News

Fumi Kitahara, the animation publicist who guided award-winning campaigns for DreamWorks, Aardman, Laika, Netflix, Disney and independent studios during her distinguished 30-plus years in the industry, has died. She was 56.

Kitahara died Monday in Los Angeles of complications related to her long battle with a rare blood cancer, a spokesperson for Walt Disney Animation announced.

Among the many acclaimed animated features she helped to publicize are the first three Shrek films, Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, How to Train Your Dragon, Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, Over the Moon and The Sea Beast.

She also oversaw the awards campaigns for numerous Oscar-winning shorts, including such recent titles as The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse and War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.

Born on March 2, 1968, Kitahara graduated from California State University Northridge with a degree in business marketing.

Everardo Gout has signed on to direct action thriller Clementine, a co-production between Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios and Yeardley Smith and Ben Cornwell’s U.S. independent production company Paperclip Ltd.

Gout will direct from the 2022 Black List script by David L. Williams, with Paperclip’s Jordan Foley, Nick Smith and Ben Cornwell and AGC’s Ford producing. Paperclip’s Smith, AGC’s Lorelle Lynch and Gout will executive produce. AGC Studios will fully finance the film and AGC International will handle worldwide sales. Casting is underway for an early 2025 start.

Set in real time, Clementine is a young mother in Miami who barely escapes a pawn shop shootout and goes on the run from her violent ex-husband, a terrifying mob boss, and a relentless hitwoman, all while protecting her young diabetic daughter.

“As a thriller, Clementine has the real-time...

Stars: Renny Grames, K.C. Clyde, Joseph Reidhead, Austin Archer, Charan Prabhakar, Barta Heiner | Written by Boston McConnaughey, Renny Grames | Directed by Boston McConnaughey

Director Boston McConnaughey co-wrote Alien Country with Renny Grames who, as well as being one of the film’s stars, is also his wife and collaborator on several shorts for their YouTube Channel. The film grew out of the making of those shorts and, from the start of writing to release, took up nine years of their lives. That’s a lot of time to invest in a project, was the finished product worth it?

Alien Country gets off to a fast start as a dirt bike rider runs from the police. Despite going off-road and jumping a river, he eventually finds himself trapped. He releases a strange glowing object from his bag before making a run for it on foot.

Nineteen years later Everly is making her own exit on foot,...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

In Possessions, actor Clive Standen stars as Pete, a grieving father who moves his 10-year-old son across the country after a tragic accident that took the life of his wife. Hoping to get a fresh start, he buys a storage unit facility that he thinks will be easy money but instead contains something far more sinister than peoples belongings. When his young son, Tyler (Mason Wells), begins to exhibit strange behavior, he employs the help of psychologist Dr. Young (Yeardley Smith), but he soon learns that whats happening to the boy is every fathers worst nightmare.

MovieWeb recently caught up with Clive Standen and Yeardley Smith to discuss the dark, psychological journey of their new horror film, Possessions. We touched on Smiths role in the film as both an executive producer and an actor and what intrigued Standen enough to say yes to the part.

Clive Standen felt he was lucky to have a job like Vikings and that the camaraderie of the cast and crew was unparalleled. Travis Fimmel set a great example on set, leading to a feeling of fellowship among the team. The experience of working on Vikings taught Standen that you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

For seven years, History Channel's Vikings captivated viewers with the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok and his family, as the historical drama gave audiences a glimpse into Norse mythology. Clive Standen, who for five seasons portrayed Ragnar's brother, Rollo, knows how special that role was for his career. Looking back on it all now, he says the relationship the cast and crew had on the series is unlike anything he's experienced since.

Speaking with MovieWeb to promote his new horror film, Possessions (May 3), Standen reminisced about his time on Vikings, calling it a "well-oiled machine,...

Yeardley Smith has been voicing Lisa Simpson for over 35 years, finding her to be the best version of a human being. Despite her success in live-action roles, Smith feels grateful for the opportunity to be creative through voice acting. Smith has no plans to step down from voicing Lisa Simpson, even if The Simpsons were to continue for another 20 years.

For over 35 years, Yeardley Smith has voiced the character of Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons, which is not only the longest-running American animated series in history, but the longest-running American sitcom as well. First lending her voice to the role in 1987 for some short skits on The Tracey Ullman Show, Smith's high-pitched tone became a staple on TV in 1989 when The Simpsons made its standalone debut. While some actors might get tired of portraying the same character over such a long stretch of time, Smith says she can't ever imagine...