Nora Twomey Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

How did this process happen? Did you pitch Lucasfilm? Did they reach out?Yeah. And well, it was funny because I’ve been a producer in the studio for a long time, since we started because I co-founded the studio with Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey. And it’s sometimes joke that it was I became the producer, just because I kind of was the first person sitting by the phone.

Marta Balaga It’s time to finally “humanize” the workplace, argued Oscar-nominated director Nora Twomey at Annecy. And women are leading the way. “There was a point when I wanted to prove myself and would spend long hours immersed in animation. It took me until I had kids to start working smarter,” she said.   “Then I got sick in the middle of making ‘The Breadwinner’ and that also made me think about working in a way that could empower people around me. Now, I really don’t give a fuck anymore,” she added to thunderous applause. During her “fireside chat” with Ramsey Naito at the Women in Animation (WIA) World Summit, Twomey – co-founder and creative director at Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon – also underlined the importance of representation. 

Marta Balaga Variety will host a panel at the Annecy Animation Festival, Breaking the Borders of Animation, focusing on one of the key – and most exciting –  talking points in the medium: How animation is currently being revolutionized and reimagined by new waves of creativity and technology. The panel has been organised with Nickelodeon as its official partner.  On Tuesday June13, Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge will encourage his guests to wonder about the future of the art form, starting with Latifa Ouaou, EVP of Paramount and Nickelodeon Animation, who also executive produced “The Grinch” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

Karen Idelson The Irish animation industry has become increasingly robust over the last 10 years, despite the pandemic and other challenges thrown at the entertainment business. It reflects an overall passion in the country for animation and storytelling as well as a commitment by the Irish government to support the business through economic incentives.  Much of those incentives have come through Enterprise Ireland. Established in 1998 by the Industrial Development Act, Enterprise Ireland is a state-sponsored economic development agency that works with Irish businesses to help them grow and develop. It’s been instrumental in working with the Irish animation industry, helping shops grow through a series of loans, grants and other initiatives.  

Ben Croll Academy-Award winner Vicky Jenson, Cartoon Saloon co-founder Nora Twomey, “Nimona” graphic novel creator N.D. Stevenson, Paramount Animation chief Ramsey Naito and acclaimed animator Anna Ginsburg will leave outdated paradigms in the dust at this year’s Women in Animation World Summit at the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival. Organized in collaboration with LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD, the seventh annual WIA World Summit will run as a daylong symposium on Monday, June 12, heralding new leadership, calling for creative risk-taking and celebrating diversity – in terms of stories told and those who tell them – with a number of panels and conversations united under a shared banner called, ‘Break the Box: Redefining Gender and Leadership.’

Chris O’Dowd (My Father’s Dragon) and Amy Huberman (A Cat Called Jam) have signed on to lead the voice cast of Puffin Rock and the New Friends, a new animated feature from WestEnd Films in collaboration with Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Northern Ireland’s Dog Ears.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Children’s literature loves few things as much as a mighty monster who remains, against all outward appearances, defiantly benign — one who sets out to soothe young nightmares after initially stoking them, ultimately proving that fears and anxieties aren’t limited to little folk. Boris, the cheerfully dorky title character in Ruth Stiles Gannett’s 1948 book “My Father’s Dragon,” is cut from the same soft felt as Frank L. Baum’s Cowardly Lion, Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant or Jill Murphy’s Worst Witch. A would-be flying fire-breather who hasn’t yet found his wings or his flames, he has even more growing up to do than fearful 10-year-old hero Elmer, and their mutual guilelessness sets the tone for Irish animator Nora Twomey’s winningly sweet-natured, visually transporting adaptation.

A beloved children’s novel is turned into a charming animation in My Father’s Dragon, which is world premiering at the BFI London Film Festival. Oscar-nominated director Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner) helms a story of childhood friendship based on the 1948 novel by Ruth Stiles Gannett, with animation from Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers) and a screenplay by Meg LeFauve (Inside Out). It’s a sweet adventure with appeal for young kids and a starry voice cast including Jacob Tremblay as hero Elmer, and – in one of the film’s more amusing moments – Whoopi Goldberg as a cat. 

