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from left) Maxime (Will Ferrell) and Valentina (Sofía Vergara) in Despicable Me 4, directed by Chris Renaud. Copyright © Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. With Despicable Me 4, Will Ferrell, who has been friends with Steve Carell for a long time, switches up his hilarious characters for an animated adventure, joining his longtime friend and co-star. Ferrell is not new to animation, having lent his voice to movies such as Megamind, Curious George, and The Lego Movie. Embracing the opportunity to be part of the popular series, he excitedly joined the cast. (Click on the media bar below to hear Will Ferrell) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Will-Ferrel-Joinging-Despicable-me-Franchise-.mp3 Witness Will Ferrell’s animated antics in Despicable Me 4, now playing in theaters.

The post Will Ferrell Was “Thrilled” To Join The ‘Despicable Me’ Legacy In The Fourth Installment appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Dive into a delightful adventure with Season 13 Episode 15 of “Curious George” titled “Swimspiration; Museum of George.” Airing at 9:30 Am on Friday, February 2, 2024, on PBS, this episode promises a mix of fun, learning, and creativity for the young and the young at heart.

In the first part, George, along with his friends Allie, Bill, and Vicki, embarks on a journey to explore the various ways different animals swim. Their discoveries lead them to a friendly competition—a swimming race in the pond. The stakes are high as the friends aim to win a treat in this aquatic adventure.

The excitement continues as George visits a museum exhibit dedicated to the legendary Thomas Edison. Inspired by the inventor’s creativity, George decides to create his very own “Museum of George,” showcasing his own unique and imaginative creations.

Tune in at 9:30 Am on PBS for an episode that combines the joy of exploration,...

In this week’s heartwarming episode of “Curious George,” viewers are in for a wild ride as George embarks on an adventure in the lush rainforest. The episode, titled “Sloth; Saved by the Bells,” follows our favorite curious monkey as he sets out in search of a rare orchid. Along the way, George encounters a baby sloth in need of assistance to find its mama. Get ready for a journey filled with excitement and compassion as George uses his problem-solving skills to reunite the sloth family.

But that’s not all! The second half of the episode takes a charming twist when Gnocchi, the lovable cat, loses its new collar. George, always up for a challenge, heads to a bell tower to track down the missing accessory. There, he meets an expert who unveils the secrets behind the big bells and how they create a symphony of sounds. Join George...

On Friday, October 6, 2023, at 9:30 Am, PBS will premiere Season 15, Episode 1 of “Curious George” titled “George Gets Slimed; Seesaw Saturday.”

In this episode, curious little George embarks on two exciting adventures. First, he decides to make homemade slime, much like a slug. The slimy experiment leads to all sorts of fun and mess.

Then, George and his friend Allie head to the Renkins’ farm, where they discover something intriguing—a tippy thing! This mysterious object sparks their curiosity, and they soon learn valuable lessons about balance and weight by experimenting with a seesaw. But what makes this adventure even more entertaining is that they use goats and flying chickens to explore the concept of balance.

“Curious George” continues to engage young viewers in fun and educational escapades. Don’t miss this episode as George’s adventures inspire young minds to explore and learn. Tune in to PBS and join in on the fun!

Chuck Zlotnick/Universal Pictures Will Ferrell is no stranger to doing voiceover work in movies — his first was Curious George, all the way back in 2006. But his latest, Strays, is, without a doubt, the most raucous voiceover work he’s ever done. While the other films were all aimed at family audiences, Strays is an R-rated film with a decidedly adult bent. Ferrell says the idea of cute dogs and raunchy humor was really appealing to him. (Click on the media bar below to hear Will Ferrell) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Will_Ferrell_Strays_.mp3 Strays is now playing in theaters.

The post Will Ferrell Loved That ‘Strays’ Has Bark And Bite appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Variety’s Actors on Actors series returns featuring the biggest stars in this year’s TV Emmys race for Season 18. The four episodes will debut on PBS SoCal on Thursday, June 15 starting at 8 p.m., followed by encores on Kcet and public television stations across the country and the World Channel (check local listings). All episodes will stream on pbssocal.org and the free PBS App following their premieres.

Variety’s Actors on Actors issue will hit newsstands on June 7 and the conversations will start airing on Monday, June 5, on Variety.com and its social media channels.

