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The iconic cult classic White Chicks has recently made its triumphant return to Netflix, much to the delight of both longtime fans and a new generation of viewers. This hilarious comedy film follows two FBI agents who go undercover as women to protect a pair of hotel heiresses from a nefarious kidnapping plot.

Created by the Wayans brothers and originally released over two decades ago, White Chicks has become a comedy staple, celebrated for its side-splitting moments, endlessly quotable lines, and unforgettable characters. It’s no wonder it remains a must-watch for comedy lovers everywhere.

But have you ever wondered about the cast? Specifically, how old the actors were when they filmed this comedy gem, and how old they are now in 2024?

Well, you’re in the right place! Join us as we take a trip down memory lane and uncover the ages of the talented cast that brought this iconic film to life.

Axel Foley returning to Beverly Hills, an animated feature from former Studio Ghibli talent, a jaw-dropping doc about love-struck “rooftoppers” and final seasons from three big shows — a Spanish teen drama, a viking saga and Daniel Larusso’s last hurrah — are some of the highlights on Netflix in July.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Netflix’s high profile feature release for this month, arrives on July 3. The fourth installment in the Eddie Murphy-led action-comedy franchise, sees Detroit detective Axel Foley return to Beverly Hills, thirty years after his last visit. This time, Foley must team up with a new partner — played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt — when his daughter’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened. Franchise fans will be happy to see regulars Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), John Taggart (John Ashton), Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) and Serge (Bronson Pinchot) make appearances and series newcomer Kevin Bacon is also part of the action as Captain Grant.

July 2024 is going to be a bustling month on Netflix, with over 50 movies scheduled to hit the streamer's library in the United States. As ever when it comes to Netflix, the incoming titles will generally skew mainstream and recent, but they still cover a wide array of genres and countries -- and sci-fi fans will find plenty of good stuff to dig into in that new batch.

The selection of science fiction titles coming to Netflix this July (not counting new originals) will include seven total movies, with six of those movies hailing from two enormously popular trilogies that are set to be made available in full on the service. The seventh one, meanwhile, is a sequel to a popular animated film that Netflix currently doesn't have. But as frustrating as that impracticality is always wont to be, the sequel in question is fun and self-contained enough to be enjoyed on its own.

Exclusive: SpongeBob SquarePants voice actor Mr. Lawrence is writing and directing a comedy-horror toon billed as “The Office meets Frankenstein.”

Mr. Lawrence (real name Douglas Osowski) is working with Canadian Copernicus Studios on Death Castle, which is currently being developed as a six-minute short that will act as the pilot for a full adult animation series. The actor is best known for his work on Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob, having written scripts, animated scenes and voiced several characters including Plankton, Potty the Parrot and Larry the Lobster.

He will be writer and director on Death Castle, which is being positioned as “a satire of scary monster movies paired with a screwball relationship comedy.” Further plot details are under wraps for now.

The plan is for a “high-end traditional 2D animation style with distinctive visual appeal,” with several international animation industry experts attached. Emmy winner Craig Kellman, whose credits include Penguins of Madagascar...

With its list of May 2024 releases, Amazon Prime Video is giving us the kindest gift of all: cougar Anne Hathaway.

May 2 sees the premiere of The Idea of You, a romantic-comedy that features Hathaway as a 40-year-old mom finding romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer (Nicholas Galitzine). Having saved the medium of film forever, Prime Video is celebrating with some big time library titles this month as well. American Fiction and BlacKkKlansman arrive on May 14 and will be followed by Creed and Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story on May 16.

For its TV offerings, Prime is leading off with Outer Range season 2 on May 16. This James Brolin sci-fi Western will continue the mysteries of the strange happenings on Thanos’ ranch. Reality TV fans will be able to enjoy the Daniel Tosh-hosted competition series The Goat on May 9.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon...

It’s a fairly packed month on Hulu this February thanks to the addition of some interesting TV shows from FX and ABC. While the streamer’s own original content is somewhat limited – Life + Beth is returning for season 2 – you can also catch the new series of Feud this month. The new installment in Ryan Murphy’s juicy anthology show is based on the bestseller Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer, and tells the story of Truman Capote’s betrayal and fall-out with New York’s most glamorous socialites. The cast is absolutely stacked, with Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny and Calista Flockhart all swearing delicious revenge on Tom Hollander’s Capote.

Also via Hulu in February comes the third season of Abbott Elementary, along with new episodes of The Connors, The Good Doctor, Will Trent,...

