Massachusetts VFX Biz Gains Strength From Strong Incentives

Keeping his head in the game. Iman Shumpert is opening up about how Tristan Thompson‘s rocky relationship with Khloé Kardashian affected his NBA season when the athletes were both on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

A Massachusetts court has approved a temporary protection order against "Flash" star Ezra Miller, according to reports. The Greenfield District Court approved the order against Miller, 29, on Wednesday on behalf of the family of a 12-year-old, NBC News reported.The order "was issued without advance notice because the Court determined that there is a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment," according to the petition obtained by the outlet. The mother of the 12-year-old, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity, claimed she grew concerned when Miller began to buy gifts for the child - even after the gifts had been rejected.

IFC Films opened Official Competition starring Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez at four theaters in NYC and LA for an estimated three-day gross of $34,000 and per-theater-averages of $8,500 for the comedy directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat following it U.S. premiere at the Tribeca Festival last week.

“Lightyear,” Disney and Pixar’s animated feature that’s a spinoff and origin story of the beloved “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear, made $5.2 million at the box office in its preview screenings. The film opens in the U.S. and Canada on Friday in over 4,200 theaters.

More box office milestones here as the theatrical business bounces back and the pandemic eases: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness crossed $400M yesterday at the domestic box office during its 41st day of release.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a bid to further expand job opportunities in the animation industry, France’s first free animation school ÉCAS (Ecole Cartoucherie Animation Solidaire) has partnered with French animation producer Frog Box and post-production service provider Titrafilm to create a new course that will train professional actors in the art of dubbing animation projects.News was announced Thursday at the MIFA market at this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival where the issues of inclusion, diversity and labor shortages in the sector were discussed in some forums at the festival, particularly at the Women in Animation summit.Founded in 2018 by TeamTO in response to the under-representation and lack of diversity in the animation sector, ÉCAS has trained a new generation of underprivileged talent in 3D character animation and storyboarding (in partnership with Canada’s House of Cool) for the past four years. Said Guillaume Hellouin, president of ÉCAS and TeamTO: “Over the past few years, there has been a general awareness and desire among producers, major platforms and traditional broadcasters to integrate a greater representation of society.

Pixar, after seeing its movies sidelined to Disney+ during the pandemic, returns to the big screen this weekend with Lightyear, the origin story of the spaceman toy which little Andy plays with in the Toy Story movies.

Following its Venice Film Festival bow and seven César Awards including for Best Film, Lost Illusions was the top weekend title at two core NYC arthouses — taking $10,850 of its estimated $13,579 three-day gross from Film Forum and Film at Lincoln Center.

Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s fantasy family martial arts movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, has officially taken over Ari Aster’s Hereditary as the highest grossing movie worldwide ever from A24, $80.9M to $80.2M.

Following Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick strutting its stuff and Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ charge toward $1 billion, Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion will once again prove that there’s a global appetite for moviegoing close to two years after cinemas reopened.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Kendrick Lamar is one of many artists to release a highly anticipated album over the last month, just in time for summer touring.

Prince Charles and Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, toasted to Queen Elizabeth II during a Big Jubilee Lunch celebration on Sunday afternoon before joining the queen on the final day of Platinum Jubilee events. The Prince of Wales and his wife were on hand at South London's Oval Cricket Ground where they reveled in delicious desserts and cakes dedicated to Elizabeth's remarkable milestone as she marks 70 years on the throne.

Chloe Okuno’s feature debut Watcher recorded the biggest opening weekend grosses ever for IFC Films and its IFC Midnight/Shudder label on 764 U.S. screens — also one of the distributor’s widest ever releases.

Friends for life. Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak went to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Massachusetts, where they’re both from.

Talk about a hold. Paramount/Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick‘s Mach 10 momentum at the domestic box office continued into Wednesday with $14.8M, repping a 6% dip from Tuesday’s take; a great weekday take.

Kathy A. McDonald Think of Massachusetts as Hollywood Northeast.

Carole Horst Marina Cappi read all the signs: film and series production in Massachusetts was increasing, lawmakers extended the state’s very attractive production credit and there was a desperate need for soundstage space. To commercial real estate veteran Cappi, building a soundstage and studio campus made good business sense.Marina Studios — the only dedicated soundstage near Boston — opened in 2021 in Quincy, Mass.’ Marina Bay, offering over 26,000 square-feet of space just a 12-minute drive from Logan Intl.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesIt was the late 1990s and future Oscar-winning “CODA” filmmaker Siân Heder was ambling across Harvard Square, close to the home in which she grew up in Cambridge, Mass. There, near the Au Bon Pain sandwich shop on Brattle Street, Heder spotted two buddies from Cambridge Ringe and Latin School, then-unknowns Ben and Casey Affleck, shooting a scene for “Good Will Hunting,” the 1997 film that would score two Academy Awards, help usher in the era of Big Screen Boston and turn the Affleck brothers and Matt Damon, all actors in the movie and Massachusetts natives (“Massholes” in the local vernacular), into giant Hollywood stars.“I knew Ben and Casey from high school — their mom was my teacher in third and fifth grade,” Heder says.

One of Marvel’s “hottest new superheroes,” Simu Liu busts a few “fine” dance moves as he’s welcomed to Tuesday’s “Ellen DeGeneres Show” by guest host, “Saturday Night Live” alum Leslie Jones.