News

Joel Crawford, the Oscar-nominated director of DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “The Croods: A New Age,” has signed with WME for representation in all areas.

Crawford started off at DreamWorks Animation after graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, serving as a story artist on “Shrek Forever After,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Bee Movie.” He would later work on “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Rise of the Guardians,” “Kung Fu Panda 3” and “Trolls.” As a story artist, he also contributed to “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” and “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.”

He made his directorial debut with the “Trolls Holiday” television special in 2017 and his feature directorial debut with 2020’s “The Croods: A New Age,” which was a box office hit even in the midst of the pandemic and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature.

The hot dog imbalance — eight buns in a bag to 10 dogs in a pack — is an oft-spoken-of Americana annoyance, but it’s not the only bread-to-meat ratio that just doesn’t make sense. We’re talking, of course, about Wendy’s square hamburgers served on a round roll. Classic IndieWire stuff.

Wendy’s and Paramount are hammering out a deal to launch a new menu item at participating Wendy’s restaurants: the Krabby Patty. Yes, the sandwich of preference from the “SpongeBob Squarepants” cartoons is coming above sea level, a source confirmed to IndieWire. And you thought saucey nuggs would be the breakout Wendy’s menu item of 2024.

In the world of the Nickelodeon sea-sponge, the Krusty Krab is essentially the Wendy’s of the sea. It is also the employer of SpongeBob and Squidward. The Krab’s signature sandwich, the Krabby Patty, is about to wash ashore at your local...

There are multiple spinoff movies for different SpongeBob SquarePants characters in the works at Netflix. The streamer previously announced that fan favorite Sandy Cheeks was set to get her own movie, and now it's been officially revealed that a more villainous character will get the solo film treatment.

On Thursday, Netflix announced the upcoming release of Plankton: The Movie. In the film, "Planktons world is flipped upside down when his plan for world domination is thwarted. " Mr. Lawrence, will reprise the role of Plankton for the new movie. Directed by Dave Needham, and based on characters created by Stephen Hillenburg, Plankton: The Movie will also feature franchise stars Jill Talley (Karen Plankton), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), and Rodger Bumpass (Squidward Tentacles). A first look photo can be seen below for the film, which will be released sometime in...

Avatar 3 faces tough competition from The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, which has a massive fan base and successful previous films. James Cameron's first two Avatar movies have dominated the box office, but Avatar 3's opening weekend success may be hindered by SpongeBob SquarePants fans. While it's unlikely that SpongeBob will surpass Avatar 3 at the box office, it could potentially impact the sequel's overall gross by drawing away some of its opening weekend audience.

James Cameron's Avatar 3 is set to release at the end of 2025, but now the sequel has some tough competition, and interestingly enough it's from another movie set underwater. Avatar was a massive success in 2009, and over a decade later, Cameron began releasing sequels with a plan for five installments in total. Cameron is something of a king when it comes to the box office, as three of the top four films...

2015's "Jupiter Ascending" was meant to be a glorious return to ambitious sci-fi for Lilly and Lana Wachowski, the duo that brought us "The Matrix," one of the most significant genre films of all time. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned for the filmmakers, as the film went on to become one of the biggest bombs of the decade, barely making back its massive production budget in ticket sales, representing huge losses for Warner Bros.

But what went wrong? The movie had a great A-list cast led by Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, not to mention eventual Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne. It also had the Wachowskis behind the camera and immense financial resources. Yet, the pieces of the puzzle that ultimately came together don't form a picture that audiences were all that interested in -- at least not nearly enough to justify the film's massive budget.

It Was Not Well Liked...

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A24’s acclaimed stop-motion/live-action hybrid “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” could be the wild card in the animated feature Oscar race — going up against such early favorites as Pixar’s “Turning Red,” Disney’s “Strange World,” and Netflix’s two stop-motion behemoths: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” (the latter being the lone animated feature premiering at TIFF).

And why not? The feature debut from director Dean Fleischer Camp (adapting a series of shorts he created with “Marcel” star Jenny Slate), has been embraced by critics for its charm, wit, inventive stop-motion, and its adorable breakout star. The one-inch anthropomorphic shell (voiced by Slate) lives with his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) and develops a friendship with doc filmmaker Dean (Fleischer Camp), who moves in and films Marcel’s daily activities, which go viral. Marcel, who’s in search of his lost family,...

