Latest news with #SpaceCadet
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kid Koala Talks Processing Grief Through ‘Space Cadet' as His Debut Feature Sells Wide: ‘People Keep Telling Me it Made Them Cry' (EXCLUSIVE)
'Space Cadet' is ready for launch. The animated feature – screening in Annecy's Contrechamp section – has shot for the stars in multiple territories for Urban Sales, selling to BAC Films (France), Filmin and Vercine (Spain) Benelux – Periscoop (The Netherlands), JEF (Belgium), Eksystent (Germany), Filmladen (Austria), Folkets Bio (Sweden), Angel Films (Denmark), Fivia (Ex Yugoslavia), Alfazbet (Japan), Hope Content (Taiwan) and Aeon Entertainment (Vietnam). More from Variety Miyu Backs Bittersweet Coming-of-Age Tale 'We Are Aliens' From Music Video Maestro Kohei Kadowaki (EXCLUSIVE) 'Odd Taxi's' Baku Kinoshita on His Melancholic Feature Debut 'The Last Blossom,' Premiering in Annecy Sentient Acorns, Badass Grandmas and Underwater Knights Feature Among MIFA's 2025 Feature Pitches 'People keep telling me it made them cry,' admitted director Eric San, better known as Canadian scratch DJ Kid Koala. The story is based on his own graphic novel, which he wrote back in 2009, following his grandmother's passing. 'She enjoyed Charlie Chaplin films. That's one of my fondest childhood memories: watching Chaplin with her. She would come visit us in Canada and didn't speak a word of English. These were the only movies we could share together.' At the time of her death, he was also expecting the arrival of his first daughter. 'My brain literally went in two different directions. I kept reminiscing about the times I'd spent with my grandparents and my parents, these special moments that really shaped my personality and my outlook on the world. Then I was also thinking about my daughter and the things I could share with her,' he recalled. 'When people talk to me about the movie, they mention sadness, but I feel it's more bittersweet. I value that I got to spend all that time with my grandmother and all the profound things she taught me.' Funnily enough, in a film dedicated to 'our grandparents,' they are nowhere to be found. Instead, little Celeste spends her days with a kind guardian robot. Her mum is an astronaut, away on dangerous missions. When Celeste grows up, she also decides to reach for the moon, but her old robot needs to stay on Earth. 'Watching Chaplin with my grandmother inspired me to learn about film production and art, but it also made her laugh, and I'd never seen that before. She was quite stoic, or maybe just a little shy. Even at six years old, I remember thinking: 'When I grow up, I want to create this kind of energy in a room.' My career has taken different courses, but at its heart, there's this idea of sharing fun and emotion, and creativity, and bringing people together.' As Kid Koala, he has toured with Radiohead, the Beastie Boys and Arcade Fire, he's contributed to soundtracks for 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Baby Driver' and composed music for Cartoon Network, Sesame Street and Adult Swim. Music is also important in his dialogue-free film. 'It deals with cycles of generations, and there are flashbacks allowing you to understand the special bond between Celeste and her guardian robot. I wanted them to feel nostalgic. I went back to my first instrument, which was piano.' In the past, he accompanied the original graphic novel with an album as well. 'My daughter had just been born, and her crib was just six feet away from my piano. I recorded it with headphones: these were essentially lullabies. I remember writing it with my right hand and holding her in my left, trying to soothe her. A lot of these musical cues were brought into the film.' He felt the songs in 'Space Cadet' needed to be 'comforting moments,' and came up with new versions of some established classics. He also had some help. 'I reached out to literally my shortlist of favorite singers on the planet. Karen O, Emiliana Torrini, Trixie Whitley, Martha Wainwright, Meaghan Smith and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets.' Celebrating life's little moments was a priority in the story. 'My older daughter just graduated from high school this week, and I was so glad I could be there for that. It was a big milestone. But looking back on my childhood, it was some of these days that my parents don't even remember that really stand out.' He added: 'The idea of every moment being a gift is something I've always tried to remember, but the operative word was 'space.' I'm a scratch DJ – it's easy for me to fill every second with noise. But I needed to give space to the story and music, and space to the viewers for them to think about their own childhood.' The film marks a 'full circle' moment for San. After graduating from high school, he applied to NYU, thinking about pursuing animation. That dream had to wait. 'I was accepted, but it was very expensive for us at the time. I chose not to pursue it. Instead, I studied to become an elementary school teacher. Later, even when I signed my first record deal, I would still draw my album covers and create comic books.' Ginette Petit, who produced 'Space Cadet' for Les Films Outsiders with Nathalie Bissonnette – with Mylène Chollet writing the script – came to his tour and bought the book. 