Cartoon Network Renews Two

The headline and news taken from this article in Broadcasting and Cable:

Cartoon Network has renewed Regular Show for a fifth season and The Amazing World of Gumball for a third season.

Regular Show, which won an Emmy this year, was the No. 1 program on Monday night with key boys demos, and its 7-9 p.m. time period with kids during its recently concluded third season. The animated comedy from JG Quintel debuted its fourth season Oct. 1.

The Amazing World of Gumball, from London-based Cartoon Network Studio Europe, is the top program on Tuesday (7-9 p.m.) with kids and boys 2-11 and 6-11 in its second season to date.

Great news for artists here and in London as Cartoon Network invests in some high-rating winners in their lineup. Congrats to those working on the shows.

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DW's new board chairman

Mellody Hobson has been announced as the new chairman of the board of DreamWorks Animation. She replaces Roger Enrico, CEO of Pepsico, who resigned for unspecified reasons.

This news follows by a day the news that DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and COO Ann Daly have had their contracts extended.

Hobson is the president of Ariel Investments, LLC, a Chicago investment firm managing over $3 billion in assets.

And she has been George Lucas's girlfriend since 2006.
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MPI Health Plan Premiums starting Jan. 2013

MPI Participants will soon be receiving notification by mail of the impending Premium charges that will be due January 1st of 2013. A meeting of Business Agents held at the IATSE's West Coast office yesterday focused on the introduction of the Health Plan premiums in fine detail.

For your reference and records, here is a copy of the presentation that was given. Please download it and save it for your review.

Premiums will be charged for any MPI participants who are interested in adding eligible dependents to their MPI Health Plan participation. These charges will be assessed monthly and charged quarterly. The charges are broken down in the chart below:

Premium notification invoices will be sent to participants approximately 30 days prior to the start of the next eligibility period (the Due Date). Those invoices will list the amount of hours worked in the last eligibility period, the hours listed in the participants Bank of Hours and which dependents were covered in the last eligibility period. Finally, there is a section to choose which dependents will continue to be covered by the MPI Health Plan in the next period which means dependents can be dropped or added as needed.

Here is an example of the MPI Premium Invoice.

The premium payment will be due on the first day of the following Eligibility Period. Participants will have an initial 15 day grace period to make their premium payments before the dependents are dropped from the plan. Dependents whose MPI coverage ended due to non-payment can not be re-enrolled until the beginning of the following Eligibility Period. There are a few exceptions to this rule.

During the first months of 2013, there will be some proration of the premium costs based on participants whose coverage overlaps the beginning of the premiums to the plan. For example, a participant whose eligibility period runs from September 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013 will be charged two months of premiums on January 1, 2013.

Married or Same-Sex Domestic Partner participants who currently enjoy dual coverage will each have to pay the applicable premium in order to continue to receive dual coverage for themselves and eligible dependent children. If only one participant pays the applicable premium charges, the other participant will have dual coverage and the paying participant and children will have "primary" coverage only.

For further explanation, please review this copy of the letter that will be sent to participants today. Feel free to call the Guild or email Steve Kaplan with any specific questions regarding you may have regarding these charges.

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2012 CTN Animation Expo - In Two Weeks!

This year's CTN Animation Expo is just two weeks away! Representatives from TAG will be on the exhibition floor again this year for all three animation-centric days. We're looking forward to interacting with all the animation enthusiasts who attend this special event.

We'll be at table T-80, which is right in the middle of the action. Be sure to stop by and say hello!

*click for larger image

See you there!


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Katzenberg and Daly continue at DWA

Hollywood Reporter brings news that Jeffrey K. and Ann Daly will remain working in Glendale:

Jeffrey Katzenberg has reached a contract extension with DreamWorks Animation, where his term as CEO will now run through 2017. Ann Daly’s term as COO has also been extended through 2017.