Three new SpongeBob SquarePants character spinoff movies for Paramount+ are in the works at Nickelodeon Studios, in addition to a new theatrical release about the porous resident who lives in a Pineapple-under-the-sea. The news was announced today by Brian Robbins, Chief Content Officer, Movies and Kids & Family for Paramount+ at the ViacomCBS Investor Event. The first of Paramount+’s SpongeBob character spinoff movies, which focus on different Bikini Bottom residents, will drop in 2023. The expansion of the SpongeBob franchise follows the recent success of SpongeBob series offshoots Kamp Koral on Paramount+ and The Patrick Star Show on Nickelodeon, the first season of which will be available soon to stream on Paramount+. Paramount has made three SpongeBob feature movies, the first in 2004, which altogether have grossed close to $471M worldwide. The highest grossing installment was 2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water which grossed over $325M WW. However, because of the pandemic,...

Canada and the U.S. are in different worlds when it comes to Covid-19. The northern neighbor is good to go for most theaters (with safety measures in play). And with that, the country went its own way this weekend with two wide releases.

“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” took top spot for all theaters in both countries, grossing around $910,000 in 300 theaters. The Russell Crowe-starring thriller “Unhinged” was #2 with about $580,000 on 284 screens. “Peninsula,” the Korean “Train to Busan” sequel, made $119,000 in 45 theaters. This opens in 115 U.S. theaters this Friday.

In 2015, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water” opened to $55 million ion North America, and Canada generally earns about 10 percent of the two-country total. If the new SpongeBob” opened in North America in a world without Covid, we might factor in a falloff of interest in the franchise over five years; a reasonable guess might be a...

Patrick Star is about to become the star of his own show.

A “SpongeBob Squarepants” spinoff series centered around SpongeBob’s pink friend is in the works at Nickelodeon, Variety has confirmed with sources. “The Patrick Star Show” will see Bill Fagerbakke continue to voice the character.

The series will be a deep dive on Patrick and his family, as the friendly starfish hosts a talk show. Precisely which other “SpongeBob” actors will be reprising their characters for this new series is unclear, however, sources say it will introduce several new characters voiced by new actors to the “SpongeBob” underwater universe.

A representative for Nickelodeon declined to comment.

This marks the second “SpongeBob” spinoff to float its way to Nickelodeon, following in the spongesteps of “Kamp Koral,” a CG-animated prequel series which was greenlit over a year ago. That series, which is set to premiere on CBS All Access next year,...

“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” Paramount and Nickelodeon’s animated adventure based on the absorbent underwater fry cook, is skipping its planned theatrical debut. It will instead launch on premium digital rental services in early 2021 before landing exclusively on CBS All Access, the streaming service owned by the studio’s parent company, ViacomCBS.

It was originally slated to hit the big screen on May 22, but was postponed until Aug. 7 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are thrilled to have ‘The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” a premier, first-run movie from one of ViacomCBS’ biggest brands, join CBS All Access’ expanding slate of franchise content from across ViacomCBS,” said Marc DeBevoise, chief digital officer at ViacomCBS and president and CEO of ViacomCBS Digital. “This launch will be perfectly timed with our continued expansion and planned rebranding of the service in early 2021, as we welcome SpongeBob and the gang...

Exclusive: Will Gluck’s Olive Bridge Entertainment has sold the rights to Geoff Rodkey’s middle-grade novel We’re Not From Here to Columbia Pictures, Deadline can report.

The feature adaptation will be a family-focused hybrid live-action and animation film which Rodkey will adapt with Mike Mitchell directing and Gluck and Jodi Hildebrand of Olive Bridge Entertainment producing.

The Crown Books published comedic book follows a family of humans who immigrate to an alien planet.

Rodkey is the Emmy-nominated screenwriter of the films Daddy Day Care, Rv, The Shaggy Dog and Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas! He’s also the author of nine novels for middle-grade readers, including the New York Times bestselling Tapper Twins comedy series and the adventure-comedy trilogy The Chronicles of Egg. The first book in the series, Deadweather and Sunrise, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in the U.

Nickelodeon has announced that the cast of “SpongeBob Squarepants” will team up for a virtual table read in “The Stars of SpongeBob Fan Favorites Special,” premiering on June 5.

Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) are all coming together for the half-hour virtually produced table read to bring classic “Spongebob Squarepants” scenes to life. The special will feature animation from the original episodes alongside the voice cast as they recreate scenes that are voted for by the fans.

