Thursday, May 21, 2009

Starz Animation Toronto Wraps "9"...

Click images to enlarge...

Starz Animation Toronto, has wrapped the Tim Burton animated production "9".

In addition, Starz reports that Elton John continues producing the CG spoof of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", titled "Gnomeo and Juliet", with Premier Dalton McGuinty, representing the province of Ontario, giving Starz $23 million from Ontario's $1 billion next generation jobs fund, to help the company, which opened in 2007, to create and preserve about 250 jobs, including 40 more animators slated to be hired by year's end.

John and partner David Furnish are producing the musical comedy through Rocket Pictures, describing the film as the story of 'Romeo and Juliet' with garden gnomes as the main characters, starring actress Emily Blunt and featuring both old/new music written with song collaborator Bernie Taupin.

"Bernie and I are writing the music," said John.

"We're using a lot of Elton John catalogue in it as well."

The feature is being distributed by Disney's Miramax.

The computer-animated "9," produced by Tim "Batman" Burton is
based on the Oscar-nominated short, featuring the voice talents of Jennifer Connelly ("A Beautiful Mind"), Elijah Wood ("The Lord of the Rings"), John C. Reilly ("Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby") and Christopher Plummer ("The Sound of Music"). The film was written/directed by Shane Acker, set in a post-apocalyptic future where ragdolls are pursued by a mechanized beast that steals souls, until hope comes from one resourceful doll, known as number '9'...

CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival: June 16-21...

Click images to enlarge...

This year's "CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival", noted as the premier venue for the exhibition/promotion of short film in North America, takes place in Toronto, June 16-21, dedicated to celebrating the quality and creative range of short films.

With annual film short submissions surpassing 3000, programmers select 250 shorts from more than 80 countries for five days of public screenings.

As one of only three festivals in Canada accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, winners of the Best Live-Action Short and Best Animated Short are eligible for Oscars while Canadian award winners are eligible for the Genie Awards.

Presenting over $125, 000 in cash and prizes, the CFC festival offers one of the largest prize packages for short film in the world.

In addition to screenings, the Festival draws buyers, distributors, industry delegates and filmmakers together, with the Short Films BIG IDEAS Symposium, offering professional development opportunities in a series of seminars, panels and workshops on the art and commerce of short filmmaking...

BUZZ

“The Umbrella Academy” - The Final Season

Live-action TV series "The Umbrella Academy", based on the Dark Horse Comics title, streams final Season 4 August 8, 2024 on Netfl...