
A Somerset animator has dream job working on Hollywood movies
After growing up in Cheddar, Jude Brownbill now lives in California, working for Pixar.The animation studio is responsible for creating films like Cars, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and Encanto.Ms Brownbill has likened her job to being an actor, "because we're taking the words and the staging and the emotions we need to convey, and we're making the characters move and come to life".She said: "Knowing that movies can do that to you - the storytelling, taking people on an emotional journey - and that's another reason why I wanted to be an animator."
Ms Brownbill studied 3D computer animation in the UK, before moving to the US, and working with Pixar on films including Soul, Cars 2 and 3, Inside Out, Turning Red, Incredibles 2, The Good Dinosaur and Brave.She was the animation supervisor on Elio, the latest release from Disney Pixar.Elio is the story of a young boy desperate to make new friends, who is beamed up by aliens, taken deep into space and given the title of "leader of Earth".

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Sky News
22 minutes ago
- Sky News
UK content creators demand formal recognition from the government
The UK's YouTubers, TikTok creators and Instagram influencers have been surveyed on mass for the first time ever, and are demanding formal recognition from the government. The creator economy in the UK is thought to employ around 45,000 people and contribute over £2bn to the country in one year alone, according to the new research by YouTube and Public First. But, despite all that value, its workers say they feel underappreciated by the authorities. "If you look at the viewership, our channel is not too different from a big media company," said Max Klymenko, a content creator with more than 10 million subscribers and half a billion monthly views on average. "If you look at the relevancy, especially among young audiences, I will say that we are more relevant. That said, we don't really get the same treatment," he told Sky News. Fifty-six per cent of the more than 10,000 creators surveyed said they do not think UK creators have a "voice in shaping government policies" that affect them. Only 7% think they get enough support to access finance, while just 17% think there is enough training and skills development here in the UK. Nearly half think their value is not recognised by the broader creative industry. The creative industries minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said the government "firmly recognises the integral role that creators play" in the UK's creative industries and the fact that they help "to drive billions into the economy" and support more than 45,000 jobs. "We understand more can be done to help creators reach their full potential, which is why we are backing them through our new Creative Industries Sector Plan," he said. "The UK has got a fantastic history of supporting the creative industries," said Ben Woods, a creator economy analyst, Midia Research who was not involved in the report. "Whether you look at the film side, lots of blockbuster films are being shot here, or television, which is making waves on the global stage. "But perhaps the government needs to broaden that lens a little bit to look at just what's going on within the creator economy as well, because it is highly valuable, it's where younger audiences are spending a lot of their time and [the UK is] really good at it." According to YouTube, formal recognition would mean creators are factored into official economic impact data reporting, are represented on government creative bodies, and receive creator-specific guidance from HMRC on taxes and finances. For some, financial guidance and clarity would be invaluable; the 'creator' job title seems to cause problems when applying for mortgages or bank loans. "It's really difficult as a freelancer to get things like mortgages and bank accounts and credit and those types of things," said podcaster David Brown, who owns a recording studio for creators. "A lot of people make very good money doing it," he told Sky News. "They're very well supported. They have a lot of cash flow, and they are successful at doing that job. It's just the way society and banking and everything is set up. It makes it really difficult." The creative industries minister said he is committed to appointing a creative freelance champion and increasing support from the British Business Bank in order to "help creators thrive and drive even more growth in the sector". The government has already pledged to boost the UK's creative industries, launching a plan to make the UK the number one destination for creative investment and promising an extra £14bn to the sector by 2035. These influencers want to make sure they are recognised as part of that.


