Feb 22

‘Friends’ returning for a special episode on WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service, HBO Max

Posted in: Animation

It’s happening! Finally!

All the Friends fans can rejoice, as the popular sitcom is coming back as the famous star cast has announced a reunion episode on their social media handles. They posted a Rolling Stone cover photo from the show’s early days.

 

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It’s happening… @hbomax @jenniferaniston @lisakudrow @mleblanc @mattyperry4 @_schwim_

A post shared by Courteney Cox (@courteneycoxofficial) on Feb 21, 2020 at 2:00pm PST

The newest episode will be available exclusively on WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, when it launches in May. When the service goes live, it will also have all the 236 episodes of Friends.

All six of the ’90s sitcom’s stars — Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Courteney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), Matthew Perry (Chandler) and David Schwimmer (Ross) — will return to reprise their roles for this special.

The special episode will not be of a reboot or sequel series of Friends, but an independent special episode, which will be unscripted.Thus, expectations are such it’d something like a panel discussion with the actors looking back on the show, rather than a 237th episode.

Said HBO chief content officer Max Kevin Reilly in a news release, “Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together — we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire Friends library. I became aware of Friends when it was in the very early stages of development and then had the opportunity to work on the series many years later and have delighted in seeing it catch on with viewers generation after generation. It taps into an era when friends — and audiences — gathered together in real time and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans.”

Friends has never really left the limelight with being a hot cake in the streaming wars. The popular sitcom, which follows the lives of six friends in New York City, was originally available on Netflix, but left the platform last month. 

WarnerMedia reportedly paid $425 million over five years in order to secure the rights to Friends, which was the second-most streamed show on Netflix (after The Office). Even though Friends originally aired on NBC, it will not be available on NBC’s own streaming service, Peacock. The Office, however, will be on Peacock when it soft-launches on 15 April 2020.

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Feb 22

Following Activition Bethesda pulls out games from Nvidia GeForce Now cloud

Posted in: Animation

After Activision Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service now losing games from major publisher Bethesda Softworks, which owns Bethesda Game Studios series like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls as well as id Software franchises like Doom. According to Nvidia, one title that will stick around is Wolfenstein: Youngblood, for reasons the company is not disclosing.

After GeForce Now entered what Nvidia is calling its public trial, there was also reportedly a disagreement between the two companies over the platform’s model, which allows subscribers to buy games on other platforms, like Steam, and use them on GeForce Now. It’s a major difference between Nvidia’s service and other models like Google Stadia which seems much more consumer-friendly, but it also means that some publishers, like Activision, won’t play ball if cloud gaming users aren’t buying a separate copy of a game.

It’s unclear if the same set of issues is at play here with Bethesda, but the sudden removal of all of the publisher’s games, save the lone Wolfenstein title, does seem to indicate some sort of licensing dispute that came to ahead.

Earlier according to Bloomberg report that Activision Blizzard had sought a commercial agreement with Nvidia specifically for its games’ support, which Nvidia declined. In addition, The Verge reported that GeForce Now chief Phil Eisler acknowledged that publishers “are taking a while to make up their minds,” which somewhat explains the transient nature of GeForce Now’s catalogue. Games from other publishers like Capcom, Rockstar, and Square Enix also left the service before its full launch.

On Thursday, Eisler wrote a recap post calling the 90-day trial period offered to Founders subscribers “an important transitional period where gamers, developers, and publishers can try the premium experience with minimal commitment while we continue to refine our offering.

“As we approach a paid service, some publishers may choose to remove games before the trial period ends. Ultimately, they maintain control over their content and decide whether the game you purchase includes streaming on GeForce Now. Meanwhile, others will bring games back as they continue to realize GeForce Now’s value (stay tuned for more on that). Game removals should be few and far between, with new games added to GeForce Now each week.”

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Feb 22

Outfit7 Limited taps Epic Story Media as the U.S. and Canadian licensing agent for ‘Talking Tom and Friends’

Posted in: Animation

Independent content creation, distribution, and licensing company Epic Story Media (ESM) has been appointed by Outfit7 Limited as the U.S. and Canadian licensing agent for its award-winning flagship family entertainment brand, Talking Tom and Friends. 

ESM will assemble a consumer products program with key categories, including toys, plush, publishing, party/novelty, experiential/events and promotions.

