Film Production
Amazon Studios partners with Krofft Brothers
MUMBAI: Amazon Studios has signed a development deal with iconic television producers Sid and Marty Krofft to develop a reimagined pilot of classic ‘70s children live action series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.
“Sid and Marty are geniuses and we are honoured to be working with them to bring to the world a return of what we believe is TV’s most fabulous and funniest sea creature ever,” said Amazon Studios vice president Roy Price.
“Sid found Sigmund swimming in the ocean as seaweed. Boy, are we lucky to re-create Sigmund and the Sea Monsters with Roy Price and Tara Sorensen at Amazon Studios,” said Marty Krofft.
Many of the most colorful and fondly remembered children’s series of the 1970s and 1980s sprang from the imaginations of Sid and Marty Krofft. Their groundbreaking, live-action fantasy shows were mainstays of the Saturday morning airwaves, which had previously been the exclusive domain of cartoons. The Kroffts made their television debut in 1969 with NBC’s H.R. Pufnstuf, which centered on the magical adventures of a boy named Jimmy, a talking flute and a six-foot dragon.
The series, which introduced the brothers’ innovative mix of live-action and puppetry, was made into a Universal Pictures feature in 1970. The show continues to be broadcast around the world. Pufnstuf was quickly followed by The Bugaloos on NBC (1970) and Lidsville on ABC (1971). Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and Land Of The Lost premiered on NBC in 1974 and in 1975, respectively.
Later kids shows included Far Out Space Nuts, Lost Saucer and The Krofft Supershow, which included installments of Wonderbug, Big Foot & Wildboy, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Dr. Shrinker and Kaptain Kool and the Kongs. Their slate of children’s series gained notoriety with Pufnstuf ranking among TV Guide’s top cult shows ever for two years and Land of the Lost’s success in syndication leading to a remake of the series in 1991.
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