If you’re looking for something new to watch on Netflix in August, you’ve come to the right place. From older classics to newer animation and comedy, there should be something for everyone on our curated list of the best movies newly streaming this month. Family films include “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” “Paddington” and “The Monkey King,” and Adam Sandler’s “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah” marks a bona fide new release.

Those in the mood for more action can dive into Gal Gadot’s new action movie “Heart of Stone.” Adventures of all kinds await. Here are our picks for some of the best new movies on Netflix in August 2023.

Paramount Pictures

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Life comes at us pretty fast, so why not stop and watch “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” Perfect for anyone heading back...

August has arrived, and with it, the last full month of summer-worthy shows and flicks, at least for 2023. From all the summer sensations to food weather, carnival fun and, of course, the lack of school, the streamer’s film slate will update with some appropriate flicks like “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” “Eat Pray Love,” “Despicable Me” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” respectively.

If you’re one of those who senses the change in the air as soon as the salty summer heat gives way to crisp fall fog, “Heartstopper” Season 2, complete with its cartoon drawings of leaves, waits for you starting August 3. “The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 2 Part 2” concludes the two-part followup to the legal drama starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. “Heart of Stone,” a big tentpole film starring Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan, promises action-lovers a good time.

For those who didn’t get enough of the Depp v.

Polygram Entertainment, the film and television division of Universal Music Group, has announced that Daniel Inkeles will become the new senior vice president of film and television development and production.

Prior to his promotion, Inkeles was the vice president of scripted film and television for Umg. In that role he served as executive producer of NBC’s musical comedy “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” During the series’ two-season run, it was nominated for seven Emmys, winning one for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming. Inkeles was also an executive producer for Alison Ellwood’s Critics Choice-winning documentary “The Go-Go’s,” which centered around the American rock band of the same name, as well as the 2019 film, “Billie,” James Erskine’s documentary about Billie Holiday.

Inkeles is based in Los Angeles and will report to David Blackman, the executive vice president and head of film and television development and production for Umg.

Also Read:

‘Louis Armstrong...

Have you ever wanted to hear Paul McCartney’s “New” or John Lennon’s “Grow Old With Me” as Beatles songs? Now with artificial intelligence, you can. One YouTube user uploaded the songs as if they were done by the fab four, and the response is overwhelming.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney | Val Wilmer/Redferns Paul McCartney’s ‘New’ as a Beatles song with the use of AI

“New” is the lead single of McCartney’s 2013 album of the same name. In Japan, it became a number 4 hit on the Japan Hot 100. The song was also included in BBC Radio 2’s playlist and the accompanying album was named their Record of the Week. Additionally, “New” the song is featured in the 2013 animated film, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

YouTube user Dae Lims has reimagined the song being sung by more than just McCartney. In the AI project,...

As befitting its status as one of the world’s biggest companies, every now and then Amazon likes to take a big swing with its Prime Video originals. With its list of new releases for April 2023, the streamer is taking one of its biggest swings yet.

Though it’s not quite as vast or expensive as fellow Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Citadel (premiering April 28) is a massive, massive undertaking. Starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, this spy series is described as “an expansive and groundbreaking global event comprising a mothership series and several local language satellite series.” This means that the Russo Brothers-produced project will eventually feature several spinoffs in multiple countries and languages around the world. Neat-o!

The only other major TV original of note this month is Dead Ringers, based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film of the same name,...

Regé-Jean Page, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Photo: Paramount Pictures and eOne At some point in my youth I heard the old cliché that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” For me—and probably for a great many...

Prime Video is hoping to launch its own extended franchise universe in April with the premiere of international spy series “Citadel” from the minds of the Russo Brothers. The show stars Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra, and Stanley Tucci, and is intended to be the first block of an interconnected story with different spinoffs in countries and regions around the world. The first version will begin streaming on April 28. In the show, the world is in the grips of Manticore, a criminal organization, and several former spies are recruited to restore order despite having their memories erased.

Watch the trailer for “Citadel”:

Beloved young adult author Judy Blume opened the door to discussion about difficult subjects for generations of kids. Now, the writer is the subject of a new documentary, “Judy Blume Forever,” coming to Prime Video on April 21. The doc looks at her trajectory — from a scared kid to...

It’s the new year, and there are a lot of new shows and films coming to Amazon Prime Video, including the Jennifer Lopez-led comedy “Shotgun Wedding” and Season 2 of the platform’s animated fantasy series “The Legend of Vox Machina.”

