Latest news with #TheMill
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five quirky stories you missed this week as woman receives reply to message after 30 years
A woman who received a reply more than 30 years after she threw a message in a bottle into the sea is one of our five bizarre local news stories you may have missed this week. The Daily Record reported how Alaina Beresford, from Portknockie in Scotland, was shocked to receive a postcard from someone who had found the bottle washed up on a beach in Norway. Elsewhere, a seagull in Cornwall was caught on camera stealing a maintenance worker's mug, and a lollipop man in Yorkshire has been ordered not to give high fives to children he helps cross the road. You can read the full version of each of our selected articles through the links under each story – or read more top headlines from around the UK's regions on the Yahoo UK local news page. A woman who sent a message in a bottle as a girl has received a reply from 2,000 miles away - over 30 years after chucking it into the sea. Alaina Beresford was just 12 years old when she wrote a message and popped it into an empty bottle of iconic North East drink Moray Cup. And now, 31 years later, Alaina received the surprise of her life when that message got a response. Read the full story from the Daily Record A popular Stokesley pub has been named among finalist for the Best Pub for Dogs Award. The owner of The Mill, Alex Cook, says it was his own personal experience that led the way in creating a truly dog-friendly pub environment. The 43-year-old and his team are in the running for another award at The Great British Pub Awards, which takes place in September. In recent years, the pub has committed to catering for dog owners making it an experience for pups stopping by at the end of their walks. Read the full story from Teesside Live A beloved lollipop man has been told he can no longer give 'high fives' to children as they cross the road. Neil Cotton, 57, who assists primary and secondary pupils in Howden, near Hull, East Yorkshire, claims he's been instructed to stop the friendly gesture as it "upsets some drivers having to wait another ten seconds". Read the full story from Yorkshire Live A Herefordshire shop dealing in medals and military antiques is displaying another fascinating piece of history. War & Son Medal and Military Antiques based in Leominster have a piece of Adolf Hitler's marble map table from the Chancellery in Berlin at the end of the Second World War, thanks to the family of a British war veteran. Read the full story from the Hereford Times A maintenance man who had been bird-proofing a Cornish harbour town found himself the victim of a very unusual 'mugging', when a seagull got its own back - by flying off with his coffee mug. The caffeine-craving winged menace was pictured in full flight, with his victim's mug still hanging out of its beak. Read the full story from Cornwall Live
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Door County businesses face visa delays for student workers amidst appointment pauses
SISTER BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Door County's busy tourism season is underway, but a pause on visa interviews for international students is leaving some local businesses in limbo. Joan Hutchinson, general manager at Pheasant Park Resort in Sister Bay, says she hired nine international students through the J-1 visa program this year, with workers coming from Mongolia, Romania, Ecuador, Taiwan and Turkey. Dish on Wisconsin Supper Clubs: The Mill in Sturgeon Bay blends old-school traditions with 'Cheers' vibes But several of those students are still waiting on visa approvals, and some haven't even had their interviews scheduled yet. 'I've had one that's had her appointment and still hasn't heard back,' Hutchinson said. 'Another one doesn't even have her interview until June 10th.' The delays are already affecting operations at the 58-unit resort. Hutchinson says she's had to block off rooms from being rented because she doesn't have enough staff to clean them. 'That's a huge problem when you consider the majority of our income comes between June 15th and September 1st,' she said. The uncertainty is also weighing heavily on the students who take part in the cultural exchange program. 'It takes time and I have to pay more money to get a visa or go through the agency,' said Tergel Njaykhlant, a worker from Mongolia. 'It's a lot.' Others worry about what happens if they're denied after investing hundreds of dollars. Body of woman recovered from Bay of Green Bay identified as 42-year-old previously reported missing 'If they weren't able to get the visa, it's probably sad because it's a way to make new friends,' said student Nomund Uluum Nyamsren. 'It's not all about money, work, job — it's a cultural exchange, new experience, new people. That's it.' The U.S. State Department has not said how long the pause on visa appointments could last. For Door County businesses like Pheasant Park, the clock is ticking. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dustin Lynch to perform at the Mill in Terre Haute
