
Jeremy Renner Added To Cast Of AMBI’s “Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad”
August 24th, 2016 Jerry Beck Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker,” “The Avengers,” “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”) has signed on to voice the lead character (Swifty) in the epic 3D, CGI animated family film Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad from Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi’s AMBI Group. Renner will lead an ensemble voice cast for “Arctic Justice” that […]
Dreamworks’ Show Runner Brendan Hay on Netflix “Dawn Of The Croods” Season 2
August 24th, 2016 Jackson Murphy The world’s first family returns for an all-new Season 2 in Dreamworks’ Dawn Of The Croods, premiering on Netflix this Friday, August 26th. Eep, Thunk, Grug, Ugga, Sandy and Gran return to encounter many modern-day problems – for the first time in history – as they navigate life in a prehistoric era. Among their many […]
Disney’s “Milo Murphy’s Law” Starring Weird Al Starts October 3rd
August 23rd, 2016 Jerry Beck Legendary satirist and Grammy Award-winning recording artist Al Yankovic (professionally known as “Weird Al”) voices the title role in Milo Murphy’s Law, a new animated adventure comedy series debuting Monday October 3rd (8:00 p.m., EDT) on Disney XD. From creators and executive producers Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh of the Emmy Award-winning animated series […]
Animation Scoop’s Comic Con Panel: “Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation”
August 22nd, 2016 Leslie Combemale Cartoon Legends Speak: Diversity in the History of Animation, the 2016 San Diego Comic Con panel moderated by Leslie Combemale for Animation Scoop, is now viewable for all to see and hear. With the new documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life being released this weekend, it’s the perfect time to remember all the great artists […]
SUBMIT TODAY: The 44th Annie Awards ‘Call For Entries’ Is Now Open!
August 22nd, 2016 Jerry Beck The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced today its ‘Call for Entries’ for the 44th Annual Annie Awards are now open! Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the Annie Awards will be presented in 9 production categories (Best Feature, Broadcast Production, Short Film, etc.) and 22 achievement categories (Best Animation, Direction, Production Design, Music, […]
Why Some Fans Are Giving Animation A Black Eye
August 19th, 2016 Charles Kenny Fandoms in general constantly contend with a minority that makes the majority look bad. If it isn’t long-term fans belittling newcomers, it’s one faction squaring off against another over some trifle disagreement. Fans arguing amongst themselves is nothing new, but when the anger gets directed towards creators or those on the creative team, the results […]
Massachusetts’ Norman Rockwell Museum To Present “Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning”
August 18th, 2016 Jerry Beck Before the rise of basic cable, Saturday mornings for many children in America were spent watching cartoons on one of three available television channels. From 1958 through the 1980s, a majority of those cartoons bore the imprint of Hanna-Barbera. Creating scores of popular series such as The Yogi Bear Show, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny […]
Interview with Travis Knight on Directing “Kubo”
August 17th, 2016 Jackson Murphy Travis Knight is the President and CEO of Laika, the stop-motion animation studio behind Oscar-nominated hits Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. Their latest feature, Kubo and the Two Strings, opening this weekend, marks Knight’s directorial debut. He told me about some of the decade-long efforts of the studio, bringing Kubo to life, and a “mind-blowing” […]
Animation Historian Ray Pointer Discusses His Book “The Art and Inventions Of Max Fleischer”
August 15th, 2016 Jerry Beck Now available for pre-order is the long awaited history of the man and studio behind a few of the most famous cartoon characters and some of the greatest, most-influential animated films in the history of the medium. Author and historian Ray Pointer is a forty-year film and animation professional. He has spent a life time […]
Despite Four Shrek Films, History Will be Kind to Jeffrey Katzenberg
This week Jeffrey Katzenberg said goodbye to the studio he founded. Evaluating the full impact of Jeffrey Katzenberg over the past three decades will take years. The animation industry loses a true cheerleader whose legacy has barely been formed but finds itself without an immediately apparent replacement. Katzenberg’s live-action background didn’t exactly prepare him for […]