Gaumont Centralizes Animation & Family Division In Europe, Promotes Terry Kalagian

Christopher Vourlias The release of “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire,” a pan-African Disney Plus Original animated series that will drop globally on the streaming platform on July 5, could be a game-changer for an African animation industry that continues to scale new heights. Executive produced by Oscar winner Peter Ramsey (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), Anthony Silverston of South African animation house Triggerfish, and Tandayi Nyeke, the 10-part anthology series offers a dizzying blend of mythology, science fiction and Afrofuturism, presenting 10 bold, wholly original visions of the future from a distinctly African perspective. The series, which is produced by Triggerfish, features animators from six African countries drawing on their own ancient histories, folklores and contemporary urban landscapes to reimagine a world populated with cyborg cattle, flying minibus-taxis, radioactive octopi and robotic birds. Collectively, they present a portrait of the continent that’s never been seen before.

King Charles, who recently celebrated his first official birthday as the monarch, is “keen to heal the family rift” between his son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle since they stepped down as senior royals in March 2020. A royal expert has explained that there has been a strain on the royal family since the duo stepped down three years ago, which has been particularly felt for King Charles and Prince William.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kept themselves busy with a variety of individual and joint projects since their royal exit.

EXCLUSIVE: Riley Weston, the writer-actress who generated an extraordinary amount of attention in the late ’90s for failing to disclose her true age while working for Felicity, has quietly found another way to enjoy success in TV: penning feel-good movies.

Elton John is believed to have splashed the cash ahead of his Glasgow gig on Saturday night as a treat for his crew.

France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the prize winners of its biggest edition to date, running from June 11 to 17.

Meghan Markle has issued a blunt response after Spotify cancelled her podcast. The audio producer announced that the "Archetypes" podcast would not be renewed for a second series. Following the cancellation, a spokeswoman for the Archewell productive media company said: "The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify.

New plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning Paula Vogel and Obie-winning Branden Jacobs-Jenkins will be among the Broadway offering of the Second Stage Theater 2023-24 season, the company announced today.

Luke Bryan got real about his work-life balance struggles — and pressures — after finishing season 21 of American Idol ahead of his nationwide tour.

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle has unveiled a trailer for documentary feature “On the Line: The Richard Williams Story,” which will have its U.K. premiere at Sheffield DocFest. In the film, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Festival, the father of Venus Williams and Serena Williams retraces his family’s meteoric journey in his own words. Featuring never-before-seen archive material and new, in-depth, intimate interviews, the film tells the story of one man’s fight against racism, suppression and violence to raise two of the greatest tennis champions in history. Richard Williams takes the audience from his childhood in poverty-stricken Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was raised by his cotton-picking mother, to the tennis courts of Compton. As the film charts the Williams’ ascent to the tennis world stage, Richard provides insights into family life and also shines a light on unconscious bias and repression of Black people.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Los Angeles-based Viva Kids has nabbed a stake in 3Doubles Producciones, a 2D/3D animation studio in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. For now, Viva has acquired a minority interest with an option to acquire a majority stake after two years. Founded by Darío Sánchez in 2017, the company currently employs more than a hundred at its headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Mercury Steam owner Ignacio Navas and Aliot Innovation founder José Ángel Olmo became partners at 3Doubles in 2020. 3Doubles’ slate of animated films includes “Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow,” “The Ogglies,” “Mia and Me: The Hero of Centopia,” “My Fairy Troublemaker” and “Daily Fables.”

Daniel Albaladejo Robles Growing up on the island of Tenerife at a time when pursuing a career in animation and film was out of bounds, Albaladejo moved to Madrid to study both subjects at the Madrid Film School. His first jobs were on children’s series “Jelly Jamm,” “Pocoyo” and “The Amazing World of Gumball.” His VFX credits include “Game of Thrones” and “A Monster Calls” at El Ranchito in Madrid. “For the past few years, I have focused on storyboarding or animation, working as a freelancer for various studios, including Las Palmas-based Amuse,” he says. He recently worked on animated docu pic, “Mariposas Negras,” and is now collaborating on a U.K. series under wraps. AMDLF

EXCLUSIVE: Ramsey Naito, President, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, has a big remit, overseeing all of the groups’ operations from development through release. The respected veteran also has big hopes for an upcoming slate of franchise installments as well as original features. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Temtem, the popular multiplayer creature-collection game, is set for a series adaptation with Josh Hamilton (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”) on board as showrunner. Somewhere Animation, which is part of Mediawan Kids & Family company, and the L.A.-based banner Marla Studios have teamed up to produce a comedy-adventure series based on the game. The Japanese-style game, often compared with Pokémon, was developed by the Spanish studio Crema and released in 2020. It’s set on the Airborne Archipelago, six colorful and diverse islands, where humans live alongside feathery creatures called Temtem.

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts.” The 10-episode series is based on Chinese-American author Ying Chang Compestine’s bestselling 2016 YA book. Episode 1 of the anthology, titled “Egg Fried Rice,” is currently in production as a pilot order from Singapore’s national media network Mediacorp, and is due an early 2024 release. The project was one of the winning pitches at Mediacorp’s Content Development Pitch 2022 competition, which was part of Creatives Assembly, the company’s annual call for content ideas.

Mexico as its 2023 guest county of honor brings over 100 artists and executives to the world’s biggest animation event. Here are 10 Talents to Track emerging directors and artists among an exploding animation scene. Variety could easily have chosen another 20 more.      Celebrated as the executive producer and creator of Crunchyroll’s first original series “Onyx Equinox,” the tale of a young Meso-American slave who becomes the last hope of saving humanity from invading gods of the underworld. On TV “I never saw Meso-American Indigenous Mexico without Spanish influence, and I wanted to connect with my roots,” says Alexander. The series is anime influenced, not just in its aesthetics – the painterly fields of Meso-America and the frenzied gory combat –  but also in its being serialization, pacing and broad audience target, including adults, she argues. A freelancer for Cartoon Network, Hasbro and Nickelodeon, but “Onyx Equinox” is her major achievement. JH

Love Island's Tyrique Hyde has joined the hit ITV2 villa and has already found himself in a love triangle with Jess Harding and Ella Thomas.The semi-professional footballer, 24, from Essex also appeared to share a link with Molly Marsh, 21, from Doncaster as they both had the exact same tattoo on their left ear - a lighting bolt. And while Molly joked that the meaning behind hers was a "Pinterest quote", Tyrique has a special reason behind his lightening bolt.Tyrique is deaf in his right ear so he got the tattoo next to his left ear to symbolise "strength and power".

Prince Harry is opening up about the IRL consequences rumors have had on him.

It was revealed last year that King Charles is planning the largest ever series of official tours in the UK, the Commonwealth and to other countries around the world to "extend a hand of friendship and support.” While it has been understood that the monarch will prioritise visits to the United States, Australia, New Zealand and a number of Commonwealth realms in the Caribbean, there are a number of countries that will also be high on the agenda such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.The King and Queen undertook their first visit to Germany before the Coronation, but are expected to make several more trips in the coming few years. While Their Majesties will carry out many of the visits themselves, they are ably supported by key senior royals, such as The Prince and Princess of Wales, who are thought to be instrumental in The King's plans for future foreign tours.

Prince Harry could be welcomed back into the Royal Family with open arms, according to one royal expert.