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A country artist with eight number-one singles, four top-five albums and 4.5 billion global streams is coming to The Mill in Terre Haute this August. Since his debut, Dustin Lynch has established a reputation as one of country music's most dynamic performers, blending traditional country roots with a modern edge. Lynch is best known for his standout tracks 'Small Town Boy,' 'Ridin' Roads' and 'Thinking About You.' Micro wrestling and MINIKISS coming to The Mill 'His energetic live shows and smooth vocals have made him a favorite among fans nationwide,' said The Mill. Lynch is set to perform at The Mill on August 8, as part of the Hoosier Lottery Concert Series. Tickets will go on sale June 6 at 10 a.m. and are available to purchase at Ticket prices will range from $75 for VIP Standing Pit, $55 for VIP (seats allowed) and $35 for General Admission (seats allowed). For more information about this performance or any other events scheduled at The Mill, visit their website. Taylor Swift tribute band set for June show at The Mill Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Technicolor Bankruptcy: Framestore Adds MPC Supervisors; Mikros India Talent Joins Cinesite's Assemblage
Industry animation and VFX studios are continue to announce hires from units of the former Technicolor, which collapsed in February amid financial difficulties. Paris-headquartered Technicolor was the parent company of VFX giant MPC, commercial VFX studio The Mill, Mikros Animation and Technicolor Gaming. It's closure affected thousands of artists around the world. Among the recent deals, Rodeo FX acquired Mikros Animation's Paris and Montreal studios. More from Variety Technicolor Bankruptcy: Thinkingbox's The Heist Hires Band of Creatives from The Mill and Expands Services Technicolor Bankruptcy: TransPerfect Acquires MPC and The Mill's France Operations Technicolor Bankruptcy: Rodeo FX Acquires Mikros Animation Framestore has expanded the creative leadership at its London headquarters with the addition of VFX supervisor Patrick Ledda and animation supervisor Daniel Blacker, who come from London-headquartered MPC. Blacker recently worked as animation supervisor on Barry Jenkins' 'Mufasa: The Lion King' for Disney and Ledda's credits as a VFX supervisor include Disney's live action adaptation of 'The Little Mermaid.' Framestore's current work includes Brad Pitt racing drama 'FI' for Apple TV+ and Universal's upcoming 'How to Train Your Dragon.' Meanwhile Cinesite group's partner animation and VFX studio in Asia, Assemblage Entertainment, added key talent from Mikros Animation's former India base. 'Mikros India's DNA is now an integral part of Assemblage, and this isn't just about bringing in talent; it's about continuing our shared commitment to storytelling, craftsmanship, and passion for delivering world-class animation,' said Assemblage CEO Arjun Madhavan. 'We are thrilled to welcome this incredibly talented core team to the Assemblage family. We have been, are, and continue to be long-term champions of the 'India' story. This addition significantly bolsters our already impressive roster and will allow us to further elevate the quality of our artistry and solidify our position as a versatile studio with a growing portfolio in both animation and VFX.' The new hires in India include creative director Sean Mullen, head of production technology Siddharth Kumar, animation director Sanamani Singh, animation supervisor Prathik Gopinath, animation supervisor Sujit Das, animation supervisor Rahul Mishra, animation lead Selvan T, animation lead Shiladitya Gupta, CG supervisor Naresh Gunda and producer Mahendran Loganathan. Mikros Animation India recently contributed to the PAW Patrol movie franchise and DreamWorks' 'Orion and the Dark.' Assemblage recently completed animated sports comedy 'Sneaks' and Netflix fantasy series 'Wolf King.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
VFX Leaders Weigh Potential of Forming a Global Trade Association and Gauge Impact of AI on the Workforce
Asserting that visual effects companies are 'still abused' and 'taken advantage of,' industry luminary Scott Ross, whose four decades in the industry included co-founding Digital Domain and serving as an exec at George Lucas' companies including Industrial Light & Magic warned, 'if it's not changed, we'll continue to see companies go out of business and creative, wonderful people be unemployed.' Ross was direct as he shared his views on the potential of forming a global trade association (a subject that isn't a new one but has been back on the minds of many in today's volatile business climate and in the wake of the collapse of Technicolor), as well as the 'elephant in the room,' AI, during a panel at the FMX (Film & Media Exchange) confab, which wrapped this weekend in Stuttgart, Germany. He started the panel, moderated by veteran entertainment and tech exec Dave Gouge, by admitting to the audience 'you're not going to like me because I'm actually going to tell the truth.' More from Variety Producer Chris DeFaria on Creator Economy and Strategy Behind Startup Chronicle Studios: 'We're Trying to Invert the Development Process' Technicolor Bankruptcy: Framestore Adds MPC Supervisors; Mikros India Talent Joins Cinesite's Assemblage Technicolor Bankruptcy: Thinkingbox's The Heist Hires Band of Creatives from The Mill and Expands Services The largely non-union VFX industry has the Visual Effects Society, an honorary society, but not a trade association and amid the VFX industries struggles, it's a model that has been reexamined. 