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EXCLUSIVE : Crunchyroll has tapped Nichole Sakura ( Superstore ) for the title role in the English-language dub of their acclaimed animated feature Suzume , which in addition to the original subtitled version, debuts in theaters in Australia and New Zealand on April 13, coming to the U.S., Canada, the UK and Ireland the following day. Others cast in the pic from decorated Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai ( Weathering with You ), which bowed in Japan in November, include Josh Keaton, Jennifer Sun Bell, Joe Zieja, Rosalie Chang, Amanda C. Miller, Mela Lee and Cam Clarke. Bill Millsap served as English voice director. The film produced by CoMix Wave Films and STORY inc. tells the coming-of-age story of 17-year-old Suzume (Sakura), whose journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins … [Read more...] about ‘Superstore’s Nichole Sakura To Lead English-Language Voice Cast Of Crunchyroll’s ‘Suzume’

EXCLUSIVE: Fledgling U.S. production company Catalyst Studios has announced eight-part docuseries EmpowHer going behind the scenes of the films on its inaugural slate driven by six female and non-binary directors and producers. Catalyst Studios was launched last May as a joint venture between social entrepreneur Holly Levow and producer Paul Kampf of Equitas Entertainment, and Mark Pennell of Beacon Pictures, with a focus on emerging talent and diverse storytelling. EmpowHer will follow the journeys of filmmakers from across Catalyst Studios’ slate including Michelle Salcedo with Switch & Bait , starring Otmara Marrero and Katie Clarkson-Hill; Joanne Mitchell with Sybil ; Siri Rødnes with Follow Me starring Connie Nielsen, and Colombian auteur Ana Maria Hermida with the recently announced coming-of-age feature film Alix. Further filmmaker subject s include Tamika Miller ( Honor Student , Station 19 ) and Milena Grujic ( The Future is Bright … [Read more...] about Catalyst Studios Launches Docuseries ‘EmpowHer’ Going Behind The Scenes Of Inaugural Female-Driven Slate

EXCLUSIVE: Greek production and sales house Heretic has upped its longtime head of sales and acquisitions exec Ioanna Stais to partner. Stais, who has been with the company since 2014, has been a key driver behind Heretic’s bustling film sales slate which has included Berlin Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn from director Radu Jude, and Omar El Zohairy’s Feathers , which won Cannes Critics’ week in 2021. In 2019, the company handled world sales for Retablo , Peru’s official submission for the International Oscar, which was also nominated for a BAFTA Outstanding Debut Award and Best International Film for the Film Independent Spirit Award. The company recently boarded world sales rights for Jude’s latest project, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World , as well as Sundance doc And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine , which it sold widely. “Having joined the company almost from its very founding, I couldn’t be prouder for what … [Read more...] about Greek Outfit Heretic Promotes Head Of Sales Ioanna Stais To Partner

Top International execs from ZDF Studios, Fremantle , All3Media and Banijay have said the potential U.S. writers strike and changing market economics can create opportunities to strike new business. As Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne put it, likening the challenging of leaving previous market conditions behind to bouncing back after being dumped: “When one door closes, another one opens.” She was talking during a Series Mania panel on windowing and content financing this afternoon in France. International distribution companies are already wrestling with myriad content financing issues as the U.S. market corrects after streamers’ spending momentum slows. All eyes are now turning to the discussions between the WGA and AMPTP, and one potential upshot if a strike kicks off will likely be more international business for U.S. networks. All3Media International CEO Louise Pedersen said U.S. execs at the London TV Screenings at the start of the month had begun … [Read more...] about Banijay, Fremantle, All3Media & ZDF Debate Market Economics And Writers’ Strike: “When One Door Closes, Another Opens” — Series Mania

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a positive one for the Euro film industry – shooting has resumed on Tochter (English translation Daughter ), a co-production between significant producers from Germany, Greece and Italy. The project is being heralded as one of the first post-COVID international co-pro to get back underway in Europe, which has been confirmed by two major bodies EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and ACE Producers. The only other one I am aware of Margrete – Queen Of The North , a significant Nordic project that resumed filming in the Czech Republic on June 15. Pic is based on German author Lucy Fricke’s best-selling novel of the same title and is being directed by Nana Neul ( To Faro ). Producers include Bettina Brokemper of Heimatfilm , whose credits span Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built and Eran Riklis’ Dancing Arabs . Warner Bros Germany is a co-producer and will handle the local release. Also onboard are Giorgos Karnavas and … [Read more...] about Cameras Rolling In Greece On ‘Tochter’, First European Co-Pro To Resume Post-COVID

UK sales and production firm Embankment Films ( The Father, The Wife ) has set a wholesale rejig of its nonfiction arm with four new senior hires. Producers Nick Taussig, Malcolm Neaum, Sophie Harmer, and researcher Henry Farrington will join the company, taking on their new positions with immediate effect. Taussig ( McQueen, Audrey, Killing Escobar ), a BAFTA and Grierson nominated feature documentary producer, will team with Neaum ( I Shouldn’t Be Alive, Savile Row ) to produce unscripted series formats, including returnable series, for Embankment. Those two will be joined by Harmer, who, with Taussig, recently produced the feature docs Call Me Kate and Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and Me . Harmer will be Head of Production Unscripted at Embankment, while Henry Farrington joins as a senior researcher. These four new hires are the latest to be announced by Embankment since veteran UK producer Kevin Loader ( The Death of Stalin, … [Read more...] about Embankment Beefs Up Nonfiction Arm With Four Hires

EXCLUSIVE: Producer Amy Williams has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Waheed AlQawasmi, the writer and director of upcoming indie feature Jacir , starring Lorraine Bracco . The suit also names WAFilms, the production company behind the film. AlQawasmi has hit back, describing the complaint as “without merit”. In the complaint, filed in the Chancery Court for Shelby County, Tennessee, producer Williams claims that AlQawasmi wrongfully removed her name from the film as its lead producer and has failed to pay her the promised compensation for her work on the project. According to the filing, Williams says AlQawasmi approached her in 2016 to help produce the film originally titled My Friend Jacir . The suit claims that Williams procured funding and cast members for the movie, including Bracco, who stars in the film’s lead role. The film completed production in December 2020, at which point the suit claims that AlQawasmi “manufactured” a contract breach on … [Read more...] about Producer Amy Williams Files Lawsuit Against Filmmakers Behind Indie Drama ‘Jacir’ Starring Lorraine Bracco

Amazon is laying off another 9,000 workers as job cuts in the tech sector expand at a time of growing economic uncertainty. It follows cuts last fall and early this year. “Given the uncertain economy in which we reside, and the uncertainty that exists in the near future, we have chosen to be more streamlined in our costs and headcount,” Jassy said in a memo to staff today. “As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan (“OP2”) this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the next few weeks—mostly in AWS, PXT, Advertising, and Twitch. This was a difficult decision, but one that we think is best for the company long term,” he said. (PXT is People eXperience and Technology,) Tech companies have been shedding staff at a rapid clip. Meta Platforms, the corporate parent of Facebook , Instagram and WhatsApp, recently announced plans to cut another 10,000 jobs and undergo a hiring freeze in what CEO Mark … [Read more...] about Amazon Laying Off Thousands More As Job Cuts In Sector Expand