AWN Headline News

OXYGEN MEDIA, Geraldine Laybourne's media company founded to providecontent for women, has promoted LISA GERSH HALL to chief operating officer.She will be responsible for legal matters, finance, human resources,business affairs and e-commerce. Previously, Hall was general counsel andchief administrative officer. Oxygen has also hired DAN TAITZ to be generalcounsel. He was formerly a partner with New York law firm Friedman Kaplan &Seiler.

Last week we announced that Warner Bros. Online and Brilliant DigitalEntertainment were joining up to create Multipath Movie Channel, a 3-Danimation channel, and that SUPERMAN: THE MENACE OF METALLO would be itsfirst online offering. Well, SUPERMAN 1: THE MENACE OF METALLO is alsobeing released on November 2, 1999 as a multi-path interactive DVDadventure. In the game, Superman flies to the planet Cadmus in search of astolen top-secret piece of technology, where he finds Metallo, a robot with

SEGA GAMEWORKS, a location-based entertainment venture formed by StevenSpielberg and DreamWorks SKG, Universal Studios and Sega Enterprises, hasnamed leisure entertainment industry veteran, RON BENSION, as president andCEO. As Chairman and CEO of MCA/Universal Studios Recreation Group from1992 to 1996, Bension was responsible for running all aspects of UniversalStudios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida in addition to developinginternational theme park joint ventures in the United Kingdom and Japan.

United Kingdom's ITV Network Centre has commissioned a second series of 13episodes of the animated series THE STORYKEEPERS from Dublin, Ireland-basedMonster Productions, an animation studio and distribution company formed in1995 by former management and artists from the Don Bluth studios. The newseries, produced by Shepherd Films, and distributed by Monster Distributes,will be delivered in Spring 2001 for broadcast on Sunday mornings. The newseries, which is a prequel to the existing series, is set in AD 8, and

Last week we announced that the THE IRON GIANT laser disc release will havea 1.85:1 aspect ratio, whereas the film was released with a 2.35:1. Inaddition, when we announced the DVD and VHS releases three weeks ago, weneglected to mention that the DVD, as well as the widescreen VHS release,will also be 1.85:1. It's unfortunate that none of these will be 2.35:1because Brad Bird designed THE IRON GIANT partly in homage to theCinemaScope films of the 1950s, and he even wanted to include "CinemaScope"

Copenhagen, Denmark-based A.FILM has completed "Jumbo Book," a :30 forDisney Scandinavia. The spot touts JUMBO, a collection of Donald Duckcomics. The spot mixes 2D animation and live-action. In the spot, alive-action maid stumbles across all sorts of 2D animated figures includingDonald Duck's beak, Uncle Scrooge's hat, etc. The figures tease and provokethe maid into opening a closet from which spill hundreds of Donald Duckcomic books, burying the maid. Live-action was directed by Michael Hegnerand animation was directed by Craig Frank.

Philip Weiss Auctions, in conjunction with The Big Apple Comic ArtConvention, is overseeing a large animation art auction that will takeplace on Friday, November 12, 1999 at 7 pm in New York City at theMetropolitan Pavilion. Thousands of pieces of animation art are beingauctioned to benefit The American Foundation for the Visual Arts. Previewsof the auction items will begin at 1 pm on November 12. The auction is partof The National Comic Book, Art, Toy, and Fantasy Convention. For moreinformation Tel. (516) 594-0731.