'I was always a proponent of trade associations,' Ross said, though he added that he is unsure if today there is a clear path. 'One of the problems that I saw with the people running the VFX companies is fear sort of stopped them from going to the clients and saying, 'we're mad as hell and we're not gonna to take it anymore.' So I thought a trade association, if we signed up most of the majors, could provide the ability to be able to have leverage' in changing what many view as a broken business model. 'My concern is that a lot of the majors are owned by the studios,' he continued, citing as examples that Netflix bought Scanline and Disney owns ILM. 'If they own the [VFX companies], it's in the studio's interest not to change the business model. … The ability to have leverage that I thought years ago might have gone away, and so I don't know if a trade association would work at this point, but I think it would be a shot worth taking.' Similar to Ross' point, panelist David Li, CEO of Dream Machine FX, a collective for VFX brands Important Looking Pirates, Fin, Zero VFX, Mavericks VFX, and ARC Creative (which it launched in February with a group of talent formerly of Technicolor's The Mill) noted, 'every industry in the world has [a trade association]. I think there's a substantial opportunity for advocacy and collaboration. 'What I will say is that it feels like different studios play by different rules in the visual effects industry, that is probably the bigger driver of the absence of one,' he added, saying that should the industry come together to drive change, 'everyone needs to self-enforce that.' Li (who reported during the panel that Dream Machine has been 'profitable every single year') concluded the trade association discussion with a pledge. 'I do think it is the right thing to do,' he said. 'If you started a trade association, we would certainly join, Dream Machine, I would commit that to everyone here. And I think you're right, shared advocacy I think would be very beneficial.' During the last couple years, some VFX practitioners have taken steps to join labor union IATSE, including in-house VFX workers at Marvel and Walt Disney Pictures. But Ross warned that to achieve the benefits of unionization, it would need to be an international union. He related that IATSE covers Canada and the U.S. and estimated that it costs about 20% more to run a union company. 'And so if my pricing increases by 20% [and there's] a non-union shop, and they're located in London or located in India, I'm hurting myself.' Ross also spoke frankly about his concerns surrounding the notion of AI as a tool for creatives. 'Having run large visual effects companies, the majority of the staff of the visual effects workers were actually not core creative people. There was a group of people, let's say 15 or 20% of a staff of 500 or 1000 that actually were … creative, but tertiary creative and secondary creative at best.' He added that 'they were taking direction from a core creative person, the director, and a secondary creative person' such as a visual effects supervisor, art director or animation director. 'But I think a lot of the community takes this whole 'I'm an artist' thing to a level that we're fooling ourselves,' he warned. 'Many people within a visual effects company are actually putting tires and brakes and fenders on a car. They are not designing cars. And having to try to transition my life from being a person who ran a visual effects company or two to being a producer and coming up with creative and writing screenplays and developing screenplays, it's a quantum leap. 'At the end of the day, at least the clients that I work with, they wanted quality [VFX] work. The best there was. They wanted it on time, and they wanted it cheap,' Ross continued. 'When AI winds up becoming a really substantive force, I wonder about what that will do to the visual effects workforce.' Li was more optimistic, suggesting that creativity is becoming all the more important. 'We've done a lot of research into AI, and what we've found is that if 100 is the percentage it needs to be, in terms of, you know, quality, to go from zero to 50, it takes, like, nothing. … And to go from 80 to 85 it takes, you know, 300 [people] and 300 graphics cards, and every step of the way just becomes incrementally harder.' Li predicted opportunities, 'but I think that will only enhance those in this industry who truly have a great deal of creativity, artistry and a very special eye.' 'I agree with him,' Ross replied, stating that creative people 'will be more in demand than ever. However, that's a very small portion of what the overall manufacturing process is for visual effects.' Ross concluded this thought be reminding the audience that AI is developing at a rapid pace, 'it's clunky and it has problems today, but it also is the fastest learning mother that is out there. And so what we're looking at today will be different in three months, in a year, in three years.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
