When Adam Changes, a Canadian animated film about an awkward teenager in suburban Quebec, won the Grand Prix at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival (Niaff).
The festival, now in its second year, ran from March 15-20 in Niigata, a port city two hours north of Tokyo.
Written and directed by Joël Vaudreuil, When Adam Changes premiered at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Coming here and meeting so many people, and being able to meet and talk with the other competition directors was a gift in itself,” said Vaudreuil, acceping the award at Niaff’s closing ceremony.
The festival, now in its second year, ran from March 15-20 in Niigata, a port city two hours north of Tokyo.
Written and directed by Joël Vaudreuil, When Adam Changes premiered at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Coming here and meeting so many people, and being able to meet and talk with the other competition directors was a gift in itself,” said Vaudreuil, acceping the award at Niaff’s closing ceremony.
- 3/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
In the new issue of the Film Stories magazine, we spoke to The Inventor director Jim Capobianco. Here’s a little taster of that chat.
Delightful and eccentric stop-motion movie The Inventor is the first feature film from Jim Capobianco, the director of Pixar’s Ratatouille short, Your Friend The Rat.
I recently had the pleasure to speak with him at length for Film Stories magazine – order your copy now, go on, why don’t you. The interview was so lengthy, in fact, that lots of interesting bits were left on the cutting room floor.
What follows are two short sections that might be of particular interest. Here, not only does Jim explain why he found it hard to get Italian producers to back his film about the great Italian Leonardo da Vinci, but he also answers my questions about casting Stephen Fry, Matt Berry and Daisy Ridley in light...
Delightful and eccentric stop-motion movie The Inventor is the first feature film from Jim Capobianco, the director of Pixar’s Ratatouille short, Your Friend The Rat.
I recently had the pleasure to speak with him at length for Film Stories magazine – order your copy now, go on, why don’t you. The interview was so lengthy, in fact, that lots of interesting bits were left on the cutting room floor.
What follows are two short sections that might be of particular interest. Here, not only does Jim explain why he found it hard to get Italian producers to back his film about the great Italian Leonardo da Vinci, but he also answers my questions about casting Stephen Fry, Matt Berry and Daisy Ridley in light...
- 2/14/2024
- by Brendon Connelly
- Film Stories
U.S. director and producer Robert Rippberger, who recently wrapped sci-fi thriller “Renner” with Frankie Muniz, is headed to the European Film Market in Berlin to launch the sales unit of his banner Sie Films. Its slate will be fronted by his next project, the horror thriller “Monstrosity.”
“Monstrosity,” which is currently in pre-production, is a creature feature that Rippberger will produce and direct. To create its titular monsters, Rippberger recruited concept artist Aaron Sims, whose work includes “Stranger Things,” “Ready Player One” and “Wonder Woman 1984.” Production on the film is expected to kick off later this year in one of the Morgan International full-service special effects facilities in Europe. Writer Sabir Pirzada is producing “Monstrosity” alongside Rippberger.
“Monstrosity” opens on a young village boy who goes missing down a mine shaft. His father blames a strange family in the neighboring house, but of course far more is at play.
“Monstrosity,” which is currently in pre-production, is a creature feature that Rippberger will produce and direct. To create its titular monsters, Rippberger recruited concept artist Aaron Sims, whose work includes “Stranger Things,” “Ready Player One” and “Wonder Woman 1984.” Production on the film is expected to kick off later this year in one of the Morgan International full-service special effects facilities in Europe. Writer Sabir Pirzada is producing “Monstrosity” alongside Rippberger.
“Monstrosity” opens on a young village boy who goes missing down a mine shaft. His father blames a strange family in the neighboring house, but of course far more is at play.
- 2/9/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
A UK print film magazine, and a big one too! Here’s Film Stories issue 48 – what’s in it, and how you can get it!
Introducing issue 48 of Film Stories, where once again we’ve clearly gone made and produced another 168 page bumper issue. And printed it on nice paper too!
We’re 100% independent, so this is an absolute labour of love for us.
We’re really proud of it. We hope you’re going to like it, and we hope you might consider supporting it. Sold primarily via mail order, and popping up in a few WHSmiths stores around the country too, here’s the cover of the new issue…
And inside?
Huge Exclusive
Bob Marley: One Love
The story of bringing Bob Marley’s life story to the screen: with director Reinaldo Marcus Green, stars Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch, and the irrepressible Ziggy Marley.
Plus
All Of US Strangers...
Introducing issue 48 of Film Stories, where once again we’ve clearly gone made and produced another 168 page bumper issue. And printed it on nice paper too!
We’re 100% independent, so this is an absolute labour of love for us.
We’re really proud of it. We hope you’re going to like it, and we hope you might consider supporting it. Sold primarily via mail order, and popping up in a few WHSmiths stores around the country too, here’s the cover of the new issue…
And inside?
Huge Exclusive
Bob Marley: One Love
The story of bringing Bob Marley’s life story to the screen: with director Reinaldo Marcus Green, stars Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch, and the irrepressible Ziggy Marley.
Plus
All Of US Strangers...
- 1/29/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Every few years, the Academy tweaks the rules for its animated feature category, with the net result that the nominees tend to skew ever more mainstream. That makes it tough for most of this year’s hopefuls: A record-setting number of animated features submitted. Those who pick the noms are required to watch roughly a third before ranking their top five, which can include additional titles they might have seen on their own. Blockbusters naturally benefit, though “Flee” and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” earned nominations in 2022 and 2023, respectively, suggesting that artful indies still stand a chance.
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributor: GKids
Rumors of Miyazaki’s retirement were greatly exaggerated, as the unstoppable creative force (who won an Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003) returns with a story inspired by his childhood memories during wartime. More fanciful than “The Wind Rises,...
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Voices: Luca Padovan, Robert Pattinson
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Distributor: GKids
Rumors of Miyazaki’s retirement were greatly exaggerated, as the unstoppable creative force (who won an Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003) returns with a story inspired by his childhood memories during wartime. More fanciful than “The Wind Rises,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
New State Pictures has joined forces with Curiosity Rights to secure the life rights of scientist Susan Solomon, who led pioneering research into the destruction of the ozone layer in the 1980s.
The partners plan to produce a film that will place a spotlight on how the work undertaken by Solomon and her team led to global awareness of the issue and action to resolve the crisis.
Solomon, then only 30, along with her team, unearthed findings that have shaped our approach to environmental preservation. Their research pointed to the rapidly growing hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. The continuing growth of the hole would have led to exposure to toxic sun radiation worldwide.
Her team established the adverse effects of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer, which was instrumental in the historic adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. This landmark agreement regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made...
The partners plan to produce a film that will place a spotlight on how the work undertaken by Solomon and her team led to global awareness of the issue and action to resolve the crisis.
Solomon, then only 30, along with her team, unearthed findings that have shaped our approach to environmental preservation. Their research pointed to the rapidly growing hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. The continuing growth of the hole would have led to exposure to toxic sun radiation worldwide.
Her team established the adverse effects of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer, which was instrumental in the historic adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. This landmark agreement regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made...
- 9/29/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Bollywood’s Jawan and star Shah Ruhk Khan livened up a slow specialty market, grossing close to $2.5 million in 776 locations in week two for a cume close to $12.2 million. The Yash Raj actioner is no. 6 at the domestic box office.
Its weekend split was $694,724k Fri.; $1.024m Sat,; $775k Sunday as Jawan races to records in India, including the top box office opening last week for a Hindi film. Commentators are noting that the dubbed Telugu and Tamil versions – a key to box office in India, and Stateside — are also raking in more than they have for any other Hindi film. Indian films continue to be a gift to U.S. exhibitors as loyal audiences who follow release schedule closely turn out weekly and in force for the films that open day and date. A breathlessly awaited, well-reviewed movie there is the same here.
