AWN Headline News

AnotherUniverse.com, a website devoted tocomic books and science fiction, has reported that the widow and daughterof Jerry Siegel, co-creator with Joe Schuster of Superman, have filedpapers with the U.S. Copyright Office which have the effect of returning50% of the rights to the character of Superman to them. (Apparently, DCwill retain 50% interest in the rights unless the family of Joe Schusterfiles similar papers. Whether the Schuster family, or representative, will

The first episode ofSATURDAY NIGHT FRED, a CartoonNetwork.com Web Premiere Toon, debuted onAugust 30, 1999. The cartoon features clips from the 1963 season of THEFLINTSTONES that have been re-edited, with new voice-overs, to create newstories featuring Fred, Barney, and the rest of the Flintstones cast fromthat year. Viewers can either download the show as a QuickTime file, orview it as a streaming file. In both cases, it is possible to interact withthe show by replying to questions whose answers determine the direction the

Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished first at the US weekend boxoffice for the fifthconsecutive week, grossing an estimated $28.5 million over the US Labor Dayholiday weekend, $8 million more than the previous week. Its total nowstands at $175.5 million. No other animation related films finished in thetop ten.

Earlier this year Image Entertainment andLightyear released ART AND JAZZ IN ANIMATION, a compilation DVD of morethan four hours of features and shorts by John and Faith Hubley. Thecompilation includes two features, THE COSMIC EYE and OF STARS AND MEN, aswell as the shorts: OF MEN AND DEMONS, VOYAGE TO NEXT, EGGS, COCKABOODY,THE HOLE, THE HAT, DIG, HARLEM WEDNESDAY, ADVENTURES OF *, URBANISSIMO, andTHE TENDER GAME. While some of the older films are disappointingly fadedand a bit worn, fans of Hubley or independent animation will not want to

Broderbund has released TOTALLY MAD, a seven CD-ROM compendium thatdocuments the history of MAD MAGAZINE. Included are the entire run ofissues up to 1998 from almost 50 years of MAD's history, along with videoclips of staff and artists, songs and animated cartoons from the currentsyndicated TV show including Spy vs. Spy and 14 animated marginals drawn bySergio Aragones. Back issues can be browsed page by page, or searched forarticles on specific topics. This is a collector's dream. Requires Windows95/98. Retail price is US$69.95.

Santa Barbara, California-based SANTA BARBARA STUDIOS, a visual effectscompany that produces CGI for motion picture, commercial, television andspecial venue markets, has hired PETE TRAVERS as CGI supervisor and VIVIENMINTON as sales and marketing manager. Travers is returning to the studiowhere he previously worked on AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS, after which heleft to form his own company, ShadowCaster, through which he worked ascomputer graphics supervisor for Oscar winner WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. Minton

At the 53rd Edinburgh International Film Festival, which ran August 15-29,The 10th Post Office McLaren Award for the Best British Animation was wonby Tim Hope for THE WOLFMAN. The award is named in honor of the greatScottish experimental animator, Norman McLaren. The competition was judgedby a panel of six previous winners of the McLaren Award, including GedHaney, Phil Mulloy, Tim Webb and Sue MacLoughlin. Animation Director BobGodfrey accepted the award and a check on behalf of the winner from the

DENNIS KANG, a graduate of Robert Bateman Secondary School in Abbotsford,Canada, has been awarded a $5,000 entrance scholarship by the CENTER FORDIGITAL IMAGING AND SOUND (CDIS). Kang will begin his post-secondarystudies this October in CDIS's full-time Character Animation Program.Established in 1979, CDIS is one of Canada's oldest and most successfulprivate media arts colleges with graduates working world-wide in today'smost interesting fields.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment previously announced that the 60thAnniversary Edition of Disney's classic PINOCCHIO would be the first Disneyanimated feature to be released in the DVD format [Animation Flash8/24/99]. Now they have announced that a new VHS edition of PINOCCHIO,fully restored and THX-certified, will be available on the same day as theDVD version, October 26, 1999 in the US. This version will include a"Making of Pinocchio" bonus section, which will only be available on the