Nexus Studios, which maintains bases of operation in London and Los Angeles, has added director Emily Dean to its global roster for commercial representation. Dean’s visual artistry and commitment to pushing the boundaries of adult animation were showcased recently through her directorial work on the Emmy Award-winning Netflix animated series, Love Death + Robots.
Dean is an Asian-Australian writer, director, and artist living in L.A. Alongside her directorial work, Dean has made significant story artist and visual consultant contributions to major films such as The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Movie 2, Scoob!, Hotel Artemis and the Oscar Award-winning Hairlove. During this time she worked closely with studios including Pixar, Warner Bros, Animal Logic, Lionsgate, and Sony Pictures Animation. In 2023 Dean was awarded an Annie Award for Best Storyboarding TV/Media for her captivating episode of Love Death + Robots, Volume 3, titled “The Very Pulse of the Machine.”
Dean’s journey in filmmaking began in rural Australia, where her passion for drawing and storytelling flourished from a young age. Driven by her dedication to animation, Dean pursued further education at the Australian Film TV Radio School and later at the California Institute of the Arts. Her independent animated short film Forget Me Not was inspired by her family’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease and earned her a nomination for Best Short Animation at the Australian Academy Awards. Dean’s talent extends beyond animation, as evidenced in her live-action sci-fi short film, Andromeda, which toured film festivals, including LA Shorts International Film Festival and was picked up by sci-fi streaming platform, Dust.
Chris O’Reilly, co-founder and chief creative officer, Nexus Studios, said, “Emily brings with her a dynamic fusion of first-class storytelling, creativity and technical acumen. Her ability to breathe life into characters, weave compelling narratives, and deliver captivating visual experiences is genuinely exceptional. We look forward to exciting new projects together!”
The Grammys’ voting body is more diverse, with 66% new members. What does it mean for the awards?
For years, the Grammy Awards have been criticized over a lack of diversity — artists of color and women left out of top prizes; rap and contemporary R&B stars ignored — a reflection of the Recording Academy's electorate. An evolving voting body, 66% of whom have joined in the last five years, is working to remedy that.
At last year's awards, women dominated the major categories; every televised competitive Grammy went to at least one woman. It stems from a commitment the Recording Academy made five years ago: In 2019, the Academy announced it would add 2,500 women to its voting body by 2025. Under the Grammys' new membership model, the Recording Academy has surpassed that figure ahead of the deadline: More than 3,000 female voting members have been added, it announced Thursday.
"It's definitely something that we're all very proud of," Harvey Mason jr., academy president and CEO, told The Associated Press. "It tells me that we were severely underrepresented in that area."
Reform at the Record Academy dates back to the creation of a task force focused on inclusion and diversity after a previous CEO, Neil Portnow, made comments belittling women at the height of the #MeToo movement.
Since 2019, approximately 8,700 new members have been added to the voting body. In total, there are now more than 16,000 members and more than 13,000 of them are voting members, up from about 14,000 in 2023 (11,000 of which were voting members). In that time, the academy has increased its number of members who identify as people of color by 63%.
"It's not an all-new voting body," Mason assures. "We're very specific and intentional in who we asked to be a part of our academy by listening and learning from different genres and different groups that... Read More