Fans can vote on a selection of scenes on NickPlay.com, where they can choose to vote on classic moments, including “Band Rehearsal,” “Alaskan Bull Worm,” “I’m Dirty Dan” and more. The table read will also include a performance of a new rendition of the “F.U.N. Song.”

The character-driven animated series follows the life of SpongeBob,...

Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” a sequel to Tom Cruise’s 1986 classic, is the latest summer movie to vacate its release date as theaters remain closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The anticipated follow-up was scheduled to debut June 24 and will now release Dec. 23, 2020.

As part of the release shake-up, Paramount has also moved “A Quiet Place Part II” — which the studio postponed last month — to Sept. 4, 2020. “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” an animated adventure based on the absorbent underwater fry cook, was originally slated to hit theaters on May 22 and will now bow July 31, 2020. Meanwhile sci-fi fantasy film “The Tomorrow War,” previously scheduled for Dec. 25, 2020, is now undated.

Those films join a growing list of tentpoles that were pulled from release because of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent closure of multiplexes. Sony recently delayed most of its summer slate, including “Morbius” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Presidents Day weekend ushers in four new wide releases with Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog looking to deliver one of the largest openings ever for a video game adaptation. Elsewhere, Sony will debut Blumhouse's Fantasy Island, Universal will release the romance The Photograph in time for Valentine's Day and Searchlight debuts Downhill, a remake of the 2014 feature Force Majeure.

At the top of the box office, Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog is looking to race to an easy victory. The adaptation of the Sega video game will launch in over 4,100 locations with the studio anticipating a performance in the low $40 million range and should the numbers we're seeing hold it could climb closer to $50 million by the end of the holiday weekend.

IMDb page view comps show the film performing very well over the two weeks leading up to release when placed alongside releases such as Captain Underpants, Detective Pikachu, Angry Birds...

Snoop Dogg makes a cameo in the new Super Bowl commercial for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, in theaters May 22nd.

The clip opens with Mr. Krab telling SpongeBob that Super Bowl commercials are extremely expensive, and that he has exactly 26 seconds to list everything in the upcoming film. “There’s fast cars, flashbacks,” he quickly says, adding “Snoop Dogg!” to the list as a glimpse of the rapper performing at a Bikini Bottom club flashes across the screen.

This isn’t the first time the nautical universe...

Paramount gave an early look at its “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” tv spot that will debut ahead of the Super Bowl. Since even pre-game commercials are expensive, the new clip gives SpongeBob just 26 seconds to describe everything that happens in his new film.

“There’s fast cars, flashbacks, Snoop Dogg, robots, a wise sage, churros,” everyone’s favorite cartooned sponge rattles off. “The only thing missing is Gary.”

In the animated movie, out in theaters May 22, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star venture out of Bikini Bottom and head to the Lost City of Atlantic City on a rescue mission to save SpongeBob’s trustee snail Gary.

The show’s original voice cast — Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Douglas Lawrence — will reprise their roles alongside Awkwafina, Keanu Reeves and Reggie Watts. Tim Hill, a former writer on the Nickelodeon series, directed the movie...

SpongeBob SquarePants and his pals from Bikini Bottom are heading back to the big screen in May 2020 for the premiere of The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, and Paramount Pictures has released the official trailer. This week, the studio also unveiled the official poster for the movie, which revealed the film's subtitle change from It's a Wonderful Sponge to Sponge on the Run. The new trailer also gives us a great look at what we can expect from SpongeBob's next big screen adventure, and you can watch it for yourself below.

As we can see in the trailer, Sponge on the Run will consist entirely of CGI animation, without the traditional 2D animation seen on the Nickelodeon TV series. This isn't a new concept for the franchise, as the previous SpongeBob movies contained scenes of some CGI mixed with live-action footage. This time, the story follows SpongeBob and Patrick...

We have the first poster for SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, straight from the floor of San Diego Comic-Con. Nickelodeon has a big presence at the event this year, as they've brought the entire core cast and the creators of the series down for a panel to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. Additionally, they decided to use the event as an opportunity to promote the third SpongeBob SquarePants movie with this first very trippy poster.

The Comic-Con poster, in terms of composition, is rather simple, as it features the titular yellow star at its center, though he looks like he's just seen a ghost, like perhaps he just got done with some sort of Scooby-Doo crossover episode. He's surrounded by a bizarre wave of green and purple which appears to move when one stares at it. The tagline for the movie featured on the poster helps hammer home the...

