AWN Headline News

Acme Filmworks director Peter Chung (AEON FLUX) has finished his fourth spot for Rally´s and Checker´s hamburger stands. The anime style spots all feature the fast-driving femme fatale, Holly. In the newest commercial "Johnny Law," a cop clocks Holly doing 243 mph in her car. The sly seductress races through a Rally´s/Checker´s drive-thru nabbing two Bacon Cheese Champs. Once cornered by the copper, the cunning character hands over her license conveniently placed between the buns of a burger.

Beating out the only major new release BIG MOMMAS HOUSE, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 finished atop the U.S. box office for the second straight weekend. The TV series redux grossed another US$27.02 million. The sensational sequel, with primary visual effects by Pacific Data Images, Double Negative Ltd. and CFC, has now topped the scales by making $130.7 million in only one and a half weeks in theatres. Now proving that Martian Lawrence in a rubber fat ladys suit is more attractive to moviegoers than realistic talking dinosaurs, Disneys DINOSAUR slipped to #3, making $12.04 million.

Making history on June 6, 2000, 20th Century Foxs TITAN A.E. was beamed digitally from a remote location to an Atlanta theater during the Supercomm trade show. The film was sent from Qwest Communications Cyber Center in Burbank, California using a secure Internet transmission protocol developed by Cisco Systems Inc. Up until now, digital projection systems played the movies on the screen from DVD-like disks. Many studios, however, question the security of sending their top-secret premieres over satellite and Internet lines.

Amidst the resignation of their three-month term CFO, Cinar Corp. announced it would regain CA$10 million more of the $122 million that was invested without the company boards approval. Cinar expects to receive the $10 million from Nassau, Bahamas-based Globe-X Management Ltd. after the investment matured May 31, 2000. Cinar said Globe-X required five business days from May 31 to "process transactions for administrative purposes" and that Cinar expected to receive the $10 million within that time.

On Tuesday, June 6, 2000, the House of Representatives approved and sent to the White House legislation awarding a Congressional Gold Medal to late PEANUTS comic strip creator Charles Schulz. The gold medal is the highest civilian honor given by Congress. The measure, which the House passed by voice vote after unanimous approval by the Senate, praises Schulz for giving "the nation a unique sense of optimism, purpose and pride.

* Thursday, July 6 Sunday, July 16, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

MTV viewers voted for their theater favs and THE MATRIX rose to the top. The sci-fi sensation took home nods for best picture, best actor for Keanu Reeves and best fight between Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. The naughty number "Uncle F**ka" from SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER AND UNCUT took home the prize for best musical performance. When excepting the award Matt Stone thanked the "MTV viewers for not even nominating Phil Collins." STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 THE PHANTOM MENACE finally got some thank yous for best action sequence.

Z.com announced it will preview the upcoming NBC animated series SAMMY on the Web. This deal coincides with the Internet entertainment programming companys recent acquisition of Comedy.com. The series is loosely based on the real-life experiences of creator David Spade and his father. The seemingly unfunny plot line centers on Sammy, a deadbeat dad who abandoned his son, but comes back into the childs life once the son has become rich. The toon premieres on TV, July 25, 2000, with actors Maura Tierney (ER), Andy Dick (NEWSRADIO) and Spade providing voices.