'Two weeks later, she reached out, saying: 'I want to turn it into a movie.' I never expected it to happen.' San is currently showing the film at Annecy, where 'all these sensitive, introverted animators finally get to cut loose, yelling and throwing paper airplanes at the screen.' But it might not be a one-off experience. 'I would like to maybe follow a different character within the same universe. So many of my stories seem quite fantastic – a mosquito plays clarinet, moves to the big city and tries to join the orchestra – but I was also thinking about 'Space Cadet's' delivery bot. It delivers parcels every day and gets an insight into so many lives.' Before that happens, he hopes his film, and the story it tells, will help people process grief. Just like it helped him. 'When I was teaching, our class pet bunny had passed away, and the whole class was just wrecked. Everybody was crying. We decided to write, or draw, what that bunny meant to us. The kids were able to grieve through this project. That's in the DNA of the film,' he noted. 'My daughter had a fish once, and at one point, it started to swim strangely. I basically told her: 'I don't think it's gonna be with us for much longer.' She grabbed her little digital camera and started taking pictures of this sick fish. She said: 'I need to remember. '' 'Kids have high emotional intelligence: when it comes to things like death, they understand it. It's the adults who get nervous, because they don't want to rain on the parade of childhood. But death is a part of life.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kid Koala Talks Processing Grief Through ‘Space Cadet' as His Debut Feature Sells Wide: ‘People Keep Telling Me it Made Them Cry' (EXCLUSIVE)
'Space Cadet' is ready for launch. The animated feature – screening in Annecy's Contrechamp section – has shot for the stars in multiple territories for Urban Sales, selling to BAC Films (France), Filmin and Vercine (Spain) Benelux – Periscoop (The Netherlands), JEF (Belgium), Eksystent (Germany), Filmladen (Austria), Folkets Bio (Sweden), Angel Films (Denmark), Fivia (Ex Yugoslavia), Alfazbet (Japan), Hope Content (Taiwan) and Aeon Entertainment (Vietnam). More from Variety Miyu Backs Bittersweet Coming-of-Age Tale 'We Are Aliens' From Music Video Maestro Kohei Kadowaki (EXCLUSIVE) 'Odd Taxi's' Baku Kinoshita on His Melancholic Feature Debut 'The Last Blossom,' Premiering in Annecy Sentient Acorns, Badass Grandmas and Underwater Knights Feature Among MIFA's 2025 Feature Pitches 'People keep telling me it made them cry,' admitted director Eric San, better known as Canadian scratch DJ Kid Koala. The story is based on his own graphic novel, which he wrote back in 2009, following his grandmother's passing. 'She enjoyed Charlie Chaplin films. That's one of my fondest childhood memories: watching Chaplin with her. She would come visit us in Canada and didn't speak a word of English. These were the only movies we could share together.' At the time of her death, he was also expecting the arrival of his first daughter. 'My brain literally went in two different directions. I kept reminiscing about the times I'd spent with my grandparents and my parents, these special moments that really shaped my personality and my outlook on the world. Then I was also thinking about my daughter and the things I could share with her,' he recalled. 'When people talk to me about the movie, they mention sadness, but I feel it's more bittersweet. I value that I got to spend all that time with my grandmother and all the profound things she taught me.' Funnily enough, in a film dedicated to 'our grandparents,' they are nowhere to be found. Instead, little Celeste spends her days with a kind guardian robot. Her mum is an astronaut, away on dangerous missions. When Celeste grows up, she also decides to reach for the moon, but her old robot needs to stay on Earth. 'Watching Chaplin with my grandmother inspired me to learn about film production and art, but it also made her laugh, and I'd never seen that before. She was quite stoic, or maybe just a little shy. Even at six years old, I remember thinking: 'When I grow up, I want to create this kind of energy in a room.' My career has taken different courses, but at its heart, there's this idea of sharing fun and emotion, and creativity, and bringing people together.' As Kid Koala, he has toured with Radiohead, the Beastie Boys and Arcade Fire, he's contributed to soundtracks for 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Baby Driver' and composed music for Cartoon Network, Sesame Street and Adult Swim. Music is also important in his dialogue-free film. 'It deals with cycles of generations, and there are flashbacks allowing you to understand the special bond between Celeste and her guardian robot. I wanted them to feel nostalgic. I went back to my first instrument, which was piano.' In the past, he accompanied the original graphic novel with an album as well. 