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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited hundreds of artists and executives to join the organization!

Wicked star Ariana Grande, Dune‘s Jason Momoa and girlfriend, Hit Man star Adria Arjona, Superman‘s Rachel Brosnahan and Anora breakout Mikey Madison are among the actors who have “distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures.”

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang shared in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

Keep reading to see the full list of invitees…

According to the Academy website, “Membership selection is based on professional qualifications, with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority. Of the 2025 invited class, 41% are women,...

Oscar has its new voters.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out its annual invitations to membership today, with 534 new invitees. If all of them accept, the new overall membership would be 11,120, of which 10,143 would be eligible to vote for Oscars and run for governance elections.

Among those on the list are newly minted Oscar winners Mikey Madison (Best Actress for Anora) and Kieran Culkin. Among all the invitees this year 91 are past Oscar nominees including 26 winners. The prominent star names include Ariana Grande, Dave Bautista, Jodie Comer, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Gillian Anderson, Stephen Graham, Andrew Scott, Danielle Deadwyler, and on and on.

The Academy said 41% of the new class are women, 45% belong to underrepresented communities and 55% are from 60 countries and territories outside the United States. If all accept, it would result in an overall AMPAS membership of 35% women,...

Triggerfish, a well-known animation studio in Cape Town, has partnered with Unesco to launch The Creator Labs, a breakthrough program to combat gender disparity in Africa’s creative sectors. This program seeks to support and elevate women in animation across the continent.

This project is critical for Africa’s film and audiovisual industry, which contributes over $5 billion to the continent’s Gdp and employs over 5 million people. Despite these remarkable figures, women, particularly women of colour, are substantially underrepresented in industry leadership roles.

The Creator Labs will provide a specialized capacity-building program for female animators. It brings together Triggerfish’s industry experience with Unesco’s educational materials. The program has two major components: a Director’s Lab and an Animation Art Lab. Participants will benefit from master lectures, mentorship, and important networking opportunities.

“Empowering African women in animation is critical,” stated Carina Lücke, Director of the Triggerfish Foundation. “Our relationship...

Exclusive: Triggerfish, the Cape Town-based producer behind Disney+ series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and Unesco are launching a program for African women in animation.

The South African toon house has teamed with the United Nations organization to launch The Creator Labs, which will seek to address gender disparities and foster inclusivity in African animation.

According to Triggerfish and Unesco, the African film and audio-visual sector contributes an estimated $5B to the continent’s Gdp and employs over five million people. However, women, particularly those of color, remain underrepresented in leadership roles across the sector. The initiative will seek to make a comprehensive capacity-building program tailored to women through Triggerfish’s non-profit foundation and Unesco’s expertise.

The initiative will comprise a Director Lab and an Animation Art Lab for artists. Participants will get access to masterclasses led by leading professionals, small group mentorship sessions and networking opportunities. Training materials will...

Jason Sudeikis didn’t hold back when it came to serving up some slick burns, Lasso-style. With Ted Lasso Season 3 wrapped up, critics who slammed the show as unbearable were in for a taste of Ted’s polite but razor-sharp comebacks.

Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso. | Credit: Warner Bros. Television

Sudeikis, known for making kindness look effortlessly cool, wasn’t about to let the haters walk away unscathed. If there was one thing Ted taught us, it was that even in the face of the harshest words, you could still land the ultimate counterstrike—all while keeping that signature smile.

Jason Sudeikis Responds to Ted Lasso Season 3 Backlash with Sharp Retort Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso. | Credit: Warner Bros. Television

“I don’t know what show you’re watching” – that was Jason Sudeikis’s sharp yet polite response to critics who slammed Season 3 of Ted Lasso as unbearable. Speaking...

Based on a story by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, Hitpig is an animated comedy from British studio Ani venture. We meet Hitpig, a bounty hunter pig who has a change of heart after being hired to capture dancing elephant Pickles from her abusive circus owner employer, the eccentric Leapin’ Lord.

Directed by David Feiss and Cinzia Angelini, the film explores Hitpig and Pickles bonding on a whimsical journey that challenges Hitpig’s views on friendship, compassion, and his career choices.

