Shane Acker
Shane Richard Acker (born 1971) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter and animation teacher known for directing '' 9'', which is based on his 2005 Academy Award-nominated short film of the same title. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. Early life As a child, Acker was hyperactive, so his parents encouraged him to draw. Acker originally set a goal of becoming an architect; he earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Florida in 1994 as well as a master's degree from the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. Career Upon graduating in 1999, Acker decided to become a film-maker and went to study at UCLA's Animation Workshop. There he created ''The Hangnail'', ''The Astounding Talents of Mr. Grenade'', and '' 9''. In 2004, Acker earned a master's degree in animation. ''9'' took him four and a half years to complete and was released in 2005. Acker concurrently held a position at Wētā FX in 2004 as an animator, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-most populous municipality in the state. History Founding The city dates its founding to the period between 1831 and 1837, following the Indian Removal Act, when Erastus Gary laid claim to of land near present-day Warrenville. The Wheaton brothers arrived from Connecticut, and in 1837, Warren L. Wheaton laid claim to of land in the center of town. Jesse Wheaton later made claim to of land just west of Warren's. It was not long before other settlers from New England joined them in the community. In 1848, they gave the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad of right-of-way, upon which railroad officials named the depot Wheaton. In 1850, ten blocks of land were platted and anyone who was willing to build immediately was granted free land. In 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (, ; ; born 25 June 1961) is a Kazakh-born Russian film director, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic '' Night Watch'' (2004) and the action thriller '' Wanted'' (2008), as well as for the pioneering screenlife films '' Unfriended'' (2015), '' Searching'' (2018) and '' Profile'' (2018). He founded Baselevs, a production company that earned a spot among the 2021 World's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Video, according to '' Fast Company''. Early life Bekmambetov was born on 25 June 1961 in the city of Atyrau, formerly known as Guriev. After graduation from school, Bekmambetov entered the Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1979 and left it in 1980, on the eve of the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was deported from Moscow on the grounds of being "unreliable" and moved to Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, to study at the Alexander Ostrovsky Theatrical and Artistic Institute, from which he graduated in 1987 w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turner Laing. Orton alone took over the company in 1989 after learning Henson intended to sell the company to The Walt Disney Company. HIT owned as well as distributed children's television series such as ''Thomas & Friends'', ''Fireman Sam'', ''Bob the Builder'', ''Pingu'', ''Barney & Friends'', and ''Angelina Ballerina (TV series), Angelina Ballerina''. HIT Entertainment was one of several partner companies alongside NBCUniversal, PBS, and Sesame Workshop that founded Universal Kids, PBS Kids Sprout; many of HIT's shows aired on the channel as a result. On 1 February 2012, HIT Entertainment was acquired by Mattel, as Mattel was initially only interested in the ''Thomas & Friends'' brand in its acquisition, according to ''Deadline Hollywood' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945, Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. It is the world's second largest toy maker in terms of revenue, after the Lego Group. Two of its historic and most valuable brands, Barbie and Hot Wheels, were respectively named the top global toy property and the top-selling global toy of the year for 2020 and 2021 by the NPD Group, a global information research company. History Origins and early years Businessman Harold "Matt" Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Elliot and Ruth Handler, Ruth Handler founded Mattel as Mattel Creations in January 1945 in a garage in Los Angeles. The company name chosen is a portmanteau of the surname of Mat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wētā Workshop
Wētā Workshop is a creative company delivering concept design, special effects, props, collectibles, immersive visitor experiences and video games. Based in Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand. It also offers two tourism experiences, the Wētā Workshop Experiences Wellington Tour and Wētā Workshop Unleashed in Auckland. It is known for effects for television and film. History Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Wētā Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and effects for films such as ''Meet the Feebles'' and ''Heavenly Creatures''. A digital version, Weta Digital (now Wētā FX), was formed in 1993 and operates independently as a separate company. The company is named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects. Wētā Workshop's output was used in director Peter Jackson's film trilogies ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Josh Klausner
