www.awn.com/news/siggraph-2020-canceled-event-moving-virtual-conference-format

SIGGRAPH 2020 is the latest is a growing list of animation, VFX, and gaming-related events to cancel or otherwise postpone their 2020 editions, including Comic-Con, Annecy, FMX, ITFS, MIPTV, and GDC.

www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/dneg-asks-global-staff-earning-over-43200-to-take-a-three-month-pay-cut-exclusive-190133.html

This policy applies to all its locations, including London (where it is headquartered), L.A., Vancouver, and Montreal.

A statement put out by the Animation & Visual Effects Union (AVU), a branch of BECTU, describes DNEG’s proposal as, in some cases, a “take-it-or-leave-your-job” package imposed with “very short consultation deadlines.” Affected staff have been given two weeks to respond to the proposal; the deadline is April 30. Reductions will take effect on May 1, and the arrangement will be reviewed in three months.

The union is calling on DNEG to convincingly demonstrate to its staff that the cuts are necessary. It wants the company to give “a detailed overview of their financial position to workers before requesting cuts,” and to give staff time “to access independent advice to interpret such information so that they can understand the way the burden of this issue is being shared between staff and shareholders.”

www.cnn.com/2020/04/22/business/abigail-disney-furloughs-bonus-pay-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

In a Twitter thread Tuesday, the outspoken family heiress slammed Disney’s decision to furlough theme park employees after the company paid dividends to shareholders and gave executives big bonuses.

www.awn.com/news/marvel-lucasfilm-pixar-other-disney-units-hit-furloughs

“An undetermined number of employees at Disney production units including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Searchlight, will be furloughed as of April 19; reports noted marketing and distribution departments were hit the hardest, as the studio’s feature film release calendar has been thrown into disarray.”

“…with no clear indication of when we can restart our businesses, we’re forced to make the difficult decision to take the next step and furlough employees whose jobs aren’t necessary at this time. The furlough process will begin on April 19, and all impacted workers will remain Disney employees through the duration of the furlough period. They will receive full healthcare benefits, plus the cost of employee and company premiums will be paid by Disney, and those enrolled in Disney Aspire will have continued access to the education program. Additionally, employees with available paid time off can elect to use some or all of it at the start of the furlough period and, once furloughed, they are eligible to receive an extra $600 per week in federal compensation through the $2 trillion economic stimulus bill, as well as state unemployment insurance.”

variety.com/2020/film/news/skydance-media-john-lassiter-ilion-studios-1234571810/

The acquisition gives animation chief John Lasseter control over all aspects of production. Skydance and Ilion, both of which are privately held, did not disclose a purchase price.

The deal will give Skydance roughly 500 employees across two continents. It comes as Lasseter is trying to transform the company into a major force in animation. That transformation has been bumpy, at times, primarily because Lasseter’s hire was controversial. Lasseter, the major creative force at Pixar and Disney Animation, was ousted from the company in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct with employees.