‘Nimona’ Team Talk Quest To Complete Film Against The Odds & Surprise ‘Star Wars’ Villain Who Sparked The Original Character – Annecy

Christopher Vourlias The release of “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire,” a pan-African Disney Plus Original animated series that will drop globally on the streaming platform on July 5, could be a game-changer for an African animation industry that continues to scale new heights. Executive produced by Oscar winner Peter Ramsey (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), Anthony Silverston of South African animation house Triggerfish, and Tandayi Nyeke, the 10-part anthology series offers a dizzying blend of mythology, science fiction and Afrofuturism, presenting 10 bold, wholly original visions of the future from a distinctly African perspective. The series, which is produced by Triggerfish, features animators from six African countries drawing on their own ancient histories, folklores and contemporary urban landscapes to reimagine a world populated with cyborg cattle, flying minibus-taxis, radioactive octopi and robotic birds. Collectively, they present a portrait of the continent that’s never been seen before.

Naman Ramachandran The beloved “Famous Five” stories of Enid Blyton are being reimagined for the BBC and ZDF by Nicolas Winding Refn. The 3 x 90′ series is based on the 21 “Famous Five” novels and short stories Blyton wrote between 1942 and 1963. The series follows five daring young explorers as they encounter treacherous, action-packed adventures, remarkable mysteries, unparalleled danger and astounding secrets. It is created for television and executive produced by Winding Refn (byNWR) and Matthew Read (Moonage Pictures), in co-production with ZDF in Germany. The French territory is already presold to TF1. Filming is currently underway across the southwest of the U.K.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent High-flying Madrid-based Caballo Films, behind Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts” and “Riot Police” and Borja Soler’s “The Route,” has put into development a fiction series adaptation of Mabel Lozano’s prized same-titled non-fiction work. Shaping up as a deep drill-down into the growth of prostitution in Spain into large-scale organized crime, “El Proxeneta” packs a powerful talent package of creator-writers Isabel Peña, co-writer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas” and “Riot Police,” and Eduardo Villanueva, a co-scribe on “Riot Police” and producer on “Stockholm.”  Pilar Palomero, a Spanish Academy Goya best picture winner for “Schoolgirls,” will direct the series, her first TV work beyond one episode of “Venga Juan.”

Toyah Willcox and husband Robert Fripp have returned with the latest instalment of their Sunday Lunch cover series, this week perfoming ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ by Cream while literally covering themselves in cream.The new cover sees Willcox pour cream all over her head and leather top, while Fripp performs guitar in a black shirt and white tie.“Take your guitar off, baby,” Willcox says, before she pushes his head into her cream-covered chest. “Oh, that’s not fair,” Fripp says, to which Willcox replies: “But it’s fun.”The pair then laugh together at the spectacle before the video ends.

Apple have sent out an urgent warning to millions of iPhone users to get them to check their settings for security updates now.

The Duchess of Edinburgh's caring gesture towards the King during the Royal Ascot suggested “hints of concern”, according to a body language expert.

A couple have vowed to never visit a popular holiday destination again after being served a "tiny" piece of fish in their chippy tea. The "shameful" portion measured just four inches, Mike Turner and wife Jane said, but still cost them £15.

An 11-year-old boy feel 15ft from a set of rocks at a Scots harbour sparking a huge rescue mission.

Losing weight is a huge endeavour and it's understandable for anyone hoping to slim down to go back to the basics.

Elton John raised the roof at Glastonbury last night in what could be the Rocketman singer’s last ever performance, and he was watched by more than 7M viewers on the BBC.

Drive auteur Nicholas Winding Refn is is forging a TV adaptation of The Famous Five for the BBC and ZDF.

Planet Of Lana, developer Wishfully and publisher Thunderful have told NME that it was the right call to make the platformer a day-one Xbox Game Pass title.Planet Of Lana launched for Xbox and PC on May 23, and was available from day one on Xbox’s Game Pass subscription service — joining the likes of Redfall, High On Life, and Hi-Fi Rush in doing so.While there have been questions on whether Game Pass cannibalises the sales of games on its catalogue, Adam Stjärnljus — Planet Of Lana’s creative director and Wishfully’s co-founder — says it was the right choice for his team.“For us at Wishfully, being an indie studio releasing our first game, it has been invaluable,” Stjärnljus tells NME. “It lowers the entry bar for players to discover and try our game with a huge potential to bring over players that normally might not gravitate towards the puzzle platformer genre as well.

