Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios has cut 75 positions, including two executives behind “Lightyear,” in the studio’s first significant job cuts in a decade. A Taiwan theatre is showcasing a Hong Kong play about Tiananmen Square to mark the 34th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing. Hollywood’s major studios have reached a tentative labor agreement with the union representing film and television directors, likely averting a work stoppage that would have put pressure on media companies to settle with striking writers. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) will ask its 19,000 members to approve the three-year contract.
In light of the recent report by Devdiscourse, Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios has laid off 75 positions, including two executives who worked on the box office disappointment film “Lightyear.” This is the first significant job cut at the studio in a decade. The job cuts included “Lightyear” director Angus MacLane, a 26-year animator who was part of the senior creative team on such acclaimed films as “Toy Story 4” and “Coco.” Galyn Susman, producer of “Lightyear,” also departed. Susman had been at Pixar since the release of the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995.
In other news, a Taiwan theatre is showcasing a Hong Kong play about Tiananmen Square to mark the 34th anniversary of the crackdown in Beijing. The play, “35th of May,” is about parents grieving for their son killed in Tiananmen Square. The play is being put on by Taiwan’s Shinehouse theatre group, with the support of rights group Amnesty International. The play sheds light on the shrinking freedoms in the former British colony as it does about the 1989 bloodshed.
Finally, Hollywood’s major studios reached a tentative labor agreement with the union representing film and television directors, likely averting a work stoppage that would have piled pressure on media companies to settle with striking writers. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) will ask its 19,000 members to approve the three-year contract, which was announced late on Saturday after three weeks of talks.
These are some of the latest updates in the entertainment industry. The job cuts at Pixar are a significant development, as the studio has been a major player in the animation industry for decades. The layoffs come after “Lightyear” failed to meet expectations at the box office, which may have contributed to the decision to cut jobs. The play “35th of May” highlights the ongoing struggles for freedom in Hong Kong, which has been under increasing pressure from China in recent years. Finally, the agreement between Hollywood’s major studios and the DGA is a positive development, as it helps to avoid a potential work stoppage that could have disrupted the industry.
