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Disney CEO Bob Iger Needs Our Help to Get His $60 Million Bonus
Last week Bob Iger said that he had signed a two-year contract extension that will allow him to remain as CEO and chairman of the Walt Disney Company until June 2018.
Business
Laika is Here to Stay, Will Keep Making Films
What’s the coolest thing about having your animation studio run by one of the world’s richest men? You get to make as many animated movies as you damn please.
Japanese Company SoftBank In Talks To Buy DreamWorks Animation: Explained
Everything you need to know about the possible sale of DreamWorks to Japanese company SoftBank.
Goodbye Hub Network, Hello Discovery Family
It was fun while it lasted: the underperforming Hub Network, an equal partnership between Discovery Communications and toymaker Hasbro is shutting down.
‘Rick and Morty’ Artists Push to Unionize Their Show—And Succeed
The crew of the Adult Swim series “Rick & Morty” ratified a new labor agreement last Monday with the Animation Guild.
South Korea’s Studio MIR Signs Co-Production Deal With DreamWorks (Updated)
South Korea’s Studio MIR, responsible for the animation in “The Legend of Korra” and the fourth season of “The Boondocks,” has signed a major deal with DreamWorks Animation to produce four animated series over four years.
Animation Was UK’s Most Popular Type of Film in 2013
In 2013, filmgoers in the United Kingdom and Ireland watched more animation than any other type of film, according to a new report by the British Film Institute.
House Special Launches in Portland
A new commercial studio, House Special, launched in Portland, Oregon last week. The company was started by Lourri Hammack, Kirk Kelly and Al Cubillas, who ran Laika’s former commercial division Laika/house.
Christina Miller Named Cartoon Network, Adult Swim President
Cartoon Network has named Christina Miller as its new president and general manager. She will also serve the same roles for Adult Swim and Boomerang. Miller fills the leadership vacancy left by Stu Snyder, who departed the network in March.
Seth MacFarlane Stole ‘Ted,’ Lawsuit Alleges
Seth MacFarlane has been accused of ripping off the foul-mouthed-teddy-bear concept for his 2012 film “Ted” from a California company called Bengal Mangle Productions.
Pixar’s Ed Catmull Emerges As Central Figure In The Wage-Fixing Scandal
Pixar and Disney Animation president Ed Catmull has always had a reputation as a decent person, but newly revealed court documents show that he’s been working against the interests of Pixar’s employees for years, as well as trying to hurt other studios who didn’t play by his rules.
Disney and DreamWorks May Have Been Part of Illegal Pixar/Lucasfilm Wage-Fixing Cartel
Tech site Pando Daily has been providing amazing coverage of the Department of Justice antitrust invesigation and subsequent class action lawsuits over wage-fixing amongst Silicon Valley tech companies and animation studios.
Sony Animation Is Promoting ‘The Smurfs’ Early and Often
The all-CG “Smurfs” reboot won’t be released until 2016, but you wouldn’t know that from the aggressive manner in which Sony Pictures Animation is promoting the film.
DreamWorks Lays Off Dozens of Employees As ‘Dragons 2’ Continues to Underperform
We heard rumors of layoffs at DreamWorks last week, but they weren’t confirmed by a reputable source until yesterday evening when the animator’s union, The Animation Guild, posted an item about it on their blog.
Margaret Loesch Is Stepping Down As Hub Network President
Margaret Loesch, a forty-year children’s TV veteran, has announced that she will step down as the founding president and CEO of the Hub Network when her contract expires at the end of this year.
DreamWorks Vets Bibo Bergeron and Mike de Seve Launch Monkey’s Uncle
Animation veterans Eric “Bibo” Bergeron and Mike de Seve have partnered to launch a new venture called Monkey’s Uncle, which they announced at Annecy a couple weeks ago.
The One Thing That Could Save DreamWorks Animation: China
At least one DreamWorks animated film has lost money for the past three years in a row: “Rise of the Guardians” in 2012 had an $87 million writedown; “Turbo” in 2013 resulted in a $13.5 million writedown; and this year’s “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” caused a $57 million writedown. This is rather obviously not a sustainable trend from a business standpoint, and investors are beginning to worry about the studio’s long-term prospects.
Sony Pictures Animation Will No Longer Animate Its Films in the US
Animation and visual effects studio Sony Pictures Imageworks has confirmed what many in the industry had suspected for a long while: the studio is moving its headquarters from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada to take advantage of generous tax credits provided by the Canadian government. This move, combined with Digital Domain’s jump to Vancouver and Rhythm & Hues’ bankruptcy, prompted “Variety'”s VFX chronicler David S. Cohen to say that the Los Angeles feature film visual effects industry is “in full collapse.”
‘Legends of Oz’ Investors, Who Each Paid $100,000, Believe Hollywood Conspiracy Destroyed Film [UPDATED]
Although Greg Centineo, the producer of “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” had hoped for a big second weekend, the film plummeted 48% this weekend and ended up with a sophomore frame of $1.9 million. The movie has struggled to find a fan following, except for the film’s Facebook page which is filled with a curiously large number of middle-aged and elderly people who absolutely adore the film.
How Will Vinton Lost His Studio to a Rapper Named Chilly Tee
Laika does amazing work as an animation studio, no doubt about it, but the studio’s history is somewhat less admirable. The company was built on top of Will Vinton’s eponymous Portland studio in a shrewd corporate takeover by multi-billionaire Nike co-founder Phil Knight. After Knight took control of the company in 2002, he placed a failed rapper named Chilly Tee with slight experience in animation, who also happened to be his son Travis Knight, in charge of the entire company.
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