Sony notable Dumb Money by Craig Gillepsie, banked a projected $217k for the first leg of three-step platform release in eight theaters across six markets. The film captures the meme-stock frenzy that saw scrappy retail traders flood onto social media, egging each other on to buoy GameStop and other shares in dramatic showdown with traditional Wall Street players. It made $92K Friday, $74K Saturday and an estimated $50K Sunday for a per-screen average of $27,080. A decent number since there was zero publicity due to the actors’ strike by very marketable stars from Pete Davidson to Seth Rogen, to Paul Dano, and that hurts. Gillepsie did some Q&As in NYC and LA.
The R-rated film that premiered to strong reviews at TIFF is banking on word of mouth as it expands to 200+ screens next weekend and goes wide September 29. No social data but anecdotal reports from theaters of positive reactions from advance screenings, and high audience scores.
The original release strategy was a four-step platform that would likely have garnered significantly higher PSAs on fewer screens this weekend. But Sony condensed the plan and skipped a step to leave a few weeks for Dumb Money before the mid-October opening of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – an event that’s hit $65 million in presales, with a $100 million opening within reach.
Paul Dano in ‘Dumb Money’
Other specialty openings: From Roadside Attractions, Camp Hide Out is posting an estimated three-day gross of $510,160 on 848 screens for a PSA of $602.
The Inventor stop-motion animation from Blue Fox Entertainment grossed an estimated $201k+ from 700 runs. From flying contraptions, war machines, and studying cadavers, Leonardo da Vinci takes on the grand meaning of life itself with the help of French princess, Marguerite de Nevarre. Directed by Jim Capobianco, the film stars Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry & Gauthier Battoue.
Limited release: Documentary Invisible Beauty from Magnolia Pictures grossed $10,500 at the Film Forum. Expanding on Friday to LA, Chicago, Washington, DC and Atlanta. Fashion revolutionary Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modelling agent and activist.
Kino Lorber’s release of Radical Wolfe grossed $8,270 at IFC Center. Based on bestselling author Michael Lewis’s 2015 Vanity Fair article, the documentary traces the author’s rise from a journalism pioneer to bestselling novelist and celebrity whose singular voice and iconic white suit made him one of the most recognizable literary figures of all time. Expands to LA, Toronto and additional markets Sept. 22.
Thriller Rebel from Yellow Veil Pictures grossed $6,500, also at IFC Center. By Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. it expands to LA’s Nuart next weekend. A young man leaves Belgium to help war victims in Syria, but once there is stranded and forced to join Isis. His younger brother back home becomes easy prey for radical recruiters who promise a reunion.
Oscilloscope’s Canary grossed $8,350 on three screens. The distributor — in partnership with Rei Co-Op Studios and Boardwalk Pictures — presents the true story of Dr. Lonnie Thompson, the world’s greatest living climatologist, in NYC, LA and Columbus, Oh. Expanding Wed. nationwide to over 140 theaters.
Noting Oscilloscope’s CatVideoFest 2023 has crossed half a million theatrical in week seven, grossing $30k on 20 screens for a cume of $502k. It’s a new best for the event that celebrates all things feline and which Oscilloscope has handled since 2019. The compilation, which has also raised over $50k for cats in need, will continue to add new engagements throughout the fall.
Holdovers: Variance Films’ expanded Amerikatsi, Armenia’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature, grossed an estimated $91,932 on 19 screens in week two for a per-screen average of $4,839 and a new cume of $167,697.
Also Noting Bottoms from MGM is heading towards $10 million in week four. Emma Seligman’s rauchy teen comedy starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri has successfully reached a younger movie-going audience and racked up another $1.2M on its way to a current estimated cume of $9.87M.
And A24’s low-budget horror Talk To Me, ditto with younger fans, is still on 570 screens, where it grossed $567,472 this weekend for a cume of nearly $47 million since it opened July 28.
Its weekend split was $694,724k Fri.; $1.024m Sat,; $775k Sunday as Jawan races to records in India, including the top box office opening last week for a Hindi film. Commentators are noting that the dubbed Telugu and Tamil versions – a key to box office in India, and Stateside — are also raking in more than they have for any other Hindi film. Indian films continue to be a gift to U.S. exhibitors as loyal audiences who follow release schedule closely turn out weekly and in force for the films that open day and date. A breathlessly awaited, well-reviewed movie there is the same here.
Sony notable Dumb Money by Craig Gillepsie, banked a projected $217k for the first leg of three-step platform release in eight theaters across six markets. The film captures the meme-stock frenzy that saw scrappy retail traders flood onto social media, egging each other on to buoy GameStop and other shares in dramatic showdown with traditional Wall Street players. It made $92K Friday, $74K Saturday and an estimated $50K Sunday for a per-screen average of $27,080. A decent number since there was zero publicity due to the actors’ strike by very marketable stars from Pete Davidson to Seth Rogen, to Paul Dano, and that hurts. Gillepsie did some Q&As in NYC and LA.
The R-rated film that premiered to strong reviews at TIFF is banking on word of mouth as it expands to 200+ screens next weekend and goes wide September 29. No social data but anecdotal reports from theaters of positive reactions from advance screenings, and high audience scores.
The original release strategy was a four-step platform that would likely have garnered significantly higher PSAs on fewer screens this weekend. But Sony condensed the plan and skipped a step to leave a few weeks for Dumb Money before the mid-October opening of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – an event that’s hit $65 million in presales, with a $100 million opening within reach.
Paul Dano in ‘Dumb Money’
Other specialty openings: From Roadside Attractions, Camp Hide Out is posting an estimated three-day gross of $510,160 on 848 screens for a PSA of $602.
The Inventor stop-motion animation from Blue Fox Entertainment grossed an estimated $201k+ from 700 runs. From flying contraptions, war machines, and studying cadavers, Leonardo da Vinci takes on the grand meaning of life itself with the help of French princess, Marguerite de Nevarre. Directed by Jim Capobianco, the film stars Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry & Gauthier Battoue.
Limited release: Documentary Invisible Beauty from Magnolia Pictures grossed $10,500 at the Film Forum. Expanding on Friday to LA, Chicago, Washington, DC and Atlanta. Fashion revolutionary Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modelling agent and activist.
Kino Lorber’s release of Radical Wolfe grossed $8,270 at IFC Center. Based on bestselling author Michael Lewis’s 2015 Vanity Fair article, the documentary traces the author’s rise from a journalism pioneer to bestselling novelist and celebrity whose singular voice and iconic white suit made him one of the most recognizable literary figures of all time. Expands to LA, Toronto and additional markets Sept. 22.
Thriller Rebel from Yellow Veil Pictures grossed $6,500, also at IFC Center. By Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. it expands to LA’s Nuart next weekend. A young man leaves Belgium to help war victims in Syria, but once there is stranded and forced to join Isis. His younger brother back home becomes easy prey for radical recruiters who promise a reunion.
Oscilloscope’s Canary grossed $8,350 on three screens. The distributor — in partnership with Rei Co-Op Studios and Boardwalk Pictures — presents the true story of Dr. Lonnie Thompson, the world’s greatest living climatologist, in NYC, LA and Columbus, Oh. Expanding Wed. nationwide to over 140 theaters.
Noting Oscilloscope’s CatVideoFest 2023 has crossed half a million theatrical in week seven, grossing $30k on 20 screens for a cume of $502k. It’s a new best for the event that celebrates all things feline and which Oscilloscope has handled since 2019. The compilation, which has also raised over $50k for cats in need, will continue to add new engagements throughout the fall.
