AWN Headline News

A sad cloud has eclipsed the world of animation since the passing ofbeloved voice-over actress, Mary Kay Bergman. She recently has provided thevoice for Daphne Blake in the two most recent Scooby-Doo direct-to-videoflicks; Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in "Batman: Subzero"; the "official" voicefor Disney's Snow White; and all but one of the female voices on ComedyCentral's "South Park." Many questions surrounding the details of herpassing have surfaced since fans have logged onto her Web site which only

Big news from the next-generation entertainment industry! AtomFilms hasacquired PixelWave, a leader in online content development andentertainment technologies. The acquisition has spurred AtomFilms to makeplans to form "Atom Studios," a next-generation entertainment studio. Thenew company will focus on the creation of new original Macromedia Flash andstreaming media animated series and integrating content in both onlineadvertising and sponsorship opportunities. "PixelWave delivers an important

Starting on Monday, November 15, 1999, Walt Disney Co. must stop using thegreen traffic light-type emblem for its Go.com Web sites. U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. ruled that the logo used by Disney is toosimilar to the one used by the GoTo.com search engine. In December 1997,GoTo.com began using the logo of a green circle on a yellow backgroundwith the letters "GoTo" in white. Almost two years later, Disney beganusing a logo of a green traffic light in a yellow case with "Go" written in

Will the power of Pokemon ever stop? U.S. fans of the animated seriesproved this weekend that they had to catch all of POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE.After setting the record for the biggest Wednesday opening of all time foran animated film, the Pikachu vehicle grossed an estimated $52.1 millionover a 5-day period, squishing the non-summer record of $45.7 million setby A BUG'S LIFE. The much anticipated new film from Kevin Smith, DOGMA,with visual effects by Station X Studios, bucked controversy and finished

Disney Interactive, ESPN andKonami have announced that they will produce a full line-up of ESPN sportstitles for video game consoles and personal computers. The multi-platformsports brand will combine the full power of ESPN, a leading provider ofsports programming, ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com, with Konami's expertise intechnology and game development. Approximately 10 titles are expected tolaunch in 2000. The first titles, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL and NBA BASKETBALL,both for Sega Dreamcast, and MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER on Sony PlayStation, will

The Moondance International Film Festival has announced the finalists for its first competition, Moondance2000. The festival takes place in Boulder, Colorado, January 14-16, 2000 aspart of the Sundance Film Festival. Entries from female screenwriters andfilm-makers from any country were welcomed to the competition. For moreinformation e-mail: mermaid7cs@aol.com; or write: Moondance InternationalFilm Festival, 970 Ninth Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.

The following films are finalists in the animation film category:

Playmates Toys has acquired the licenseto create action figures based on the animated series THE SIMPSONS. Therewill be eight initial figures, including Homer, Bart, Lisa, Grandpa,Krusty, Mr. Burns, Moe, and Barney, which will all be part of the World OfSpringfield Intelli-Tronic line. Each figure will feature the voice of thecast member who plays the character on the show. There are also plans forthree dioramas, including The Simpsons' living room, Homer's work station

Imagina 2000 with FIFI (Festival International du Film de l'Internet) have opened their competition for animation created specifically for the Internet. The FIFI is the first festival dedicated to films made for the Web. As the major European meeting point for digital image professionals, Imagina 2000 will provide a solid forum for launching this joint competition. The deadline for submissions is December 15, 1999 and all entries must be accessible through a URL only. The award will be presented during the Imagina 2000 ceremony in Monaco (January 31 to February 2, 2000).

The 42nd International LeipzigFestival for Documentary & Animated Films took place in Leipzig, Germanyfrom October 26 - October 31, 1999. 49 films from 13 counties were shown incompetition this year. The jury was comprised of Jayne Pilling (GreatBritain), Silke Parzich (Germany), and Andrei Zolotouchin (Russia). Thefollowing awards were presented:

Goldene Taube, WHEN THE DAYS BREAKS by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Frobis,Canada, 1999.

Silberne Taube, PINOCCHIO by Gianluci Toccafondo, Italy, 1999 and NIGHT OF