Joseph Baxter Jun 4, 2019

The underwater exploits of SpongeBob’s summer camp childhood exploits will be the focus of a new Nickelodeon prequel series.

SpongeBob SquarePants has plenty of projects – a year-long birthday bash, a special featuring the voice cast in live-action form, another movie and even prospective spinoff shows – on his franchise backlog during the porous Pollyannaish pineapple-dweller’s 20th anniversary. However, Nickelodeon has another entry to offer, a prequel series set to focus on a 10-year-old version of the character during a stay at summer sleepaway camp.

Tentatively titled Kamp Koral, Nickelodeon has officially greenlit the young-Sponge-Bob prequel series for a 13-episode run, reports Deadline. Unlike the mothership show, the prequel will manifest as a CGI-concocted series, though will remain 2D. According to the description, the prequel will focus on SpongeBob’s stay at “the craziest camp in the kelp forest,” Kamp Koral, where he’ll spend the summer “building underwater campfires,...

Nickelodeon has ordered a prequel series to its longrunning cartoon, “SpongeBob SquarePants” that will follow a young Spongebob during sleepaway camp.

The series, titled “Kamp Koral” will see a 10-year-old SpongeBob during his summer the eponymous camp. In the series, SpongeBob and his pals spend the summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral. “SpongeBob SquarePants” Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller will co-executive produce the prequel.

Oh, and it won’t be a 2-dimensional cartoon like the flagship “SpongeBob,” but instead computer-generated animation. This won’t be the first time “SpongeBob” gets the 3-D treatment. The 2015 movie “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” was also CG-animated.

The series is one of multiple planned spinoffs for the “SpongeBob” universe, which include potential standalone stories...

Exclusive: Nickelodeon has given a 13-episode series order to Kamp Koral (working title), a spinoff of the network’s signature series SpongeBob SquarePants. While the mothership is a classic 2D cartoon, the offshoot will be a CG-animated series, which serves as a prequel to SpongeBob. It introduces 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants during his summer at sleepaway camp.

Earlier this year, Nickelodeon, under new president Brian Robbins, announced it is developing for the first time ever spinoff projects for SpongeBob SquarePants characters. Kamp Koral marks the first such project to get a green light. It is slated to begin production in June at Nickelodeon’s facilities in Burbank.

In the series, SpongeBob and his pals spend the summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral. SpongeBob SquarePants‘ Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller co-executive produce the prequel.

“SpongeBob has...

Mother's Day weekend is looking as if it will be yet another Avengers-led weekend at the box office as Avengers: Endgame will become only the fourth film ever to top $700 million at the domestic box office this weekend, but this holiday weekend won't only be about Avengers. Warner Bros. is releasing the highly anticipated video game adaptation Pokemon: Detective Pikachu in just over 4,200 locations while Stx and Uar will be vying for Mother's Day audiences with Poms and The Hustle respectively. Additionally, Disney has changed things up with Fox Searchlight's Tolkien, which was originally scheduled to begin its limited run this weekend, but instead the Mouse House will give the film a wide berth in nearly 1,500 locations. Entering its third weekend in domestic release, Disney's Avengers: Endgame is looking to top $700 million this weekend and, in fact, should push over $730 million which will make it the third highest grossing...

This weekend's release of Disney's live-action re-imagining of Dumbo will serve as the third new #1 in as many weeks at the domestic box office. Right behind it, last weekend's #1 film, Us, and Disney's holdover release of Captain Marvel will continue to perform well, helping deliver a strong March at the domestic box office. Meanwhile, Pure Flix will debut Unplanned and Neon releases Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum, both in over one thousand locations. Looking at a #1 finish is Disney's latest live-action re-imagining of one of their classic animated features in the Tim Burton-directed Dumbo, which takes the 64-minute animated 1941 feature and delivers a nearly two-hour retelling. Disney will debut the film in over 4,200 theaters and forecasting the film's opening weekend performance is not at all clear cut. The studio is anticipating a $50+ million debut while other sources are suggesting a debut close to $60-65 million. The critical response...

Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer's much-anticipated remake of Stephen King's Pet Sematary crawls out of the grave and into your local movie theater next month. Like many of the rest of you guys out there, I missed the film's World Premiere at the SXSW film Festival earlier this month, and so I'm counting down the days until I can sit in a crowded theater and see it reborn for myself. And while we wait, today we already have word that further films may be in the works. Not a sequel mind you, but possibly a prequel if we can believe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who recently said this.