Josh Klausner is an American screenwriter who wrote '' Date Night'' (2010) and '' Shrek Forever After'' (2010). Biography Early life Josh Klausner graduated from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. After college, he won a Sundance Student Academy Award for a short film he had made. Career He started his career in the movie industry as an assistant for '' Dumb & Dumber'' in 1994. He then worked as the second unit director for '' Kingpin'' in 1996, '' There’s Something About Mary'' in 1998, '' Me, Myself & Irene'' in 2000, and ''Shallow Hal'' in 2001.Stuart MillerJosh Klausner: Learned about laughs on the set '' Variety'', December 3, 2010 He was the screenwriter of '' The 4th Floor'' (1999), '' Date Night'' (2010), and '' Shrek Forever After'' (2010). In 2018, he was replaced by Jon Croker in the screenwriting of the animated film adaptation of '' High in the Clouds''. Personal life He is married to Hyatt Bass, a novelist and Texas oil heiress. They have two sons. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Will McRobb And Chris Viscardi
Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi are a team of American show-creators, writers and producers of television and screenwriters. They are best known as the co-creators of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Nickelodeon television series ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete''. Critics have called this quirky and heartfelt ode to growing up "one of the best kids' shows ever". ''Los Angeles Times'' TV critic Robert Lloyd said of the show, "By rendering the ordinary events of childhood and adolescence — staying up late, hating shop class, discovering music, ruing the end of summer — as the epic stuff of legend, the series captured the actual depth and intensity of feeling that comes with being young. Poignant without being sentimental, oddball but never merely weird, the show was made to be 'funny, sad, strange and beautiful'." The series was also known for its music and special guest stars. Over its 39 episodes, ''Pete & Pete'' featured Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Steve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for television by Britt Allcroft. The series centers on List of Thomas & Friends characters, various anthropomorphic engines as well as other vehicles living on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. Initially being filmed in live action on model sets, whereas the latter half of its run was produced using Computer-generated imagery, CGI, over 500 episodes were produced over the course of 24 series. In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series, ''Shining Time Station'', on PBS' PTV Park block on 29 January 1989, while broadcast of the series did shift over time, it later aired on PBS Kids up until 2017. The rights to the series are currently owned by HIT Entertainment (a subsidiary of Mattel), w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Aristomenis Tsirbas
Aristomenis (Meni) Tsirbas is a film director, producer, writer, editor, animator, concept designer, storyboard artist, and visual effects supervisor. He has directed two feature films, several national television commercials, music videos, and short films. Meni's films have received over two dozen international awards from film festivals such as Sundance, Hollywood, and Palm Springs. He is president of MeniThings Productions. Background Meni was born in Montreal, Canada where he majored in film production at Concordia University. After directing commercials at his Montreal company, Trimension, Meni moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to work as a CG artist on James Cameron’s ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' and national advertising spots for Nike, 7UP and Coca-Cola. He then rose to VFX supervisor for Miramax’s ''A Wrinkle in Time'', Disney's ''My Favorite Martian (film), My Favorite Martian'' and Paramount’s ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. In 1999, Tsirbas returned to directi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gnomon School Of Visual Effects
Gnomon is a for-profit college located in the NoHo Arts District in North Hollywood, California. The school focuses on artistic and technical training for careers in the visual effects and games industries. It was founded in 1997 by Alex Alvarez. Gnomon was originally created to train industry artists, though it has evolved into a more all-encompassing art school. In March 2011, Fast Company included Gnomon in its list of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in Film. Academics Gnomon offers two-, and four-year (three-year optional by waiving summer break) training options in Entertainment Design and Digital Production, as well as individual and online courses, various software workshops, online Master Classes, and the Gnomon Gallery, which was created to showcase art from the entertainment industry and Gnomon students. Gnomon is approved as a non-degree vocational institution from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Commi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the United States. The university includes the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, the College of Business Administration, the School of Film and Television, the College of Communication & Fine Arts, and the School of Education. It is the parent school to Loyola Law School. LMU offers 55 major and 58 minor undergraduate programs and 47 master's degree programs, a education doctorate, a doctorate in juridical science, a doctorate in business administration, a Juris Doctor, and 13 credential programs. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". LMU's sports teams are called the Lions and compete at the NCAA Division I level as members of the West Coa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of North American cities by population, fourth-most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. As of 2024, the census metropolitan area had an estimated population of 7,106,379. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multiculturalism, multicultural and cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |