Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus Coming to Netflix

Date Announcement & New Asset Debut 

Netflix and Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, from creator Jhonen Vasquez, will release globally on August 16th, 2019.

Written by Jhonen Vasquez  

Produced by Nickelodeon 

Supervising Producer Breehn Burns

Art Director Jenny Goldberg

Music by Kevin Manthei

Storyboard Director Jake Wyatt

Created by  Jhonen Vasquez 

Produced by Joann Estoesta 

Executive Producers Jhonen Vasquez and  Mary Harrington

Associate Producer Angela Leung

Storyboard Artists Tyson Heese, Megan Lawton, Samir Barrett, Sofia Alexander, Stephan Park, Rie Koga, Shawna Mills, Chris Graham

Story Consultant Breehn Burns

Writing Consultant Eric Truehart

Storyboard Revisionists Serena Wu and Jacob Eaton

Animatic Editors Jonathan Sims and Hugo Morales

Assistant Animatic Editors Zach Smythe and Rachael Russakoff

Cast Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Andy Berman, Melissa Fahn, Rodger Bumpass, Jhonen Vasquez, Wally Wingert, Kevin McDonald, Olivia d’Abo, Eric Bauza, Breehn Burns, Justin Roiland, Fred Tatasciore,  Jenny Goldberg, Mo Collins, and Michael McDonald   

Synopsis:

Zim discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.

Invader Zim debuted on Nickelodeon in 2001 and chronicled the efforts of an extraterrestrial named Zim on a mission to conquer Earth and enslave the human race.

For more information, please visit the Netflix Media Center page for the film.

netflix.com/invaderzimentertheflorpus

© 2019 Disney

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First Look: Debut Set for Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Second VR Short, ‘a kite’s tale,’ at SIGGRAPH 2019 ‘a kite’s tale’ Combines Hand-drawn Animation With VR Technology

CHICAGO—Walt Disney Animation Studios, for the second year in a row, will debut an all-new VR short film at the SIGGRAPH conference. Part of the third-annual SIGGRAPH 2019 VR Theater, the experience hails from within the studio’s Short Circuit experimental program. Directed by Bruce Wright, “a kite’s tale” combines classic hand-drawn animation and the latest innovations in virtual reality to tell this whimsical tale of two kites; a playful puppy (with a wagging tail) and a pompous dragon who clash, tangle, and ultimately must learn to live with one another subject to the winds of fate. “I'm thrilled that ‘a kite's tale’ is premiering at SIGGRAPH 2019's VR Theater,” said Wright. “Virtual reality has the ability to bring us into new worlds of story, and touch the hearts of the audience in never before dreamt of ways. It's an honor to showcase our film at SIGGRAPH for the innovators and artists who are shaping the future of this medium.” “a kite’s tale” was created within Disney Animation’s innovative Short Circuit program, which gives anyone within the studio the opportunity to participate in a blind submission and be selected for the opportunity to direct their short film idea. The program has produced 20 short films, thus far, with “a kite’s tale” being the second VR film (the first, “Cycles,” debuted at SIGGRAPH 2018). “We’re still on the cusp of a powerful new medium, and I cannot wait for audiences to experience what Disney has done with its second VR short,” said SIGGRAPH 2019 VR Theater Director Maxwell Planck. “It’s encouraging and exciting to see studios and artists with proven success in more traditional computer graphics contribute to the next evolution of storytelling, and further proves that the seeds we are planting are strong.” Born in Los Angeles, and raised in Redondo Beach and Lomita, California, Bruce Wright’s interest in animation was awakened in 1985 when, as a high school newspaper reporter, he attended a special screening of the Disney classic, “Fantasia,” followed by a discussion with legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Inspired, he purchased a Super-8 film camera and started making movies. After attending Cal State, Long Beach, where he majored in film and television studies, he went on to work at Paramount Pictures, where he founded an experimental desktop graphics and visual effects lab, and contributed to such projects as “Addams Family Values” and “Star Trek: Generations.” He began his association with Disney in 1996 as a live-action visual effects animator at Dream Quest Images, where he worked on “Armageddon” and “George of the Jungle.” His Disney Animation feature credits include effects animation on “Tangled,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Big Hero 6,” “Zootopia,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” and, most recently, “Frozen 2.” Bruce and his wife, Tekla, have a teenage daughter. An accomplished magician, he can often be found dabbling in sleight of hand as a member of the world-famous Magic Castle.