"I generally don't start thinking about [sequels] until they're a success. I think if there's anything here, there's a prequel. I think if you look at the book, we didn't cover all that stuff that happens before the Creed family moves in.

In today’s film news roundup, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” sets a Sony Pictures record, Chris O’Dowd is honored, “The Spongebob Movie” gets a date change, and arm-wrestling movie “Golden Arm” gets a director.

Box Office Milestone

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has topped $170 million at the domestic box office to become Sony Pictures’ biggest animated film, surpassing the lifetime total of “Hotel Transylvania 2.”

Sony’s eighth weekend of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is heading for another $4 million at 2,234 venues this weekend as it battles Warner Bros.’ seventh frame of “Aquaman” and Universal’s 12th weekend of “Green Book” for fourth place.

Sources said in November before “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” opened that Sony Pictures was developing a sequel and spinoffs. The film, with Shameik Moore voicing Miles Morales/Spider-Man, has also taken in nearly $170 million from international markets.

Honor

Chris O’Dowd will be honored with an Oscar Wilde Award by the U.

We’ve got some more cool casting news for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part that all of you DC fans will be happy to hear.

According to Flickering Myth, Gal Gadot will be voicing Wonder Woman in the sequel. The heroine was previously voiced by Cobie Smulders, but it makes sense for Gadot to take over. It was also confirmed that Margot Robbie and Jason Momoa will be reprising their roles as Harley Quinn and Aquaman, respectively.

The movie will also include appearances by Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern, and they will be voiced by Will Arnett, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill. Cyborg and The Flash will also be in the movie, but there’s no word on who’ll be voicing those characters.

“The Lego® Movie 2” reunites the heroes of Bricksburg in an all new action-packed adventure to save their beloved city. It’s been five years...

I’ve got a fun new promo spot here for you to watch for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. It’s called “Justice League,” and it features the DC superhero team assembling to defend Bricksburg from an alien invasion.

I’m looking forward to this movie. It looks like it’s going to be a fun and comedic adventure that fans of the first film are going to enjoy. It’s definitely taking the story in very different direction than I was expecting.

The much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, global box office phenomenon that started it all, “The Lego® Movie 2: The Second Part,” reunites the heroes of Bricksburg in an all new action-packed adventure to save their beloved city. It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are facing a huge new threat: Lego Duplo® invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than they can rebuild.

A brand new TV spot for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is here and it's bringing the Justice League along for the ride. It's been a few years since we first encountered Emmet and the citizens of Bricksburg in the first Lego movie, but the highly-anticipated sequel is finally coming our way in 2019. Now, we've got a little bit of new footage showcasing some of DC's biggest heroes who are getting in on the action to help save the day.

The TV spot reveals that all is not well these days as the happy world we left off with last time is now a Mad Max style wasteland. Emmet is going to have to save his friends from aliens, but he's not going to be able to do it alone. The spot gives us a glorious shot of the Justice League suited up and ready for action.

We’ve got a new international trailer to share with you for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. It’s called “Space” and after showing us what happened right after the end of the first movie, it launches into Emmet embarking on a journey into space to save Wyldstyle and the rest of his friends, who were abducted by an alien from another world.

On this journey, Emmet runs into a badass character named Rex Dangervest who joins Emmet on his quest, and Emmet also wants Rex to teach him how to be tough. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen from this sequel so far and it looks like it’s going to deliver some good laughs and entertainment.

The returning cast also includes Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Will Arnett as Batman, Channing Tatum as Superman, and Jonah Hill as Green Lantern. Then there's Tiffany Haddish, who will...

Tony Sokol Nov 27, 2018

Stephen Hillenburg took an educational comic book to Bikini Bottom in the Pacific, and drove SpongeBob Squarepants to Nickelodeon.

Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, died at the age of 57, according to Variety. The news was confirmed by Nickelodeon, which tweeted "Today, we are observing a moment of silence to honor his life and work." Hillenburg was diagnosed last year with the neurodegenerative disease Als.

“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with Als,” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued SpongeBob SquarePants with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will...

Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died on Monday, with his official cause of death listed as ALS. He was 57.

“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with Als,” Nickelodeon said in a statement Tuesday. “He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”

Hillenburg revealed he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease — last March, saying in a statement at the time that he would...

Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the megahit Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died on Monday. He was 57.

The cause of death was Als, which Hillenburg revealed he had been diagnosed with in March of last year.

“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with Als,” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”

Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation,...