Jason Sudeikis lends his voice to the gruff yet good-hearted Hitpig. Kids will love the hilarious performances from Rainn Wilson as the unhinged Leapin’ Lord and RuPaul as a flatulent polecat. The movie’s intended audience is young children, incorporating heartfelt messages about kindness alongside silly humor and colorful characters.

In this review, we’ll take a look at the plot and how Hitpig and Pickles’ relationship develops. We’ll examine...

At your local theater, you might’ve seen a gaudy-looking poster for a generic, cheap-looking animated film called Hitpig! If you were wondering if it was somehow good, I’m here to tell you that it’s exactly what you’d expect: a dumb, annoying, and predictable animated comedy without much going for it.

Hitpig! Review

Hitpig! follows a down-on-his-luck bounty-hunting pig, played by Jason Sudeikis, tasked to return an elephant (Lilly Singh) for a million-dollar payday. Hilarity ensues. Along the way, the two mismatched allies meet a wide variety of adversaries that threaten their mission and make it all the more ridiculous.

With a screenplay from three separate writers and two directors, it’s unsurprising that this story is all types of messy. We’re introduced to the titular Hitpig years after his caretaker was brutally murdered by a crocodile. It’s a weird way to start, and it...

Sony will own the first weekend of November at the box office, with the second frame of the Culver City lot’s Venom: The Last Dance down around 60%, or $20 million, for No. 1, followed by the studio’s release of Miramax’s adult drama Here.

Here, which reps the Forrest Gump reteam of filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, scribe Eric Roth and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, is expected to do around $7M with an eye on hopefully pulling older adults out again this weekend after they made a date for Focus Features’ Conclave last weekend ($6.6M opening).

It remains to be seen whether Here slots in second place, giving Sony the frame’s 1-2 punch.

The question is whether audiences will go along with watching a generations drama story about various families on the same property/house at a skewed-degree angle. Hanks and Wright are technologically de-aged to their former 1980s/1990s selves,...

Hitpig had its sights set on becoming a family-friendly hit animated movie, but the film missed the mark. When it comes to animated family films, they have several hurdles to overcome to please and entertain audiences of all ages while still delivering emotion, fun, and an engaging story. However, Hitpig seems to have gone all in on the goofy humor and left the movie with an unappealing and unenthusiastic story that, despite the novelty of a bounty hunter pig, can't make up for a movie with no stakes.

Hitpig

Director Cinzia Angelini, David FeissRelease Date April 19, 2024Studio(s) AniventureDistributor(s) SkyWriters Tyler Werrin, Dave Rosenbaum, Berkeley BreathedCast Hannah Gadsby, Charlie Adler, Anitta, Rainn Wilson, Lilly SIngh, RuPaulRating TV-Y7Runtime 86 MinutesGenres Animation, Action, Adventure

Hitpig, so named because he was adopted by a bounty hunter grandma and trained as her sidekick, is now on his own. After losing his only friend,...

We’re a long way from the world of 1990s animation. New animation houses emerged with a splintering at Disney and the rise of Cartoon Network. Two animators who benefited from this world were Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss — the directors of the new release Hitpig. While Angelini found a home at DreamWorks, Feiss created Cartoon Cartoon hits Cow & Chicken and I Am Weasel. With Hitpig, the two animators-turned-directors have an opportunity to create a project that blends modern technology with nineties humor. Both Angelini and Feiss sat down with FandomWire to discuss their new film, the importance of independent animation, and adding Jason Sudeikis to Hitpig at the last minute.

Angelini and Feiss Began in 2D Animation

Both Angelini and Feiss began their careers in the world of 2D animation. Angelini contributed to 90s classics like Balto and Quest for Camelot before finding homes at Dreamworks. Meanwhile, Feiss...

“Hitpig” is a new science fiction animated feature, directed by Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss, based on author Berkeley Breathed’s 2008 book “Pete & Pickles”, following a bounty hunter pig, starring Jason Sudeikis, Lilly Singh, Rainn Wilson, Anitta, Hannah Gadsby and Charlie Adler, releasing November 1, 2024 in theaters:

“…in a futuristic cyberpunk world, ‘Hitpig’, a bounty hunter pig, sets out to capture an elephant named ‘Pickles’, but ends up finding themselves on a criss-crossing world adventure…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Exclusive: Viva Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Hitpig!, a new animated feature starring Ted Lasso‘s Jason Sudeikis, for release in theaters nationwide on November 1. Check out a trailer for the film above.

