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Exclusive: On the heels of a huge week for their Adam Sandler-led Netflix animated feature Leo, co-directed with Robert Smigel, David Wachtenheim and Robert Marianetti have signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.

A musical comedy also featuring voice work from Bill Burr, Cecily Strong and more, Leo tells the story of an elderly lizard of the same name, who plots an escape from his longtime home within a Florida school classroom terrarium, alongside a turtle friend. Now laying claim to the biggest ever debut for a Netflix animated feature, the film bowed at the top of the English films list for the week of November 20 to 26 with 34.6 million views.

A pair of writer-directors known for their specialty in animation, Wachtenheim and Marianetti first came to work with Sandler and his Happy Madison banner when they were were hired as Heads of Story on Hotel Transylvania 2. The pair...

Robb Sheppard Jul 7, 2017

Robb takes us through the impact that alcohol had on his life,

Once again, for this week's Geeks Vs Loneliness, we're eschewing our usual introduction, that you can find on the 100+ other posts in this series (some links can be found further down the page). Instead, we're handing over to Robb, who asked us if he could write a piece entitled 'alchohol, depression and movies: the trilogy of my 20s'). With a fair smattering of film quotes - just in case the context isn't clear - here it is. Huge thanks to you, Robb...

See related Don Hahn interview: The Lion King, Disney, Pixar, Frankenweenie and the future of animation The Lion King: writer hired for live action movie

It’s 5pm and to the untrained eye, I’m itching. Jonesing. Crawling up the walls.

My life is fantastic. I hate my job, obvs, but I...

I was so stunned by the election I just couldn’t bring myself to write a damn thing for the last few weeks. Hell, in the case of Bleeding Cool it’s been months that I blame on my depression and trying to figure out how to fix a problem no one sees yet but with depression I couldn’t care less.

Then something magical happened. Call it a Thanksgiving comic book miracle. It was no less than that. So I hope to be reset at Bleeding Cool, ComicMix and my site Michael Davis World. Mdw had an outstanding and loyal following.

I messed that up big time a week after I began talks to partner with a massive site. Shit. That was stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. My depression was/is a motherfucker.

Once I become fixated on something I just kept at it regardless if I’d achieved my goals.

Image via NBC

Parks and Recreation is a show not many knew what to make of at first. In its first season, it seemed like something of a ripoff of The Office. And why wouldn’t it? It was co-created by Greg Daniels, one of the men behind the American version of The Office, and even one of Parks and Recreation’s leads, Rashida Jones, had a sizable role in The Office for a bit. The sense of humor was similarly awkward, and Leslie Knope felt like a carbon copy of Michael Scott — an insecure, people-pleasing, oblivious middle manager.

That started to change in Season 2, most notably in its last few episodes wherein characters Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger were introduced to the cast. Along with this injection of new blood came the departure of Mark Brendanawikz — a character who felt like the proverbial appendix of the show in that...

Real-life horrors are all around, and few are more terrifying than the fear of becoming mentally ill and spiraling down into an abyss of depression and despair. But there's always hope, as shown in Elizabeth Swados' My Depression: A Picture Book, now an animated short film.

My Depression: The Up and Down and Up of It had its world premiere during this past spring's Tribeca Film Festival, and we were fortunate enough to grab a few moments with one of the film's voice stars, the incomparable Sigourney Weaver.

We know... My Depression isn't really a horror movie by any stretch, but when you're given an opportunity to speak with Ms. Weaver, you grab it! And we can't imagine anyone complaining too loudly about learning more about such a timely, powerful, and inspiring story.

The iconic Ms. Weaver talks voicing the main character in theater legend Elizabeth Swados...