'My daughter had just been born, and her crib was just six feet away from my piano. I recorded it with headphones: these were essentially lullabies. I remember writing it with my right hand and holding her in my left, trying to soothe her. A lot of these musical cues were brought into the film.' He felt the songs in 'Space Cadet' needed to be 'comforting moments,' and came up with new versions of some established classics. He also had some help. 'I reached out to literally my shortlist of favorite singers on the planet. Karen O, Emiliana Torrini, Trixie Whitley, Martha Wainwright, Meaghan Smith and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets.' Celebrating life's little moments was a priority in the story. 'My older daughter just graduated from high school this week, and I was so glad I could be there for that. It was a big milestone. But looking back on my childhood, it was some of these days that my parents don't even remember that really stand out.' He added: 'The idea of every moment being a gift is something I've always tried to remember, but the operative word was 'space.' I'm a scratch DJ – it's easy for me to fill every second with noise. But I needed to give space to the story and music, and space to the viewers for them to think about their own childhood.' The film marks a 'full circle' moment for San. After graduating from high school, he applied to NYU, thinking about pursuing animation. That dream had to wait. 'I was accepted, but it was very expensive for us at the time. I chose not to pursue it. Instead, I studied to become an elementary school teacher. Later, even when I signed my first record deal, I would still draw my album covers and create comic books.' Ginette Petit, who produced 'Space Cadet' for Les Films Outsiders with Nathalie Bissonnette – with Mylène Chollet writing the script – came to his tour and bought the book. 'Two weeks later, she reached out, saying: 'I want to turn it into a movie.' I never expected it to happen.' San is currently showing the film at Annecy, where 'all these sensitive, introverted animators finally get to cut loose, yelling and throwing paper airplanes at the screen.' But it might not be a one-off experience. 'I would like to maybe follow a different character within the same universe. So many of my stories seem quite fantastic – a mosquito plays clarinet, moves to the big city and tries to join the orchestra – but I was also thinking about 'Space Cadet's' delivery bot. It delivers parcels every day and gets an insight into so many lives.' Before that happens, he hopes his film, and the story it tells, will help people process grief. Just like it helped him. 'When I was teaching, our class pet bunny had passed away, and the whole class was just wrecked. Everybody was crying. We decided to write, or draw, what that bunny meant to us. The kids were able to grieve through this project. That's in the DNA of the film,' he noted. 'My daughter had a fish once, and at one point, it started to swim strangely. I basically told her: 'I don't think it's gonna be with us for much longer.' She grabbed her little digital camera and started taking pictures of this sick fish. She said: 'I need to remember. '' 'Kids have high emotional intelligence: when it comes to things like death, they understand it. It's the adults who get nervous, because they don't want to rain on the parade of childhood. But death is a part of life.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Buzz Feed
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
47 Photos That Nail Using The Family Computer In 2005
POV: it's the 2000s. You get home from school, and you rush to the computer room (which was possibly just a big wooden desk in the living room). You boot it up, and world was at your fingertips. Kids today will never know the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of the 2000s internet. And you know what? I feel sorry for them. iPad kids WISH they could experience dial-up internet. In case you're as nostalgic for this time as I are 47 photos that will make you wish you were still haphazardly pressing cubes in Minesweeper. (Seriously, did anyone actually know how to play this?) There was really nothing like bootin' up the PC and seeing this screen, along with whatever icon you'd picked to perfectly fit your vibe. And then once you signed in, being greeted with this tranquil scene? Literally idyllic. You could start out with one of those sweet, sweet, built-in games the PC had, like the aforementioned Minesweeper, or, even better, Space Cadet. Solitaire was also a classic. The things I created in MS Paint belong at the Met, and it's a travesty I don't have them anywhere. I am positive that we ALL made a version of this at some point. For more sophisticated creations, you could always open up KidPix. Once you were done making your masterpieces, you got to the real good stuff: AOL. I can't even tell you how much I miss AOL Instant Messenger. It was SO much better than texting. I could waste hours just talking to SmarterChild. Or playing around with my away message, picking the perfect font and ~deep~ song lyrics. Speaking of song had to set the mood! Though honestly, sometimes I'd get SO distracted by these cool graphics in Windows Media