This year’s “Actors on Actors” lineup includes:

Katherine Heigl (“Firefly Lane”) with Ellen Pompeo (“Grey’s Anatomy”)

Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) with Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”)

Ali Wong (“Beef”) with Jason Segel (“Shrinking”)

Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”) with Elle Fanning (“The Great”)

Kieran Culkin (“Succession”) with Claire Danes (“Fleishman Is in Trouble...

Exclusive: Five-time Grammy-nominee Julia Michaels, six-time Grammy-winner Dionne Warwick and Avatar: The Way Of Water actress Trinity Jo-Li Bliss have been cast in the animated Christmas feature Glisten And The Merry Mission.

The project is the first animated Christmas feature for Build-a-Bear Entertainment, whose credits include animated series Curious George and Ashanti starrer Honey Girls. Warwick will contribute songs to the movie.

Pic follows a young elfling Marzipan (voiced by Bliss) and her mother Cinnameg (voiced by Michaels) as Marzipan must believe in the magic of the season as she goes on an adventure to rediscover the enchanted snow deer named Glisten and save Christmas. Their mission is aided by a colorful cadre of reindeer and elves, including the wise Sage Evergreen (voiced by Warwick).

Foundation Media CEO Patrick Hughes (Bad Guys) will produce the film which is based on a story by Build-a-Bear President and CEO Sharon Price John,...

We don’t know if it’s appropriate to call it a Hot Hulu Summer, but the superior Disney-owned streaming service is certainly coming on strong with its new releases for July 2022.

Hulu has a diverse array of original content and library offerings for those looking to escape the oppressive summer heat this month. It starts out on the movie side of things with the Joey King-starring The Princess on July 1. From there, Hulu is releasing original films like The Bob’s Burgers Movie on July 12, documentary feature Aftershock on July 19, and the intriguing Zoey Deutch project Not Okay on July 29.

Read more TV Solar Opposites Character Guide By Joe Matar TV The 10 Best Bob’s Burgers Episodes By Chris Cummins

TV is where Hulu really shines this month though. July 6 sees the arrival of psychic rom-com series Maggie. That will be followed by season 3 of Solar Opposites on July 13 and...

The soundtrack for Disney’s animated film “Encanto,” featuring songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, leaps up to number-one on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the tracking week of December 31 through January 6, the first week since Christmas collections flooded the chart (all Christmas albums have now fallen off). It’s a rare feat these days for a movie soundtrack to hit number-one. Could it be good news for Miranda’s Oscar chances for Best Original Song? Read more about this week’s chart here at Billboard.com.

See‘Encanto’ directors Jared Bush, Byron Howard and producer Yvett Merino on creating their ‘most human character’ yet

“Encanto” tops the chart with 72,000 equivalent album units, which were calculated by combining record sales, track sales, and on-demand streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. It’s only the sixth animated film soundtrack ever to top the chart, following “The Lion King” in 1994 and...

Charter Communications is giving free access to Peacock Premium free for one year to Spectrum TV subscribers through its deal with Comcast’s NBCUniversal.

Also under the pact, Spectrum Internet customers are eligible to get Peacock Premium (normally $4.99/month) for 90 days at no additional cost. The Peacock promotions were included as part of the Charter-NBCU multiyear distribution deal reached a earlier this year.

The offer is available to eligible Charter customers starting Monday (Dec. 13). The offer will let Charter’s Spectrum TV and broadband customers stream tens of thousands of hours of movies and shows, live news and sports, and more from across NBCU’s portfolio and other sources. Peacock Premium, which includes ads, provides a more expansive bucket of content than the totally free, ad-supported version of Peacock.

In addition to Charter, Comcast Xfinity and Cox Communications video subscribers are eligible to get Peacock Premium for free (with...

Burbank, CA – The early years of the Caped Crusader get a closer examination as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) brings the fully-remastered The Batman: The Complete Series to Blu-ray for the very first time. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the 65-episode box set will be distributed February 1, 2022 by Wbhe on Blu-ray+Digital ($69.99 Srp) in the United States, and a Blu-ray only package ($79.98 Srp) in Canada.