The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
We're proper Oasis superfans who fell in love over iconic group & got married – we even named our son after band member
WHEN Oasis announced they were reforming last year, most of the nation gasped in shock, got super- excited . . . and then went back to their daily lives. But for some, the reunion was what they had spent years of their lives discussing, analysing and hoping, wishing and praying for. 12 Because when original members Liam, Noel, Bonehead, Guigsy and Tony McCarroll burst on to the scene in 1994, Oasis changed their lives for ever. Here, we speak to five superfans who met their partners or found their calling through the band. "I always loved bumping into this guy who had been on the journey with me from the start" - Emily Cleary MUM-OF-TWO Emily, 47, from Gerrards Cross, Bucks, met future husband Jamie as a teenager at her first Oasis gig. She says: "I first set eyes on Jamie when I sat next to him on an eight-hour coach trip to Paris in 1995. 12 12 I was 16 and had somehow convinced my mum I would be perfectly safe travelling with a group of four boys to the French capital to watch a rock 'n' roll band play at the Bataclan. While my girl friends were into Take That, I was obsessed with Oasis. And as we boarded the 5am bus from London 's Victoria, I sat down next to Jamie, who I only knew through mutual friends. We travelled to Paris, watched Oasis bring the house down, and I returned a lifelong fan. The gig was amazing, so we decided to go to Glastonbury to watch them a few months later. That appearance at Glasto was the first time we heard Don't Look Back In Anger, and I remember my spine tingling as I looked at Jamie. This was something special. Time passed and over the next ten years I saw Oasis at Knebworth, Earls Court, Wembley and more. Sometimes I'd bump into Jamie and I'd always love seeing this guy who had been on the Oasis journey with me from the beginning – and I rather fancied him. As I approached 30, Facebook was invented and Jamie and I got back in touch properly. We started to plan a Glastonbury trip and book gigs to go to, including Oasis at the Eden Project. Friendship developed into more, and soon we were a couple. So in July 2009 and newly engaged, off we traipsed to Cornwall to watch what was to be one of their last gigs. Shortly after failing to catch Liam's tambourine, we got married, and now have two kids. The first song played when we were married was Live Forever, and our wedding rings are both inscribed with 'Live Forever'. On Friday, Jamie and I, plus two of the original Paris group, will travel to Cardiff to see Oasis's first reunion gig. A month later we will take our kids to Wembley to watch them. Everything has come full circle." "After I met Justin briefly at a concert, the universe just kept throwing us back together" - Lisa Marks LISA, 41, from Canada, met her husband Justin through their love of Oasis – and named her children after them. She says: "My son Liam, 13, was named after, well, Liam, and my 11-year-old daughter Jill is named after one of the band's most legendary photographers, Jill Furmanovsky. 12 12 But it didn't just inspire my parenting, it shaped my entire life. I met Justin through a shared love of the band We walked down the aisle to Round Are Way, and even had 'OASISGRL' as the licence plate on my old Pontiac. I first discovered Oasis aged 12 in 1996. The song I love the most is Whatever. I had a hard time in school. I was bullied and ended up changing schools. It made me feel, 'F*** you all. I'm going to be whatever I want to be'. While my classmates went mad for the Spice Girls, I launched The Liam Lover's Club, sold Oasis bootlegs on eBay and had the email address 'timeforliam'. Then on June 17, 2005, I met Justin briefly at an Oasis gig. 12 I was in a relationship at the time, but we stayed in touch through MSN Messenger, swapping messages about Oasis news and ticket sales. Later, when I was single in 2006, I reconnected with him while buying a gift at HMV – after spotting a Liam Gallagher photo taped to the till and discovering from the cashier that Noel would be playing locally. When I messaged Justin about it he revealed that he was working at HMV, it was his picture of Liam taped to the till that I'd seen and it was his tip – from a music industry pal – that I'd heard about. The universe just kept throwing us back together. We reunited at a Noel acoustic gig in November 2006 and got together not long after. It was so corny but our first kiss was while Wonderwall was playing. We married in September 2010, with matching rings engraved with 'I U OASISGRL' and 'And7 we can slide away'. Lisa also tells her story in And After All: A Fan History Of Oasis by Melissa Locker. Re- printed by permission of Gallery Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC "I've been mistaken for Liam" - Steve Brown THE 46-year-old from Basildon, Essex, went from fan to lead singer in tribute band Oasiz. He says: "From the moment I clapped eyes on Oasis blasting out Some Might Say on Top Of The Pops in 1995, I knew life would never be the same. 12 I was just 16. I went from having a curtains haircut and listening to Whigfield to having the basin haircut, getting the baggy checked shirts and walking around in shades even when the sun wasn't out. I kept scrapbooks with every news-paper cutting. No matter how small it might seem, like news Liam had had a haircut, I'd make sure I had it. Within weeks, I'd started teaching myself how to play the guitar. I started writing songs and then in 2005 I formed Oasiz, with my older brother Marcus as Noel, while still working a day job in exports. Five years later, I went full-time, performing as Liam Gallagher in the tribute band but also doing solo gigs in character. In 2023 a video I performed in racked up more than half a million views, with some fans convinced I was the real Liam. But Oasis didn't just shape my career, the band shaped my entire life. I met Gary Ayres, the bassist in Oasiz, 25 years ago and we're still best mates. And while gigging at a hotel in Ibiza in 2012, I met Melanie, then 33 and on holiday with family. The spark was instant and we married just six months later." "I started calling people Our Kid" - Felix White FELIX, 40, is guitarist for indie band The Maccabees and a presenter on cricket podcast Tailenders. He says: "(What's The Story) Morning Glory? became the first LP I owned. It was better than any-thing I could have ever imagined. 