Katzenberg, who had been receiving $1 million per year, will receive an annual base salary of $2.5 million under the new agreement and will be eligible for annual cash bonuses of $4 million. He will also be eligible for long-term equity incentives of $4.5 million, reduced from $8 million under his previous agreement.

Daly’s annual base salary is being increased from $1.012 million to $1.5 million, and she will be eligible for annual cash bonuses of $750,000 in 2012, increasing to $1.5 million in 2013. Additionally, she will be eligible for long-term equity incentives of $3.5 million annually, up from $2.5 million under her previous agreement.

No arguing that Mr. Katzenberg and Ms. Daly work hard for their money. DreamWorks Animation continues to be a leader in the feature animation business despite not being wholly owned by one of our fine entertainment congloms. Navigating the choppy waters of the entertainment business can't be an easy task and Katzenberg and Daly successfully do so with clockwork regularity.

Our congratulations to both! We look forward to continuing to enjoy the fruits of their efforts.


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Disney acquires Lucasfilm

The Los Angeles Times has the big news:

Walt Disney Co. has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in a surprise deal that gives the media giant control of the "Star Wars" franchise.

Along with the purchase, Disney announced that it plans to release a seventh live-action "Star Wars" movie in 2015.

...

In addition to "Star Wars," Disney's purchase of San Francisco-based Lucasfilm will give it ownership of special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic, sound company Skywalker Sound and video game publisher LucasArts.

When George Lucas announced his retirement in June, he named Kathleen Kennedy as his successor. Kennedy will now be president of the Lucasfilm unit of Disney, reporting to WDS chairman Alan Horn.

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Halloween Axe Cop

As we mentioned a few months ago, Fox has launched a rival to the successful Adult Swim programming they're calling Animation Domination HD (or ADHD).

In our previous post, we mentioned a storyboard test for the show Axe Cop. A Halloween clip from the show has made it way to the internet:



As Mr. Hulett commented earlier, more animation on TV is always a good thing. We wish Fox continued success with animated television.

We also wish to remind those toiling on oppressive storyboard tests and non-union animated shows that they have the option and legal right to seek the same benefits they receive while working under a union contract.

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MPI Pension Asset Allocations

Included with the previously mentioned Pension Statement is a chart that shows the breakdown of current investments in the MPI Pension plans. The chart delineates the investments by percentage in each asset class as well as well as where each asset class ended up at the end of the year.

The plan managers have kept the over $6 billion in assets conservatively invested through 2011. Fixed Income (ie. Bonds) and Alternative Instruments outweigh Equity (ie. Stocks) investments. Inside the Equity class, investments in Global equities equaled domestic in the Defined Benefit but were far outweighed by Domestic in the Individual Account Plan.

The plan administrators have successfully steered the pension investments to see gains of between 6 to 9% over the last decade or more with this strategy. We look forward to continued success with their direction.

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"Pigeon show" by Bill Thinnes, opens Friday @ Gallery 839

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MPI Pension Statements

*Click image for a larger view*

By now, you should have received your annual statement from the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan for the 2011 calendar year. In this post, I'll go over the parts of the statement to help better understand where your MPI Pension account balances are. I'll use my statement as an example. (I have the privilege of participating in MPI as a non-affiliate member because of my employment with the Guild)

If you have not received your statement, there's a good chance that MPI does not have your current address. Take this opportunity to contact them or just fill out and return a copy of their Change of Address form. Remember, MPI only communicates via US Post and does not actively seek out participants once they've changed addresses. Its important that participants keep MPI updated with their current mailing address.

Defined Benefit

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These statements have three parts which you should review for accuracy and edification. The first part, pictured above, is the Defined Benefit statement. In that portion, the 2010 balance is added to the new 2011 accruals. The figure at the bottom right (Accrued Benefit, Totals) is the monthly total that would be received if you were to retire at the time the statement was printed.

There is a column called Employee Contributions which most likely lists $0.00. Employee contributions to the Defined Benefit plan were restricted to unclaimed vacation and holiday pay in late 1990. Typically, studios will try to pay that to participants directly.

Also of note is the Vesting Statement that shows that I am currently not vested in the Defined Benefit as I've only been credited with two qualified years. This is shown in bold font on grey background at the bottom of the Defined Benefit portion.


Individual Account Plan

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The next portion is the Individual Account Plan statement. The 2010 IAP balance is shown in bold on grey at the top of this portion. It is followed by:

• Prior year adjustments
• The 2011 plan income earned through the plan investments
• The 2011 plan income earned through the hourly contribution portion of the IAP funding
• The 2011 plan income earned through the '6% of contracted wage minimum by job category' portion of the IAP

There are contributions listed called Redistributed Plan Forfetures in both the Hourly Contribution and % of Salary Contribution sections. This money is the portion allocated to active participants that was forfeited by MPI Pension participants that did not complete a qualified year.

This portion is completed with the 2011 IAP balance in bold type on a grey background.


Reported Hours

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This section will list the reported worked hours for the 2011 year (December 26, 2010 to December 24, 2011). Its important that you review this section for accuracy as best you can. Your pension benefits are calculated based on the number of hours reported by your employers.

If you feel there is a discrepancy in the number of hours reported by your employer, you will need to contact the employer to discuss the matter. They have the ability to report hours for your 2011 year late which will be reflected on your 2012 statement.

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Foreign Box Office Highlights

Animated features continue successful runs in far away lands:

Debuts in Spain, Germany, the Ukraine, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and in the Middle East powered Sony Animation’s Hotel Transylvania -- a comedy voiced by Adam Sandler and Kevin James about a boy who discovers Dracula is real -- to an $18.1 million fourth week of foreign release at 5,550 sites in 50 markets and pushing the title’s foreign gross total to $68.8 million. The Spain opening provided $3.6 million at 623 spots.

Over 21 rounds on the foreign theatrical circuit, DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is breathing hard on the half-billion gross mark ($495.7 million). The weekend provided the Paramount release with $8.4 million drawn from 2,153 situations in 28 countries. Second weekend action in the U.K. dipped just 20% to $4.7 million from some 540 sites, taking the No. 2 market spot.

Disney’s Frankenweenie, director Tim Burton’s comedy animation with horror overtones, drew $3.5 million in its second round overseas playing in 27 territories, raising its foreign cume to $17.7 million. Director Oliver Stone’s Savages opened No. 2 in Italy ($1.2 million at 308 sites), and drew $3 million on the weekend overall at 1,400 dates in 35 markets. Overseas cume stands at $26.8 million.

A packed Sunday schedule with family bring this post a day later than normal. Apologies to those who waited with bated breath.


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October's Final Weekend B.O. Tally

Only one animated feature left on the Top-Ten this week:

1. Argo (Warner Bros) Week 3 [Runs 2,855] R
Friday $3.8M (-25%), Weekend $12.0M, Cume $60.4M

2. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (Open Road) New [Runs 2,933] R
Friday $3.7M, Weekend $9.0M, Cume $10.4M

3. Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros) Warner Bros NEW [Runs 2,008] R
Friday $3.4M, Weekend $9.5M

4. Paranormal Activity 4 (Paramount) Week 2 [Runs 3,412] R
Friday $3.3M (-78%), Weekend $9.1M, Cume $43.4M

5. Taken 2 (Fox) Week 4 [Runs 2,995] PG13
Friday $2.7M, Weekend $8.8M, Cume $118.0M

6. Hotel Transylvania (Sony Animation) Week 5 [Runs 3,276] PG
Friday $2.3M, Weekend $9.0M, Cume $130.0M

7. Sinister (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 3 [Runs 2,347] R
Friday $1.7M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $39.4M

8. Here Comes The Boom (Sony) Week 3 [Runs 2,491] PG
Friday $1.6M, Weekend $5.5M, Cume $30.6M

9. Alex Cross (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 2 [Runs 2,541] PG13
Friday $1.6M (-60%), Weekend $5.0M, Cume $19.3M

10. Fun Size (Paramount) NEW [Runs 3,014] PG13
Friday $1.5M, Weekend $4.0M

However, with Disney's latest release hitting cineplexes next week, we predict more change.



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Help Camp Ronald McDonald on Dec. 8

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Genndy's Latest Animation

We've posted several times about Genndy Tartakovsky's latest feature and the success its been enjoying. Jerry Beck at Cartoon Brew shared what Genndy's been doing since the release of the film:

If you’ve been wondering what Genndy Tartakovsky’s been doing this past summer besides hitting the road to promote Hotel Transylvania and prepping to direct a CG Popeye – wonder no longer. Tartakovsky wrote, directed and animated himself a brand new hand-drawn HT companion short entitled Goodnight Mr. Foot – in all of four weeks.

And now the short is getting an exclusive theatrical run starting tomorrow in Regal theaters nationwide before showings of Hotel Trasnsylvania, as a special Halloween treat for Holiday audiences.

Genndy has been quite a busy man since his gloried union days at Hasbro, Warner Bros and Cartoon Network. We hope his efforts continue to be successful and look forward to enjoying his handiwork in front of his feature directorial work soon.


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The Gary Trousdale Interview -- Part III

TAG Interview with Gary Trousdale

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

After Beauty and the Beast, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise became a Disney directing team through the rest of the 1990s ...

After Atlantis: the Lost Empire (released by Disney in 2001), Gary moved to DreamWorks Animation where he has written, directed, and storyboarded ever since.

He is today at work on animated short that is scheduled for release next year. Click here to read entire post

The Gary Trousdale Interview -- Part II

TAG Interview with Gary Trousdale

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

Gary Trousdale expected to be laid off from the House of Mouse at the end of The Black Cauldron, but a series of in-house effects jobs kept him at Disney until his jokey cartoons ... and a recommendation from Joe Ranft ... helped boost him into Disney Feature Animation's story department ...

Becoming a feature animation director was another promotion that was far from pre-ordained. Gary and Kirk Wise were made "temporary" directors on Beauty and the Beast after the original directors left the project. It was only after months of work that they became "official," and the rest, as they say, is animation history.

Gary talks about all these things and more in Part II of the interview. Click here to read entire post

Slate: Still a Boys' Club

Brenda Chapman's recent post gets amplified a bit in Slate Magazine:

... Chapman's story is a striking counterpoint to the conventional Hollywood wisdom that a raunchy environment is a necessary condition for strong creative work. When Amaani Lyle, an assistant to the writers' room on Friends, sued Warner Bros. over alleged sexual harassment on the job, the defendants successfully argued that crude conversations about sex and women's bodies were a critical part of the creative process. ...

And when Chapman finally got a chance to break out of that mold, to tell a story that ended with a girl delaying the prospect of marriage, she ultimately ended up ceding control of her own story. Brave was Chapman's idea, and she was set to direct it, an appointment that would have made her another first—Pixar has never had one of its feature films directed by a woman. But she was ultimately replaced by her Pixar coworker Mark Andrews, who got to helm the story of Merida, the Scottish princess who works her way out of an arranged marriage. Women, it seems, may change the way men think about fairy tales. But men still get to be in charge of the final draft.

As I've related before, a Pixar board artist who worked on Brave for two-plus years told me the released feature was close to what Brenda had been doing before she was replaced. Same story and characters, if not as dark.

News flash: Hollywood, like much of American society, is male dominated. The chauvinism might not be quite as rampant as in, say, 1940, but it's still there. And animation is part of Hollywood, so it isn't radically less influened by men.

In 1970, 45% of TAG membership was female, but that was in the era of ink-and-paint, which was comprised almost totally of women. Today, there is no ink-and-paint departments, digital or otherwise. The work, such as it is, is offshore.