Warner Bros. has released a brand new trailer for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and the story takes Emmet on what looks to be a crazy awesome intergalactic adventure to save Wyldstyle and the rest of his friends, who are abducted by an alien from another world.

The trailer also highlights the new character Rex Dangervest, who is a galaxy defending archaeologist, cowboy, and raptor trainer. He’s basically all the other movie characters that Chris Pratt has played all rolled into one. He will help Emmet on his journey.

This sequel looks like it’s going to be just as fun as the first movie, and I like what I’m seeing in this new trailer that if filled with all kinds of entertaining footage.

The returning cast also includes Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Will Arnett as Batman, Channing Tatum as Superman, and Jonah Hill as Green Lantern.

The third Spongebob Squarepants movie has been given a new release date by Paramount. The project was first announced in 2017 and has been delayed for a later than initially expected release. It looks like the studio has worked things out and has now dated SpongeBob Squarepants 3 for July 17, 2020. That should position the third big screen outing for the popular Nickelodeon cartoon character as one of the big family movies arriving that summer.

Paramount had previously dated what is officially titled, quite simply, The Spongebob Movie, for July 31, 2020, after delaying it a year from August 31, 2019. This new date puts it out a full two weeks earlier. There are no specific titles currently slated for the previous date, but Marvel Studios does have an untitled movie slated for release on July 31, 2020. Regardless of what that title ends up being, it's a date that other studios are likely to back off of, considering...

The third Spongebob Squarepants movie has been given a new release date by Paramount. The project was first announced in 2017 and has been delayed for a later than initially expected release. It looks like the studio has worked things out and has now dated SpongeBob Squarepants 3 for July 17, 2020. That should position the third big screen outing for the popular Nickelodeon cartoon character as one of the big family movies arriving that summer.

Paramount had previously dated what is officially titled, quite simply, The Spongebob Movie, for July 31, 2020, after delaying it a year from August 31, 2019. This new date puts it out a full two weeks earlier. There are no specific titles currently slated for the previous date, but Marvel Studios does have an untitled movie slated for release on July 31, 2020. Regardless of what that title ends up being, it's a date that other studios are likely to back off of, considering...

Stx Entertainment has come on board to co-produce “Warriors,” one of the highest-profile movies being developed by Alibaba Pictures. “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman and Stx board member Gigi Pritzker will produce the live action-and-CGI hybrid, which is based on a series of young-adult books and targeted at children and the Ya crowd.

Award-winning Hollywood pair Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have signed on as screenwriters. Their credits include the three installments of “Kung Fu Panda,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”

“Warriors” is based on books by Erin Hunter, the collective pseudonym of three U.K.-based writers – Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland – along with an editor, Victoria Holmes. Published by Harper Collins since 2003, the books feature clans of forest-dwelling cats caught up in stories of adventure, forbidden love, and faith.

Stx and Alibaba Pictures, the film offshoot of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba,...

Chaos ensues in the all-new family comedy, Woody Woodpecker, now available on DVD, Digital and On Demand from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film blends live action and CGI animation to tell the crazy and humorous story of an all-out turf war between the mischievous prankster and a big city lawyer who wants to build his dream home in Woody’s backyard. Directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day), Woody Woodpecker stars Timothy Omundson (“Psych”), Thaila Ayala (“Rio Heat”), Graham Verchere (“Fargo”) Jordana Largy (Monster Trucks) and Eric Bauza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), as the voice of Woody. The Woody Woodpecker DVD and digital features deleted scenes and an exclusive inside look at the making of the film as well as the evolution of Woody’s iconic cartoon character.

Alex Zamm, the director of Woody Woodpecker,...

Mark Harrison Jan 30, 2018

Paramount Pictures has faced a tougher time than most studios of late. What, though, does it have planned next?

In any given year, the top ten highest grossing films at the worldwide box office are mostly made up of franchise films or adaptations of existing intellectual property. Around the world, the movie business is a franchise game right now, and of the traditional 'big six' studios, Paramount Pictures seems to be falling behind its rivals.

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After an almost unbroken string of box office flops and underperformers in 2017, the studio has recently been in the news after selling international distribution rights to Alex Garland's hotly anticipated second feature Annihilation to Netflix, and are reportedly looking to do the same on the long delayed third Cloverfield film.

To briefly take inventory of their competition's big hitters,...