Holdovers: Variance Films’ expanded Amerikatsi, Armenia’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature, grossed an estimated $91,932 on 19 screens in week two for a per-screen average of $4,839 and a new cume of $167,697.
Also Noting Bottoms from MGM is heading towards $10 million in week four. Emma Seligman’s rauchy teen comedy starring Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri has successfully reached a younger movie-going audience and racked up another $1.2M on its way to a current estimated cume of $9.87M.
And A24’s low-budget horror Talk To Me, ditto with younger fans, is still on 570 screens, where it grossed $567,472 this weekend for a cume of nearly $47 million since it opened July 28.
- 9/17/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Inventor is a stop-motion animated adventure film directed by Jim Capobianco and Pierre-Luc Granjon from a screenplay by Jim Capobianco. The British animated film follows the story of the legendary inventor Leonardo Da Vinci as he invents many wonderous things and tackles the meaning of life itself with the help of the French princess Marguerite de Navarre.
The list of voice actors in The Inventor is quite impressive as it includes Stephen Fry as Leonardo da Vinci, Daisy Ridley as Marguerite de Navarre, Jim Capobianco as Cardinal of Aragon, Matt Berry as Pope Leon X, Marion Cotillard as Louise of Savoy, and Natalie Palamides as Pierre Nepveu and Antonio de Beatis.
The Inventor – When Did it Come Out? Credit – Blue Fox Entertainment
The Inventor had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 12 June 2023. Blue Fox Entertainment acquired the rights to distribute the film in the...
The list of voice actors in The Inventor is quite impressive as it includes Stephen Fry as Leonardo da Vinci, Daisy Ridley as Marguerite de Navarre, Jim Capobianco as Cardinal of Aragon, Matt Berry as Pope Leon X, Marion Cotillard as Louise of Savoy, and Natalie Palamides as Pierre Nepveu and Antonio de Beatis.
The Inventor – When Did it Come Out? Credit – Blue Fox Entertainment
The Inventor had its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 12 June 2023. Blue Fox Entertainment acquired the rights to distribute the film in the...
- 9/17/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on September 14th, 2023, reviewing “The Inventor,” an animated epic on the final days of inventor and artist Leonardo Da Vinci. In theaters on September 15th.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The film is an animated take on the life of Leonardo da Vinci (voice of Stephen Fry). We find da Vinci at a crossroads as the church in Italy, represented by Pope Leo the 10th (Matt Berry), condemns the painter and inventor for his progressive thought. When the King of France (Gauthier Battoue) and his mother Louise de Savoy (Marion Cottillard) convince da Vinci to move to France, he finds a muse in Marguerite (Daisy Ridley) and a new passion for creation in his last days.
”The Inventor” in in select theaters since September 15th. See local listings Featuring the voices of Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry,...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The film is an animated take on the life of Leonardo da Vinci (voice of Stephen Fry). We find da Vinci at a crossroads as the church in Italy, represented by Pope Leo the 10th (Matt Berry), condemns the painter and inventor for his progressive thought. When the King of France (Gauthier Battoue) and his mother Louise de Savoy (Marion Cottillard) convince da Vinci to move to France, he finds a muse in Marguerite (Daisy Ridley) and a new passion for creation in his last days.
”The Inventor” in in select theaters since September 15th. See local listings Featuring the voices of Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry,...
- 9/16/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Craig Gillespie’s comedy-drama Dumb Money starts its three-step platform release this weekend courtesy of Sony, opening in eight theaters in LA, NY, Chicago, DC, Boston and San Francisco ahead of an expansion next week and a Sept. 29 wide release. Gillespie (I, Tonya, Lars and the Real Girl) saw lots of love in Toronto for the premiere of his tale of meme stocks, retail traders, riches and battles won and lost. Opening week cinemas include AMC Century City and The Grove (LA); AMC Lincoln Square, Regal Union Square (NY); AMC River East (Chicago); AMC Georgetown; AMC Boston Commons; and AMC Metreon (San Francisco).
The David and Goliath story is that of a phenomenon that exploded in 2021 where ordinary people surged into the market backing specific stocks, pounded them on social media and flipped the script on Wall Street as other piled in. They turned GameStop into the world’s hottest stock for a period,...
The David and Goliath story is that of a phenomenon that exploded in 2021 where ordinary people surged into the market backing specific stocks, pounded them on social media and flipped the script on Wall Street as other piled in. They turned GameStop into the world’s hottest stock for a period,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
With “The Inventor,” Jim Capobianco (the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Ratatouille“) has managed to direct a family-friendly animated musical (in both stop-motion and 2D) about Leonardo da Vinci’s search for the meaning of life at the end of his life. That’s quite a da Vinci code to crack. That is why it took 12 years to make as a co-production with Curiosity Studio (Ireland), Foliascope (France), Aerial Contrivance Studios, and Robert Rippberger’s Sie Films.
Capobianco’s fascination with da Vinci began with the 2009 2D short “Leonardo,” after intense research into his legendary life as an inventor of flying machines, artist, and pioneer in the study of human anatomy. But what sparked Capobianco’s interest was the notion of da Vinci as “a real person struck with ideas beyond the technical, intellectual, and the societal capabilities of his time.” For him, “The Inventor” explores legacy, how you live your life,...
Capobianco’s fascination with da Vinci began with the 2009 2D short “Leonardo,” after intense research into his legendary life as an inventor of flying machines, artist, and pioneer in the study of human anatomy. But what sparked Capobianco’s interest was the notion of da Vinci as “a real person struck with ideas beyond the technical, intellectual, and the societal capabilities of his time.” For him, “The Inventor” explores legacy, how you live your life,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The September of sequels keeps rolling along with another journey into Agatha Christie territory for actor/director Kenneth Branagh with “A Haunting in Venice.” Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
The last time Branagh donned the trademark mustache of French Inspector Hercule Poirot, it was for the 2022 release “Death on the Nile,” another star-studded ensemble whodunnit that was released just as the Omicron variant of Covid was winding down. It opened with a pitiful $12.9 million and made $130.3 million worldwide, compared to the $351.8 million of 2018’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Now, Disney has allowed Branagh to give the franchise another go.
“A Haunting in Venice” changes locale once again, this installment delving more into the realms of horror with Branagh joined by Tina Fey as mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as a medium they encounter, Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill from Branagh’s “Belfast,...
The last time Branagh donned the trademark mustache of French Inspector Hercule Poirot, it was for the 2022 release “Death on the Nile,” another star-studded ensemble whodunnit that was released just as the Omicron variant of Covid was winding down. It opened with a pitiful $12.9 million and made $130.3 million worldwide, compared to the $351.8 million of 2018’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” Now, Disney has allowed Branagh to give the franchise another go.
“A Haunting in Venice” changes locale once again, this installment delving more into the realms of horror with Branagh joined by Tina Fey as mystery writer Ariadne Oliver, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as a medium they encounter, Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill from Branagh’s “Belfast,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
"The Inventor" is a new stop motion animated biographical feature about the final days of Leonardo da Vinci, written by Jim Capobianco and co-directed with Pierre-Luc Granjon, starring Stephen Fry, Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley and Matt Berry, releasing August 25, 2023 in North American theaters:
"...the film follows the life of inventor 'Leonardo da Vinci', who leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely..."
Click the images to enlarge...
"...the film follows the life of inventor 'Leonardo da Vinci', who leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely..."
Click the images to enlarge...
