Guillermo Del Toro Talks Life Obsession With Animation; Love Of Stop-Motion & Advises Aspiring Animators To Channel Inner Monster – Annecy

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Monica Bellucci confirmed her romance with Tim Burton after months speculation about their relationship — and it sounds like things are getting serious.

Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” is in wide release this weekend (read our review), and as we’ve noted over the last few weeks, the filmmaker is moving at a quick pace never seen before in his career. 2022 and 2023 saw back-to-back Cannes premieres, “The French Dispatch” and “Asteroid City,” and later this year, he will release yet another film for Netflix, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” which is actually only 37 minutes long.

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Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Prime Video has revealed its top traveling non-English local originals in the history of the service, with Spanish YA romance “My Fault” and French crime thriller “Medellín” topping the list. Both are feature films that launched in the last two weeks across Prime Video’s footprint in 240 countries around the world. Interestingly, both titles have more than 75% of their viewership coming from outside their country of origin (Spain for “My Fault,” and France for “Medellín”), though Prime Video hasn’t disclosed any further metrics related to ratings or impressions. Of the list (available in full below), 60% are movies and 40% are TV series.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Speaking for nearly an hour at his master class, one of the key highlights of the Annecy Animation Festival this week, maestro filmmaker Guillermo del Toro kept his packed-to-the rafters audience enthralled – and in stitches – as he extolled the virtues of stop-motion animation and of embracing flaws. Having just won a best animated feature film Oscar for his long-gestating stop-motion version of the classic tale “Pinocchio” gave his talk even more heft.   “Stop-motion is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all the forms of animation because it’s the most intimate, and is quite literally a connection between the animator and a physical model,” he said, adding: “It’s is the closest thing to playing with your toys.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel Goldwyn Films announced today that the company has acquired U.S. rights to the “The Three Musketeers,” a two-part adaptation of the swashbuckling French adventure story by Alexandre Dumas. The two films were shot back-to-back, with the first film “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan” released in France this past April, earning $35 million at the international box office. The sequel “The Three Musketeers: Milady” will open in the country on Dec. 13. The period epic boasts a top-shelf ensemble of European stars such as Francois Civil (“Call My Agent!”), Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan”), Romain Duris (“Eiffel”), Pio Marmaï ((“Happening”), Eva Green (“Casino Royale”), Vicky Krieps (“Phantom Thread”) and Louis Garrel (“The Dreamers”). Both films were directed by Martin Bourboulon, with screenplay by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s Woo Films is venturing into the kids/younger audience content biz for the first time, boarding three stop-motion animated features by Mexico City-based Cinema Fantasma, led by brothers Roy and Arturo Ambriz. Producer Andrea Toca who brought the projects to Woo Films, said: “We’ve always wanted to make content for children and younger audiences.” “I went to University with the Ambriz brothers so that’s where we first connected. We were very impressed by the working techniques they have developed in their workshop aside from their stories,” she added.

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It’s a good day when Salma Hayek blesses the internet with a bikini photo. The actress showed off her toned physique while vacationing on a yacht — and her fans are losing it.   

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Sapan Studios and IFC Films have acquired U.S. rights to “The Pot-au-Feu,” Trần Anh Hùng’s (“The Scent of Green Papaya”) lush gastronomy-themed romance which competed at the Cannes Film Festival and won best director. The movie is headlined by two of France’s biggest stars, Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, who won this year’s Cesar Award for “Pacifiction.” “The Pot-au-Feu” was produced by Olivier Delbosc at Curiosa Films and is represented in international markets by Gaumont.  The movie is one of the first titles co-acquired by Sapan Studios and IFC Films as part of their output deal. Sapan Studios is a new TV and film production/distribution company run by former AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan.

New Hallmark Channel real-life couple alert!

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has signed a first-look deal with London and LA-based Locksmith Animation to develop and produce animated features for worldwide distribution.

Karen Idelson Few people lived a life as bold and controversial as Leonardo da Vinci. It’s easy to forget sometimes he was also a human being with doubts who struggled with the same things that trouble just about all of us. In animated feature “The Inventor,” writer/director Jim Capobianco, who shared an original screenplay Oscar nomination with Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava for “Ratatouille,” was always interested in the more personal side of the famed painter and inventor. “The Inventor” combines traditional 2D and stop-motion animation as well as original music and lyrics by Alex Mandel.    “I’m telling the story of [da Vinci] at the end of his life and years in France,” says Capobianco. “I knew he was going to die [at the end of the story] and I was asking what that means to a man like Leonardo da Vinci. Having researched him, I learned that he believed that he procrastinated a lot and he thought he didn’t finish a lot of the things he set out to do. So, I thought about what it would mean to this person, this character. I realized it’s about what you leave behind for others and how you affect other people with what you do, how you change other people’s lives while you’re here. I realized with Leonardo da Vinci, he’s the perfect kind of foil for that because here I am making a film about him 500 years after he lived, and we still talk about him. He has such an impact on us and the idea of invention and the idea of curiosity and everything he accomplished.” 

Anna Marie de la Fuente “Ahahayy!! Viva Mexico, cabrones!” With that battle cry, Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro announced Mexico as the Country of Honor at this year’s Annecy, France’s preeminent animation film festival.  According to organizer Pixelatl, an association dedicated to the creation and promotion of Mexico’s multimedia content, more than 250 Mexican animators and producers will descend on Annecy with nine programs scheduled. “The Book of Life” director Jorge R. Gutiérrez, whose Netflix series “Maya and the Three” won four Emmys and an Annie, created the poster and title cards of the festival and will also be hosting a Master Class and screening of “The Book of Life.”

Natalie Portman, 41, and her husband, dancer/choreographer Benjamin Millepied, 45, are sticking together amidst his alleged infidelity. Rumors that Millepied cheated on spread last week after the French outlet reported that Millepied had an affair with a 25-year old French woman. He has recently been photographed with 25-year-old climate activist Camille Étienne.A source told that the affair was “short-lived” and that it is “over.” The outlet also reports via an anonymous source claiming to be close to the couple that and Millepied will stay together and work on their relationship.“He knows he made an enormous mistake and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together,” the source told People.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount+ on Monday announced their acquisition of the YA romance Love in Taipei (fka Loveboat, Taipei), based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the latter name by Abigail Hing Wen.

ITV confirmed Ruchee Gurung as the first contestant entering this year's Love Island villa and after taking a dive into her interesting life, we can see why! Speaking about being a cast member on the tenth season of the hit dating show, the TV star said: "I’m a relationship kind of girl, but so far it’s not worked out for me. So I’m looking forward to hopefully finding the right person in the Villa." "I’m single and looking for love, and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to find someone," she finished. So, one thing we do know is Ruchee is on the hunt for the one.