If you’re not in the gym working on those New Year’s resolutions, you can go on an comedic adventure with Prime Video’s “Shotgun Wedding,” which stars Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel who play a couple that attempts to wrangle their family members together for an ultimate designation wedding. However, things take a dark turn when the couple starts to get cold feet, and the entire wedding ends up being held hostage. The film drops on Prime Video Jan. 27.

As for shows, “Hunters” returns Jan. 13 with its second and final season. The series follows a group of skilled Nazi hunters who are on a mission to...

The new year is upon us and Amazon Prime Video is kicking things off in grand fashion. Not only are they debuting the third season of their Tom Clancy adaptation “Jack Ryan,” they’re also debuting the final season of the ambitious, Al Pacino-starring actioner “Hunters.”

Initially debuting to the service in February of 2020, right as the pandemic started, the series’ first season follows a ragtag group of Nazi hunters in 1977 New York City. The so-called Hunters discover that hundreds of high-ranking Nazi officials are living in the United States and are conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in America. The Nazi hunters, led by Pacino, will embark on a bloody quest to bring the Nazis to justice and thwart their genocidal plans. The series concluded in 2020 and has taken some time to get back to screens. Unfortunately, this second season will be a finale as well so fans...

Exclusive: Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Warner Bros Animation Group have set Jon M. Chu as director of the upcoming film adaptation of Oh, The Places You’ll Go! The new animated feature, set to debut in 2027, will bring the iconic story and characters of Dr. Seuss’ beloved book to life on the big screen.

Based on Dr. Seuss’ final book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go! will be a globetrotting animated musical following a young adventurer as they journey through the joys and heartaches, and the peaks and valleys, of life.

Bad Robot Productions has been tapped to adapt the book, originally published in 1990, for the big screen, marking the award-winning production company’s first foray into feature animation. J.J. Abrams will serve as producer on the film along with Hannah Minghella, Bad Robot’s Head of Motion Pictures. The film is a full-circle moment for Minghella, who ran Sony Animation...

This Money Heist article contains Major spoilers for Season 5.

The long-awaited final season of Netflix’s most popular foreign language series Money Heist blew up everything we though we knew about the show. Every fan has been eagerly waiting to see Gandia (José Manuel Poga) get his just desserts for his cold-blooded killing of Nairobi (Alba Flores) last season. Season 4 ended with the gang chanting “For Nairobi!” at the end, a rallying cry for revenge. But the price of Gandia’s death was way too high. It cost the life of the show’s leading character, Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), taking Money Heist in a completely new, much darker direction.

Tokyo’s Death

Tokyo’s death is one of the most daring character kills ever seen on television. It’s even more of a showstopper than the death of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Game of Thrones. The Mother of Dragons...

“The Boss Baby: Family Business” director Tom McGrath will be the keynote speaker at the 22nd View Conference, which will be held from Oct. 17-22 in Turin, Italy.

The DreamWorks Animation feature is the sixth film McGrath has made with the studio. He is the co-writer and co-director of the “Madagascar” movies, and he directed Dwa’s “Megamind” in 2010. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2017 for “The Boss Baby.” His films have generated nearly $3 billion at the box office worldwide.

The View Conference gathers together some of the top professionals in the areas of animation, visual effects, computer graphics, games, interactive and immersive media, virtual production and more for a week of keynote addresses, talks, presentations and workshops. Early bird ticket prices are available now through Aug. 31 at the View Conference website.

Other speakers from the world of animation include “Wolfwalkers” director Tomm Moore; Kris Pearn, director of...

Move over Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda has a new starring role.

Netflix has released the first trailer for “Vivo,” a colorful, animated musical with original songs written by Miranda.

The musical adventure follows a kinkajou (a rainforest “honey bear”) named Vivo, voiced by Miranda. Vivo spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively Havana square with his beloved owner Andrés. Though they may not speak the same language, Vivo and Andrés are the perfect duo through their common love of music. But, tragedy strikes when Andrés receives a letter from his old partner, famous musician Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan), inviting him to attend her farewell concert in Miami. It soon becomes up to Vivo to deliver a message to Marta for Andrés in the form of song. To get to the distant land of Miami, Vivo enlists the help of Gabi (newcomer Ynairaly Simo) — an energetic teen...