- 8/11/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"Why can't you just be satisfied with painting pretty things?" Blue Fox Entertainment has revealed the first official trailer for a stop-motion animation creation called The Inventor, co-directed by Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon. This just premiered at the 2023 Annecy Film Festival, and reviews say it invokes the "Rankin/Bass animation that came before." The insatiably curious, headstrong inventor / artist Leonardo da Vinci leaves Italy to join the French court where he can freely experiment, invent flying contraptions & incredible machines, and study the human body. Joined on his adventure by Princess Marguerite, Leonardo attempts to uncover the answer to the ultimate question: "What is the meaning of life?" Starring the voices of Stephen Fry as Da Vinci, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue, and Matt Berry. The stop-motion adventure looks like a whimsical, mainly-for-kids story about imagination and the freedom to think. It's a passion project, utilizing 2D animation & stop-motion to tell this delightfully uplifting story.
- 7/26/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up U.S. rights to the stop-motion adventure comedy The Inventor, starring Stephen Fry as Leonardo da Vinci. Also starring Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue and Matt Berry, the film is set for an exclusive release in theaters nationwide on August 25th.
World premiering in competition at last month’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, The Inventor marks the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated Ratatouille scribe Jim Capobianco. A co-production among the United States, France and Ireland, it follows inventor and artist Da Vinci as he leaves Italy to join the French court where he can freely experiment, invent flying contraptions and incredible machines, and study the human body. Joined in his adventures by the audacious Princess Marguerite (Ridley), Leonardo attempts to uncover the answer to the ultimate question: “What is the meaning of life?”
Capobianco directed from his own script, with Pierre-Luc Granjon serving as co-director.
World premiering in competition at last month’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, The Inventor marks the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated Ratatouille scribe Jim Capobianco. A co-production among the United States, France and Ireland, it follows inventor and artist Da Vinci as he leaves Italy to join the French court where he can freely experiment, invent flying contraptions and incredible machines, and study the human body. Joined in his adventures by the audacious Princess Marguerite (Ridley), Leonardo attempts to uncover the answer to the ultimate question: “What is the meaning of life?”
Capobianco directed from his own script, with Pierre-Luc Granjon serving as co-director.
- 7/10/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
mk2 handles international rights.
Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired US rights to animated comedy adventure and Annecy selection The Inventor featuring a voice cast led by Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue, and Matt Berry.
Directed by Oscar-nominated Ratatouille co-screenwriter Jim Capobianco in his feature debut, the stop-motion feature tells the story of Leonardo da Vinci (voiced by Fry) as he leaves Italy to join the French court where he can experiment, invent flying contraptions and other machines, and study the human body.
Joined in his adventure by the audacious Princess Marguerite (Ridley), da Vinci attempts to uncover...
Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired US rights to animated comedy adventure and Annecy selection The Inventor featuring a voice cast led by Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue, and Matt Berry.
Directed by Oscar-nominated Ratatouille co-screenwriter Jim Capobianco in his feature debut, the stop-motion feature tells the story of Leonardo da Vinci (voiced by Fry) as he leaves Italy to join the French court where he can experiment, invent flying contraptions and other machines, and study the human body.
Joined in his adventure by the audacious Princess Marguerite (Ridley), da Vinci attempts to uncover...
- 7/10/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“The Inventor,” a new stop-motion animated feature starring Daisy Ridley and Marion Cotillard, has secured U.S. theatrical distribution at Blue Fox Entertainment.
Having premiered in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, the feature is about Leonardo da Vinci and marks the directorial debut of Pixar vet Jim Capobianco. “The Inventor” will be released nationwide on Aug. 25.
Capobianco is a longtime animation stalwart who worked on movies during the so-called Disney Renaissance before moving to Pixar, where he wrote on “Ratatouille” (and was subsequently nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar) and worked in the story department for “Inside Out,” “Coco” and “Finding Dory.” Capobianco wrote “The Inventor” and directed alongside Pierre-Luc Granjon.
In addition to Ridley and Cotillard, the stop-motion film features the voices of Stephen Fry, Gauthier Battoue and Matt Berry, with the story following da Vinci as “he leaves Italy to join the...
Having premiered in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, the feature is about Leonardo da Vinci and marks the directorial debut of Pixar vet Jim Capobianco. “The Inventor” will be released nationwide on Aug. 25.
Capobianco is a longtime animation stalwart who worked on movies during the so-called Disney Renaissance before moving to Pixar, where he wrote on “Ratatouille” (and was subsequently nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar) and worked in the story department for “Inside Out,” “Coco” and “Finding Dory.” Capobianco wrote “The Inventor” and directed alongside Pierre-Luc Granjon.
In addition to Ridley and Cotillard, the stop-motion film features the voices of Stephen Fry, Gauthier Battoue and Matt Berry, with the story following da Vinci as “he leaves Italy to join the...
- 7/10/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Few people lived a life as bold and controversial as Leonardo da Vinci. It’s easy to forget sometimes he was also a human being with doubts who struggled with the same things that trouble just about all of us.
In animated feature “The Inventor,” writer/director Jim Capobianco, who shared an original screenplay Oscar nomination with Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava for “Ratatouille,” was always interested in the more personal side of the famed painter and inventor. “The Inventor” combines traditional 2D and stop-motion animation as well as original music and lyrics by Alex Mandel.
“I’m telling the story of [da Vinci] at the end of his life and years in France,” says Capobianco. “I knew he was going to die [at the end of the story] and I was asking what that means to a man like Leonardo da Vinci. Having researched him, I learned that he believed that he procrastinated a lot...
In animated feature “The Inventor,” writer/director Jim Capobianco, who shared an original screenplay Oscar nomination with Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava for “Ratatouille,” was always interested in the more personal side of the famed painter and inventor. “The Inventor” combines traditional 2D and stop-motion animation as well as original music and lyrics by Alex Mandel.
“I’m telling the story of [da Vinci] at the end of his life and years in France,” says Capobianco. “I knew he was going to die [at the end of the story] and I was asking what that means to a man like Leonardo da Vinci. Having researched him, I learned that he believed that he procrastinated a lot...
- 6/9/2023
- by Karen Idelson
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival looks to break records with a wider international reach and greater studio participation than ever before. Already set to overtake last year’s attendance, the French lakeside fest, runs June 11-17 and had run up 13,300 guests by late May — among them a U.S. delegation more than 700 strong.
“[This year marks] the most important U.S. presence ever at Annecy,” says artistic director Marcel Jean. “We’re taking in historical players such as Disney, DreamWorks and Pixar who will still come, as well as global platforms such as Netflix, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery. And [we’re welcoming] a number of big titles.”
Disney, celebrating its 100th anniversary over the course of the year, plans a special screening of “Fantasia 2000” before offering Annecy’s famously boisterous and youthful crowd a first look at the upcoming animated musical “Wish.” Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery will present behind-the- scenes peeks...
“[This year marks] the most important U.S. presence ever at Annecy,” says artistic director Marcel Jean. “We’re taking in historical players such as Disney, DreamWorks and Pixar who will still come, as well as global platforms such as Netflix, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery. And [we’re welcoming] a number of big titles.”
Disney, celebrating its 100th anniversary over the course of the year, plans a special screening of “Fantasia 2000” before offering Annecy’s famously boisterous and youthful crowd a first look at the upcoming animated musical “Wish.” Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery will present behind-the- scenes peeks...
- 6/9/2023
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and Violett Beane (The Flash) have signed on to star in Renner, a new sci-fi thriller from filmmaker Robert Rippberger (Those Who Walk Away). Production will kick off this summer at the newly formed Ascent Studios in Spring Hope, Nc, where Rippberger is a founding partner.
Written by Martin Medina and David Largman Murray, from a story by Luke Medina, Renner follows a computer genius of the same name, played by Muniz, as he looks to court his neighbor Jamie (Beane) with the help of an AI he develops named Salenus — only to realize, a bit too late, that he accidentally programmed his manipulative mother into it.
