ForcesOfGeek.com reported late last week that the producers of FUTURAMA have put out a casting notice to potentially replace actors John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Billy West and Katy Sagal.
Blogs are speculating that FOX is trying to lower the cost of the new FUTURAMA episodes, slated to air on Comedy Central. A similar process was implemented on THE SIMPSONS, but resulted in the voice actors receiving raises.
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE was far and away the winner at the box office, earning $77.8 million over the weekend and in five days brought in $158.02M for Warner Bros. (vfx by ILM and Double Negative and CEG Media, Cinesite, Foreign Office, Gentle Giant Studios, Kerner Optical, Moving Picture Company, Plowman Craven & Associates, Rising Sun Pictures and The Visual Effects Company).
ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (Fox, animation by Blue Sky Studios) didn't budge from its second place finish, earning $17.6M with a three-week cume of $151.9M.
Los Angeles, CA July 14, 2009 -- Summit Entertainment will treat attendees of Comic-Con 2009 to a one-of-a-kind look at three of its upcoming films, featuring revealing cast and filmmaker panels and exclusive footage on Thursday, July 23. Among the fan-friendly attractions are sneak peeks at upcoming releases including ASTRO BOY, SORORITY ROW and THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, the highly-anticipated sequel to its blockbuster vampire romance.
Comic-Con is fast approaching and LucasArts has a ton of great things planned for this year's show. If you're going to be in San Diego for the show, be sure to check out the following things we have planned.
Hands-On with STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS: REPUBLIC HEROES and LEGO INDIANA JONES 2: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
Acclaimed documentary WALT & EL GRUPO, a festival favorite in Rome, Rio, San Francisco, Palm Springs and Seattle, is set to begin its theatrical run with limited releases in Los Angeles and New York on September 11, 2009. The film, from writer/director Theodore Thomas ("Frank and Ollie") and producer Kuniko Okubo, is also scheduled to run for a week in Seattle starting September 25th and will debut in additional markets soon after.
Fredrik Bond will direct Rogue's HACK/SLASH, from the cult horror comic by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Alexandra Milchan, Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter will produce. Bond is also attached to direct THE HOST, a remake of the South Korean hit monster film.
MARLEY & ME director David Frankel will helm Warner Bros.' animated fantasy film SEPTIMUS HEAP: MAGYK, per VARIETY.
Rob Lieber is producing with Karen Rosenfelt via her Sunswept Ent. banner.
WB has had the rights to the HarperCollins-published book series by Angie Sage for two years. The plot revolves around two babies switched at birth, a boy who is the seventh son of a seventh son, and a girl destined to be a princess.
Russell Brand has been hired to provide the voice of the Easter Bunny for Universal Pictures/Illumination Ent.'s upcoming live-action/CGI family comedy I HOP, per VARIETY.
The studio has firmed up a March 4, 2011 release date with Tim Hill (ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS) set to direct. Production will begin this fall. Chris Meledandri of Illumination will produce with John Cohen.
Disney, after acquiring the screen rights to young adult novel WINGS, has set their star Miley Cyrus as the lead character, per VARIETY.
The best-selling Aprilynne Pike novel is about a girl named Laurel, a 15-year old who has grown up very sheltered and home-schooled in a small town. Going to a real high school for the first time is difficult enough when she realizes she's very different from the other kids -- she sprouts wings and learns she's a fairy.
Animation Guild Local 839 has reached a tentative three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, per VARIETY.
The unions covering Hollywood's 2,000 animators announced Tuesday they had made the deal, which will take effect August 1 if ratified by members. Negotiations began May 18 and concluded Monday night.
Local 839 is part of the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE is already on its way to a massive opening with a record $22.2 million earned in midnight screenings at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, reports VARIETY.
Warner Bros. earned $18 million in similar screenings last year with THE DARK KNIGHT and the other top finisher, Fox's STAR WARS: EPISODE III -- REVENGE OF THE SITH with $17 million.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, the last film in theaters, opened with a $12 million midnight run on a Wednesday opening in 2007, on its way to a $139.7 million five-day debut.
Los Angeles, CA -- (July 15, 2009) -- July 2009 marks the 2nd anniversary of LA-based motion design and production studio Royale. Drawing on 20+ years collective experience, Partners Jayson Whitmore, Brien Holman and Jennifer Lucero launched Royale with the mission of pioneering a studio whose culture would be its defining thread, from nurturing innovative creative and its intrinsic process, to delivering clients tailored solutions in a welcoming, collaborative atmosphere.
New York, NY -- July 15, 2009 -- Animation Collective, a leading U.S. provider of content to the children's entertainment market, announces today a new broadcast sale of the modern-day superhero tale, "Three Delivery". The 26 x 22 minute animated action-comedy series has been acquired by Canal Once in Mexico and is slated to begin airing in September of 2009.
Shoran Software just released a new maintenance release of RenderPal V2, bringing it to version 2.3.5. This version fixes various bugs and brings several smaller new features and improvements, like the ability to pause clients, cancelling of a client reboot/shutdown and text filtering in the event log.
Following The Walt Disney Company's rebranding announcement of Jetix channels within the end of 2009, the Italian Jetix Management -- led by Managing Director Francesco Nespega -- who carried on the Jetix business for the past 9 years since April 2000, approached Disney with an acquisition proposal for TV channels GXT and K2, both exclusively available in the Italian market where they were launched in May 2005 and July 2009, respectively.
San Francisco, CA, JULY 14, 2009 -- VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, is proud to welcome comic book and manga legends Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei for a very special series of appearances at the 2009 Comic-Con International, taking place July 23-26 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
