AWN Headline News

The president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Chuck Viane, haspromoted Manuel "Rod" Rodriguez to the post of senior vice president andgeneral sales manager for Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. In his newrole, Rodriguez will be responsible for handling sales and distributionoperations throughout the United States and Canada for all motion picturesreleased under the Walt Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures banners.Rodriguez, an industry veteran who has been based at Buena Vista's Atlanta

The Motion Factory, developer of the award-winning Motivate IntelligentDigital Actor(TM) System, has announced the completion of a new round ofventure funding from BankAmerica Ventures, SofInnova, and Digital MediaGroup. With the newly committed funds totaling $2 million, The MotionFactory plans to accelerate the development of the Motivate system and willinvest in expanded customer support services. The company also recentlyannounced development is underway to support Sony PlayStation 2, Sega

In London on Sunday night, April 11, The British Academy of Film and Televsion Arts (BAFTA) presented THE CANTERBURY TALES with their 1999 award for Best Short Animated Film. The film is a 27 mininute long adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic poem about pilgrims telling tales while travelling to Canterbury. The film includes three of the travellers' tales, each one animated in a different style. The film was produced by Renat Zinnurov, Claire Jennings, and Les Mills. It was directed by Aida Zyablikova, Ashley Potter, Dave Antrobus, Mic Graves, Joanna Quinn, and Jonathan Myerson.

The animation students at The Royal College of Art will exhibit their work as part of The Royal College of Art Show 1999: Design, Communication & Humanities from Wednesday 23 June - Sunday 4 July, from10am - 6pm daily + one late night. The college is famous for the high quality of work done by its students. It is located in Kensington Gore, London W7. For further information, TEL: 0171 590 4444; or FAX: 0171 590 4500. Also visit www.rca.ac.uk for more information.

Universal Pictures has begun production in Los Angeles on TribecaProductions' live-action/animated comedy adventure "The Adventures of Rockyand Bullwinkle," starring two time Academy Award(R) winner Robert De Niro("Raging Bull," "The Godfather Part II"), Jason Alexander (TV's "Seinfeld")and Rene Russo ("Get Shorty"). Des McAnuff ("Cousin Bette," Broadway's"The Who's Tommy") is directing from a screenplay by Kenneth Lonergan, withDe Niro and Jane Rosenthal producing. David Nicksay ("The Negotiator") and

This year the San Diego Comic-Con International will be held August 12-15.Comic-Con is the largest convention of its kind. It features a huge comicbook, animation, film and related items marketplace, a slew of panels, andmany special guests. The special guests currently scheduled include NeilGaiman (SANDMAN), Mike Mignola (HELLBOY), Art Spiegelman (MAUS, RAW), JimSteranko (publisher of PREVUE, writer and artist of famous 1960's issues ofS.H.I.E.L.D. and CAPTAIN AMERICA), Dave Stevens (THE ROCKETEER), Jill

International Fine Arts College, founded in 1965, has received approvalfrom the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities tooffer the Master of Fine Arts in Computer Animation. Classes will beginJanuary 2000. The Master of Fine Arts Degree in Computer Animation is astudio based, sixty credit program focusing on animation utilizing theSilicon Graphics platform with Alias|Wavefront Maya software. The AnimationStudio boasts 63 SGI O2s running the latest versions of Alias|Wavefront;

DIC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Disney, has sold two new animated seriesto Pax TV, a new family-oriented network in the US. "Archie's WeirdMysteries" and "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" will appear this Fallas part of the weekday "Pax Power Mystery Hour." "Archie's WeirdMysteries," a co-production with M6 France, is based on the long runningArchie comics series. In the series, a lab experiement goes awry, creatingsuch characters as a 50-foot Veronica, and Dr. Jughead and Mr. Hyde.

* Sunday, April 11. Richmond, Virginia, USA.

PRE-1950 AMERICAN ANIMATION will feature several gems including "Porky inWackyland," "Bimbo's Initiation," and Betty Boop in "Snow White." JanetScagnelli introduces the program which starts at 5pm at the James RiverFestival. TEL: (804) 355-1383. www.vcu.edu/artweb/jamesriverfest alsooffers further details.

PDI has named producer/director Don McBain as Visual Effects Producer for its Commercial and Feature Film Effects Division. McBain's credits include Production Supervisor for the STARSHIP TROOPERS Miniature Unit, the crash sequence for MONEY TRAIN, and line producer/production manager for 25 projects at Sony Pictures Imageworks, as well as making the independent, experimental Imax film, FIRE.

Judy Fearing has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president, Global Marketing and Studio Development, for Disney Consumer Products, it was announced Thursday by division Chairman Bo Boyd and President Anne Osberg.

A team from HELIUM PRODUCTIONS, INC. and TWO HEADED MONSTER has created a new computer animated spot for Starburst which immerses the viewer in a simulated water environment designed for absolute believability. The animators used SGI Octanes, Side Effects' Prisms, and Pixar's Photorealistic Renderman software to create the realistic physics of water splashing and swirling. At Helium Productions, John Scheafer was creative director. At Two Headed Monster Christopher Willoughby was creative director and Ruth Schiller produced.