Rippberger will produce alongside Martin Medina, KT Kent, Devin Keaton, and Jay Burnley of Slated. Exec producers are Greg Gertmenian, Ali Baghdadi, Kyle Pritchard, Stan Hahnel, LeaAnne Hahnel, Anita Konka, Laura Winstead, Nathan Edwards, and Neuman Vong.
Written by Martin Medina and David Largman Murray, from a story by Luke Medina, Renner follows a computer genius of the same name, played by Muniz, as he looks to court his neighbor Jamie (Beane) with the help of an AI he develops named Salenus — only to realize, a bit too late, that he accidentally programmed his manipulative mother into it.
Rippberger will produce alongside Martin Medina, KT Kent, Devin Keaton, and Jay Burnley of Slated. Exec producers are Greg Gertmenian, Ali Baghdadi, Kyle Pritchard, Stan Hahnel, LeaAnne Hahnel, Anita Konka, Laura Winstead, Nathan Edwards, and Neuman Vong.
- 5/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Leading animation festival will open with Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds.
French director Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Wind is to open the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which runs from June 11-17.
The film – about two young sisters who discover a passage between this world and the extraordinary universe of The Kingdom of the Winds - is one of 11 titles selected for the festival’s official competition, where it will compete for the Crystal award.
Scroll down for full list
Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Kensuke’s Kingdom – which is...
French director Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Wind is to open the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which runs from June 11-17.
The film – about two young sisters who discover a passage between this world and the extraordinary universe of The Kingdom of the Winds - is one of 11 titles selected for the festival’s official competition, where it will compete for the Crystal award.
Scroll down for full list
Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Kensuke’s Kingdom – which is...
- 4/28/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Celebrating six decades as the animation industry’s premier international showcase and cementing a growing position as Hollywood’s preferred French getaway, the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival revealed its 2023 program in Paris on Thursday, unveiling a formidable selection of world premieres and industry debuts.
If only for the breadth of this year’s official selection, Annecy looks set to for its most fulsome and abundant edition.
Among the 11 titles competing for this year’s Cristal – Annecy’s top prize – Jérémie Périn’s sci-fi drama “Mars Express” and Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon stop-motion Leonardo da Vinci epic “The Inventor” will make their world premieres. Other eagerly anticipated titles include “Chicken for Linda!” from Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, “Four Souls of Coyote” from by Áron Gauder, and “The Inseparables” by Jérémie Degruson.
Titles like Liu Jian’s “Art College 1994” and Sepideh Farsi’s “The Siren” will arrive in the idyllic French...
If only for the breadth of this year’s official selection, Annecy looks set to for its most fulsome and abundant edition.
Among the 11 titles competing for this year’s Cristal – Annecy’s top prize – Jérémie Périn’s sci-fi drama “Mars Express” and Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon stop-motion Leonardo da Vinci epic “The Inventor” will make their world premieres. Other eagerly anticipated titles include “Chicken for Linda!” from Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, “Four Souls of Coyote” from by Áron Gauder, and “The Inseparables” by Jérémie Degruson.
Titles like Liu Jian’s “Art College 1994” and Sepideh Farsi’s “The Siren” will arrive in the idyllic French...
- 4/27/2023
- by Ben Croll and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Paris-based sales company has a hefty slate for AFM.
Paris-based mk2 Films is kicking off sales on Darren Thornton’s Ireland-set comedy-drama Four Mothers at the AFM this week.
The title is an Irish twist on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 Italian hit Mid-August Lunch that won several awards including the Luigi De Laurentiis prize when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Thornton, whose previous credits include RTÉ comedy-drama series Love Is The Drug and his debut feature A Date For Mad Mary, penned the script with his brother Colin Thornton who also co-wrote the script for A Date For Mad Mary.
Paris-based mk2 Films is kicking off sales on Darren Thornton’s Ireland-set comedy-drama Four Mothers at the AFM this week.
The title is an Irish twist on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 Italian hit Mid-August Lunch that won several awards including the Luigi De Laurentiis prize when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Thornton, whose previous credits include RTÉ comedy-drama series Love Is The Drug and his debut feature A Date For Mad Mary, penned the script with his brother Colin Thornton who also co-wrote the script for A Date For Mad Mary.
- 10/31/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
New titles from Michel Hazanavicius, Nora Twomey.
Screen is on the ground at the 46th Annecy International Animation Festival this week, where work-in-progress titles are presented as part of both the main festival, and separately in the Mifa market.
Here are three films from each side to look out for in the coming months:
Festival
The Most Precious of Cargoes (Fr-Bel) dir. Michel Hazanavicius
Having won five Oscars for 2011’s The Artist, and most recently opened Cannes with zombie comedy Final Cut, French stalwart Hazanavicius is making his animation feature debut with this adaptation of a 2019 book of the same...
Screen is on the ground at the 46th Annecy International Animation Festival this week, where work-in-progress titles are presented as part of both the main festival, and separately in the Mifa market.
Here are three films from each side to look out for in the coming months:
Festival
The Most Precious of Cargoes (Fr-Bel) dir. Michel Hazanavicius
Having won five Oscars for 2011’s The Artist, and most recently opened Cannes with zombie comedy Final Cut, French stalwart Hazanavicius is making his animation feature debut with this adaptation of a 2019 book of the same...
- 6/14/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“The Inventor,” the animated family feature by Oscar-nominated “Ratatouille” scribe Jim Capobianco whose all-star voice cast is led by Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, Stephen Fry and Matt Berry, has been sold by MK2 Films to a flurry of territories.
The stop-motion film, which charts the life of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, has pre-sold to a large part of the world, with deals in France (Kmbo), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Hong Kong and Taiwan (Muse), the Philippines (Falcon), Former Yugoslavia (Karantanija).
MK2 Films has already sold to the U.K., German-speaking Europe, Greece, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Indonesia. Further deals are in negotiation.
Penned and directed by Capobianco, “The Inventor” tells the story of Leonardo da Vinci (Fry), whose free-thinking ways clashed with Pope Leo X (Berry). He was sent far from Rome to the French court...
The stop-motion film, which charts the life of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, has pre-sold to a large part of the world, with deals in France (Kmbo), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Hong Kong and Taiwan (Muse), the Philippines (Falcon), Former Yugoslavia (Karantanija).
MK2 Films has already sold to the U.K., German-speaking Europe, Greece, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Indonesia. Further deals are in negotiation.
Penned and directed by Capobianco, “The Inventor” tells the story of Leonardo da Vinci (Fry), whose free-thinking ways clashed with Pope Leo X (Berry). He was sent far from Rome to the French court...
- 4/28/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
MK2, the venerable family-owned film group which operates a leading arthouse multiplex chain in France and Spain, is emerging from the pandemic stronger, cooler and more ambitious than ever.
Nathanaël and Elisha Karmitz, who succeeded their father Marin at the helm of the company in 2005, have galvanized the MK2 brand with activities ranging from films, art, publishing, technology and lifestyle. The common threads between all these ventures are a taste for singularity, curation and a socially-minded approach.
After scoring big at Cannes in 2019 with Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which competed and won prizes, MK2 Films will again boast a fairly large presence for the festival’s comeback edition with nine films across several selections, including the competition with Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” the new Cannes Premiere section with Andrea Arnold’s “Cow,” Un Certain Regard...
Nathanaël and Elisha Karmitz, who succeeded their father Marin at the helm of the company in 2005, have galvanized the MK2 brand with activities ranging from films, art, publishing, technology and lifestyle. The common threads between all these ventures are a taste for singularity, curation and a socially-minded approach.