The six-time Emmyâ Award-winning series premiered on September 11, 2004 on Kids’ WB before eventually shifting to Cartoon Network for subsequent seasons. The Batman: The Complete Series follows 20-something-year-old Bruce Wayne’s early adventures as he balances his daytime persona as a bachelor billionaire with his nighttime guise as a caped crimefighter. Along the way, Batman is joined by allies Robin and Batgirl as they combat Gotham City’s Rogues’ Gallery, including updated versions of his familiar foes as well as a bevy of rarely...

Hulu is out with its list of new and expiring content for the month of September, and what better way to beat the back-to-school blues than with a whole bunch of binge-watching.

Among the new goodies coming next month is the 12th episode and season finale of horror anthology series “Into the Dark.” Out Sept. 6, the finale is called “Pure,” and is described as a female coming-of-age horror story in which a group of teenage girls perform a secret ritual at a “Purity Retreat.” When one of them begins to see a “supernatural entity,” a scary question is posed: “What is more dangerous: the demon they’ve unleashed, or the pressure to conform to their fathers’ expectations?” Scary indeed!

The Hulu original documentary “Untouchable” will be released on Sept. 2, described as “the inside story of the meteoric rise and shocking fall of movie titan Harvey Weinstein.” Directed by Ursula Macfarlane,...

In today’s film news roundup, Sterling K. Brown is cast as a basketball coach, Kino Lorber hires a programming veteran and Imagine promotes Karen Lunder.

Casting

Sterling K. Brown will play the lead role of Coach Willie Davis in inspirational sports drama “Rise” for Sony’s faith-based Affirm Films, Crystal City Entertainment and Gulfstream Pictures.

Kevin Rodney Sullivan will start filming in May in Louisiana with a wide theatrical release on April 10, 2020. The script was written by Randy Brown and Gregory Allen Howard.

Davis, a junior high school janitor, seized the opportunity to head coach the school’s basketball team as the school was weighing the decision to cancel the program due to funding concerns. Davis stressed “The Lord, books and basketball” to the team and became a role model for many of the kids in the school and surrounding community.

Producers are Ari Pinchot, Stuart Avi Savitsky, Mike Karz and Bill Bindley.

Imagine Entertainment has promoted Karen Lunder to president of Imagine Features, the company’s chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard announced on Thursday.

In her new position, Lunder will continue to oversee the company’s feature film production and development. Lunder joined Imagine in the film division in 2017 and most recently served as the company’s executive vice president of production, which she was promoted to last August.

“It’s an exciting time to be at Imagine and to be a part of such a powerhouse group of people,” Lunder said in a statement. “Imagine has long been an important home for filmmakers and talent and I’m thrilled to [be] working with Brian and Ron to expand on the ways these exceptional storytellers can bring their ideas to the screen.”

Also Read: Imagine Entertainment Launches Kids and Family Division, Stephanie Sperber to Lead

Lunder is currently overseeing production of “Hillbilly Elegy,...

Exclusive: Imagine Entertainment Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard have promoted Karen Lunder to be President of Imagine Features. Under her new position, Lunder will continue to oversee the company’s feature film production and development. She joined Imagine as a film exec in 2017.

Lunder is currently overseeing Hillbilly Elegy, an adaptation of the J.D. Vance bestseller that Vanessa Taylor adapted and for Howard to direct. Hillbilly Elegy sold to Netflix in a competitive auction earlier this year and it is heading into production this summer. Lunder produces alongside Grazer and Howard. It is the first of a slate of projects that Imagine is developing in-house under its independent model.

Lunder has been at the forefront of building a diverse slate of films in-house, overseeing the joint venture with Animal Logic for animated and hybrid films while also growing the company’s pipeline of studio live action films. Priority projects...

Hulu wants to drive more customers to its ad-supported streaming package — lowering the official price from $7.99 to $5.99 per month — while it’s trying to turn a profit on the live-tv bundle with a price hike.

Starting next month, Hulu With Live TV will increase by $5 per month, rising from $39.99 to $44.99 per month (a 12.5% increase). At the same time, the monthly price of Hulu’s ad-supported video-on-demand service is dropping by $2, as it seeks to grow advertising revenue. The ad-free VOD plan will remain unchanged, at $11.99 per month.

Hulu’s new pricing will go into effect beginning Feb. 26 for new subscribers. For existing subscribers, the new prices will be reflected in their next billing cycle after Feb. 26.

