‘Fionna and Cake,’ ‘Gumball,’ ‘Batman: Caped Crusader,’ ‘War of the Rohirrim’ Dazzle at Annecy

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent O2 Play, the distribution-sales arm of Brazil’s O2 Filmes group, co-owned by “City of God” director Fernando Meirelles, has boarded “Broken” (“Partido”), which is co-directed by Oscar-nominated “City of God” DP César Charlone. O2 Play has acquired Brazilian and world sales rights to the doc feature. O2 Play founder Igor Kupstas will introduce “Broken” to buyers at Locarno Pro, which runs Aug.3-9. Charlone, also “The Two Popes” DP and director of “3%,” South America’s first Netflix series, has directed alongside Sebastián Bednarik (“Maracaná,” “Sangre de Campeones”) and Joaquim Castro (“Máquina do Desejo – 60 Anos do Teatro Oficina”).

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent New Europe Film Sales is set to launch international sales on “Stepne,”the debut feature of Ukraine’s Maryna Vroda, a best short Cannes Palme d’Or winner, which was announced this July 5 morning as part of Locarno’s main International Competition.  Born in Kyiv, Vroda won a Palme d’Or in 2011 for her short “Cross Country” (“Kross”), a seemingly allegorical psychological drama about a boy who is forced to run, then does so willingly, ending up watching his classmates running a senseless cross-country race as a boy rolls in a transparent ball in a river. “Kross” was inspired by Vroda’s memories of physical education lessons. “Stepne” is equally personal, coming to Vroda when her grandparents died. In it, a middle-aged man travels to his family home to care for his dying mother. He meets his brother and a woman he loves and thinks back to his life choices such as leaving to live in a big city. Then, just before dying, her mother tells her about a treasure she’s buried in the shed.

APPOINTMENTSArtist services and rights management company Interstellar has announced the appointment of Vickie Nauman to its advisory board. “Interstellar is a business that has impressed me from the off, in terms of the calibre of the team, its commitment to its clients and, importantly, the passion they have for music and its creators”, she says. “The company sits right at the intersection of music and innovation, so I hope that it will benefit from my experience as it enters its next phase of growth”.————————————————–RELEASESNZCA Lines will release new EP ‘Universal Heartbreak’ on 22 Sep.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is forever keeping Us on our toes!

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who stars as Destiny in “The Idol” — Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) manager — opens up on why co-creator Sam Levinson took over the much-discussed series and the likelihood of a second season.

Seth Meyers just announced his latest project.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent TOLEDO, Spain — Warner Bros. Discovery has announced the greenlight and start of production of its first new Spanish series for Max, crime thriller  “When Nobody Sees Us,” whose eight episodes will be directed by Spain’s Enrique Urbizu (“No Rest for the Wicked”). The produced by “Elite” producer Zeta Studios.   Based on the same title novel by Sergio Sarria, “When Nobody Sees Us” has been written by lead writer Daniel Corpas (“The Ministry of Time,” “Malaka”) heading a writing team with the collaboration of Arturo Ruiz and Isa Sánchez. Set against Spain’s 2023 Holy Week celebrations, “When Nobody Sees Us,” is set in Morón de la Frontera, south east of Seville in Andalusia’s deep Spain, next to a U.S. Army Air Force base. There, Lucía Gutiérrez,  a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, investigates the bizarre suicide of a neighbour and strange events at the first Holy Week float processions.

At the start of the writers strike, The Animation Guild, an entirely separate union to the WGA, came out in support of the labor action, pledging to “stand in solidarity” with WGA members.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Prime Video has unveiled 12 new unscripted reality and entertainment series coming to the Nordics, including an adaptation of the hit format “LOL: Last One Laughing” for Denmark and Norway. The streamer has also renewed the Swedish version of “LOL: Last One Laughing” for a second season. All Nordic versions of “LOL: Last One Laughing” are filmed and produced in Sweden by Jarowskij in Sweden, Metronome in Denmark and Nordisk Banijay in Norway. New Prime Video shows also include the Norwegian docu-reality series “Girls of Oslo,” a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of of well-known influencers Sophie Elise, Isabel Raad, Nora Haukland and Anniken Englund Jørgensen. “Girls of Oslo” is produced by Salto Film and will launch this Fall on Prime Video in Norway.