After scoring big at Cannes in 2019 with Mati Diop’s “Atlantics” and Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which competed and won prizes, MK2 Films will again boast a fairly large presence for the festival’s comeback edition with nine films across several selections, including the competition with Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” the new Cannes Premiere section with Andrea Arnold’s “Cow,” Un Certain Regard...
- 7/2/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
New Delhi, June 5 (Ians) Three Indians have emerged winners in the ‘3D Design Challenge by French 3DExperience major Dassault Systemes.
While Ayush Agrawal won for creating a 3D working model of a paddle boat, Atharva Dingore 3D-designed a cannon and Kiran Nikwade a car.
Each winning project will be 3D-printed and featured in "The Inventor," the new animated film about Leonardo from Jim Capobianco, the Academy Award-nominated writer of the Pixar film "Ratatouille," the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The challenge invited individuals to showcase their 3D skills by using Dassault Systemes' Catia, Solidworks or xDesign applications to create a 3D working model of an invention from Leonardo da Vinci's codices in real-life dimensions.
Out of 45 projects, five winners were selected based on how closely their entry replicated the original codex, how well their entry's 3D modelling and mechanics articulated the movements intended by Leonardo in his original sketch,...
While Ayush Agrawal won for creating a 3D working model of a paddle boat, Atharva Dingore 3D-designed a cannon and Kiran Nikwade a car.
Each winning project will be 3D-printed and featured in "The Inventor," the new animated film about Leonardo from Jim Capobianco, the Academy Award-nominated writer of the Pixar film "Ratatouille," the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The challenge invited individuals to showcase their 3D skills by using Dassault Systemes' Catia, Solidworks or xDesign applications to create a 3D working model of an invention from Leonardo da Vinci's codices in real-life dimensions.
Out of 45 projects, five winners were selected based on how closely their entry replicated the original codex, how well their entry's 3D modelling and mechanics articulated the movements intended by Leonardo in his original sketch,...
- 6/5/2021
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Exclusive: Triple Oscar nominee Tomm Moore has joined the creative team of The Inventor, the animated film being directed by Ratatouille writer Jim Capobianco.
Hand-drawn animation master Moore will direct the 2D sequences of the stop-motion film, working aside his frequent collaborator Fabian Erlinghäuser, who was an animator on Moore’s Wolfwalkers, the Apple TV+ movie that is vying for the Animated Feature Oscar this weekend.
The Inventor will encompass both 2D and puppet animation, the latter sequences to be directed by Capobianco, who also penned the screenplay. The $10 million movie is now in pre-production, with delivery scheduled for spring 2023. As Deadline previously revealed, voice cast include Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard and Matt Berry.
The story follows the life and times of Leonardo da Vinci, tracking how the insatiably curious and headstrong Italian inventor joins the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines,...
Hand-drawn animation master Moore will direct the 2D sequences of the stop-motion film, working aside his frequent collaborator Fabian Erlinghäuser, who was an animator on Moore’s Wolfwalkers, the Apple TV+ movie that is vying for the Animated Feature Oscar this weekend.
The Inventor will encompass both 2D and puppet animation, the latter sequences to be directed by Capobianco, who also penned the screenplay. The $10 million movie is now in pre-production, with delivery scheduled for spring 2023. As Deadline previously revealed, voice cast include Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard and Matt Berry.
The story follows the life and times of Leonardo da Vinci, tracking how the insatiably curious and headstrong Italian inventor joins the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines,...
- 4/23/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
MK2 Films has lured key European buyers with “The Good Boss,” starring Javier Bardem. The film started shooting last month in Spain.
Described as an offbeat satire with darkly comedic elements, “The Good Boss” is being produced by Fernando León de Aranoa through the label Reposado P.C. and Mediapro Studio.
The major distributors that have boarded the movie include Bim in Italy, Alamode in Germany and Austria, Cascade in the Cis and Baltics, and Spentzos in Greece. MK2 launched sales on the movie during the Toronto Film Festival.
Discussions are underway in other territories, according to Fionnuela Jamison, head of international sales at MK2 Films.
Bardem stars in the film as a seemingly benevolent owner of a family factory who thinks he could be up for another local award for business excellence. In order to improve productivity within a week and win, the boss will cross every line imaginable,...
Described as an offbeat satire with darkly comedic elements, “The Good Boss” is being produced by Fernando León de Aranoa through the label Reposado P.C. and Mediapro Studio.
The major distributors that have boarded the movie include Bim in Italy, Alamode in Germany and Austria, Cascade in the Cis and Baltics, and Spentzos in Greece. MK2 launched sales on the movie during the Toronto Film Festival.
Discussions are underway in other territories, according to Fionnuela Jamison, head of international sales at MK2 Films.
Bardem stars in the film as a seemingly benevolent owner of a family factory who thinks he could be up for another local award for business excellence. In order to improve productivity within a week and win, the boss will cross every line imaginable,...
- 11/10/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
MK2 Films has come on board “Silver Star,” a timely crime drama headlined by “Euphoria” star Sydney Sweeney and directed by Ruben Amar (“Swim Little Fish Swim”).
MK2 Films has acquired international sales to the indie road movie, and will introduce the project to buyers at the virtual American Film Market this week. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2021 in the U.S.
“Silver Star” tells the story of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-type couple, Buddy, a 20-year-old Civil War re-enactor who’s fresh out of jail and struggling to root himself in today’s world, and Franny (Sydney Sweeney), an impulsive, pregnant 19-year-old with nothing to lose. Buddy is determined to reconnect with his estranged parents by saving their home from foreclosure, whatever it takes. During a botched bank robbery, Buddy takes Franny as his hostage and together they embark on an unexpected road trip across America.
Sweeney’s credits include “Euphoria,...
MK2 Films has acquired international sales to the indie road movie, and will introduce the project to buyers at the virtual American Film Market this week. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2021 in the U.S.
“Silver Star” tells the story of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-type couple, Buddy, a 20-year-old Civil War re-enactor who’s fresh out of jail and struggling to root himself in today’s world, and Franny (Sydney Sweeney), an impulsive, pregnant 19-year-old with nothing to lose. Buddy is determined to reconnect with his estranged parents by saving their home from foreclosure, whatever it takes. During a botched bank robbery, Buddy takes Franny as his hostage and together they embark on an unexpected road trip across America.
Sweeney’s credits include “Euphoria,...
- 11/9/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) is joining Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars”) and Stephen Fry (“Gosford Park”) for the voice cast of “The Inventor,” the forthcoming stop-motion animated family feature about the life of Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci. “The Inventor” is written and directed by Jim Capobianco, the Oscar-nominated scribe of “Ratatouille.”
Matt Berry, who currently stars in FX’s 10-time Emmy-nominated TV series “What We Do In The Shadows,” is also joining the cast.
Negotiations are underway for the remaining cast and will be announced shortly. MK2 Films is handling international sales while North American rights are handled by The Exchange.
“The Inventor” is the story of Leonardo da Vinci (Fry), whose free-thinking ways clashed with Pope Leo X (Berry), who sent the inventor far from Rome to the more enlightened but reluctant French court of Francis I, his sister Marguerite (Ridley) and his mother Louise de Savoy...
Matt Berry, who currently stars in FX’s 10-time Emmy-nominated TV series “What We Do In The Shadows,” is also joining the cast.
Negotiations are underway for the remaining cast and will be announced shortly. MK2 Films is handling international sales while North American rights are handled by The Exchange.
“The Inventor” is the story of Leonardo da Vinci (Fry), whose free-thinking ways clashed with Pope Leo X (Berry), who sent the inventor far from Rome to the more enlightened but reluctant French court of Francis I, his sister Marguerite (Ridley) and his mother Louise de Savoy...