The changes come after Netflix last week raised U.S. streaming prices for all customers, including an 18% hike on its most popular plan, the Standard two-stream HD tier, from $10.99 to $12.99 per month. Hulu had...

Hulu is hoping to boost its over-the-top live TV subscriber rolls by extending a special promo to Sprint’s wireless customers.

Starting Friday (Oct. 19), Sprint customers can upgrade to Hulu With Live TV, which includes 50-plus local and national networks and access to thousands of on-demand titles, from their Sprint account. The offer comes after the companies launched a partnership in November 2017 giving subscribers on the wireless carrier’s Unlimited Freedom plan access to Hulu’s limited-commercials VOD package (normally $7.99 per month) for no additional cost.

Long term, there’s no special price break for Sprint customers for Hulu With Live TV, which costs $40 monthly. To lure in new users, Sprint and Hulu will provide a special 30-day-free trial offer available through Jan. 10, 2019 to eligible Sprint customers. Following the Sprint 30-day trial, the Hulu with Live TV subscription fee will be added to customers’ monthly Sprint bills (with a $5 monthly...

Get ready to watch, rate and review Amazon’s just-released pilots – a slate of 13 original comedy, drama, docuseries and kids offerings now available on Amazon Instant Video.

The pilots come from a talented creative roster that includes both newcomers discovered through Amazon Studios as well as highly-acclaimed veterans such as Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), Carlton Cuse (Lost), Randall Wallace (Braveheart), Shawn Ryan (The Shield), Brad Silberling (Jane the Virgin, Lemony Snickets…), Mark Waters (Mean Girls), Academy and Emmy Award winning director Alex Gibney (The Armstrong Lie), Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues), and Carol Greenwald (Arthur).

Over the course of the next four weeks, viewer feedback will ultimately help to decide which of them get picked up to full series. So your opinions matter! You could help choose the next Golden Globe-winning series, after all.

Check out the synopsis of each of them below, and start watching them here today.

Get ready for our first pilot season of 2015, launching January 15th, when seven new primetime and six new kids pilots will debut on Amazon Instant Video. As with previous pilot seasons, viewers in the Us, UK and Germany will be invited to watch, rate and review them all over the course of four weeks, ultimately helping to decide which of them get picked up to full series.

The new pilots come from both highly-acclaimed and newly-discovered creators, and a legion of talented actors, directors and producers signed on to bring the pilots to life. Here’s a brief summary of each:

Primetime Pilots

The Man in the High Castle – Based on Philip K. Dick’s award-winning novel, and executive produced by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), The Man in the High Castle explores what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States.

Writer/director/producer Tyler Perry makes his first foray into family animation with the release of Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Tough Love arriving on DVD (plus Digital) and On Demand January 20, 2015 from Lionsgate. The film will be available on Digital HD one week earlier on January 13.

Having conquered stage and screen, Tyler Perry has now turned his attention to creating entertaining programs specifically for families to enjoy together. In Tyler Perry’s first animated film, fans of Madea can now watch all of their favorite characters including Madea, Uncle Joe and Aunt Bam in a whole new way! The larger than life Madea gets herself into even more over the top and outrageous situations – all in the name of helping children save their youth center.

The comic adventure features the voice talent of Tyler Perry as “Madea” and “Uncle Joe” among others and Cassi Davis (TV’s “House Of Payne...

Legendary Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) is cashing in his chips, headed for retirement. His final feature film, The Wind Rises, is getting an American makeover, putting in big name actors to voice the roles, such as....

* Joseph Gordon-levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) lends his voice to Jiro Horikoshi, who harbors strong ambitions to create his own beautiful airplane. A bubbling mix of wild excitement, extreme focus, individualism, pride, realism and idealism, Jiro also has a cool and brilliant mind and is recognized for his talent.

* Emily Blunt (Gulliver's Travels, Gnomeo & Juliet) voices Nahoko Satomi, a beautiful and cheerful girl who is a passenger on the same train as Jiro on the day of a natural disaster. Ten years later, they reunite.

* Darren Criss ("Glee") lends his voice to Katayama, a jovial junior engineering colleague of Jiro.

* John Krasinski ("The Office,"Big Miracle) provides the voice of Honjo,...

There’s no reason to be afraid of math – in fact, it can be fun! Just ask Carol Greenwald and Angela Santomero, co-creators of Sara Solves it, one of one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM.

Sara Solves It celebrates problem solving with 9-year-old whiz kid Sara and her younger brother Sam. Together, the solve mysteries in their apartment building and beyond, using the power of math.

We asked Carol and Angela about their show, their influences, and their Amazon experience:

Why did you want to tell this story, with these characters, in this world?

We have a vision to help every child and every parent with math homework!

Seriously, we heard from parents that they needed help with some of the strategies in math that will help their kids get off to a strong start in school. And we heard from...

About Sara Solves It: Sara and her brother find answers to math mysteries. Created by Carol Greenwald (Curious George) and Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CB6RQN0

About Annebots: Kid scientist Anne learns about the world in her junkyard lab with her best pal Nick, and her android helpers. Created by J.J. Johnson (Dino Dan). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00

About Creative Galaxy: Soar with a loveable alien artist to colorful planets of art and inspiration. Created by Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CB6SU5I

About Tumbleaf: Join Fig, a small blue fox, on his journeys through a whimsical land with adventure, friendship and love down every path. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CC00JDE

About Positively Ozitively: Travel by hot air balloon to Oz with Dot, Dorothy’s daughter,...

Amazon's Prime Instant Video streaming service is getting childish with its next venture. Amazon Studios, which produces movies and series for online giant Amazon.com, has given the greenlight to the children's pilot "Sara Solves It." The series comes with a pretty esteemed pedigree as far as children's shows are concerned. Created by "Curious George" and "Arthur" executive producer Carol Greenwald, who serves as senior executive producer of children's programming at Wgbh, and "Blue's Clues" writer Angela Santomero, the plot follows brother and sister duo Sara and Sam on absorbing and relatable mysteries...

Amazon Studios, the original movie and series production arm of Amazon.com, has ordered another test pilot for an original children’s series, Sara Solves It. Co-developed by Wgbh and Out of the Blue Enterprises, the animated show was created by Emmy Award winner Carol Greenwald (Curious George) and Angela C. Santomero (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood), who serve as executive producers. It follows brother and sister duo Sara and Sam as they take on mysteries that spring from the questions young children encounter in their daily lives. Each mystery is an interactive, math-based puzzle that the home viewer can solve along with the characters. Sara Solves It joins the five children’s pilots Amazon Studios greenlighted in January. The company also has eight comedy pilots in various stages of production. Once completed, the pilots will be posted on Prime Instant Video and Amazon Instant Video for customers to watch for free.

The Tale of Despereaux

Starring Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, and Dustin Hoffman

Directed by Bob Fell and Rob Stevenhagen

Rated G

The Tale of Despereaux unfolds like a children’s book, which is good news since this is, after all, adapted from a children’s book. Without being overly complicated, its story is a bit of a page-turner, although some of the time you’d be content to just stare at the pictures.

Animation has likely never been a bigger financial boon for studios (in a time when most other movies carry with them huge question marks), and it has never been more on the forefront of emerging technologies. Despite any traditional soft spots you might have for Disney classics like Bambi, this is a true golden age of animated film.

Despereaux comes to us not from Disney, DreamWorks or even Fox, but rather from Universal. Though its only other...

AMC's Mad Men can't possibly be mad at the Television Critics Assn.

The series tied HBO's The Wire with four nominations in this year's TCA Awards, tops for any series. Both shows got noms for drama, program of the year and individual achievement (Mad Men's Jon Hamm and Wire's David Simon).

In addition, Mad Men is up for new program while Wire was mentioned for the organization's Heritage Award.

Although critics have been bashing HBO for losing its way, the pay cabler led all nets with 10 awards. In addition to Wire, HBO collected three noms for its John Adams miniseries, two for Flight of the Conchords and one for the documentary Alive Day Memories.

PBS came in second with nine noms, including three for Ken Burns' The War, a fall docu series on World War II. Three others went to PBS kids shows (Sesame Street, Word Girl and Curious George).

Among the broadcast nets, NBC and ABC scooped up most of the noms. NBC scored seven, including three for 30 Rock and two for Friday Night Lights. ABC landed five, led by Lost with two.