ESM founder and el presidente Ken Faier said, “We’re extremely excited to join forces with Outfit7 Limited and work on one of the world’s strongest gaming and video brands.”

Outfit7 Limited has developed and launched over 22 Talking Tom and Friends mobile games, which have received over 10 billion downloads globally till date. In 2019, its innovative virtual pet game, My Talking Tom 2 was ranked as the sixth most-played mobile game in the world. The Talking Tom and Friends brand is also one of the top 20 favourite game brands in the U.S. and has amassed over 325 million local views across its YouTube content.

Talking Tom and Friends was the seventh most-viewed brand on YouTube in 2018. Overall, the brand has received over 23 billion YouTube views worldwide. Its popular, original content is a global sensation, with over 40 billion total views to date. Fans spend around 1.6 million hours watching shows like the award-winning CGI animated Talking Tom and Friends, the hilarious Talking Tom Shorts or Talking Tom and Friends Minis, or the new Talking Tom Heroes series every day. 

ESM Licensing and Merchandising head David Sztoser added, “We will leverage Talking Tom and Friends’ success and build an innovative and robust licensing program in the U.S. and Canada.”

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Feb 22

Tempo Storm raises $3.3 million from Galaxy Interactive

Posted in: Animation

Tempo Storm has announced that it has raised $3.3 million in funding to push further into interactive, immersive media, as well as game design, transforming Tempo Storm into something unlike anything else in esports-or in video games as a whole.The first round of series A funding was led by Technology investor Galaxy Interactive.

Tempo Storm confirmed that the money raised will be used to propel the company beyond esports and launching the game will be their first step towards that plan. Further, the organization also plans on building a Game Changers franchise, an all-live travel show which will be live-streamed across different platforms.

Sam Englebardt, head of Galaxy Interactive said, “What impressed us most about Tempo Storm is their vision beyond the traditional esports organization. Starting with the company’s founder and CEO, Andrey Yanyuk, this group is truly innovating in areas such as interactive productions and game development. Sure, they are successful esports competitors, but they are so much more, and it was an easy decision to invest in them.”

Further, Tempo Storm founder and CEO Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk added, “While Tempo is well-known in the competitive gaming world, we’ve always operated more as a media company than a sports team. We believe that interactivity is the future of entertainment, and we’re incredibly grateful to be working with investors who share that vision. Our upcoming game and audience-driven shows are blazing the trail in the world of interactive media, and it’s exciting to see that future being realized.”

Tempo Storm’s first game, The Bazaar, will be a deck-building card game. The organization is also working on Game Changers, a livestreamed travel show where viewers influence what happens on the screen.

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Feb 22

‘Westworld’: Season 3 Trailer hints at new twists

Posted in: Animation

The much-awaited third season of HBO’s science-fiction series Westworld is coming on  15 March, and HBO has put out a new trailer that highlights the plot-point of Season 3.

Check out the new trailer below or click here:

The trailer discloses Aaron Paul’s character Caleb, a major new addition to the cast. It seems Caleb will be drawn into Dolores’ (Evan Rachel Wood) war for freedom as she and her fellow androids venture outside into the human world.

In the mean time, Thandie Newton’s Maeve appears to be a major villain in Season 3. We also get a look at other faces like Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard Lowe, Tessa Thompson’s Charlotte Hale and Ed Harris’ Man in Black.

Other new cast members in Season 3 include A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Lena Waithe, Black Swan’s Vincent Cassel, We Are Who We Are’s Scott Mescudi, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Marshawn Lynch, The Newsroom’s John Gallagher Jr., Stumptown’s Michael Ealy, and Sons of Anarchy’s Tommy Flanagan.

It is noteworthy that at least part of Season 3 will still take place inside of Westworld. The Westworld sets actually razed down in late 2018 when the Paramount Ranch was burnt by the Woolsey Fire, but it appears that damage is being leveraged to the show’s advantage in Season 3.

 

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Feb 22

‘Punyakoti’, first Sanskrit animated film taken up by a global digital platform

Posted in: Animation

The first Sanskrit animated film, Punyakoti will be available on a global digital platform soon, as director Ravi Shankar revealed to Animation Xpress and on social media. 

“The trailer has received close to half a million views. The interest in Punyakoti has grown organically. Sanskrit is getting a lot of respect and interest outside India as well. Now an international digital platform has shown interest in taking the movie to the world. It is a big boost for Indian animation. It’s still under QC. We’ll keep you posted once it’s finalised,” said he. 