- 9/11/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Leone Film Group’s Lotus Production shingle is setting up Lotus Factory, a new unit for high-profile genre projects out of Italy made for the international market.
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
These currently include a live action TV series in development on the origins of Santa Clause, for which Lotus chief Marco Belardi has recruited top U.S. talent: Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco (“Ratatouille”) and Robert Lence.
“We are planning to make films of different genres from those that are usually produced in Italy,” Belardi told Variety, noting that Italy’s scripted content output is largely made up of “dramas, comedies and an occasional noir.”
For example, Italian film and TV content targeting family audiences is quite scarce, a gap Belardi is looking to fill with Lotus Factory.
Belardi has recruited young Italian director Nicola Abbatangelo, who recently completed “The Land of Dreams,” an English-language movie musical set in 1920s New York, to serve...
- 7/31/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Despite the pandemic and disruption of the global entertainment industry, at the Cannes virtual market, it’s game on. Hugh Jackman, Mark Wahlberg, Will Smith, Kristen Stewart, Bruce Willis, Nick Jonas, Laurence Fishburne, Lily James and Tessa Thompson all headline projects being brought onto Cannes’ pre-sales market and directed by the likes of Michael Mann, Antoine Fuqua, Baltasar Kormakur, Pablo Larrain and Pablo Trapero.
Deals are already going down on select movies, even before the Hollywood agencies present their A Demain Marché online platform of projects over June 22-23.
At a second virtual market, Cannes Marché du Film Online, which screens completed films, trading has also kicked off on a line-up led by such Cannes Official Selection titles as Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” Fernando Trueba’s “Forgotten We’ll Be,” Francois Ozon’s “Summer 85” and Naomi Kawase’s “True Mothers.”
Both digital markets were initially conceived as being mainly initiatives to reconnect industry players.
Deals are already going down on select movies, even before the Hollywood agencies present their A Demain Marché online platform of projects over June 22-23.
At a second virtual market, Cannes Marché du Film Online, which screens completed films, trading has also kicked off on a line-up led by such Cannes Official Selection titles as Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” Fernando Trueba’s “Forgotten We’ll Be,” Francois Ozon’s “Summer 85” and Naomi Kawase’s “True Mothers.”
Both digital markets were initially conceived as being mainly initiatives to reconnect industry players.
- 6/22/2020
- by John Hopewell and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French sellers will market premiere a number of Cannes 2020 label titles.
MK2 Films is launching Carine Tardieu’s romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior, and Ratatouille screenwriter Jim Capobianco’s stop-motion animation feature The Inventor about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Stephen Fry and Daisy Ridley in the voice cast. It will also market premiere Cannes 2020 titles The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman’s father-and-son tale Here We Are.
Charades is running...
MK2 Films is launching Carine Tardieu’s romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior, and Ratatouille screenwriter Jim Capobianco’s stop-motion animation feature The Inventor about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Stephen Fry and Daisy Ridley in the voice cast. It will also market premiere Cannes 2020 titles The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman’s father-and-son tale Here We Are.
Charades is running...
- 6/21/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Romantic drama will challenge societal norms.
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded sales on Carine Tardieu’s upcoming romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior.
“It’s a modern and nuanced drama where love defies society’s standards,” said mk2 films sales chief Fionnuala Jamison.
Ardant plays an elegant, retired architect whose path crosses with a happily married doctor in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting 15 years previously.
Both are quite troubled to meet again and begin an affair.
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded sales on Carine Tardieu’s upcoming romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior.
“It’s a modern and nuanced drama where love defies society’s standards,” said mk2 films sales chief Fionnuala Jamison.
Ardant plays an elegant, retired architect whose path crosses with a happily married doctor in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting 15 years previously.
Both are quite troubled to meet again and begin an affair.
- 6/19/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Romantic drama will challenge societal norms.
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded sales on Carine Tardieu’s upcoming romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupard as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior.
“It’s a modern and nuanced drama where love defies society’s standards,” said mk2 films sales chief Fionnuala Jamison.
Ardant plays an elegant, retired architect whose path crosses with a happily married doctor in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting 15 years previously.
Both are quite troubled to meet again and begin an affair.
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded sales on Carine Tardieu’s upcoming romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupard as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior.
“It’s a modern and nuanced drama where love defies society’s standards,” said mk2 films sales chief Fionnuala Jamison.
Ardant plays an elegant, retired architect whose path crosses with a happily married doctor in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting 15 years previously.
Both are quite troubled to meet again and begin an affair.
- 6/19/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Star Wars star Daisy Ridley and Brit national treasure Stephen Fry have boarded the voice cast of The Inventor, a feature stop-motion animation about Leonardo da Vinci written and directed by Jim Capobianco, the Oscar-nominated scribe of Ratatouille.
Fry will voice da Vinci and Ridley will be the French Princess Marguerite. Pic will follow the life of the insatiably curious and headstrong inventor as he leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines, and studying the human body. There, joined by the princess, he looks to answer the ultimate question – what is the meaning of it all?
Deadline can also reveal a first look at the movie below.
French major mk2 films is handling international rights with The Exchange overseeing the U.S. sale; the film will take part in next week’s Cannes Marche.
The $10M project is being...
Fry will voice da Vinci and Ridley will be the French Princess Marguerite. Pic will follow the life of the insatiably curious and headstrong inventor as he leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines, and studying the human body. There, joined by the princess, he looks to answer the ultimate question – what is the meaning of it all?
Deadline can also reveal a first look at the movie below.
French major mk2 films is handling international rights with The Exchange overseeing the U.S. sale; the film will take part in next week’s Cannes Marche.
The $10M project is being...
- 6/19/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra is a Vulcan Productions short film that accompanies a new 25-minute concerto composed by Mason Bates (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs) and features the talents of Oscar-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jim Capobianco.
The film combines live-action and animation to take audiences “inside” the instruments of an orchestra to see how they work and will be screened in tandem with live symphonic performances. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of Philharmonia Fantastique from March 26-28, 2020, followed by the San Francisco Symphony’s interpretation on April 16-18.
The massive undertaking was co-commissioned by five of America’s top orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Performance dates in 2020 and 2021 will be announced for the other commissioning partners in the months ahead.
Philharmonia Fantastique represents the most...
The film combines live-action and animation to take audiences “inside” the instruments of an orchestra to see how they work and will be screened in tandem with live symphonic performances. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will present the world premiere of Philharmonia Fantastique from March 26-28, 2020, followed by the San Francisco Symphony’s interpretation on April 16-18.
The massive undertaking was co-commissioned by five of America’s top orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Performance dates in 2020 and 2021 will be announced for the other commissioning partners in the months ahead.
Philharmonia Fantastique represents the most...
- 11/20/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney hit “Mary Poppins Returns” not only successfully revisited the iconic look of the 1964 classic, it also brought back old-fashioned pencil-on-paper 2D animation to a Disney feature production.
For a 17-minute sequence in the movie, Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Jack and the children Annabel and John enter a 2D animated world of a painting to meet dancing penguins, puffed-up hummingbirds, and stage the show-stopping song-and-dance number “A Cover Is Not the Book.”
Former Pixar story artist Jim Capobianco supervised the animation sequence for director Rob Marshall and entrusted the work to Pasadena-based Duncan Studio, one of a very few animation houses producing paper-drawn 2D animation in the CG age.
“It was amazing having a full team of people and literally hearing the paper flip,” says animation veteran Ken Duncan, Duncan Studio’s president and chief creative officer. “There’s something soothing about it. It’s pretty cool.
For a 17-minute sequence in the movie, Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Jack and the children Annabel and John enter a 2D animated world of a painting to meet dancing penguins, puffed-up hummingbirds, and stage the show-stopping song-and-dance number “A Cover Is Not the Book.”