K-pop boyband SHINee have made a comeback with their new single and album ‘Hard’.On June 26 at 6pm KST, the SM Entertainment boyband dropped their eighth studio album ‘Hard’ and a vibrant music video for its lead single of the same name.In the new visual, the members perform to the track from a trippy set modelled after the inside of a piano. In other scenes, solo shots of them glitch into one another as they dance.“Hard like a criminal, hard like the beat / Hard like ma flow (Mmm, tasty) / Yeah, strike a pose, take a bite / Who’s coming? / We go hard, oh, catch a fright?,” they chant on the chorus.Including ‘Hard’, the group’s new studio album comprises a total of 10 tracks.

XG have shared a cover of TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’.On June 25, XG released the fifth video of their ‘XG VOX’ series on YouTube, which features cover performances by the girl group’s vocalists. In the new clip, Hinata, Juria and Chisa each perform a solo cover before teaming up for their rendition of TLC’s 1999 hit ‘No Scrubs’.Hinata opens the clip with her take on Kriz and WOODZ’s 2018 song ‘Bad’, singing in Korean and English.

Emmerdale is about to explode a bombshell of a storyline for Jai Sharma as he makes a shocking discovery that shakes his world to its core. Jai (Chris Bisson) starts off tonight's (Monday) episode in high spirits as partner Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) makes a huge commitment to him.

Brainteasers are a quick way to keep your mind sharp, helping you to think outside of the box to find a solution.

A warning has been issued as an upcoming heatwave could see temperatures soar to 40C next month.

Ex On The Beach star Declan Doyle was left reeling after the "disgusting" behaviour from hotel staff whilst he was on a trip to the Dominican Republic with his daughter when they quizzed him on the 11-year-old's relation to him.

Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty and Gordon Ramsay 's daughter Holly put on a loved-up display after jetting off on a romantic getaway to Rome. The new couple revealed they were officially dating last month and have since headed off on their first holiday together. The famous chef's daughter, 23, and swimming champ, 28, weren't afraid of some PDA as they were snapped sharing a kiss while taking a stroll through the city's streets.

Shock new data reveals that there have been almost 4,000 complaints of anti-social behaviour at 22 Motherwell tower blocks in recent years.

Keith Lasley admits he never picked up on the special connection between the home support and their beloved Buddies in his playing days.

Love Island 's Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page have just expanded their family with a furry addition, rescuing a dog from Spain. The smitten pair took to Instagram to introduce their furry bundle of joy to their fans in a heartwarming Instagram post.Tasha and Andrew couldn't contain their excitement as they posed alongside Luna in the home they share in East London, captioning the post: “We the cool dog parents now, Luna we love you so much! Thank you @aloradogrescue and Homeward bound for getting her to us safely.

Just as Junior's 18th birthday celebrations are over, Peter Andre is starting to prepare for the next milestone in his kids' lives. With Princess' 16th birthday coming up on June 29, the dad-of-four says he "can't believe" his eldest daughter is reaching that age. But when it comes to exact plans, it seems that Princess is a bit indecisive on what she'd like to do to celebrate.

A West Lothian-based dementia nurse has been honoured at a glittering awards ceremony.

It was the court case that gripped the nation, but over a year after the Wagatha Christie trial ended and Rebekah Vardy lost her libel claim against Coleen Rooney, we can reveal tensions are still running high between the warring wags. And following reports last week that Rebekah, 41, is disputing Coleen’s £1.8 million legal bill, a source has told new that Coleen, 37, could resort to “embarrassing” measures if her fees aren’t paid back soon. When Becky lost the case last July and the judge ruled that she had in fact been regularly passing information about Coleen to the press (which she denied), she was ordered by the courts to pay 90% of her rival’s legal fees.