In a world where major animation releases start to look very similar with their Pixar-esque visuals, projects like “My Father’s Dragon” really do stand out.  READ MORE: ‘Maya And The Wave’ Review: An Uplifting Sports Doc About Maya Gabeira’s Quest To Surf One Of The World’s Biggest Waves As seen in the trailer for “My Father’s Dragon,” the Netflix animated feature has stunning visuals and a unique style as it tells the story of a young boy and the dragon he befriends.

restructuring to its leadership for that department. The team, led by Karen Toliver (VP Animation Film Content) and Traci Balthazor (VP Animation Film Production), aims for better collaboration closer to traditional animation film studios, resulting in 30 different roles that are no longer needed, an individual with knowledge of the decision said.

EXCLUSIVE: The Netflix Animation overhaul continues with the exit of 30 employees, Deadline has confirmed. This comes after Netflix set new leadership for the Animation Film team with Karen Toliver (VP Animation Film Content) and Traci Balthazor (VP Animation Film Production). They have been tasked with streamlining the animation team, which explains the attrition.

Pinocchio film directed by Guillermo del Toro is set to receive its world premiere at London Film Festival.The 66th BFI London Film Festival announced today (August 31) that Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio would be among the 22 features receiving a world premiere during the October event.Guillermo del Toro (The Shape Of Water) co-directed the film alongside Mark Gustafson.

K.J. Yossman Among the world premieres set for the BFI London Film Festival are Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio” and Emily Blunt series “The English.” Others include “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical,” Asif Kapadia’s ballet-infused “Creature,” family animation “My Father’s Dragon” from Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Nora Twomey, Jez Butterworth’s “Mammals,” which stars James Corden and “A Spy Among Friends,” starring Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis. The number of feature-length world premieres at the festival has gone up from 11% to 15% since 2019. This year three of those are Netflix productions: “Pinocchio,” “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical” and “My Father’s Dragon.”

Terry Flores Paramount Pictures Animation and Nickelodeon Animation president Ramsey Naito and Sony Pictures Animation topper Kristine Belson will be featured speakers at the 2022 VIEW Conference, to be held Oct. 16-21 in Turin, Italy. Naito and Belson will be attending in person as the conference returns mostly to an onsite event. In her role with Paramount and Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation across all platforms: linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical films and SVOD. She is behind such hit Nick projects as “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “PAW Patrol: The Movie” and the expansion of the SpongeBob SquarePants universe. She is also behind the upcoming Paramount theatrical releases of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” produced by Seth Rogen and Point Grey Pictures, and “The Tiger’s Apprentice,” directed by Raman Hui. She’ll talk about these projects and more at the conference.

Netflix has unveiled the voice cast for its upcoming animated film “My Father’s Dragon,” which is the next feature from the award-winning studio behind “Wolfwalkers” and “The Secret of Kells” Cartoon Saloon. Jacob Tremblay will lead a voice cast that also includes Gaten Matarazzo, Golshifteh Farahani, Dianne Wiest, Rita Moreno, Chris O’Dowd, Judy Greer, Alan Cumming, Yara Shahidi, Jackie Earle Haley, Mary Kay Place, Leighton Meester, Spence Moore II, Adam Brody, Charlyne Yi, Maggie Lincoln, Jack Smith with Whoopi Goldberg and Ian McShane.Nora Twomey (“The Breadwinner”) is directing “My Father’s Dragon” based on Ruth Stiles Gannett’s Newbery Award winning book of the same name.

Netflix has confirmed the full cast for its upcoming animation pic My Father’s Dragon.

K.J. Yossman Netflix has unveiled a first-look image (below) from upcoming animated feature “My Father’s Dragon,” which features Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo and a host of bold-face names.Based on the book of the same name by Ruth Stiles Gannett, “My Father’s Dragon” tells the story of Elmer, a young boy who struggles to cope after moving to the city with his mother.

Angelique Jackson Cartoon Saloon, the Oscar-nominated Irish independent animation studio behind Apple TV Plus’ “Wolfwalkers,” has signed with CAA.Formed by creative heads Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey and Paul Young in 1999, the five-time Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy-nominated studio will now be represented by the agency.“Wolfwalkers,” directed by Moore and Ross Stewart, is nominated for the best animated feature Oscar at Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards.

Academy Awards later this month.The independent studio now has some very deep-pocketed backers in Apple, which released “Wolfwalkers” along with theatrical distributor GKids.

Netflix said Thursday that it is turning Sulwe, the bestselling children’s book by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, into an animated musical, the latest move by the streamer to bolster its feature animation slate that already includes Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Adventure, Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio among others.

Terry Flores “The Breadwinner” director Nora Twomey will join “The Willoughbys” director Kris Pearn for a free “Meet the Masters” virtual conversation presented by the VIEW Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 24, beginning at 10 a.m.