Animated Views Celebrity Obituary Thread

[Ben]

"This house is clean."

[GeorgeC]

James posted the headline on the website's front page.

It's not a big surprise to me.

The studio just didn't have the huge hit it needed to stay viable and the world economic climate is not conducive to maintaining a large studio presence without a regular cashflow.

Astro Boy bombing as bad as it did really surprised me but I guess the old saying is true -- if it ain't based on anime made within the past 2 years, there's just no audience for it!

I don't really think the Gatchaman CG film will ever be finished. Frankly, all that's done as far as I know are development sketches, storyboards, and paintings. I haven't heard a peep about cast recordings!

Unless your name is Disney or Dreamworks, a large studio just isn't going to survive now. Even Diz and DW regularly lay off people and recruit outsiders/former employees to work on new projects. Nobody outside of Pixar maintains anything like a staff of over 100 animators nowadays...

[Ben]

It's a shame because AstroBoy seems to be doing fairly well over here in the UK and we have the half-term school break coming up next week so that will boost things more. Not sure how the film was doing overseas internationally, but Imagi needed it to be a hit in the US too, which didn't happen.

All "independent" animation studios are hit-dependent. Pixar enjoys the umbrella of Disney now, but how long would they have survived if the riskier projects after Cars all proved to be duds?

True that they keep staff on, unlike Disney which is again hit-dependent because they still don't have a running program up and running (though I thought the shorts program and mix of CG and hand-drawn was supposed to "fix" this?).

But even DreamWorks can be called an independent, if even on a Lucas-styled studio level. That's why we get so many commercial properties from them and the mountains of franchises and sequels...it has been said that two real flops in a row could kill DWs if they didn't have anyone to come to their rescue. Given the money they make, you'd expect Spielberg to dip into his pocket at least, but on the other hand a quick sale (to Paramount, or Disney?) would be the more likely thing.

The sad point with Imagi is that they should have tried to link with a strong studio partner, like Blue Sky did with Fox. Their first film, TMNT, was a moderate success for Warners, but they didn't follow up with that relationship. It would have been easy for WB to pony up enough to retain them as an animation supplier, but that studio seems to be too in awe of Animal Logic, who just started Happy Feet 2, joy of joys

Not saying Astro didn't have commercial ambitions, but their upcoming slate - also including the once DreamWorks bound Tusker - sounded interesting and off the beaten track. Hopefully the core management group will still find other homes for some of these, and maybe Imagi may still exist in some form of staff if not in the name.

[EricJ]

It's a shame because AstroBoy seems to be doing fairly well over here in the UK and we have the half-term school break coming up next week so that will boost things more. Not sure how the film was doing overseas internationally, but Imagi needed it to be a hit in the US too, which didn't happen.

I liked it, but I'll concede, to disinterested bystanders it looked too "minor"--
The audience over here had become too jaded in the same year as "Space Chimps", "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Battle For Terra", and now assumes that if it isn't from a studio they've heard of, it's probably some corny and generic lil' wannabe...."And at least those were in 3-D!"
That's how the 90's 2-D wannabes started to decline, after we stopped going to Swan Princess sequels, which is a shame, since Imagi seemed to have put a lot more heart and interest into their wannabe than the real loser-indies did.

That most kids younger than studio execs didn't know who Astro was--apart from the fact that he looked like Bob's Big Boy--was certainly a factor, and while the reviews were mixed positive, most didn't praise it so much as tolerate it.
I wasn't particularly looking forward to Gatchaman, but in retrospect it was nice to have a studio that DID have enough personal love to do their pop-culture homework when they took on a pop franchise.

[EricJ]

The audience over here had become too jaded about journeyman indies in the same year as "Space Chimps", "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Battle For Terra", and now assumes that if it isn't from a studio they've heard of, it's probably some corny and generic lil' wannabe...."And at least those were in 3-D!"

(And the October release wasn't so much a factor as, say, the December release was in hurting Disney's P&tF, but think a lot more audiences would've noticed it in spring than in fall...That usually seems to be the time for indies, but we already had the above-mentioned flood of them.)

[estefan]

I'm really disappointed by this as I quite liked TMNT and Astro Boy, but after the latter bombed, I had a feeling the studio wouldn't have lasted particularly long. They really should have stayed with Warner Brothers, as they seem to be the only major studio right now who doesn't their own animation studio under their wing.

Though I would also place the fault behind this at Summitt Entertainment, who do an awful job at marketing anything that doesn't have glittering vampires. It's kind of sad when a Best Picture frontrunner hasn't even made $20 million (though The Hurt Locker is making a killing on the home video market thanks to the awards buzz).

[Ben]

They really should have stayed with Warner Brothers, as they seem to be the only major studio right now who doesn't their own animation studio under their wing.

TMNT was a moderate success for Warners, but they didn't follow up with that relationship. It would have been easy for WB to pony up enough to retain them as an animation supplier, but that studio seems to be too in awe of Animal Logic, who just started Happy Feet 2, joy of joys

[Ben]

More on this from Hollywood Reporter; seems this is Imagi's parent company shielding itself from becoming bogged down with the studio's financial problems:

'Astro Boy' studio Imagi closes
'TMNT' producer lost $93 mil in half-year to Sept. 30

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong studio behind "TMNT" and "Astro Boy" has shut down as its parent company tries to recover from losses.