VR Theater Screenings are open to conference participants with Full Conference and Full Conference Platinum registration and are available by ticket only. Click here for more information about VR Theater ticketing. Register for SIGGRAPH 2019, 28 July–1 August: s2019.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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SIGGRAPH 2019 to Tackle Facial Animation, AI, Ethics in Games, Showcase Future of Real-time Production in L.A. From Research to Live Demos, the Conference Offers Can’t-Miss Experience for Production Enthusiasts

CHICAGO—SIGGRAPH 2019 announces Real-Time Live! and Games programming for the upcoming conference in L.A., which will shine a light on topics including but not limited to facial animation, AI, ethics, and the future of real-time production. In addition, “Il Divino: Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling in VR” will debut at the show, powered by Unreal Engine. SIGGRAPH 2019 is set for 28 July–1 August at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A fan-favorite, live event, Real-Time Live! showcases how essential real-time technology is and continues to be in revolutionizing the way we interact in an increasingly connected society. Following a theme of “thrive on live,” the innovations that teams will demo are well-positioned to enhance future technological applications. “We have a great lineup of demos prepared this year and I am so excited to share the work our jury culled from nearly 50 submissions,” said SIGGRAPH 2019 Real-Time Live! Chair Gracie Arenas Strittmatter. “I hope you’ll join us as we take a look back at the past decade of Real-Time Live! and journey into its promising future. Our contributors will share new applications for robotics, ray tracing, AI, VR, games, film, and much more.” Taking the future of production further, Games programming at SIGGRAPH spans many areas of the conference, including Talks, Panels, the Computer Animation Festival, Appy Hour, the Immersive Pavilion, and more. In collaboration with one another, the conference committee and reviewers work together to help spotlight creators, visionaries, and pioneers within the games industry from the world’s leading studios. Content is presented through sessions and demos that spotlight the latest rendering techniques, real-time tricks, asset pipelines, facial animation, advances in hardware and software, production challenges and accomplishments, virtual and augmented reality, and beyond. Noted SIGGRAPH 2019 Games Co-chair Christopher Evans, “At SIGGRAPH 2019, attendees can expect to immerse themselves in the most engaging new gaming technologies and techniques. In addition to being a key place to learn about the latest research in games, the speakers and experiences lined up this year shine a light on the ways the industry is thriving.” Alongside a handful of Courses, Production Sessions, and Technical Papers, highlights for games and real-time production content include:

REAL-TIME LIVE! Real-Time, Single Camera, Digital Human Development Contributors: Doug Roble, Darren Hendler, Jeremy Buttell, Lonnie Iannazzo, Melissa Cell, Deer Li, Jason Briggs, Chad Reddick, Mark Williams, Lucio Moser, Cydney Wong, Dimitry Kachkovski, Jason Huang, Kai Zhang, David McLean, Rickey Cloudsdale, Dan Milling, Ron Miller, JT Lawrence, and Chinyu Chien, Digital Domain Digital Domain Virtual Human will demonstrate our state-of-the-art, real-time, live-drive, digital human technology. We will show how photo-real digital humans with realistic facial animation can change the VR/AR experience. “Reality vs. Illusion” Real-Time Ray Tracing Contributors: Natalie Burke, Arisa Scott, Natalya Tatarchuk, and Sebastien Lagarde, Unity Technologies We seamlessly transition from the filmed real-world car to the car ray traced in real-time powered by Unity, demonstrating advanced effects of real-time ray tracing technology in a live demo – dynamic global reflections and GI, multi-layer transparency with refraction, area lights, shadows, ambient occlusion, and more. IMMERSIVE PAVILION Il Divino: Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling in VR Contributors: Christopher Evans, Epic Games Experience Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling in virtual reality. Move around the space or take a guided tour. Users can also suspend on a virtual scaffold to see the work up close as few have seen it before. The experience will use the all-new Valve INDEX headset. PANELS FACS at 40 Panelists: Mike Seymour, University of Sydney and fxguide (moderator); Erika Rosenberg, Stanford University and Erika Rosenberg Consulting; Vladimir Mastilovic, 3Lateral; Mark Sagar, Soul Machines; and, John Peter Lewis, Google AI Read overview. The Ethical and Privacy Implications of Mixed Reality Panelists: Kent Bye, Voices of VR Podcast (moderator); Diane Hosfelt, Mozilla; Matt Miesnieks, 6D.AI; Samantha Mathews Chase, Venn.Agency; and, Taylor Beck, Magic Leap Read overview. TALKS THRIVE – Foundational Principles & Technologies for the Metaverse Speaker: Tim Sweeney, Epic Games Science-fiction notions of “the metaverse” are slowly becoming a reality as products such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox bring immersive social experiences to hundreds of millions of people and blur the boundaries between games and social networks. This talk explores the foundational technologies, economies, and freedoms required to build this future medium as a force for good.

Access to Real-Time Live! and most Games programming requires a Select Conference badge or higher. Register for SIGGRAPH 2019, the 46th international conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques: s2019.SIGGRAPH.org/register.

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