Exclusive: Netflix has licensed all global rights, sans China, to Sony Pictures Animation’s Vivo. The movie, directed by Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) and co-directed by Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2) with new songs written and performed by Tony-winning Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, was recently scheduled for a theatrical release on June 4. The new drop date on Netflix is still to be determined.

I understand this is a similar deal to Netflix’s pickup of Sony’s Kevin Hart movie Fatherhood whereby Netflix gets the first window, which is streaming, and Sony will retain home entertainment and linear TV rights to all other territories, including China theatrical, after the pic’s exclusive run on the streamer.

Note the recent licensing of Sony’s Vivo by Netflix is outside the streamer’s new multi-year $1 billion deal with the Culver City studio. That deal commences in 2022, as previously reported,...

A new directing team has joined the Spider-Verse.

Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers (a current Oscar nominee), and Justin K. Thompson have been tapped by Sony Pictures Animation to direct the sequel to the Oscar-winning animated feature “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

Although Dos Santos’ directing role had been previously reported, the trio have been working together on the project from the start.

Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Christina Steinberg are all returning to produce the project, with Alonzo Ruvalcaba co-producing. “Spider-Verse” director Peter Ramsey will executive produce, along with Aditya Sood.

Lord and Miller are also joining David Callaham (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) as credited screenwriters.

“The crew behind the ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ set such a ridiculously high bar, and we’re humbled to take on the challenge of charting the next chapter in the story of Miles Morales,” the directing...

With The Willoughbys, writer/director Kris Pearn adapted a beloved children’s book of the same name by Lois Lowry, looking to be as faithful as possible to the “subversive” nature of her story, while bringing to it his own personal touch.

Pearn’s second feature, following 2013’s Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, centers on the Willoughby children, who grew up with parents who could not be more disinterested in them. Exploring the sometimes-wide gap between the families we’re born into and those we choose, it watches as the kids send their selfish guardians off on vacation, setting off on a globetrotting adventure and forging new connections.

In conversation with Deadline, Pearn breaks down his narrative and visual approach to the feature—which debuted on Netflix last April—a clever, darkly comedic parable, through which he hoped to say “something real.”

Deadline: How did you come to direct The Willoughbys?...

“The Willoughbys” has been a hit for Netflix ever since it started streaming last spring. This animated film won over both critics and audiences with its wry tale of four children who set out to be orphans because of their neglectful parents. Now we are predicting that “The Willoughbys” could contend for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.

This screen version of the beloved children’s book by Lois Lowry merits a perfect score of 100% from the top critics polled at Rotten Tomatoes. Their consensus: “An appealing animated adventure whose silliness is anchored in genuine emotion offers fanciful fun the entire family can enjoy.”

Among those praising the picture was Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times who thought the film “thrives when it embraces its grim plot and lets mischief reign.” David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter observed, “it has an oddball charm that works surprisingly well.” And Peter Debruge...

“It’ll never happen,” I remember grumbling to myself back in 2013 as I stood in line to see “The Croods” at a general press screening, pondering its Oscar hopes. Sure, the crowd waiting in line was bursting with anticipation, since journalists were permitted to bring guests, so that meant kids ran amok, spreading excitement about seeing a film that promised them that acting crude was Ok, even cool and lovable since it’s about a whole family of Croods!

My internal grumbling persisted: “But with a title like that, I don’t care how good this movie turns out to be, Oscar voters are notorious snobs – they won’t even watch the DVD” that would be shipped to them as part of its FYC campaign, I thought.

The winner of Best Animated Feature was a shoo-in that year: “Frozen” was an international sensation and it featured upper-crust folks who those...

“‘Grey Gardens’ meets ‘Arrested Development'” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you’re conceiving an animated film for children, but that was exactly Kris Pearn‘s pitch for his adaptation of Lois Lowry‘s book “The Willoughbys.”

“It immediately struck me as that kind of ‘Arrested Development’ dysfunctional family story and yet there was an element of wildness of those kids that I could relate to in terms of being a father to my own children [in the entertainment industry],” Pearn tells Gold Derby at our Meet the Experts: Film Animation panel (watch above). “That idea of these odd children finding their way in our modern world — that was kind of what I pitched back. It’s kind of like a ‘Grey Gardens’ meets ‘Arrested Development’ for kids, and they latched onto that.”

Pearn, who’s helmed “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” (2013), himself latched onto the “subversive,...

Exclusive: Netflix has set an all-star voice cast and stellar creative team for new animation The Magician’s Elephant, we can reveal.

Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Pixie Davies (Mary Poppins Returns), Natasia Demetriou (What We Do In The Shadows), Dawn French (French & Saunders), Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Aasif Mandvi (Evil), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), Miranda Richardson (Belle), Cree Summer (Vampirina) and Lorraine Toussaint (Concrete Cowboy) will voice the movie, which is currently in production.

Based on two-time Newbery Award-winner Kate Dicamillo’s novel of the same name, the film marks the directorial debut of veteran visual effects artist Wendy Rogers (Shrek) and is produced by animation vet Julia Pistor (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie).

Script comes from Martin Hynes (Toy Story 4), production design from Max Boas (Abominable), art direction from Luri Lioi (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy), editing by...

Four top film animation directors will reveal the secrets behind their crafts when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Thursday, December 17, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a group chat with Joyce and all of the animators together.

RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:

“Onward” (Disney Pixar): Dan Scanlon

Scanlon’s career has included such projects as “Monsters University,” “Tracy” and “Mater and...

In the beginning, there was “The Croods,” an agreeable enough 2013 cartoon about an overprotective early man named Grug (Nicolas Cage), who was so worried about the perils of the outside world that he kept his clan confined to a cave. Then his adventurous teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) met an outsider, Guy (Ryan Reynolds), and the family was forced to confront the possibility that maybe they had been a little limited in their thinking.

From that rudimentary concept, “The Croods” managed to conjure a surprisingly lavish CG world for these goofy cavepeople to explore — one in which the creatures and environments were so richly detailed, they easily distracted from the threadbare storytelling. (The movie was basically a feature-length sitcom treated as a runaway theme-park ride.) When all was said and done and the Crood family had learned its lesson, there was no organic reason to continue the story, but that didn’t stop DreamWorks Animation,...

Before we move ahead into the final week of November, let’s take a look back at what’s arrived on Netflix over the past seven days. In total, 39 titles have dropped on the streaming service from last Sunday the 15th to this Sunday the 22nd. Broken down, that’s 27 fresh movies and 12 new TV series, making for quite an impressive haul.

When it comes to original films, this past week saw the debut of stop-motion short Alien XMas, comedy special Kevin Hart: Zero F**ks Given and festive sequel The Princess Switch: Switched Again. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square special also arrived, which couldn’t have been better timed given the singer’s rise to hero status this week.

As for newly licensed pics, some of the highlights include animated sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, acclaimed civil rights drama Loving, comic book movie V for Vendetta...

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

Twomey, who is co-founder and creative director of Ireland’s animation studio Cartoon Saloon, produced the studio’s current film, “Wolfwalkers,” was head of story on “Song of the Sea” and co-directed “The Secret of Kells,” which were both nominated for an animated feature Oscar. Her 2017 film, “The Breadwinner,” was also nominated for that award. She was honored with the View Conference’s first-ever Visionary Award in 2018.

Pearn directed the hit animated film “The Willoughbys,” which premiered earlier this year on Netflix. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” and was a storyboard artist on such animated films as Spa’s “Hotel Transylvania” and the original “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,...

Netflix added a load of new titles this past week, and just in case you missed some of the highlights, here’s the complete list of every fresh addition to the streaming service that arrived in the last several days. In total, there were 38 movies and TV shows dropped into to the library from Monday, November 9th to Sunday, November 15th.

Of the new films, there were a bunch of Christmas pics as Netflix has started to roll out its holiday season material. This included original production Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey and 1954’s festive classic White Christmas. Family audiences, meanwhile, have animated sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 to enjoy, while horror fans may want to check out the 2008 Prom Night remake. Last but not least, action/superhero lovers can flip on V for Vendetta for an obligatory November rewatch.

Here’s everything that dropped on Netflix...

Another week, and another solid collection of content for Netflix, who’ve enjoyed recent success with the likes of The Queen’s Gambit and The Haunting of Bly Manor. The highlights for November 9th to 15th include the addition of topical films such as Fruitvale Station, the most recent season of American Horror Story, and new episodes of The Crown. Aside from all that, there are plenty of other Netflix originals and licensed titles to enjoy as we head deeper into November, too.

In terms of exclusive series, The Crown is undoubtedly the biggest new release for the streamer, and will be available on Sunday, November 15th. The fourth instalment of the period piece promises the arrival of Princess Diana, and what’s sure to be a memorable performance by Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher.

Elsewhere, we have the second season of Dutch crime thriller Undercover, the Christmas-themed romance Dash & Lily,...

Earlier this week, MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund) hosted its ninth annual “Reel Stories, Real Lives” event virtually, and as always, it was a moving evening filled with extraordinary stories highlighting the impact of MPTF on the entertainment community.

Longtime advocate and supporter Hugh Jackman hosted the event, which featured powerful storytelling from Angela Bassett, Jason Bateman, and Danai Gurira, as well as a special appearance from Yvette Nicole Brown.

The program, which streamed across MPTF’s YouTube and Facebook pages, is still available for viewing.

Angela Bassett performed the tale of Toni Vaz, written by Charla Lauriston. MPTF’s Country Home is where she lives now, but Toni began in NYC. Her desire for adventure carried her through unexpected paths in the entertainment industry. She was a stuntwoman, an actress, and the creator of the NAACP Image Awards. She is a true leader who wanted better roles for herself and fellow people of color.

New movies from the world of “Dr. Seuss” — “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” and “The Cat in the Hat” spinoff “Thing One and Thing Two” — are in the works from Warner Animation Group.

J.J. Abrams is producing an adaptation of the classic children’s book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” through his company, Bad Robot Productions, in its first foray into feature animation. Hannah Minghella, Bad Robot’s head of motion pictures, is also producing.

“Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” is scheduled open theatrically in 2027, and “Thing One and Thing Two” is slated a year earlier in 2026. “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” was the final Dr. Seuss title published before Geisel died in 1991.

Thursday’s announcement comes two years after Warner Animation Group and Dr. Seuss Enterprises had disclosed their partnership based on the children’s books by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his pen name,...

On Tuesday, October 20, MPTF (Motion Picture & Television Fund) will host its ninth annual “Reel Stories, Real Lives” event hosted by longtime advocate and supporter Hugh Jackman.

Livestreamed across MPTF’s YouTube and Facebook pages, the night will feature Angela Bassett, Jason Bateman, and Taraji P. Henson sharing stories that highlight the extraordinary impact of MPTF on the entertainment community.

Angela Bassett will perform the tale of Toni Vaz, written by Charla Lauriston. MPTF’s Country Home is where she lives now, but Toni began in NYC. Her desire for adventure carried her through unexpected paths in the entertainment industry. She was a stuntwoman, an actress, and the creator of the NAACP Image Awards. She is a true leader who wanted better roles for herself and fellow people of color.

Jason Bateman will share the love story of television writer-producer Joel & Deborah Rogosin, written by Erica Rivinoja. Their journey through Hollywood...

Selena Gomez is getting an upgraded suite for the next installment of the Sony Pictures Animation franchise “Hotel Transylvania.”

Gomez will serve as an executive producer in addition to voicing the co-lead on the project, Dracula’s thoroughly modern daughter Mavis.

The “Hotel” franchise has generated over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, consisting of three films and a spinoff series. Adam Sandler has voiced Dracula, the proprietor of a spooky hotel that serves as a haven for mythological monsters who cannot live openly among humans.

Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon will direct the new film, which is due to hit screen on Aug. 6, 2021. Series creator Genndy Tartakovsky returns as screenwriter and executive producer, along with Michelle Murdocca. Alice Dewey Goldstone also serves as producer.

Gomez’s live-action credits include “The Dead Don’t Die,” “The Big Short,” and the Netflix original “Fundamentals of Caring.” The former Disney star also executive...

Animation directors Jorge R. Gutierrez (“The Book of Life”) and Kris Pearn (“The Willoughbys”) will discuss their craft in the View Conference’s second free PreVIEW online event Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m. Pt.

Gutierrez, who is currently working on the Netflix animated series “Maya and the Three,” and Pearn, whose hit animated feature “The Willoughbys” premiered on Netflix earlier this year, will talk about the way each of them approaches developing and directing an animated film.

Gutierrez won a character design Annie Award for 2014’s “Book of Life,” which was also nominated for a Golden Globe. He’s won Annie and Emmy awards for the Nickelodeon series “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera,” which he created with his wife, Sandra Equihua. In addition to “Maya and the Three,” Gutierrez is developing a number of other projects for Netflix Animation.

In addition to writing and directing “The Willoughbys,” Pearn...

Netflix is claiming that 37.6 million households watched The Willoughbys animated film in its first month of release via the streamer.

The family feature, narrated and executive produced by Ricky Gervais, tells the story of a family of children convinced they’d be better off raising themselves. Thus, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own adventure to find the true meaning of family.

Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Terry Crews and Gervais are the voices of the feature, which is based on a story by Lois Lowry. Kim Pearn (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2) and Cory Evans direct, with Pearn getting co-writing credit with Mark Stanleigh.

A short clip also circulated on social media along with the numbers tout.

37.6 million families met The Willoughbys over the last 4 weeks. Don’t miss out...

“The Willoughbys,” Netflix’s whimsical animated feature about four unloved siblings breaking free from their toxic home (based on the children’s book by Lois Lowry), couldn’t arrive at a more opportune time during the global pandemic. And the irony isn’t lost on director Kris Pearn (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2”), who infused his aesthetic with a hand-made, retro quality filled with tactile textures and bright colors.

“The world we’re living in is really hard to imagine,” said Pearn, who made his movie at Vancouver-based Bron Animation while partnering with Netflix, which provided crucial financing and creative support as part of its new auteur-based culture for indie animation. “But the theme of Lois’ book — you can’t build a wall to keep ideas out — is timely for wanting to bust out right now.”

More from IndieWire'The Willoughbys' Review: Netflix's Animated Charmer Spoofs Kids-in-Peril Stories with...

“If you’re interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things happen in the middle.”

So opens the first volume of Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” As practically any young reader will attest, such an admonition is no deterrent at all, but more of an enticement to forge on in a book that amplifies for comic effect the tropes of “old-fashioned” children’s stories — of the sort that Charles Dickens once wrote, about orphans and adversity, poverty and porridge.

Lois Lowry’s “The Willoughbys” was hatched in this same ruthful tradition. The children are neglected, the circumstances are miserable and there is much eating of oatmeal, which, as far as the four Willoughby children are concerned, is only a slight...

If your kids are stuck inside and wishing their parents would just go away, the first trailer for the Netflix animated family film “The Willoughbys” might give them a few ideas.

“The Willoughbys” is about a family of four mop-top, redhead kids stuck with parents who don’t love them anymore. They devise a plan to send their parents on a dangerous vacation from which they’ll never return. It’s an adaptation of Newbery Award-winning author Lois Lowry’s 2008 book from the director of “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” Kris Pearn.

Ricky Gervais plays a talking cat who narrates the film, and he lends a fiendish tone to this colorful adventure and caper.

Also Read: Netflix in April: Here's Everything Coming and Going

“All the Willoughby children ever wanted was to have a normal family. But their loving parents had no love left over for them,” he says in the trailer.

This year, Pixar and Disney get back to originals with greater inclusion and diversity, Sony returns with another stylistic experiment from Oscar-winning producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), and two-time Oscar nominee Tomm Moore of Cartoon Saloon tackles an Irish adventure about the secret of wolves.

In addition, Netflix has three new releases, Warner Bros. launches a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, SpongeBob, The Trolls, and Gru and the Minions are all back, and “Bob’s Burgers” makes its big-screen debut.

More from IndieWireThe Most Shocking Discoveries About 'Slumlord' Jared Kushner in Netflix's 'Dirty Money''Soul' Trailer: Jamie Foxx Jazzes Up Pixar's Feel-Good Summer Comedy

Note: All release dates were accurate at this writing, but could change in response to the coronavirus.

Pixar and Disney started the year with “Onward” (March 6) the studio’s first magical fantasy. Director Dan Scanlon got semi-autobiographical about losing his father when he...

Netflix’s first animation productions, an increasing number of attendees and the imminent Disney+ were all under discussion.

The Annecy International Animated Film Festival celebrated its 43rd edition (June 10-15), with filmmakers and industry professionals arriving at the French lakeside town for the latest content across features, shorts, videogames and Vr. Screen reports on the key talking points for the film industry from the week.

Newcomers debut original feature animations

As part of Mifa, the festival’s market event, Netflix presented several scenes from Sergio Pablos’ Santa Claus origin story Klaus, the streamer’s first in-house feature-length animated production. Melissa Cobb,...

Annecy — Netflix Animation: A Studio Without Borders” ran the title of the hugely anticipated Netflix lineup presentation at Annecy this year, only the second in the U.S. streaming giant’s history at the French festival, the largest animation gathering in the world.

Melissa Cobb, vice president of Kids & Family, who hosted the session, did drill down briefly on the panel’s title. Netflix’s aim is to break down any border, be it geographic, or of animation formats, gender, ethnicity or representation.

Netflix has a studio and production hub in Hollywood today, but its ambition is to create “a support structure” for best-in-class creators from all over the world, she added.

