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"Dragonheart," released twenty years ago this week, was a live-action film that had one of the first digital characters you could believe in. We talk to the ILM artists who created it.

The post An Oral History of ILM’s ‘Dragonheart’ On Its 20th Anniversary appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Usher headlined the “Bigger Than Words” webcast at Scholastic headquarters. The Grammy Award-winning recording artist (pictured, via) took part to support the “Open a World of Possible” literacy initiative.

During the event, one kid in the audience asked Usher who he would recruit for a book club. The entertainer named actor Morgan Freeman, actress Scarlett Johansson, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and cartoon superstar SpongeBob SquarePants.

Usher later sat for an interview with Vulture and confessed that he forgot to mention that he also wants Sean Connery to be a member of his book club. Follow this link to watch a full replay of the webcast.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

"Sir Billi" is to Scotland what "Toy Story" is to the United States—the country's first CGI animated feature. It's being distributed to ho

Typically, a cheesy low-budget animated feature would be lucky to get one major Hollywood name involved with it. Not so in the case of Sir Billi, a film that continues to fascinate for its sheer grotesquery. As it turns out, Sean Connery and Alan Cumming aren’t the only significant names involved with Scotland’s first (and one can only hope, last) CG feature. The film’s score was composed by Patrick Doyle, who scored another Scottish-themed CG feature as well—Pixar’s Brave.

In the first video below, you can hear Patrick Doyle and Sean Connery speak about Sir Billi in a way that makes them appear totally disconnected from reality. You can also hear some of Sir Billi‘s title song, which is performed by another legend who somehow became involved with the film, vocalist Shirley Bassey:

In the second video, we hear from Tessa Hartmann, who wrote the script and produced the film with her husband.

Would you watch a film about a senior citizen skateboarding veterinarian voiced by Sean Connery? What happens if I told you this veterinarian has a sidekick: a gay goat in Kill Bill-style spandex with bladder control issues? Still not convinced. What if skateboarding Sean Connery and his gay goat were on a mission to save Scotland’s last beaver, Bessie Boo? This is the compelling plotline of Scotland’s first CG animated feature, Sir Billi, written and directed by the husband-and-wife team of Sascha and Tessa Hartmann.

We’ve been following Sir Billi since 2010 and we’re going to keep following it until it wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. The film has a newly released trailer:

The new Sir Billi trailer has a more adult vibe than the earlier preview which focused on the high-octane beaver-saving elements of the film:

The only review of Sir Billi I could find online was clearly written by someone that hates skateboarding senior citizens who befriend incontinent goats and save beavers. Plus, any family movie with a double entendre tagline like this can’t be all bad:

(Thanks, David OReilly)

Diane Cilento is staying at The Hughenden in Sydney, preparing for her new show with Century Venues. She is an Academy Award winning nominee for Tom Jones, and former starlett with lots of style and beauty and charm.  She still is in different ways. 

She’s passonate about her  Karnak Playhouse and Rainforest Sanctuary - a spectacular amphitheatre with the backdrop of the Daintree National Park, one hour’s drive north of Cairns. She’s also committed to natural health and brought some big avocardos from Queensland. She’s funny playing around and added them to her chest.  It was a funny afternoon.