Chaos ensues in the all-new family comedy, Woody Woodpecker, coming to DVD, Digital and On Demand on February 6, 2018, from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film blends live action and CGI animation to tell the crazy and humorous story of an all-out turf war between the mischievous prankster and a big city lawyer who wants to build his dream home in Woody’s backyard. Directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day), Woody Woodpecker stars Timothy Omundson (“Psych”), Thaila Ayala (“Rio Heat”), Graham Verchere (“Fargo”) Jordana Largy (Monster Trucks) and Eric Bauza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), as the voice of Woody. The Woody Woodpecker DVD and digital features deleted scenes and an exclusive inside look at the making of the film as well as the evolution of Woody’s iconic cartoon character.

Now you can own Woody Woodpecker on Blu-ray.

Chaos ensues in the all-new family comedy, Woody Woodpecker, coming to DVD, Digital and On Demand on February 6, 2018, from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film blends live action and CGI animation to tell the crazy and humorous story of an all-out turf war between the mischievous prankster and a big city lawyer who wants to build his dream home in Woody’s backyard. Directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day), Woody Woodpecker stars Timothy Omundson (“Psych”), Thaila Ayala (“Rio Heat”), Graham Verchere (“Fargo”) Jordana Largy (Monster Trucks) and Eric Bauza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), as the voice of Woody. The Woody Woodpecker DVD and digital features deleted scenes and an exclusive inside look at the making of the film as well as the evolution of Woody’s iconic cartoon character.

Woody Woodpecker is back with his signature laugh,...

Bucking conventional practices when it comes to streaming services and their (typically secret) ratings, Amazon has released data on their most-watched series of 2017.

Globally, “The Grand Tour” Season 1 was the top series of the year, with “Sneaky Pete” Season 1 coming in second, “The Man in High Castle” landing in third for Season 1 and fourth for Season 2, while “The Tick” snuck in at the No. 5 slot. Those rankings were the same for U.S. viewership, except No. 1 and No. 2 switched, as “Sneaky Pete” took the top slot in the States.

Notably, two of these seasons — “Sneaky Pete” and “The Tick” — were new to Amazon in 2017. “The Grand Tour” debuted in November 2016, and its second season has only been available since Dec. 8.

Read More:‘Mr. Robot’ Creator Sam Esmail on Why There Is Only One Correct Choice for the Best TV Show of 2017

But there’s more good news for “The Grand Tour,...

Chaos ensues in the all-new family comedy, Woody Woodpecker, coming to DVD, Digital and On Demand on February 6, 2018, from Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film blends live action and CGI animation to tell the crazy and humorous story of an all-out turf war between the mischievous prankster and a big city lawyer who wants to build his dream home in Woody's backyard. Directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day), Woody Woodpecker stars Timothy Omundson (Psych), Thaila Ayala (Rio Heat), Graham Verchere (Fargo) Jordana Largy (Monster Trucks) and Eric Bauza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), as the voice of Woody. The Woody Woodpecker DVD and digital features deleted scenes and an exclusive inside look at the making of the film as well as the evolution of Woody's iconic cartoon character.

Woody Woodpecker is back with his signature laugh,...

DreamWorks Animation's The Croods 2 is finally back on the right track after the studio set a new release date for the animated sequel last month. Today the studio has set Joel Crawford to make his feature directorial debut with The Croods 2, after serving as head of story on the studio's Trolls and directing the new TV special DreamWorks Trolls Holiday, which was announced this week and will debut on NBC Wednesday, November 24. Here's what Chris deFaria, president of DreamWorks Animation Film Group, had to say in a statement about the filmmaker.

"Joel has done masterful work in his career and has proven himself to be an artist with a keen eye for character and story. His wonderful work at the helm of the DreamWorks Trolls Holiday as the director demonstrates his ability to expand his talents, and we think he's the perfect choice to bring the Croods...

Around this time last year Suicide Squad debuted to the tune of $133.6 million and gave the 2016 summer movie season a much-needed jolt. This year the summer movie season is in the midst of a slump, off nearly 9% compared to last year and don't expect this weekend to turn things around. Sony's adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower should top the box office, but only with an opening around $20 million while fellow new wide release Kidnap appears unlikely to crack double digits. Meanwhile, Annapurna will deliver Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit nationwide following its limited release last weekend as it looks for a spot in the weekend top five among the holdovers. Back in 2010, Universal set a 2013 release date for The Dark Tower. At the time, Ron Howard was set to direct the Stephen King adaptation and there was talk of telling King's sci-fi fantasy story across both film and television.