Based on the New York Times bestseller Pete & Pickles from Berkeley Breathed, the film follows a clever bounty hunting pig (Sudeikis) who catches escaped animals and returns them to their owners. The next job for Hitpig is his biggest yet: returning a dancing elephant named Pickles (Lilly Singh) to a maniacal Vegas showman (Rainn Wilson), for a million bucks. The mission quickly escalates into a wild adventure around the world, and when danger looms, it’s up to Hitpig to save the day, though he can’t do it alone. Eventually, he must realize that some things are more important than a paycheck, coming to discover that friends are the greatest bounty of all.

Produced by Aniventure,...

UK animation firm Aniventure has set Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones) and Lilly Singh (A Little Late With Lilly Singh) for the lead voice roles of Hitpig and Pickles, respectively, in animated movie Hitpig.

Also joining the voice cast are Rainn Wilson (The Office), RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Hannah Gadsby (Nanette) and Dany Boon (Raid: Special Unit).

Pic is co-directed by Cinzia Angelini, storyboard artist on Minions and Despicable Me 3, and Maurizio Parimbelli, animator on Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. Producers are Adam Nagle (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure) and Dave Rosenbaum (The Secret Life of Pets).

Set in a futuristic world, the film follows a grizzled porcine bounty hunter who accepts his next hit: Pickles (Singh), a naive, ebullient elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil trillionaire. Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm, the unlikely pair find themselves on an...

Aniventure, the London based animation production studio, has unveiled its first slate of titles. The company has also signed a representation deal with CAA, which it says will help to identify and develop global partners so it can expand further into the family market.

On the slate are three feature projects:

Riverdance: An Animated Adventure (produced by Aniventure and River Productions) based on the stage show phenomenon of the same name and featuring Bill Whelan’s multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning music, currently in post-production.

Blazing Samurai (Aniventure and Blazing Productions), based on Mel Brooks’ classic Blazing Saddles and directed by Mark Koetsier (The Grinch) and overseen and produced by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King).

Hitpig (Aniventure), from Pulitzer Prize-winner Berkeley Breathed who is serving as executive producer and production designer on the film directed by Cinzia Angelini (Minions) and Maurizio Parimbelli (Peter Rabbit).

Riverdance, Blazing Samurai and Hitpig will be delivered in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Rob Legato, visual effects supervisor of “The Lion King,” “The Addams Family” co-director Conrad Vernon and Baobab Studios’ co-founder and chief creative officer Eric Darnell, director of the Vr studio’s Emmy- and Annie-winning Vr short “Crow: The Legend,” are rounding out the keynote speakers at this fall’s 20th edition of the View Conference in Turin, Italy.

They join previously announced keynote speakers Brad Bird, director of last year’s “Incredibles 2”; Peter Ramsey, co-director of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”; “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” director Dean DeBlois; composer Michael Giacchino; Pixar filmmaker Ralph Eggleston; Industrial Light & Magic’s Rob Bredow; Pubg CEO Ch Kim; Baobab Studios CEO Maureen Fan; tech pioneer and consultant Tom Wujec; and renowned scientist Daniel Zajfman.

In addition to their keynote addresses, Bird and Ramsey will offer master classes and Giacchino will perform a concert of his work during the weeklong event.

The atrocities of war are an all too common occurrence throughout human history that continue to this day, leaving not only physical devastation in their wake but emotional and spiritual scarring as well.  While governments squabble over the political pros and cons of engaging in warfare and military personnel prepare for the worst, civilians bear the brunt of the casualties no matter how vile or righteous the reasoning is behind the violence.  One such animator touched by the horrors of war is Cinzia Angelini, who hopes to bring to life the stories of her mother and grandmother, and those of the children who suffered as a result of the conflicts of World War II.  While destruction can be a global effort, so too can creation as Angelini has gathered a host of talented artists and animators from around the world for her largely volunteer-based effort, Mila.  Hit the jump for more.