AWN Headline News

Seagram Co.-owned Universal Studios, producer of the LAND BEFORE TIME series, will now be housed under the Canal Plus roof. The move is a result of French media mogul Vivendis recently board-approved acquisition of Seagram. The stock for stock deal values Seagram at US$34 billion. Vivendi shareholders will own 60% of the new firm, Seagram shareholders will hold 29% and the minority shareholders in Vivendi-owned Canal Plus will hold the remaining 11%. The new motion picture division of Vivendi will be entitled Canal Plus and will be lead by Canal Plus chairman and CEO Pierre Lescure.

The opening week failure of TITAN A.E. may have been the final straw that has pushed Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman and CEO, Bill Mechanic, to resign. Mechanic has decided to leave Fox and form his own production company much like former Disney chairman Joe Roths Revolution Studios. However, insiders say the abrupt exit was a result of pressure from parent News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch over financial losses and questionable movie greenlights.

* Saturday, July 15, 2000. Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.

* Thursday, July 13 Saturday, July 15, 2000. Reno, Nevada, U.S.A.

The 10th Annual Sensual & Erotic Art Exhibition is open to all artists using animation as their primary medium in the category of erotic art. This year's exhibition will focus on challenging works by promising new talent in this medium. For more information contact SASE at: The Lifestyles Organization, Attn: Curator, 2641 W. La Palma Ave. Suite C, Anaheim, CA 92801; Tel.: (714) 821-1235; Fax: (714) 821-9919; or E-mail xart@lifestyles.org.

On June 19, 2000, Activision, Inc. announced that on June 9, 2000, it reorganized into a holding company structure. The purpose of the reorganization was to provide the company with a more flexible organizational and capital structure and to enhance its financing options. As a result, the new Activision Inc. owns 100% of the previously publicly held Activision, Inc., which has been renamed Activision Publishing, Inc. The company structure will not change as a result of the reorganization. The company's existing stock certificates represent shares of the new holding company.

Threshold Digital Research Labs has announced the commencement of production on their first digitally animated feature film, FOODFIGHT! The branch of Threshold Entertainment received a large portion of the funding for the US$50 million picture from Korean company Natural Image. As part of the promotion for the film, Thresholds Web entertainment site TheThreshold.com will produce a 3D animated prequel series entitled FOODFIGHT!: THE ADVENTURES OF DEX DETECTIVE. The film chronicles the secret lives of product icons once the lights are turned off at the grocery store.

Shockwave.com announced a production pact with Artists Management Group (AMG). As part of the deal, shockwave.com will provide a US$10 million fund for AMG and its clients to develop animated content for distribution on the site. All work produced through the deal will be co-owned by both companies. Additionally, AMG and its affiliates will help shockwave cut deals in other entertainment mediums. "This partnership will allow us to provide even more opportunity for AMGs roster of clients," said Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, head of the AMG Animation Group.

Hoping to make big profits like Warner Bros. did on POKEMON: THE MOVIE, Twentieth Century Fox has announce they will release DIGIMON: THE MOVIE on October 6, 2000. Based on the #1-rated show on Fox Kids Network, the new flick centers on eight kids who team up with friendly monsters called Digimon, and together defend a mystical realm called the digital world from a gathering darkness. Fox says DIGIMON: THE MOVIE will contain "more lush and detailed animation than seen in the series." For fans of the series, the film will reveal pivotal continuity points linking DIGIMON seasons one and two.

In a new animated short entitled WILLS WORLD, U.S. pop star Britney Spears seduces the trousers right off Prince William. Airing on June 21, 2000 on the U.K.s Channel 4, the special cartoon is a funny send off to celebrate the Princes 18th birthday. The 18-year-old singer, Spears, has long expressed her hots for the hunky prince, elder son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. One portion of the cartoon shows the teenaged temptress pulling down the prince's trousers as she pursues him.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) announced it has acquired the on-line game company Verant Interactive, Inc. and named digital gaming executive Kelly Flock as president and CEO of Sony On-line Entertainment (SOE). Verant will be blended into SOE, which will base its operations in San Diego, California. The new arm of Sony has been responsible for operating the popular on-line games EVERQUEST, TANARUS and SOVEREIGN. Verant President John Smedley will become SOEs executive vice president and chief operating officer.