Last year Mondo brought out the fun horror side of SpongeBob Squarepants with their Hash Slinging Slasher poster, and now Nickelodeon is giving horror fans who enjoy a little pineapple under the sea another reason to rejoice, as they've announced a stop-motion SpongeBob Halloween special premiering this October, and you can watch the first clip right now:

Press Release: Fans filled the room to the gills at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 for Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom panel on Saturday, July 22. During the panel, series’ notable voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy) Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) and surprise guest Brian Doyle Murray (Flying Dutchman) performed a live table read of a fan-picked classic episode, “Shanghaied.”

Moderated by Claudia Spinelli (Executive in Charge, SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon), a look at the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants stop-motion special was given from Nickelodeon...

Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce with Jiaflix, China’s 1905.

Us and China-based Jiaflix Pictures is teaming with its Chinese partner 1905 Pictures and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce $100m futuristic action thriller Speedhunters (working title).

Rob Cohen [pictured] is directing from a script by Josh Parkinson (Free Country). The film is scheduled to start shooting in Shanghai, Studio Babelsberg in Germany and other international locations in July 2017 for release in summer 2018.

Set in the near future, the film follows a team of racers and their crew who get drawn into the intrigue surrounding a revolutionary technology that threatens to change the world.

“Speedhunters has all the tenets of a global franchise with its action sequences, visual effects, relatable characters and a storyline that takes ordinary people through a journey of extraordinary circumstances,” said Di Bonaventura.

“We are excited to work with Hollywood powerhouses Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Rob Cohen, both who have exceptional track records in developing and directing...

First known as a singer, songwriter and record producer, Pharrell Williams began composing music for movies with the soundtrack for Despicable Me in 2010. Since then, his movie credits have included Despicable Me 2 -- his original song "Happy" was nominated for an Academy Award -- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Paddington and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. His songs have been heard in nearly 300 movies and television shows.. More recently, he earned another Academy Award nomination as a producer on last year's Hidden Figures. He also shared in composing original songs and music for the movie. Now his life story is heading to the big screen. Titled Atlantis, it will be a musical inspired by Williams' childhood, according to The Hollywood Reporter...

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Warner Bros. is currently in the middle of making a well-rounded, cinematic universe out of Lego movies, something that is still a bit surprising to think about. The Lego Movie was a massive hit for the studio in 2014 and next weekend will see the release of The Lego Batman Movie, which looks to be another big success. The Lego Movie 2, officially titled The Lego Movie Sequel, is getting ready to get off the ground as well and has just found a new director in the form of Trolls helmer Mike Mitchell.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Mike Mitchell will be tackling The Lego Movie Seqeul for Warner Bros. Previously, director Rob Schrab, who worked a lot on the show Community, was attached, but according to the report, he departed the project over "creative differences." Warner Bros. didn't skip a beat, though, and tapped Mike Mitchell, who directed Shrek Forever After,...

It’s Friday, everything is awesome, and The Lego Movie sequel has located its director: Mike Mitchell.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, confirming that Mitchell, best known for his recent work on DreamWorks’ animation Trolls, now steps into the director’s chair left vacant by Rob Schrab, who parted ways with Warner Bros. citing “creative differences.” Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the original brains behind Warner’s 2014 sleeper hit, recently turned in the sequel’s first script before Disney and the Han Solo anthology movie came calling. Since then, BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg has hashed out another draft, though it remains to be seen whether Mitchell will fine-tune any aspects of the screenplay now that he’s officially on board to direct. Meanwhile, Dan Lin and Roy Lee will produce alongside Miller and Lord.

With credits on Shrek Forever After, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,...

2017-01-03T07:48:50-08:00New 'Fifty Shades Darker' Trailer Turns Up the Heat

When the Fifty Shades of Grey book series hit the best-seller lists, its hook was its kinky take on power-exchange relationships. A new trailer for Fifty Shades Darker, however, suggests that the first sequel in the film franchise is ditching that dynamic entirely in favor of a conventional erotic thriller plot line.

In Darker, it looks as if Anastasia Steele holds all the relationship cards, declaring that this time, there are "no rules, no punishments." In fact, Anastasia seems to be in control of a subdued Christian Grey, even going so far as to snatch the check away from him at a restaurant. There's no hint of bondage or any other kinkiness in the trailer, unless you consider wearing masks to masquerade balls or getting sexy in an elevator kinky.

The edgy...