Walt Disney Pictures VFX Workers Vote to Unionize With IATSE

Phil Foden might have finally found his best position in the England set-up - and it's remarkably similar to his favourite position with Manchester City.

 Disney distribution executive Matt Kalavsky has been promoted to Senior Vice President and General Sales Manager, Domestic Theatrical Distribution for Disney Entertainment. 

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It took a village of creatives at Disney Animation to pull off “Once Upon a Studio,” the animated short that celebrates 100 years of stories and magic. Iconic characters like Snow White and Peter Pan feature alongside Robin Williams’ Genie in a cast of 543 characters from more than 85 feature-length and short films. And it all came together without any artificial intelligence involved.

Marta Balaga Two is better than one. Amsterdam-based Skoop Media has closed a deal with Walter Presents on “Evilside” and “Sleepers” for the U.K., Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The platform will have exclusive VOD rights in these territories.

Actor Danny Walters, who stars as Keanu in EastEnders, has spoken about a particularly mean jibe that led him to his astonishing four-stone weight loss. Danny, who slimmed down from 16 stone to 12 stone, opened up about how he began his fitness journey after a girl referred to him as the "ugly fat guy" while he was on holiday as a youngster.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Hollywood unions issued a statement Friday calling on the major studios to resume bargaining with SAG-AFTRA, two days after talks with the actors union broke down. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday that the gap between the two sides was “too great,” and that further negotiations would not be productive. SAG-AFTRA has been on strike for 92 days.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Entertainment has struck a first-of-its-kind drama development deal with two UK production companies, Walter Iuzzolino‘s Eagle Eye and The Serial Killer’s Wife producer Clapperboard.

Lionel Messi Gets Animated With Sony

EXCLUSIVE: Anand Ramayya’s Karma Film is set to produce Maya Bastian’s The Devil’s Tears alongside Canada’s Blackout Media, while Shant Joshi’s Fae Pictures has also come on board to executive produce. 

The Walt Disney Company has upped studio vet Lylle Breier to EVP, Marketing Partnerships and Special Events. Breier began her career at Walt Disney Studios as an undergraduate intern at Buena Vista Pictures while at UCLA. Most recently, Breier served as SVP, Global Marketing Partnerships, Promotions, Synergy and Special Events.

EXCLUSIVE: DreamWorks Animation is making cuts and slashing four percent of its staff. We understand that the cuts are due to the downward cyclical turn in the business, rising production costs and the strikes.

Breaking Bad spin-off about Walt Jr in the future.In a new interview with Variety, Gilligan said he often thinks about the characters and what they might be up to now and discussed some possible spin-off ideas for the show – including one about Walter White’s (played by Bryan Cranston) son in the show, Walt Jr (RJ Mitte).He said: “Every now and then I find myself thinking about those characters, daydreaming about what would have happened to them. Anna Gunn [who played Walt’s wife, Skyler] and RJ Mitte are such wonderful people playing such interesting roles that I can’t help but want a happy ending for them.“When Breaking Bad ends, it’s not a very happy ending for those characters at all, but it is presented that their lives go on. I’d like to believe things get better for them.

EXCLUSIVE: In addition to streaming on Disney+, all 11 live-action Star Wars movies will now also be available on Disney’s linear networks — including broadcast (ABC) and cable (FX nets, Freeform) — starting this month. The arrangement stems from Disney renegotiating the existing domestic licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Networks, which will continue to carry the full suite of movies.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Fusion Entertainment has signed on to manage Joanna Arnow, an acclaimed acclaimed writer, director, actor and editor whose narrative feature debut “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” impressed audiences and critics when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight section.The film was later acquired by Magnolia Pictures. It will be released domestically in 2024 after having its U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: DNEG workers could unionize in Canada.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North American rights to Stage 6 Films, Participant and Symbolic Exchange’s We Grown Now, which had its world premiere in the Centerpiece and Next Wave Selects section at this year’s TIFF. The movie’s writer, director, producer Minhal Baig received TIFF’s Changemaker Award which explores issues relevant to young people and is focused on themes of social change and youth empowerment.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director With Disney’s beloved sports comedy “Cool Runnings” celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, director Jon Turteltaub and the cast reunited for an interview with The Independent and revealed their battle against Disney over the film’s Jamaican accents. Loosely based on the debut of the Jamaican national bobsleigh team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, the film got its start outside of Disney with a script that was full of “drugs, racism and the characters were getting laid a lot,” cast member Rawle D. Lewis recalled.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Last month, around 50 Marvel visual effects workers — many of whom create the magic behind the studio’s biggest films and TV shows — voted to unionize. That vote marked the first time any VFX workers have unionized with the crafts union, hoping to gain fair pay, healthcare and a safer and more sustainable working environment . On Tuesday, Disney VFX workers joined Marvel and voted in favor of unionization.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Animated feature directors of “Elemental,” “Nimona,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and “Trolls Band Together” will attend the second annual “Sketch to Screen: Top Animated Contenders” panel at SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Hosted by Clayton Davis, senior awards editor for Variety, the panel will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

UPDATED with QFU statement: Outfest‘s Board of Directors has decided to recognize the 12-member Queer Filmworkers United as a union, according to Outfest acting executive director Zackery Alexander Stephens, who as we told you Thursday was promoted amid a 45-day leave of absence by the organization’s executive director Damien S. Navarro.