Harrison Ford has confirmed that he has no plans to retire from acting just yet.The actor – who is stepping back from his iconic role as the titular character in the Indiana Jones franchise after the fifth and final instalment, Dial of Destiny – has shared that retiring altogether is not a prospect for him.“I don’t,” Ford replied to CNN in a new interviews after being asked if he had plans to retire. “I don’t do well when I don’t have work. I love to work.

Muse have announced new 2023 UK and Ireland arena tour dates – see the full list of dates below and get ticket details here.The Devon trio released new album ‘Will Of The People’ last year and last night (June 25) finished up a summer tour of the UK and Europe with Royal Blood.In late September, they will begin a short run of new UK and Ireland dates in Dublin, with a date in Manchester and two in London following. Support on the shows comes from Nova Twins.See the list of new dates below.

Kamal Haasan, one of the biggest stars of India’s Tamil-language film industry, has joined Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Disha Patani in the cast of Telugu sci-fi epic Project K.

Idris Elba, Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson Lead King Charles III Environmental Short

Prime Video’s unscripted originals push in the Nordics is continuing.

Claire Sweeney is having the time of her life - just as the perimenopause strikes.The actress, 52, is thrilled to have landed the role of Cassandra Plummer on Coronation Street and is happy at home with her son Jaxon, eight. Starting the perimenopause - the time just before the menopause - means that Claire has mild symptoms including anxiety. However, her doctor is helping her keep things under control - and she’s yet to have a hot flush.

Ben Croll Long before celebrating the world premiere of “Nimona” at a hilltop castle high above Annecy, ND Stevenson devised the character out of sheer necessity. “I was an extremely depressed art student, I was 19 years old, and I was struggling,” he tells Variety.  “I was really trying to find myself and figure out who I was, and Nimona was this character who kind of embodied everything I wanted to be. She was a shapeshifter, able to change her appearance with the click of a finger, and she could be anything, any person, as big as a dragon or as small as a cat.  There was really no limit to her power, and that gave me an emotional language to talk about my feelings at a time when I really needed to.”

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Once upon a time, animated movies made it easy to tell the heroes apart from the villains. Now, the trend is for princesses to remain happily unmarried (“Frozen”), for kids to know better than their elders (“Encanto”) and for monsters to be revealed as misunderstood allies (“Luca”). For a while, those twists on the Disney fairy-tale formula felt surprising to audiences, aligning nicely with where the cultural conversation was headed. Through repetition, however, such enlightenment has become its own cliché. Enter Nimona, who brings a fresh dose of attitude to such inclusive messaging. She’s a monster, but doesn’t like to be called that. (And who can blame her?) Apparently the only one of her kind in a fictional kingdom where medieval customs and flying cars aren’t mutually exclusive, Nimona is capable of shape-shifting into practically any species — be it a shark, a rhinoceros or a ginormous dragon — though her hot pink hair/fur/skin makes it kind of hard to blend in. When she first appears in the rowdy Netflix animated feature that bears her name, Nimona is sporting a pixie-punk haircut, piercings and an insatiable desire to do maximum damage to the society that’s been demonizing her for roughly a millennium. She is not what anyone would call a good girl, and that makes her a far more interesting character than practically any princess.

Nimona.” The official synopsis is as follows: When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for.

It’s fun to be the bad guy, right? So, why wouldn’t someone like Nimona strive to be the perfect villainous sidekick? There’s only one problem—the person she vows her loyalty to doesn’t really want a sidekick and actually isn’t really a villain. But they can still wreak some havoc.

Carole Horst “Nimona” took a twisty road to the big screen. But now it’s ready for its debut at Annecy Animation Film Festival. Pictured above is an exclusive still from the anticipated fantasy adventure. Based on the graphic novel by N.D. Stevenson, the feature follows Ballister Boldheart, a knight in a futuristic medieval world who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. The only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy. “Nimona” started out at 20th Century Fox’s animation shingle Blue Sky Studios, which optioned the novel in 2015. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane were brought onboard in 2020 when creative direction of the film changed. The film continued production apace even after Disney completed its $71.9 billion merger with 20th Century Fox in 2019.