Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios has cut 75 jobs, including two executives involved in “Lightyear,” which was a box office disappointment. This marks the first significant job cuts at the studio in 10 years. Walt Disney Co has removed certain produced content from its direct-to-consumer services and will record a $1.5 billion impairment charge in its fiscal third-quarter financial statements. Taiwan’s Shinehouse theatre group is showcasing a Hong Kong play about Tiananmen Square to mark the 34th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing. Netflix shareholders have withheld support for the company’s executive pay package. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord have built new worlds for the sequel.
In accordance with the latest findings of devdiscourse.com, Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios has recently cut 75 positions, including two executives behind the box office disappointment “Lightyear.” This marks the first significant job cuts at the studio in a decade. Among those who were let go were “Lightyear” director Angus MacLane, who had been a 26-year animator and part of the senior creative team on such acclaimed films as “Toy Story 4” and “Coco,” as well as Galyn Susman, producer of “Lightyear,” who had been at Pixar since the release of the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995.
In addition, Disney has removed certain produced content from its direct-to-consumer (DTC) services and will record a related $1.5 billion impairment charge in its fiscal third-quarter financial statements. This move comes as the company continues to navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.
Meanwhile, a Taiwan theatre is showcasing a Hong Kong play about Tiananmen Square to mark the 34th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing. The play, called “35th of May,” is about parents grieving for their son killed in Tiananmen Square. It is being put on by Taiwan’s Shinehouse theatre group with the support of rights group Amnesty International. The play not only sheds light on the events of 1989 but also speaks to the shrinking freedoms in Hong Kong.
Netflix Inc shareholders recently withheld their support for the company’s executive pay package in a non-binding vote. This followed a call by striking Hollywood writers to reject the proposed 2023 compensation. The Writers Guild of America West had urged investors to vote against the compensation offered to Netflix’s top executives, arguing that such a vote would be “inappropriate” during the strike, which has now entered its fifth week.
Finally, American film-producing and writing duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord are seeking to build new worlds in their sequel to 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” The film, called “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” aims to immerse audiences in a web of animated adventure by broadening the stories of the Spider people. Miller and Lord are determined to weave a combination of art and heart into the movie, which is sure to be highly anticipated by fans of the franchise.
Basically, the entertainment industry is constantly evolving, and these recent developments highlight the challenges faced by studios, companies, and artists alike. From job cuts to creative endeavors, it will be interesting to see how these stories continue to unfold in the coming weeks and months.