This news comes after the film got continuously deferred since April 2019, and got its first exclusive screening for the crowd-funders in October 2019.

Based on an episode from The Mahabharata, which is also prevalent as a folk-song in South India, Punyakoti tells the story of a truth-speaking cow. The plot is an imaginary take on the circumstances that led to the encounter between the cow and a tiger in a village that is facing an impending drought. 

Punyakoti also won three awards at Animation Xpress’ ANN Awards in August 2019, for ‘Best Animation Digital Film’, ‘Best Voice Over Artist’ (Revathy) and ‘Best Screenplay’.

The script of Punyakoti is taken from a children’s picture book by the same name, written by Shankar himself, and follows a five act structure being modelled along the lines of any international quality production in terms of creative and structural finesse. 

The 80-90 minutes animated film has a unique style that’s inspired by Indian folk-art with a mix of traditional and digital animation techniques with more emphasis on the storytelling than on the technical prowess. The team had invested a lot of time and dedication to bring out a style that draws upon the Indian temple art and puppetry- the forms and style which follows the proportion and aesthetics of Indian folk-art and sculpture.

Now it’s just a matter of time for this awaited film to reach the global audience.

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Feb 22

Upcoming Anime joining Netflix in March

Posted in: Animation

Greenlighting projects after projects, Netflix has proved to be a boon for anime lovers over the last couple of years. Netflix has become a hotspot for anime content with its growing catalogue. Here’s the list of anime series that are set to be added in the catalog OTT giant.

You can check out the full list of anime releases below:

 Castlevania (Season 3 March 5)

Inspired by the popular video game series, this anime series is a dark medieval fantasy. It follows the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, Trevor Belmont, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hands of Vlad Dracula Tepes.

BEASTARS (March 13)

Beastars is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Paru Itagaki. The series has won multiple awards, including being the first Akita Shoten title to take home the Manga Taishō Award.

Image result for beatstars Netflix anime

 Lu Over the Wall (March 18)

Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. When his classmates invite him to play the keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not. As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form.

Image result for lu over the wall

Altered Carbon: Resleeved (March 19)

Dai Sato, the creative mind behind Cowboy Bebop, further explores and expands upon the Altered Carbon universe in this anime adaptation. A spin-off of the Netflix original science fiction live action series (series 2 in production) is visualized as an original animation. Altered Carbon expands the world and creates a new story that has never been seen before.

Image result for Altered Carbon: Resleeved

Sol Levante (March 23)

Sol Levante is an upcoming anime series being created by Netflix and Production I.G. The series is planning on being the first anime series hand-drawn 4k HDR quality. Very little is known about the plot of the series at this time.

Image result for Sol Levante anime

7Seeds: Part 2 (March 26)

7 Seeds is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumi Tamura. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future, long enough after a meteorite hits Earth that new species have evolved, and follows the struggles of five groups of young adults to survive after they are revived from cryonic preservation.


Image result for 7seeds

We can’t wait for the anime content that grace the OTT space and obliger lakhs and lakhs of eager fans who can’t wait for them to release. Anime content has carved a niche of its own and the audience that spread is across the country continues to grow. We will keep you updated on the developments.

 

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Feb 22

IGX 2020 to have a dedicated booth for and by the indie game devs to showcase games

Posted in: Animation

One of the biggest struggles that an indie game developer faces is to get recognised in the industry, reaching out to the targeted audience and to get traction towards the game.  There are various reasons which can be responsible for such hindrance; one can be budget constraints, lack of promotional skills and so on. At the same time, an exposure or a little push from the industry usually comes as a boon for those indie game developers. Thinking of them UnderDOGS Gaming Studio, Lucid Labs, Psypher Interactive and Xigma Games have collaborated to launch ‘The Indie Booth’ at the Indian gaming expo IGX 2020 for Indie game developers to showcase their games according to the official Facebook post of UnderDOGS Gaming Studio founder and CEO Vaibhav Chavan.

In conversation with Animationxpress Xigma games CEO and founder Himanshu Manwani shares that this is a collaborative initiative between other indies. With this they are inviting indie developers to submit their games in a designated form, post that if they get selected they get a chance to showcase their game at IGX 2020.

“They will get to showcase their games to the crowd of over 30k. For many indie developers who are just starting out they may not have enough budgets to showcase their games so we are providing an opportunity to showcase their games at no cost,” added Manwani.

