The recently concluded Cartoons on the Bay festival in Poistano, Italy has announced its awards. The Golden Pulcinella for best character went to the Little Entertainment Co.'s BILLY, an animated British TV series for pre-schoolers about an infant daydreamer. The Golden Pulcinella for best program went to Folimage's CHARLIE'S CHRISTMAS, a French TV film about an abandoned child's friendship with a postman.
Nickelodeon has announced that, following in the wake of the success of THERUGRATS MOVIE, another Klasky Csupo produced TV series, THE WILD THORNBERRYS, will get its own shot at the big screen. The film will have abudget of at least $25 million and release is expected in 2002. THE WILD THORNBERRYS is currently the most popularanimated TV series on Nickelodeon.
SGI's Silicon Graphics(R) Onyx2(TM) visual workstation will be used toproduce and project the world's first scientifically accurate 3D atlas ofthe Milky Way Galaxy at the new Hayden Planetarium as part of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History's Rose Center for Earth and Space in New YorkCity, which opens in 2000. As the centerpiece of the Hayden's 68-foot"virtual dome" Space Theater, Silicon Graphics Onyx2 will manipulatemassive scientific datasets containing billions of stars -- 100,000 times
THE MATRIX, the special effects heavy action film starring Keanu Reeves,returned to the number one spot at the US box office last weekend andgrossed an estimated $12.6 million to bring its cumulative gross to $117million.
Nichimen Graphics, Inc. (Nichimen), a manufacturer of technology for the 3Dcontent creation market, and Viewpoint(R) Digital, Inc. (Viewpoint),creator and publisher of a 3D digital content library, have releasedNendo(TM) & LiveArt(TM) SE Workshop, a combined graphics software packagethat provides 3D modeling and rendering tools for $99 (suggested retailprice).
The Workshop consists of Nendo v. 1.1, Nichimen's award-winning 3D modelingand 3D paint software, and Viewpoint's LiveArt SE software, with the
Pixar Animation Studios' revenues for the first quarter were $3.4 millioncompared with $5.0 million in the first quarter of 1998. Net income for thefirst quarter was $900,000 compared with $3.8 million for the first quarterof 1998. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter were $0.02compared with $0.08 for the first quarter of 1998.
A BUG'S LIFE has earned $162 million in domestic box office receipts and$190 million in international box office receipts, totaling $352 million
D.FILM and The New Venue in association with Atom Films and Evan's StarWars Cinema present a new online Star Wars-inspired filmmaking contest. Toenter, send in a short script for a Star Wars spoof. Short means very short- a story that can be told in two minutes or less. A panel of celebrityjudges (headed by a prominent member of the original Trilogy cast) willreview the scripts. At the end of April, the judges will select a script,and hand it over to a team of innovative digital filmmakers, including
* Through April 24. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
A selection of personal paintings and production pieces from the collection of UPA artist and experimental animator Jules Engel will be exhibited at the Tobey Moss Gallery (7321 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036) through April 24. Also included in the exhibit are his sculptures and paintings from Disney's FANTASIA. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For additional information, call (323) 933-5523.
The Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Television Animation will be held April 20-24, 1999 Positano, Italy.
Nickelodeon will preview SP0NGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, a new animated series, onMay 1 at 9:30 ET/PT in the USA. The cartoon features the adventures ofSpongeBob, a hopelessly optimistic and earnest sea sponge. Creator andexecutive producer Steve Hillenburg (ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE, THE GREEN BERET,WORMHOLES), studied art and marine biology before earning a degree from CalArts in Experimental Animation. Soon you will be able to visit Nick.com formore information about the series.
BBC1 has bought another season of New York-based BKN's POCKET DRAGONADVENTURES. The first season currently airs in the U.K. Monday and Thursdayat 3:45 pm on BBC1, averaging 1.3 million viewers, which represents about a37% share. The series features the mischievous little Pocket Dragons whoseek adventure in a magical world of wizards, knights and gargoyles.
Tom Sito will host an evening with Phil Mendez on Wednesday, April 28 at7:30 pm. Phil is one of the pioneering African American artists in Americananimation, a designer, author, director and storyteller. He was Marc Davis'assistant at Disney during the development of some of the his famousattractions at Disneyland. He has done work for Disney Feature Animation,Hanna-Barbera, Jack Zander, and Phil Kimmelman, and he was with RalphBakshi at the beginning of FRITZ THE CAT and HEAVY TRAFFIC. Don't miss this
Action's New Independent Talents Contest is aimed at the independent 3Dartist. Prizes include hardware and software as well as transfers to 35 mmfilm so that films may be shown in movie theatres. There is no entry fee.Deadline for entries is October 10, 1999. For more information visitwww.club-internet.fr/films-action.