Player that I'd just stare at them as music played and forget to do anything else. I feel like we never used headphones back then unless we were using a CD player, so full blast on these bad boys it was. Sorry, mom and dad. But most of my music-related time was spent in one place: Limewire. (Don't tell the government.) I was the QUEEN of burning CDs for my friends. I was once my sixth-grade class's go-to distributor of the High School Musical soundtrack. (Once again, don't tell the government.) When I got more advanced, I could rip stuff from YouTube. Which, BTW, looked like this in 2006. No unskippable ads!! These are the most watched videos on YouTube in 2007, if you were wondering what went viral back in the day. It was mostly babies laughing, Weird Al, and instantly quotable and totally random comedy videos like "Shoes" or "Muffins." All in all, it was a beautiful place. I mean, it gave us masterpieces like this one and Charlie the Unicorn. But before YouTube, we had ebaumsworld. I still remember my brother showing me Aisha, which is burned into my brain to this day. PSA: You can still visit and play the Impossible Quiz, though the site looks a lot different. You can also still play Neopets, and it looks pretty much the same. Everyone had a go-to Neopet type, right? I always went with occasionally Wocky, Kau, or Scorchio, if I wanted to change things up. Webkinz always felt in a lot of ways like the successor to Neopets. Low-key, Artie has always been a "hear me out" for me. We can't forget Club Penguin, either. Remember when you'd ask random other penguins to be your boyfriend? No? Just me? I feel like the user interface for sites was just more fun back then. Like, this was the site for Nickelodeon, and it was awesome. Here's the one for Cartoon Network, if you were a Johnny Bravo kid. Disney was even better. And the games??? Top tier. The Kim Possible one was definitely the best, though. The MyScene website was also awesome. (You can still play a lot of these games!) Weirdly, cereals had some of the best online games in the 2000s. Remember Waffle's Jungle Adventure? (Which you can still play!) Millsberry even made a whole, like, online world, complete with your own personalized avatar, that I was obsessed with. (Unfortunately, you can't still play this one). Speaking of online was ELITE. (You can also still play this one!!! It's a recreated version, but still.) There are also computer games you can still play recreations of. If you miss Carmen know what to do. And of course, The Sims is still around. But nothing beats those terrible graphics of that first game. Why did we all watch our Sims drown by making them go in the pool, then removing the ladder? Were we all little sadists? I can't even legally speak of the horrors I inflicted on the guests of Roller Coaster Tycoon. I was much more gentle with my Zoombinis. If you spent too long contemplating a Zoombini puzzle, you might see this iconic screensaver. Or this one. Or this one, which I could watch for hours. Remember the website visitor counter? I haven't thought about this in years. And Yahoo pool, which was somehow better than playing on an actual pool table. Before signing off, you might've checked out titles on Netflix so you could beg your mom to order Shrek 2 for the next family movie night. Remember back when Netflix only consisted of physical DVDs? And finally, after a long, fulfilling few hours of visiting your favorite sites and games, it was time for a dinner of Annie's mac and cheese and hot dogs, along with a bowl of broccoli your mom melted a piece of American cheese over. Or maybe that was just my family. All in all...I miss those days.
India Today
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Actor Emma Roberts paired opposite comedian Matt Rife in new film Marriage Material
Hollywood actor Emma Roberts and comedian Matt Rife are set to star in the romantic comedy 'Marriage Material'. Producers launched worldwide sales of the film at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.'Marriage Material' will be directed by Trish Sie, known for her works like 'Players' and 'The Sleepover', and the screenplay will be written by Ben Agron and Brandon Feldman, according to a report by reported by Variety, the plot of 'Marriage Material' follows the founder of a dating app, whose deadbeat husband's alimony payments are bleeding her dry, so she must use it to find him a new wife before her company goes public. BuzzFeed Studios' president, Richard Alan Reid, told Variety,' 'Marriage Material' is a fresh, fiercely funny romantic comedy with an undeniable heart.' He added, 'Emma and Matt are a comedy duo that audiences worldwide will enjoy. We're delighted to be partnered with Capstone Studios, and believe that with its bold humour, irresistible charm, and modern twist on love, 'Marriage Material' is poised to become a global crowd-pleaser."The 34-year-old actor was last seen in the 2024 comedy film 'Space Cadet' and is best known for her performances in 'American Horror Story' and 'We're the Millers'.Matt Rife, who will be opposite Roberts, is currently on his biggest comedy tour to-date with his 'Matt Rife: Stay Golden' Watch