Muni Long took the stage at the 2023 BET Awards to acknowledge the writers strike and the members of the WGA.

More than a year after their son’s birth, Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney have started talking about expanding their family again.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent India looks to be moving closer to hiking its recently inaugurated cash rebates on international shoot spend in the country, including on animation and VXF works. The confirmation came at last week’s Animation Film Festival, as India showed further signs of expansion in animation on various fronts: “Heirloom,” an Annecy Residency project from India’s Upamanyu Bhattacharyya, bowed at MIFA feature film pitches, the strongest in memory, and though it didn’t take a prize, it was regarded as one of the section’s standouts; Annecy-backed, AniMela, India’s first international festival for animation, VFX, XR, gaming and comics (AVGC-XR), revealed dates for its first edition in 2024.    

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent ANNECY — Bathed by gorgeous sun, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and MIFA market came of age as a major industry and artistic event last week at the fairy-tale looking town nestling in the laps of the French Alps.  Takeaways from this year’s extraordinary edition, which ran June 11-17: Annecy Blasts Attendance Records The Annecy Festival and MIFA market smashed prior attendance figures to smithereens, recording 15,820 accreditations, 20% up on last year’s then all-time record of 13,200. That reflects “the extraordinary dynamism of the animation industry; more and more countries producing: our support of a lot of talents in emerging countries who want to come, of course; the [year-round outreach] in terms of meetings, and the official selection,” Mickaël Marin, CEO of the Festival and MIFA organizer CITIA, told Variety. “The festival was a great success, in its record numbers of attendance, exhibition booths and companies and dynamism and sensation of an extraordinary energy,” agrees Olivier Lelardoux, Blue Spirit Studio.  

The Royal Family’s official Twitter account posted three photos of three generations — one showing King Charles chuckling alongside his late father, Prince Phillip, and another picturing Queen Camilla smiling with her late father, Bruce Shand.And, in a touching tribute, the account also included a photo of King Charles with his two sons, Prince Harry, 38, and Prince William when they were younger — amidst their ongoing family drama. “To Dads everywhere, we wish you a very special Father’s Day today,” the caption read.Prince William seemed to take a different approach on his own official social media account, posting two sweet snaps of himself smiling with this three kids; Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte 8, and Prince Louis, 5.To Dads everywhere, we wish you a very special Father’s Day today.

Andy Muschietti has landed his next role in the DC Universe!

Tom Holland is one of the most popular young actors in the world right now. A large part of that popularity comes from his performance as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in various Marvel films.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Velma” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max. The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim, during her “Share With” session. “Velma” debuted its first season on what was then HBO Max in January. The adult animated comedy series tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley and the Mystery Inc. gang from “Scooby Doo.” Mindy Kaling voices Velma with the cast also including Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, Jane Lynch, Ming-Na Wen, Wanda Sykes, and more. Charlie Grandy developed the series for television and serves as executive producer and showrunner. Kaling also executive produces along with Howard Klein and Sam Register.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Netflix, the world’s preeminent animation producer by production volume, outlay and awards, has set out a roadmap at Annecy for how it is looking to invest in the future of animation. Sketched by John Derderian and Karen Toliver, Netflix animation heads of series and film respectively, the gameplan takes in building on Netflix’s strengths, in adult animation, and genre and anime in series; maintaining a vast diversity of shows and movies; and looking in every project for a creator’s vision which Netflix will seek to connect with the right audience, at the right price. Derderian and Toliver talked to Variety at France’s Annecy Animation Festival whose Netflix’s panel this Wednesday June 14, From Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget to Blue Eye Samurai – See What’s Next @ Netflix, promises to be one of Annecy’s most talked-about highlights.

Daredevil: Born Again and The Penguin finally have thrown in the towel: Deadline has learned that the Disney+ series and the Max drama will remain on pause until the end of the WGA Strike — whenever that may be.

Velma will be back. Max has renewed Mindy Kaling’s adult animated series for a second season. Suzanna Makkos, EVP, Original Comedy and Adult Animation, Max and Adult Swim, revealed the renewal during a panel at Annecy International Animated Film Festival Thursday, where she also talked about upcoming projects and previewed Max’s upcoming adult animation slate.