Former Pixar story artist Jim Capobianco supervised the animation sequence for director Rob Marshall and entrusted the work to Pasadena-based Duncan Studio, one of a very few animation houses producing paper-drawn 2D animation in the CG age.
“It was amazing having a full team of people and literally hearing the paper flip,” says animation veteran Ken Duncan, Duncan Studio’s president and chief creative officer. “There’s something soothing about it. It’s pretty cool.
- 2/14/2019
- by Thomas J. McLean
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Gravitas buys “Dating My Mother,” and “The Inventor” and “Walking on Palmettos” will begin shooting.
Acquisition
Gravitas Ventures has bought the rights to the Kathryn Erbe-Patrick Reilly family drama “Dating My Mother” and plans to digitally release the film on May 8, prior to Mothers Day, Variety has learned exclusively.
Reilly portrays an unemployed gay screenwriter living in his New Jersey hometown who practices yoga, sips red wine, and power-walks with his mother Joan, played by Erbe. When she reveals she’s seeing another man, their version of domestic bliss comes crashing down. While they search for their versions of Mr. Right, mother and son discover that sometimes you need to be apart in order to grow together.
“Dating My Mother” was written and directed by Mike Roma. It also stars Kathy Najimy, James LeGros, Michael Rosen, and Paul Iacono.
Stop-motion Film
Jim Capobianco,...
Acquisition
Gravitas Ventures has bought the rights to the Kathryn Erbe-Patrick Reilly family drama “Dating My Mother” and plans to digitally release the film on May 8, prior to Mothers Day, Variety has learned exclusively.
Reilly portrays an unemployed gay screenwriter living in his New Jersey hometown who practices yoga, sips red wine, and power-walks with his mother Joan, played by Erbe. When she reveals she’s seeing another man, their version of domestic bliss comes crashing down. While they search for their versions of Mr. Right, mother and son discover that sometimes you need to be apart in order to grow together.
“Dating My Mother” was written and directed by Mike Roma. It also stars Kathy Najimy, James LeGros, Michael Rosen, and Paul Iacono.
Stop-motion Film
Jim Capobianco,...
- 4/13/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
The Movie Pool takes a long look at the short films of Pixar from their new Blu-ray!
The Set-up
Short films from Pixar, many featuring characters from the studio's feature fims, are presented.
The Delivery
This second collection of short films from Pixar features 12 cartoons in stunning high definition. Many of the shorts were previously available on Pixar home video releases (including "Hawaiian Vacation" and "Air Mater"), and three are Academy Award nominees.
What we get in Volume 2 of the series is an eclectic mix of styles and approaches, and for the most part, it all works well. While some are mildly amusing, others (like "Day and Night") are exceptional, that entertain and manage to be original.
The shorts included in the collection are:
"Your Friend the Rat" Ratatouille's Remy and Emile provide the disgusting yet funny history of rats. Director Jim Capobianco and production designer Nate Wragg provide an optional audio commentary.
The Set-up
Short films from Pixar, many featuring characters from the studio's feature fims, are presented.
The Delivery
This second collection of short films from Pixar features 12 cartoons in stunning high definition. Many of the shorts were previously available on Pixar home video releases (including "Hawaiian Vacation" and "Air Mater"), and three are Academy Award nominees.
What we get in Volume 2 of the series is an eclectic mix of styles and approaches, and for the most part, it all works well. While some are mildly amusing, others (like "Day and Night") are exceptional, that entertain and manage to be original.
The shorts included in the collection are:
"Your Friend the Rat" Ratatouille's Remy and Emile provide the disgusting yet funny history of rats. Director Jim Capobianco and production designer Nate Wragg provide an optional audio commentary.
- 12/17/2012
- by bogus@nospam.com (Victor Medina)
- Cinelinx
Jim Capobianco, Pixar animator, writer and director is in Ireland this week giving guest lectures to an audience in both Ballyfermot College, talking to animation students about his work and the story processes used at Pixar. He is also doing a seminar with Screen Training Ireland on the art of short form storytelling for animation. Iftn caught up with him on his trip to discuss how he got his start and what he is currently working on.
- 11/24/2011
- IFTN
Film Lineup Set For Inaugural Palo Alto International Film Festival
Palo Alto, CA . The Palo Alto International Film Festival (Paiff) has announced its film program for the 2011 festival. The lineup includes 20 features and 74 short films curated from award-winning films and film festival favorites that exemplify Paiff.s theme of innovation in art, film and technology.
Paiff proudly presents a lineup that challenges the art form, taking creative risks with technology in films like Braden King.s cross-platform feature .Here,. to the artistically inventive .Bombay Beach. by music video director Alma Har.el to documentaries like .Something Ventured. which delves into the world of Venture Capital firms.
.We.re seeing a new movement emerging . films are trying to live outside the cinema. They.re breaking out of traditional storytelling structures,. said Paiff.s Director Programming Alf Seccombe. .This festival spotlights the creative risk-taking that is inherent in innovation..
The 2011 festival kicks...
Palo Alto, CA . The Palo Alto International Film Festival (Paiff) has announced its film program for the 2011 festival. The lineup includes 20 features and 74 short films curated from award-winning films and film festival favorites that exemplify Paiff.s theme of innovation in art, film and technology.
Paiff proudly presents a lineup that challenges the art form, taking creative risks with technology in films like Braden King.s cross-platform feature .Here,. to the artistically inventive .Bombay Beach. by music video director Alma Har.el to documentaries like .Something Ventured. which delves into the world of Venture Capital firms.
.We.re seeing a new movement emerging . films are trying to live outside the cinema. They.re breaking out of traditional storytelling structures,. said Paiff.s Director Programming Alf Seccombe. .This festival spotlights the creative risk-taking that is inherent in innovation..
The 2011 festival kicks...
- 8/15/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hi everybody. Michael C from Serious Film back again with another unsung contribution to cinematic brilliance. This week it's an achievement I'm sure most of you will recognize -- just don't read it on an empty stomach.
I have always been a little taken aback by the depth of Brad Bird and Jim Capobianco's screenplay for Ratatouille. I mean, here is a big-budget family film starring a talking rat and it is about nothing less than what it means to be an artist. I was reading W. Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence, the story of a man who drops out of society in order to follow his passion to paint, and I couldn't help but think, "This reminds me of Remy." It should come as no surprise that the filmmakers behind such an ambitious project went the extra mile and sought out the help of real master...
I have always been a little taken aback by the depth of Brad Bird and Jim Capobianco's screenplay for Ratatouille. I mean, here is a big-budget family film starring a talking rat and it is about nothing less than what it means to be an artist. I was reading W. Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence, the story of a man who drops out of society in order to follow his passion to paint, and I couldn't help but think, "This reminds me of Remy." It should come as no surprise that the filmmakers behind such an ambitious project went the extra mile and sought out the help of real master...
- 10/7/2010
- by Michael C.
- FilmExperience
- Michael Clayton and Juno might not have 8 nominations like my favorite two pictures of the year each have (No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood) but Jason Reitman and Tony Gilroy are the true winners with today's announcements becoming the dark horse selections to beat out The Diving Bell and the Butterfly among others. Completing the fivesome is the depleted Atonement - a film that comes in with less clout than it had with the Golden Globes. Here is the complete list below.....: Best Picture: Best ACTRESSCate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"Julie Christie, "Away From Her" Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose" Laura Linney, "The Savages" Ellen Page, "Juno" Best ACTORGeorge Clooney, "Michael Clayton" Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood" Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd" Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah" Best Supporting ACTRESSCate Blanchett, "I'm Not There" Ruby Dee,
- 1/22/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
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