Women in the rest of the business? Animation? Story and writing? Design? Tech? In 2012 women make up 17%* of the Animation Guild.

Draw your own conclusions.

* Women make up 50% of the Cal Arts animation department.

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The Gary Trousdale Interview -- Part I

TAG Interview with Gary Trousdale

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

Gary Trousdale is a Southern Californian, raised in La Crescenta and educated at Crescenta Valley High School, Glendale College, and the California Institute of the Arts (in that order.)

One would think that the road between Cal Arts and helming the iconic Disney feature Beauty and the Beast would be wide, smooth and straight, but one would be wrong ...

Gary didn't get into Disney until he had worked at Tom Carter Animation and a small illustration studio for the better part of two years. As he describes it, the Mouse House wasn't pre-disposed to hire him straight out of CA, and so he learned his trade in smaller, lower-paying venues.

When Mr. Trousdale finally did find his way to Disney, it was as an effects artist on The Black Cauldron, and even then his path was winding. Gary details all the above and more in Part I of the latest TAG interview ... Click here to read entire post

Guardians Honored

The gold statues rain down.

The animated film "Rise of the Guardians" was honored with the Hollywood Animation Award at the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards Gala presented by The Los Angeles Times held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 22, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. ...

But ... what the hell are "The Hollywood Film Awards?"

The Hollywood Awards® honors excellence in the established Hollywood community by bestowing the Hollywood Awards® to both in front and behind the camera established talent. ...

Shouldn't, like, the feature be out before it's given an award? Or is that too twentieth century? After all, "film" is giving way to "digital." There aren't many processing labs left, and next year, Fox is reputed to be getting away from film reels altogether. Click here to read entire post

Games Get The Sharp Blade Too

The cold reality of the short-term gig rears its head in the gaming side of the business.

Today is not a great day for many Zynga employees. The social gaming studio has confirmed to Gamasutra that its Austin, Texas-based studio may have closed, with more than 100 staffers losing their jobs in the process.

It is also believed that the company's Chicago and Cambridge branches may have been affected. ...

The announcement of the downsizing came during Apple's much-publicized press event, during which the technology giant announced the long-rumored iPad mini, among other things. ...

There's some question about how deep (and precisely when the cuts will be, but you understand this trend-line, don't you? Short term gigs are now the rule more often than not.

Walt Disney Animation Studios hires and lays off employees as needed. Wreck-it Ralph, ends, and out the door. "If we need you for Frozen we'll call you."

Rhythm and Hues, long a bastion of stability, lays off staff in L.A. and hires staff overseas. Sony Pictures Imageworks downsizes in Culver City and super sizes in Vancouver, B.C. ... until the tax rebates run out.

Last month an angry digital compositor came into my office. He had landed a job at the Louisiana outpost of a Los Angeles effects house, and a month after arriving they laid him off, despite the extra weeks indicated on his deal memo. (It was non-binding, of course.) The guy was out of money, mostly out of hope, and asked if there was a lawsuit he could file against the company. I checked with the union lawyer (we had no contract or jurisdiction, so I was just being a Dutch uncle offering advice) and told him that his prospects were bleak. He didn't have a long tenure on the line, and language in his company employment agreement wasn't strong, so the best he could probably do was file a complaint with the California labor commissioner -- who probably didn't have much pull with the company's Louisiana subsidiary in the first place.

This is the way business goes in the 21st century: lots of leverage on the corporate side, minimal leverage for the employee. If you're one of those lucky duckies who lands in the right corporate structure at the right time with the right skill sets, you're in like Flynn. But if you're some poor schlump who works hard but is always a half-hour late to the party, expect to get hired at crunch time and cut loose the minute the last shot get okayed by the producer and director.

That's the way the fates roll in the second decade of the new millennium. Either get used to it, or train yourself to push back. Click here to read entire post