Welp, here’s another studio that’s shut down. You may recall that Rhythm & Hues — the award-winning studio behind movies like The Life of Pi and  The Golden Compass filed for bankruptcy not long after The Life of Pi took home the VFX trophy. You may even recall director Ang Lee trying to bring light to the injustice of the industry before being played off stage.

As much as we love Hollywood and the magic creates, the reality is that there are a lot of victims strewn about Tinsel Town, and many of them reside in the world of VFX, where companies bid for projects, resulting in low-ball contracts with razor-thin margins. Well, it looks like the industry has claimed yet another victim.

According to Cartoon Brew, MPC (Moving Picture Company) has shut down their studio in Vancouver, Canada. This means that, effective immediately, the branch will no longer continue operation. The employees were notified via email.

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The letter cited “increasing external market pressures in Vancouver and more opportunities in other locations,” as a reason for calling it quits in the Canada branch. They also state that the studio will “refocus its geographical presence in other locations.”

Another nice thing is that following the single paragraph of explanation, they give two paragraphs of history of the company, because that’s exactly what a let-go employee wants to hear about the second they learn they have no job. You can read the short letter HERE.

Obviously, MPC is much bigger than that particular Vancouver studio, but that office recently did wonders on The Lion King and even worked hard on the Sonic the Hedgehog redesign that appeased plenty of fans.

What do you think of this news? Is it just the nature of the business, or does Hollywood need to figure out another way to make this work? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Cartoon Brew