Tippett Studio, founded by two-time Oscar-winning artist, animator and filmmaker Phil Tippett, has expanded into Canada with the launch of its first satellite office. Based in Toronto, Tippett Canada will house a fully functioning postproduction studio, and will be headed by Gary Mundell, president of Tippett Canada and current chief operating officer of the Tippett Studio. Tippett Canada will be servicing clients including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Disney, Showtime, New Line and Legendary (on the film The Toxic Avenger).
Canadian-born Mundell was promoted from head of production to COO of Tippett Studio in January 2022. As head of production and EP on a range of projects, he has managed teams of over 200 people with budgets of up to USD $100m.
“Now is the perfect time for us to establish a permanent presence in Canada, which has emerged as a critical hub for the design and development of high end media,” said Sanjay Das, CEO of Tippett Studio. “Our new studio will serve our marquee clients and strengthen Tippett Studio’s position as one of the world’s leading creators of animation, VFX and location-based experiences.”
Recent Tippett Studio projects include The Book of Boba Fett and season two of The Mandalorian on Disney+, Locke and Keye (season two on Netflix), and Marvel Studio’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Tippett has recently moved into content production for themed entertainment and partnering with international brands in addition to its leading role as a postproduction house.
Tippett Studio’s film Mad God, which will be released on Shudder in the U.S. on June 16, recently world premiered to rave reviews at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival and was showcased at other festivals including the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival. The movie is an experimental animated project that is 30 years in the making and showcases the visionary Tippett’s brilliant mind as it has evolved over the decades.
Local school staple “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” from 1939 hits the big screen nationwide
Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy lost for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state's tallest mountain. Now the rest of the U.S. is getting in on the story.
Opening in 650 movie theaters on Friday, "Lost on a Mountain in Maine" tells the harrowing tale of 12-year-old Donn Fendler, who spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The gripping story of survival commanded the nation's attention in the days before World War II and the boy's grit earned an award from the president.
For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan's book, published the same year as the rescue, has been required reading in many Maine classrooms, like third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen's.
"I love that the overarching theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never quits. He goes and goes," said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who also read the book multiple times with her own kids.
Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the east branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Bruised and cut, starved and without pants or shoes, he survived nine days by eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).
The boy's peril sparked a massive search and was the focus of newspaper headlines and nightly radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the region to help.
The movie builds on the children's book, as told by Fendler to Egan, by drawing upon additional interviews and archival footage to reinforce the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times,... Read More