IATSE Accelerates VFX Industry Organizing Drive with Release of Working Conditions Survey

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jackie Chan announced at the Red Sea International Film Festival last December that “Rush Hour 4” is officially in development. “We’re talking about Rush Hour 4 right now,” the acting icon said, adding that he would be meeting with the film’s director later that night to work on the script. No official “Rush Hour 4” details exist outside of Chan’s tease, but considering his co-star Chris Tucker more than eager to return to the franchise. Tucker recently spoke to  Audacy’s V-103 while making the press rounds for his role in Ben Affleck’s “Air,” and he included “Rush Hour 4” on his roster of projects coming up next. “You’re going to see a lot of good stuff coming, but it’s going to be on a whole other level,” Tucker said. “That’s what I like…I’m excited about that. It’s not going to be what you’ve normally seen…’Rush Hour 4,’ that’s something I definitely will probably drop in there because I love working with Jackie, but I’ve got some new stuff that I think you’re really gonna like. I’m excited about it.”

Hannah Abraham Guest Contributor A virtual panel organized by Channel 4 has shed light on the findings of the recent Access into Action Industry Access Survey. The Wednesday panel was moderated by Channel 4 journalist Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, and included well-known industry figures like screenwriter Jack Thorne and producer Bryony Arnold. The Access into Action survey was conducted in late 2022 as a joint effort by Channel 4 and Amazon Studios U.K. as part of an ongoing effort to increase accessibility and inclusion in Britain’s entertainment industry. The anonymous questionnaire surveyed 105 organizations spanning production companies, broadcasters and streamers. The findings have revealed troubling statistics, like the fact that 25% of surveyed establishments were physically inaccessible, and the same proportion had no functioning accessible toilets. While acknowledging that 75% of respondents rented their production offices, Channel 4 Disability Lead Ally Castle stated that this could be a stepping stone for future conversations with landlords regarding improvements in building accessibility.

EXCLUSIVE: VFX company MPC has beefed up its leadership team by hiring Ludovic Lochem and Sal Umerji as Heads of Studio for Montreal and London.

Gavin Bridge Senior Media Analyst Note: This article is based on Variety Intelligence Platform’s special report “2023 Media & Tech Trend Tracker,” available exclusively to subscribers. Connected TV is no longer the future but the present.  The format will ultimately be how the vast majority of TV content is viewed, consumed via apps built into smart TVs, and thus represents where ad revenue will derive.   This also explains why the likes of Comcast, Charter, Roku and Amazon have all announced plans to build their own TV sets in order to own as much of the new revenue stream as possible. 

Addie Morfoot Contributor Following the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, CPH:DOX documentary film festival in Copenhagen has shown its support for and solidarity with the Ukrainian film industry via a new cash-prize and two industry events. A special Eurimages Development Award will go to one of the Ukrainian projects selected to participate in the CPH:FORUM, the financing and co-production event held during CPH:DOX. The selected project will come with a cash-prize of €20,000 provided by the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund. The new prize is an addition to the long-standing Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €20,000 for the best pitch, that will be awarded for the tenth year running.

Eric Saindon picked up his first Oscar at the 2023 Academy Awards on Sunday evening (March 12) and went straight to the hospital afterward.

 took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects on Sunday, senior visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon was forced to leave the ceremony and head straight to the hospital.According to a representative for Weta FX, the VFX production company behind the groundbreaking sequel, Saindon had been experiencing gastrointestinal pain throughout the day leading up to the evening ceremony.Saindon checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel around noon but wound up testing negative for kidney stones and appendicitis, so he decided to dampen the discomfort with painkillers until after the show, according to an  report.Saindon and his fellow visual effects supervisors wound up taking home the Oscar and delivering an acceptance speech. However, after posing for photos with their awards backstage, Saindon experienced even greater pain.He left the press room and returned to the hospital, where doctors determined he had a rupture in his small intestine, and immediately performed the surgery.The rep for Weta FX tells ET, «He’s doing okay and recovering as we speak. I’m just glad he left when he did.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was awarded with best feature at the Asian Film Awards (March 12), along with prizes for best editing and best original music. The multiple award winning Japanese drama premiered at Cannes film festival in 2021 and also won the Oscar for Best International Feature last year.  

Vegans protested outside Costa Coffee in Manchester city centre this afternoon in a stand against the dairy industry.

A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer As it prepares for tough negotiations with the major studios, the Writers Guild of America issued a report on Friday emphasizing that the entertainment business is “highly profitable.” The guild is seeking to counter the gloomy tenor of industry coverage, which tends to stress that companies are losing billions on streaming. In its State of the Industry report, the guild argued that entertainment divisions remain profitable overall, and that the companies have a “path to profitability” in streaming. “(T)he fundamental truth remains: the content writers create has tremendous value,” the report concluded. “The companies have demonstrated time and time again that they can and will capture that value, but writers and the WGA must work to ensure that success is shared.”

Claiming that “the entertainment industry remains highly profitable” while “writers have fallen behind,” the WGA made its case today for a fair contract ahead of the March 20 start of negotiations for a new film and TV contract.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s spokesperson has released another statement confirming the use of the “Prince” and “Princess” titles for their two children, Prince Archie, 3, and Princess Lilibet, 21 months.

Pat Sharp's ill-judged joke about a woman's 't**s' has seen the Fun House star booted from his radio job, it has been reported.

EXCLUSIVE: Pat Sharp, the British presenter known for his work on Top Of The Pops and Fun House, has said he is “truly sorry” after making a lewd remark to a woman while hosting an events industry awards show.

Lidl has submitted plans for a ‘high quality’ new store on the site of a Stockport industrial works. The budget supermarket giant confirmed it was drawing up proposals for Cheadle Heath Works last year, and has now lodged an application with the council.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming operation Netflix is forecast to spend $1.9 billion on local content in the Asia-Pacific region this year as group revenue from the region accelerates to 12%, according to a new report. The content investment spending figure represents a 15% hike. Netflix will grow revenues this year by 12% year-on-year to exceed $4 billion compared with 9% growth in 2022, says a new report published on Monday by Media Partners Asia.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” currently playing in theaters. The biggest issue “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” visual effects supervisors Jesse James Chisholm and Dave Hodgins had in building the robotic villain M.O.D.O.K. was getting the proportions right. M.O.D.O.K., which stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, is played by Corey Stoll, the villain from the original “Ant-Man.” As audiences saw at the end of the first movie, his character Darren Cross is microscopically shrunk by Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, causing massive amounts of damage to his body. He pops up in the third “Ant-Man” movie with a horrifically contorted physique, a giant head and a tiny body. To move, M.O.D.O.K. sits inside a hover chair that doubles as a mechanical suit. “He’s just a massive floating head,” Chisholm says.

Dr. Gerald Imber, a famed plastic surgeon based in the New York City area, is going viral for one of his videos he posted on TikTok.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s 2,500 dubbing industry workers are on a protracted strike demanding higher wages, less frenzied work conditions, and protection against digital dubbing devices, which they claim threaten their jobs. The country’s unions representing Italian voice actors and dubbing directors have been on the war path since Feb. 21. On Tuesday they announced the strike will continue for at least another week. The unions are demanding that standard contract wages that have remained unvaried for the past 15 years be raised. But they are also clamoring for the right to be able to work at a slower pace, claiming that “current production rhythms are not conducive to [good] quality of work and of life,” according to a statement issued by Italian dubbers’ union ANAD.