Women in Animation Talk Solutions to Labor Shortage at Annecy

Joe Otterson TV ReporterApple has struck a multi-year first-look deal with Animal Pictures, the production company run by Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens.The announcement of the deal comes after the premiere of “Loot,” the Apple comedy series in which Rudolph stars and executive produces. Under the terms of the deal, Apple will now have a first-look at all series and digital features developed and produced by Animal Pictures.In addition to “Loot,” Animal Pictures has Lyonne’s second season of “Russian Doll” at Netflix and Rian Johnson’s mystery “Poker Face” and a two-season order of adult animated series “The Hospital” created by Cirocco Dunlap.

Emiliano De Pablos TV program “Insiders,” set up at Spain-based company iZen, has become Netflix’s first Spanish original reality show. The aim was to be innovative and, at the same time, recover the essence of old reality TV.“Insiders” is produced by José Velasco, iZen president and founder, who years ago was behind the local version of “Big Brother,” where reality TV took off.Velasco and Álvaro Díaz, entertainment director at Netflix Spain, talked about reality TV at last week’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment industry meeting in Toledo.In “Insiders,” hosted by “Money Heist” star Najwa Nimri, 12 contestants think they are in the final stage of a casting call for a reality show about which they had no details.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking with top German talent agency Players. Headed up by Mechthild Holter and Fabian Haslob, the duo have clients that have worked across recent projects such as Babylon Berlin, Unorthodox and Deutchland ’89. In a rare interview, they tell us why now is a great time for German-speaking talent to cross borders.

A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit. 

Christina Ricci and Sydney Sweeney an’t afraid of demanding roles.

“The Dragon Master is here.” So proclaims Jack Black’s Po the Panda in the official trailer for Netflix/DreamWorks Animation’s new animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.

J. Kim Murphy Skadoosh.

Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are one of Hollywood's funniest couples, having shared side-splitting scenes in films like and, and creatively collaborated on, and many more. Now, in their new Netflix series, — created and written by Falcone — the pair finally get to portray a couple, albeit an unusual one. They play coworkers, Clark and Amily, who fall for each other while Clark is coping with the ethereal aftermath of a near-death experience. «It just felt like an easy thing to write, since I've already lived it,» Falcone joked with ET's Kevin Frazier about the new series. «Just like, me being lazy.»In all seriousness, the actor and producer said it was «really fun» getting to work closely with his wife of 16 years on the new project.«It kinda hearkened back to some of those moments of doing or a scene or two in ,» he recalled.

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has had quite the year onscreen so far. His turn in Ti West‘s sleazoid-horror film “X” is one of that film’s many strengths and is bound to put him on other directors’ radars.

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has had quite the year onscreen so far. His turn in Ti West‘s sleazoid-horror film “X” is one of that film’s many strengths and is bound to put him on other directors’ radars.

“Nimona” for Annapurna Pictures and Netflix and the animated “Garfield” movie set at Alcon Entertainment and Sony, as well as Locksmith’s next animated title “That Christmas.” They’re also working on an unannounced episodic animated title for a streamer. Prior to DNEG, Burton had worked within animation for both Disney Animation and DreamWorks.

Netflix has set September 30 for the premiere of Entergalactic, the adult-animated music series based on the upcoming album of the same name by rapper, singer and actor Kid Cudi. The series hails from Kenya Barris and Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, who also stars. The date was announced Wednesday during Netflix’s Animation Showcase at the Annecy International Film Festival. You can watch the date announcement teaser above. Entergalactic will showcase music from Kid Cudi’s album. The series follows a young artist named Jabari, voiced by Mescudi, as he attempts to balance love and success. Finding the latter brings Jabari a step closer to the former, when moving into his dream apartment introduces him to his new neighbor, photographer it-girl, Meadow, voiced by Williams. An explosion of art, music, and fashion, Entergalactic takes place in the only city that can handle all three: New York.

Emilio Mayorga Alberto Vázquez’s “Unicorn Wars” is an Annecy  competition frontrunner. “They Shot the Piano Player,” from Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, weighs in as one of the festival’s most anticipated works in progress.A bevy of Annecy MIFA unveils and score of Spanish titles, sometimes sneak peeked at other events, form part of a historic growth on Spain’s animation scene.At March’s Cartoon Movie, only France had a larger number of titles than Spain.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAfter a virtual edition in 2020 and a hybrid outing last year, this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival looks set be back with a bang, fully and only onsite.It also says a lot about the animation industry’s robust fundamentals. This and nine other takes on this week’s huge French animation reunion, which runs June 13—18:Annecy’s Biggest Fest EverFrance’s Annecy Festival, the biggest event in the animation world, looks set for its largest edition ever. Accreditation numbers were heading towards a final 13,000, artistic director Marcel Jean told Variety mid-week.

Netflix and Bioware are teaming up for a new animated series titled “Dragon Age: Absolution.”The series is set in Tevinter and features an ensemble of new characters inspired by Dragon Age lore, including elves, mages, knights, Qunari, Red Templars, demons and other special surprises. A teaser for “Dragon Age: Absolution” that was released Friday, which you can watch above, doesn’t give away many details — but teases plenty of action and lore from the award-winning video games. Since debuting in 2009, the video-game franchise has brought players into the world of Thedas with rich stories, unforgettable characters, and beautiful and deadly locales to discover.

After speculation among gamers that a Dragon Age series was in the works at Netflix, the streamer has confirmed Dragon Age: Absolution, an animated series based on the popular Bioware video game franchise, will premiere in December. We’re also getting a first look at the series in the trailer above. Netflix and Bioware announced the series Friday during the streamer’s Geeked Week event.

Ghostbusters animated movie and series have been announced.In a series of announcements to mark Ghostbusters Day (June 8), an animated feature film “with all new characters and a whole new take” was revealed to be in the works.The untitled film for Sony Pictures Animation will be directed by Jennifer Kluska (Hotel Transylvania 2) and Chris Prynoski (Beavis And Butt-Head Do America), with a script written by Brenda Hsueh (How I Met Your Mother).A Ghostbusters animated series is also in development at Netflix from Sony Pictures Animation, with Ghostbusters: Afterlife writers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan serving as executive producers. No writer is attached to the project yet.A new animated #Ghostbusters feature is in development with all new characters and a whole new take – helmed by #JenniferKluska and @ChrisPrynoski, and written by #BrendaHsueh.

Martin Dale ContributorFrance is the world’s third-biggest animation producer, according to data from the CNC, with 7,790 employees last year.A rising number of international productions, especially TV animation series, are flocking to France, attracted by its 30% tax rebate for international projects (TRIP) program.A higher 40% tax rebate is available for VFX projects with over €2 million ($2.14 million) VFX spend in France, with seven projects supported in 2021, including Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel.”In 2021, animation repped 46% of all foreign production spend under the TRIP scheme, marking a 62% increase between 2019 and 2021.Demand for animation and VFX staff is surging in France with 16% job growth in 2021 alone. The number of TRIP-supported animation projects doubled between 2019 and 2021, and the number of all film and TV projects (fiction and animation) increased by 231%.

K.J. Yossman In the run up to Annecy festival, Netflix has unveiled a powerful slate of talent-driven animated films and series, including “That Christmas” based on BAFTA winner Richard Curtis’s children’s books, and “Ember,” Sergio Pablos’ follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Klaus.” Netflix’s roster of animated features also boasts the musical “Scrooge: A Christmas Carol” which features songs by Leslie Bricusse; an untitled animated film by Steve Box, the Oscar-winning “Wallace & Gromit” alumni.