12 Oasis had taken my confusion and searching and turned it into words. The information that they sent into my infatuated mind, however, could at times be quite confusing. Rock 'n' roll was the only form of music worth listening to. Got it. The Boyzone and Eternal tapes were dispensed to the bin. Guitars were the best. Yep. Synthesisers were terrible. I didn't know what one was, but agreed. Rock 'n' roll was about being yourself. Noted. It's just that in the same breath, they seemed to not approve of anyone who was 'themselves' and wasn't, well, them. Fashioning an upbringing from Burnage, Manchester, when you live next to Wandsworth Common in South London is a complicated manoeuvring act. But I had faith that I could achieve it if I made sure I was exposed to Oasis at all times of the day. Before I'd sleep I would plan what Oasis song I would listen to first thing the next morning, fast-forwarding the cassette to the position. I learned the interviews completely by heart. I would now refer to people as 'our kid'. I looked at Noel Gallagher on the cover of There And Then, the live Oasis video. I studied every face in the crowd fixed exclusively on him, all joined together in communal worship. He had achieved all that with a guitar. I knew the only way to make sense of my life from here was to, somehow, get myself there too." It's Always Summer Somewhere: A Matter Of Life And Cricket, by Felix White, £9.99, published by Cassell. "No Oasis? I'd be pretty boring" - Rob Fiddaman THE DJ, music historian and radio host, from Stoke-on-Trent, got in early on collecting Oasis memorabilia. He says: "I was 17, driving home, when Live Forever came on the radio. We were so used to hearing boybands crooning on bar stools, but to hear this guitar-driven music on the radio changed everything. I went to see Oasis in 1996 at Knebworth and that sealed the deal. I'd always been a music collector, but around 2010 I noticed that no one was selling Oasis memorabilia. So, I started buying bits and bobs for fun. Then I got a phone call from Alan McGee, the record label owner who'd signed Oasis in 1993. 'Either you're f***ing mad, or you're a genius,' he said to me. And he asked me to sell some of his Oasis stuff for charity. Then I started selling and valuing things for ex-bandmembers too. In 2014, the band's managers asked me to value items for the exhibition Oasis: Chasing The Sun. On opening night, I was a bit early so I went to the pub next door. I walked in and a guy went, 'Hi Rob!' It was Brian Cannon, who was the band's original art director. He introduced me to Paul Gallagher, Liam and Noel's brother. Then Bonehead joined us, by which point I was feeling pretty rock 'n' roll. Then the guys said, 'We're going to meet Liam now. And, soon enough, I was drinking pornstar martinis with my idol. Over the years, I've somehow become the go-to Oasis guy. I've made 100 BBC appearances and written a book, Buying Into Britpop. I'm constantly DJ-ing, and I've just set up my own record label, Deadly Records. Oasis changed my life. Without them, I'd be a pretty boring guy."


The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Cheryl Tweedy set for sensational TV return after 5 years as she rebuilds career following shock death of ex Liam Payne
CHERYL Tweedy is set to return to TV after five years — and is in advanced talks to be a mentor on The Voice. The former Girls Aloud singer is being lined up for the 14th series, reuniting with long-time pal 3 3 The rapper and producer rallied round Cheryl following the death last year of Liam Payne, father to her son Bear. A TV insider told The Sun: ' and Cheryl first worked together 16 years ago and have remained good friends ever since. 'She was the obvious choice to mentor his team when the Battle Rounds return four years after being axed. 'A lot has happened in Cheryl's personal life since she was last working on a talent show — BBC's The Greatest Dancer — so she's taking baby steps to put herself back out there. 'Teaming up with as a guest mentor seems the perfect way to kick-start her comeback.' The ITV series is expected to air in early 2026 and bosses hope to convince Cheryl, 42, to sign up to the show permanently. New coach, Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland Sir Tom Jones and McFly pair Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher. Cheryl was devastated when One Direction star Liam, 31, fell from his hotel balcony in Argentina in October. This month, Netflix will screen a show called Building The Band, in which he appears as a guest judge. The insider added: 'It's bittersweet that Cheryl is going to be a guest judge so soon after Liam held the same role in one of his last projects before he died. 'She knows he would be supporting her every step of the way.' Cheryl's talent show career started on Popstars: The Rivals when she was voted by the public to be a member of new band Girls Aloud in 2002. Simon Cowell snapped her up as a judge on The X Factor aged 24. He then took her to LA for the US version, but she was sacked after just one episode. There was a backlash over her infamous purple flared trousers and orange top and viewers struggled with her Geordie accent.