by Brent Lang via Variety.com
Vanessa Morrison, longtime head of Twentieth Century Fox Film’s animation division, is moving into a new role at the studio. She has been named president of Fox Family, a newly-created division that will develop films aimed at younger moviegoers and their parents. They include both animated films and films with live action elements. Her appointment is effective immediately, and she will report to Chair Proman and CEO Stacey Snider and Vice Chairman Emma Watts.
Fox said it will announce a replacement for Morrison in the coming days. The move comes as Snider is shaking up Fox’s animation arm with the goal of releasing at least one animated film a year. Snider recently signed a multi-year production deal with Locksmith Animation. The goal is to augment the films that Blue Sky, the makers of the “Ice Age” series, creates for Fox. The studio owns Blue Sky.
Snider believes that animated releases are an increasingly popular genre and that Fox needs to be a bigger player in the space. There’s certainly a lot of competition. Disney continues to dominate the market thanks to its Pixar division, Warner Bros. and Sony have upped their number of family releases, and Universal’s parent company Comcast made the decision in 2016 to shell out $3.8 billion to buy DreamWorks Animation.
In addition to her movie work, Morrison will also oversee the studio’s family animated television business. That division makes holiday television specials based on existing film properties. Fox is also making film features based on its small-screen efforts, such as a “Bob’s Burgers” film. Morrison will oversee those productions, as well. “Vanessa has for many years championed the studio’s efforts to take a more wholistic approach to the family entertainment space, and this new role will empower her to execute on that goal,” Snider and Watts said in a joint statement. “We are thrilled to have her leading this initiative, and as this segment in the marketplace continues to grow, the creation of this new division will strengthen our footprint as we look to create the best possible films for families across our entire company.”
Morrison has headed up Fox Animation since 2007. In addition to the “Ice Age” franchise, Morrison oversaw the production of the likes of the “Rio” films, “Peanuts,” and “Book of Life.” She also worked on “Ferdinand,” Fox’s next animated release, which hits theaters in November.
Source: Vanessa Morrison Named Head of Fox Family in Animation Division Overhaul – Variety
Posts tagged as ““Rio””
article by Charise Frazier via newsone.com
The USA women’s gymnastics team obviously did not come to play in Rio – they literally vaulted ahead of the competition during the qualifying round on Sunday.
Veteran Aly Raisman and it-girl Simone Biles will advance to the all-around final, where they will battle with China, who scored second in the qualifiers. In total, Team USA scored an unprecedented 10 points higher than China on Sunday. Team USA holds the chance to win 10 gold medals in every finals event, including vault, beams, bar, and floor exercises.
In the vault competition, Biles was utter perfection as she nailed two of the hardest vaults in the competition, scoring 16.050, the highest of any gymnast during the meet. Raisman came in second with a solid 15.766.
On the bars, Madison Kocian led the team with a high score of 15.866, while Douglas came in third behind Russia’s Aliya Mustafina, with 15.766.
But it was the beam exercise that most were looking forward to. Douglas and Biles both fell during last month’s Olympic trials. On Sunday, they didn’t disappoint, landing explosive performances. Biles came in first for Team USA with 15.633, and Laurie Hernandez came in second, scoring 15.366 and beating out Brazilian gymnast and crowd favorite, Flavia Saraiva. Douglas came in third for USA with 14.833.
To read full article, go to : Watch Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas At 2016 Rio Olympics | News One
Universal Pictures has purchased the script “Humbug” from writers Todd R. Jones and Earl Richey Jones with Ice Cube attached to star and Tim Story to direct, sources confirm to Variety.
The script is a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic story of a wealthy real estate mogul who is shown a path to redemption by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Cube will produce alongside Jeff Kwatinetz. Jones & Jones will co-produce.
The film marks another collaboration between Cube and Story that began with the box office hit “Barbershop,” which spawned two two sequels, the third recently wrapped production with Malcolm Lee at the helm. The two also worked on the “Ride Along” series for Universal with the sequel bowing this January with Story directing and Cube and Kevin Hart co-starring.
Cube just produced box-office smash “Straight Outta Compton” and is about to start filming the New Line Comedy “Fist Fight” with Charlie Day.
The Jones brothers’ past credits include “Rio” and “Johnson Family Vacation.”
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com
The script is a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic story of a wealthy real estate mogul who is shown a path to redemption by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Cube will produce alongside Jeff Kwatinetz. Jones & Jones will co-produce.
The film marks another collaboration between Cube and Story that began with the box office hit “Barbershop,” which spawned two two sequels, the third recently wrapped production with Malcolm Lee at the helm. The two also worked on the “Ride Along” series for Universal with the sequel bowing this January with Story directing and Cube and Kevin Hart co-starring.
Cube just produced box-office smash “Straight Outta Compton” and is about to start filming the New Line Comedy “Fist Fight” with Charlie Day.
The Jones brothers’ past credits include “Rio” and “Johnson Family Vacation.”
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com