The California Sun Festival, which took place at California StateUniversity Northridge on April 10 - 11, handed out the following awards:
The Golden Sun (Best of the Festival) went to Hannes Rall, Germany, for"Der Rabe" (The Raven), an 8-minute film freely adapted from the poem "TheRaven" by Edgar Allen Poe.
The Silver Stars (Best in each Category) wentto:
Traditional Animation: Andrea Guaraldo, Italy, for "Soffioni"
Computer Animation: Heiko Lueg, Germany, for "Sandland"
TOPIX/Mad Dog has completed the animation for "Stick People," a :30 spot,with a :15 lift. The colorful, playful spot, which promotes Crayola ColorWipeoffs, removable water-based magic markers, for TBWA/Chiat Day (Toronto,ON) and Binney & Smith Canada (Markham, ON), rolled out throughout CanadaMarch 15th and will continue to air through the end of the year. In it, aboy's stick figure drawings come to life. "With Photoshop I drew thefigures, frame by frame, so that it's a bit like cel animation, but not
Tricky Pictures has created "One and Only," a promo for the new Noggin TVnetwork. Noggin is an educational channel that is a joint venture betweenNickelodeon and Children's Television Workshop, and is currently subscribedto by nearly two million homes. The spot uses mixed-media and incorporatesfaces of real children with painted bodies in an outer space scene wherethe Noggin logo doubles as a planet being explored. The kids plant a flagon the planet, which doubles as a face. Ann Marie Fleming designed and
Yale University's Child Study Center, a division of Yale Medical School,has chosen New York's School of Visual Arts' Animation Department to createan animated film for use in autism research studies. The animation willtest the brain systems involved in social understanding, allowinginvestigators to test specific hypotheses about autism. The animatedexperiments will portray human interaction with geometric shapes. ReevesLehmann, Chair of the School's Film Video and Animation Department, is the
Will Vinton Studios is one of the world's leading stop-motion studios and specializes in developing original characters and bringing them to life with engaging personalities. Currently producing two prime-time television series, plus commercials and special projects, this studio is looking for an experienced STOP-MOTION ANIMATOR with the ability to demonstrate skills. The candidate will animate stop-motion puppets on miniature sets for any number of exciting projects from TV series to television commercials. This job is based in Portland, Oregon, USA.
Florida school is looking for experienced personnel for new Computer Animation Degree program...
We've all heard of a smoking jacket, but a smoking hat?...
This Week's Special Features In AWN's Ever Expanding Store: A compilation of shorts by ASIFA-East '99 award winner John Schnall...
AWN will soon be launching a brand new web animation showcase, and we're looking for you!
* Tuesday, April 27, 7:30 pm. San Francisco, California, USA.
ASIFA-San Franciso presents "Basic Principles of Traditional CharacterAnimation" with Mark West at the Exploratorium's McBean. Admission is free.This evening's event is the first in a proposed educational series byASIFA-SF, designed for people with a limited knowledge of animationtechniques. Mark West will present an illustrated lecture demonstration,using film clips to illustrate his points. West has been working as an
* Tuesday, April 27, 7:45 pm. San Francisco, California, USA.
SF ACM/SIGGRAPH sponsors a presentation on animating paintings in WHATDREAMS MAY COME. Scheduled speakers include Nicholas Brooks, Visual EffectsDirector; Ed Davis, Lunarfish; Mike Schmitt, Giant Killer Robots; LauraKelly, LA-based effects team member; Pierre Jamin and Peter Litwinowicz ofRE:Vision FX. The presentation will be preceded by a social 'hour' from6:30 pm to 7:45 pm. Where: Fort Mason Center Landmark Bldg. A, Marina Blvd.
* Friday, May 7th, 7:30 pm. Los Angeles, California, USA.
The Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present "ATaste of Tashlin: Early Hollywood Cartoons," cartoons by Frank Tashlinwhich he made before turning to live-action and going on to direct severalof Jerry Lewis' best films. The program includes PORKY'S POULTRY PLANT,PORKY IN THE NORTH WOODS, PORKY'S ROMANCE, THE MAJOR LIED TIL DAWN, THE FOXAND THE GRAPES, SCRAP HAPPY DAFFY, PORKY PIG'S FEAT, A CORNY CONCERTO,