Imagi International Holdings Ltd. said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it stopped funding its computer animation studio on Friday "to further preserve its limited liquidity and shareholder value." The studio will ask a Hong Kong court to name liquidators, the statement issued Monday said.

But Imagi said it will continue to develop movie ideas and outsource the actual animation work to China and other countries, where costs are lower.

Starting out as a Christmas tree manufacturer, the Hong Kong company went into computer animation in 2000 and was touted as a successful transition to a high-tech economy. In 2007, Imagi released its first feature movie, "TMNT." The English-language production based on the characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoon series in the 1980s earned a solid $95.6 million worldwide, according to the boxoffice tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.

But Imagi's second release, "Astro Boy," fared poorly last year. Despite hiring an all-star cast including Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson to voice the characters from the Japanese comic book series by the same name, the film only made $23 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

In its latest financial results, Imagi said it recorded a net loss of 726 million Hong Kong dollars ($93.4 million) for the six months that ended on Sept. 30, 2009 -- just before "Astro Boy" was released in October.

Imagi also owes some HK$36 million ($4.6 million) in back pay to the 350 employees it laid off, Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing labor organizers working with the former employees.

A woman handling press calls for Imagi said the company had no comment pending a further statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. She declined to give her name.

[James]

The story linked to an the article has more too:

The Hong Kong studio behind "TMNT" and "Astro Boy" has shut down as its parent company tries to recover from losses.

Imagi International Holdings Ltd. said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it stopped funding its computer animation studio on Feb. 5 "to further preserve its limited liquidity and shareholder value." The studio will ask a Hong Kong court to name liquidators, the statement issued Monday said.

But Imagi said it will continue to develop movie ideas and outsource the actual animation work to mainland China and other countries, where costs are lower.

Starting out as a Christmas tree manufacturer, the Hong Kong company went into computer animation in 2000 and was touted as a successful transition to a high-tech economy. In 2007, Imagi released its first feature movie, "TMNT." The English-language production based on the characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoon series in the 1980s earned a solid $95.6 million worldwide, according to the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo.


But Imagi's second release, "Astro Boy," fared poorly last year. Despite hiring an all-star cast including Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson to voice the characters from the Japanese comic book series by the same name, the film only made $23 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

In its latest financial results, Imagi said it recorded a net loss of 726 million Hong Kong dollars ($93.4 million) for the six months that ended on Sept. 30, 2009 — just before "Astro Boy" was released in October.

Imagi also owes some HK$36 million ($4.6 million) in back pay to the 350 employees it laid off, Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing labor organizers working with the former employees.

A woman handling press calls for Imagi said the company had no comment pending a further statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. She declined to give her name.

[Ben]

Haha! Both ABC and THR both sourced an Associated Press story!

[GeorgeC]

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=484341&gt1=28103

Pretty much confirmed...

Vancouver police discovered the body of actor Andrew Koenig in a park Thursday.

Koenig, the son of Star Trek's Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), had gone missing February 14th and friends and family became concerned for his health and well-being in light of his recent erratic behavior and history of depression.

No cause of death has been publicized yet.

His parents were supposed to be holding a press conference today...


****************

I feel lousy for poor Walter and his wife, Judith.

I kind of thought this is how it might end up but had hoped Andrew might pull through and not become another sad statistic.

Granted, he's had a hard time in the acting community since his "Growing Pains" days but I had hoped he wouldn't go down this path.

I just hope this doesn't kill his parents.

Believe me, I know more than a bit about the impact of sudden death and suicide in families. This is the kind of thing that sticks with the surviving members of family for the rest of their lives. It endures for decades and affects their descendants, too.

[Randall]

Aw, crap. This is so sad. I only just recently found out the connection with Walter, but this is tragic regardless. No doubt this is very hard on the family.

[GeorgeC]

Suicide. It was suicide.

God, what a waste.

I saw part of the Koenig press conference from last night on EOnline.com ...

Walter was composed but he just seemed so old and tired.

You could visibly feel the guy's pain.

He had good words of advice for anybody that feels depressed and feeling alone... Get help, look for it. Someone's out there to help.

*********

I hope this doesn't kill Walter...

It happened in my family a long time ago, well before I was born.

Even though the family members it directly affected are long gone, believe me when I say the effects of suicide don't leave your family for a very, very long time.

You could go into all the philosophical and religious reasons for NOT committing suicide but one thing a lot of people would agree on is that it leaves huge emotional scars on the family members and friends who are left behind.

I have firsthand experience with 2 suicides and 1 attempt. What it does to families is not pretty.

[ibrmacf]

Actor Fess Parker has died at age 85. I know he didn't really have much, if anything, to do with animation; but if you're a Disney fanatic like me, you will miss him. Some of his Disney credits include Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Old Yeller, etc. You can read more here:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/03/18/f ... tml?hpt=T2

[ohmahaaha]

Farewell, Disney legend ... glad he lived a good long life.