What is Netflix looking for, Variety asked her in a Q & A after the panel presentation.

“Great creators, who can execute their vision, but we don’t have any guidelines,” she replied.

Netflix will produce animated shows in CG,...

Annecy, France — A significant part of the future of the world new global streaming platforms will depend on their appeal to family audiences. So it’s no small matter that, in the space of eight hours at France’s Annecy Festival, Netflix will unveil for the first time ever to a discerning industry audience a string of clips from its first two original animated movie films: Sergio Pablos’ “Klaus,” out this Christmas, and Chris Pearn’s “The Willoughbys,” scheduled for a Spring 2020 bow.

Both are major steps for Netflix. A few days out from Annecy, history looked to rest lightly on the shoulders of Pearn as with a massive enthusiasm – he’s a self declared optimist, he says – and at an antic pace he fielded questions from Variety on his much anticipated title, which will help shape a public perception of Netflix’s animated movie ambitions.

Currently in production at Bron Animation in Vancouver,...

In today’s film news roundup, Fox Searchlight starts a shorts channel, Uma Thurman signs with ICM and Miramax signs animation exec Michael Lachance.

Searchlight Shorts

Fox Searchlight Pictures’ chairmen Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula have announced the launch of “Searchlight Shorts” as a collection of short films.

The shorts are available on Fox Searchlight’s YouTube channel and “Searchlight Shorts” Facebook page. The first film to be released on the Fox Searchlight social media channels is the recent best live action short Oscar winner “Skin,” in which a young boy has an innocent encounter with an African American man at a supermarket and his parents react to the exchange with racial violence.

Other short films to be featured include “Feathers” and “Birdie,” which were acquired in late 2018; “Lavender,” which made its premiere at Sundance earlier this year; and the recently acquired “Sew Torn.” Fox Searchlight plans to release a...

Exclusive: Industry veteran Michael Lachance has joined Miramax as Evp of its newly created Family & Animation division. He will oversee the creative direction of the unit, reporting to COO and general counsel Bob Osher.

Lachance had been Svp Creative Development at Sony Pictures Animation, where he developed such hits as Hotel Transylvania and its sequel, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and the Smurfs franchise.

Lachance has more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Before his stint at Sony, Lachance was a senior development executive at DreamWorks Animation, where he conceived the original idea for Kung Fu Panda. He also spearheaded the development of such animated hits as Madagascar, Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens, Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.

“We are very fortunate to have Mike join us and we look forward to his creative leadership to expand the Miramax content offering,” said Miramax CEO Bill Block,...

Studio developed Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2, The Smurfs.

In a coup for Miramax, the company has hired Michael Lachance as executive vice-president of its newly created family & animation division.

Lachance, a studio executive and writer with more than 20 years of experience who most recently served as senior vice-president of creative development at Sony Pictures Animation (Spa), will oversee the creative direction of the division under Bob Osher.

During his tenure at Spa, Lachance developed the global animated hits Hotel Transylvania and its sequel, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 and The Smurfs franchise.

“We are...

Darla K. Anderson, the Oscar-winning producer of “Coco” and “Toy Story 3,” has signed a multi-year development deal with Netflix, Variety has learned. At Netflix, Anderson will develop and produce new animated and live-action projects, both on the feature film side and on the series end of the business.

Anderson is one of the most respected names in animation. Just days before she resigned from Pixar last year, she won the 2018 Academy Award for best animated feature film for “Coco.” She had been with the animation giant for 25 years.

“Darla is one of the most successful and accomplished producers in the entire film industry and her creative instincts for championing and shepherding films that transcend borders is truly unmatched,” said Melissa Cobb, vice president of kids & family at Netflix, in a statement. “Together with Darla we will seek to bring more unique and diverse voices and entirely new mediums of...

The world of Roald Dahl is coming to Netflix. In a deal with The Roald Dahl Story Company, the internet TV network has set a new slate of original animated event series based on the books from the Roald Dahl library, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Bfg, The Twits, and other beloved titles.

In the release announcing the pact, Netflix said it “intends to remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl,”, but notes it plans to build out an imaginative story universe that expands beyond the books.

“Our mission, which is purposefully lofty, is for as many children as possible around the world to experience the unique magic and positive message of Roald Dahl’s stories,” said Roald Dahl’s widow, Felicity Dahl, “This partnership with Netflix marks a significant move toward making that possible and is an incredibly exciting new chapter for the Roald Dahl Story Company.