IGX 2020 will be held on 21 March and 22 March and the last date to submit the entries is 7 March. Whether the game is released or under development, indie game developers can submit their projects and the selected games will receive an opportunity of free table space at IGX The Indie Booth. Panelists and experts will be selecting the games manually by reviewing each one of them and by picking the best ones for the showcase.

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Feb 21

‘Star Wars’ is now streaming towards its finale with ‘The Clone Wars’

Posted in: Animation

Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns for what’s being called as its seventh and final season, adding further ammunition to a new quadrant of the studio’s universe on the streaming service Disney+.

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was cancelled, with Star Wars Rebels succeeding it on Disney XD. The remaining completed episodes of The Clone Wars eventually made their way to Netflix as the sixth season, where they stayed until the launch of Disney+.

A few completed story arcs were released in another forms, such as the Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir comic miniseries and the Dark Disciple novel by Christie Golden.

Clone Wars is known to be the last Star Wars project on which George Lucas was a producer, and its chief creative steward has been Dave Filoni, who teamed with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian. Filoni has also overseen other animated additions to the galaxy, including Star Wars Rebels.

The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars stars Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex and the clone troopers, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan and Sam Witwer as Maul.

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Feb 21

‘Zoonicorns’ inks co-production and distribution deal with Toonz Media Group

Posted in: Animation

 

Zoonicorn, multiplatform animated preschool brand featuring a Zooniverse of enchanting characters kids love, has teamed up with Toonz Media Group, for a development, co-production and distribution partnership to launch 52 seven minute episodes in 2021.

Being one of the global leaders in the space of family entertainment, the new 3D CGI content will be distributed for the worldwide TV and digital marketplace by Toonz. 

Mark Lubratt

Commenting on this collaboration, Zoonicorn creator Mark Lubratt said, “It has been so important for us to find the right partner for Zoonicorn – a wonderfully creative team of unparalleled animators and writers that truly gets the fun and adventure of our brand as well as the underlying social-emotional modeling that is essential to the Zoonicorn experience. We are thrilled to have found that partner with Toonz. With this collaboration, we are able to tell more in-depth stories, dive deeper into the development of our beloved characters and expand the Zooniverse to reach new audiences around the world.”

A magical mix of zebra and unicorn, the Zoonicorns inhabit the dreams of young animals, taking them on amazing adventures to help learn important social-emotional skills. When the dream is over, the young animal wakes up feeling self-confident and with decision-making skills necessary to overcome whatever challenges they are facing.

The Zoonicorns all have special talents and skills. Purple Promi’s the master leader and organiser who can always cut to the core of a problem with her laser focus. Green Ene is a technology maestro, who amps up the crazy-cool with never-before-seen technologies. Blue Valeo’s super strength always helps him power through challenges, and Pink Aliel’s special ability to create anything she thinks of is matched only by her power to communicate…nonstop!

P Jayakumar

They cleverly guide each dreamer through a whirlwind of fun-loving adventures, tackling obstacles, balancing emotions and discovering important life lessons along the way. At the heart of every solution is the one important truth—the power to solve any problem is inside of them. When the animal wakes up back in their own world, they are empowered and their heart remembers the lesson from their dream.

“We are delighted to be partnering on the wonderful Zoonicorn property to develop, co-produce and distribute the CGI TV series. I have no doubt that it will both entertain and empower kids during their all-important social-emotional skills learning stages, helping them on their journey through life,” added Toonz Media Group CEO P Jayakumar.

The growing line of Zoonicorn products have continued to expand since the launch of the brand in 2015. In 2018, Zoonicorn and Jay@Play introduced a new interactive Zoonicorn plush as part of Jay@Play’s ‘Wish Me’ brand. Other products include a picture book, three interactive story apps and four games available for download and on the Zoonicorn website and available on both  iTunes and Google Play. Zoonicorn debuted a new limited edition apparel line in Fall, 2019.

The eleven Zoonicorn music videos have been a big hit on YouTube with additional ‘Sing Along’ videos offered exclusively on Kidoodle. TV, Kid Genius Cartoons, Happy Kids TV, Toon Goggles Jr and Kabillion. Under the terms of the agreement with Toonz, Zoonicorn retains all licensing rights. Licensing for the property is headed by Zoonicorn’s Brand and Licensing director J’net Smith.

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