AWN Headline News

Oxygen Media has named several senior executives to its sales and marketingteam. MARY MURANO, who joins Oxygen as the Senior Vice President forAffiliate Sales, was formerly Executive Vice President, Distribution andAffiliate Marketing at AMC Networks; LAURIE BENSON, who is the new SeniorVice President for Advertising Sales, was formerly Vice President,Advertising Sales of Home & Garden Television; TRICIA MELTON, who has beennamed Vice President for Consumer Marketing, joins Oxygen from the Food

Geraldine Laybourne, Oxygen Media's Chairman and CEO, has announced thatOxygen Media has signed a carriage agreement with MediaOne, a domesticcable operator, to distribute Oxygen's cable network. The new Oxygennetwork, which is scheduled to launch on 02/02/2000, will be integratedwith Oxygen's existing online properties to create a "home base" for womenon cable and the Internet. Oxygen's carriage agreement with MediaOne willdeliver Oxygen to over 1 million subscribers at launch. Under the terms of

Rob Davies, a 1999 Emmy nominee for his work on STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS:PINKY, ELMYRA AND THE BRAIN, has recently returned from Warner Bros. T.V.Animation in L.A. to his native British Columbia, Canada to start up a newanimation studio, Atomic Cartoons Inc. Joining Davies is former REN ANDSTIMPY animator and Universal Cartoons director Mauro Casalese, directorTrevor Bentley (Nickelodeon's CAT DOG, Nelvana's NED'S NEWT), and directorOlaf Miller (Sony's LITTLE WITCH). "Our main focus is to assist companies

A bit of controversy has arisen due to the striking similarity between somescenes in James Gurney's DINOTOPIA books and George Lucas' STAR WARSEPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE. The questionable parallels include thatbetween PHANTOM MENACE's royal Naboo city of Theed and DINOTOPIA'sWaterfall City; the trip through PHANTOM MENACE's Naboo's core and asubmarine ride in THE WORLD BENEATH; the celebratory parade at the end ofthe film and several scenes from DINOTOPIA books; and between Jar Jar Binks

STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, the digital effects driven actionfilm from Lucasfilm, grossed $25.4 million to bring its total to $296.7million while finishing second to newly released AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHOSHAGGED ME in the US weekend boxoffice race for the week ending Sunday,June 13. Universal's THE MUMMY, with digital effects by ILM, finished fifthwhile grossing $5.48 million to bring its total to $136.2 million; THEMATRIX, directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, finished seventh, grossing

French production company Alphanim's RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT, a series,co-produced with Cinar, about a group of three friends who travel the worldseeking out paranormal phenomena, will begin airing on the Fox FamilyChannel on Wednesday, July 14, 1999. Alphanim, which was created in 1997 byChristian Davin, has announced a number of new television series that arein production or development.

In production:

SPACED OUT is a family sitcom created by P. Colin-Thibert and J.C. Islert,

Gerry Lewis, currently the co-head of international distribution andmarketing for DreamWorks, will retire from that post in September 1999 toplay a new role for the company, it was announced today by DreamWorksprincipal Jeffrey Katzenberg. Lewis has entered into a three-yearagreement, under which he will consult on the international marketingactivities of all films directed by Steven Spielberg (for DreamWorks andother studios), as well as any sequels to or other versions of projects

Continuing to build upon the rapid growth of its television division'sdevelopment slate, Film Roman Inc. has teamed-up with televisionwriter/producer Norman Lear to develop TIL THE FAT LADY SINGS, an animatedprime-time comedy series. According to Norman Lear, the series will take anirreverent look at infirmity and old age, but also celebrate life andliving. The show revolves around characters who gather at a seniorcitizen's recreation facility and who cope with the challenges of old age