The (now) Junior Animation Partner from News Corp. launches a new trailer.
Rio Number One was brought in for $90 million, and grossed $484,635,760 in 2011. By contrast, DreamWorks Animation (News Corp.'s new animation recruit) has pulled down $534,309,798 in its current run, while costing $135 million to make.
I've thought for a while that DWA's recent downsizing has as much to do with Fox whispering in Jeffrey's ear: "Steamliiine ..." as it does with Rise of the Guardians falling to earth last holiday season.
I think DreamWorks Animation has a longer-term game plan to merge with Fox-News Corp. And when that happens, a large chunk of money (and stock) will change hands, Mr. Katzenberg will remain at the helm, and feature production will go merrily on.
At budgets closer to Blue Sky Studio's $90 million than DWA's $140-$160 million*.
* I'm speculating, but I won't be surprised if these things come to pass.
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4 comments:
smaller, lower paid staff, more low paid temps. Good plan.
Doesn't Blue Sky get incentives from the state of Connecticut? That might be why they have lower budgets than the average computer-animation studio.
Is it unionised or not, just out of curiousity?
Blue Sky does indeed get Connecticut incentives. (They used to be headquartered in White Plains, New York.)
And they run the place a bit more like a visual effects facility, bringing in production hires for the last six or seven months of a production, putting the artists up in Blue Sky housing.
Permanent staff is relatively well paid, but Blue Sky is non-union, top to bottom, with employees getting News Corp. benefits.
I've thought for a long time that studios could do a full-boat union show for the price at which Blue Sky produces them; it would just take focused, efficient management.
Development is tightly controlled by Fox, and that's where the money is spent; "creative executives," "writers," and the like. Production is squeezed as usual. Talk of a Union at Blue Sky is high.
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