AWN Headline News

Three of animation's top producer/artists on BATMAN, THE X-MEN and THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, as well as such comic book classics as SPIDER-MAN, CONAN and TARZAN, have joined Stan Lee Media, Inc. (SLM). Will Meugniot, Larry Houston and Thomas McLaughlin, who have overseen programming for such major studios as Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and Saban, will be steering SLM projects in development as well as THE 7TH PORTAL Web animation franchise.

Slaying the competition at the U.S. box office, DreamWorks' GLADIATOR easily finished in the top spot. The Roman action epic, with primary special effects by Mill Film Ltd., grossed a Goliath US$34.82 million, which is nearly the combined gross of the rest of the top ten films. GLADIATOR dethroned two-week box office champ U-571, which fell to second. The Universal World War II submarine story grossed another $7.77 million bringing its total theatre receipts to $49.59 million. Despite horrid reviews from about every source, THE FLINTSTONES VIVA ROCK VEGAS managed to finish in third place.

On Sunday, May 7, 2000 the 31st annual ASIFA-East animation festival was held in New York City. The event packed the auditorium with animators and animation buffs. The overflow of the audience was sent to a second theater to watch a simulcast of the winning films. The event holds four categories for students, commercials, sponsored films and independent films. The big winners were Nickelodeon, taking home three awards in the sponsored category, and Acme Filmworks, which won three awards in the commercial category.

Disney has signed a new multiyear book licensing deal with Random House Inc. which sees the end to its 70-year relationship with Golden Books Family Entertainment. The golden spined children's books, which have graced the shelves of bookstores to grocery markets, will no longer feature Disney characters. The decision to sign with Random House came after the terms of their deal with Golden Books were not profitable. The financial terms of the five-year deal were not disclosed due to competitive reasons.

Studio City, California-based Phil Roman Entertainment company, in partnership with Quarter Star Productions (QSP) of Charlotte, North Carolina, will produce SOAP ON THE RANGE, a new primetime animated half-hour comedy TV series. Headed by animator and producer, Phil Roman, RANGE lampoons soaps and Westerns with a story about two rival family ranches in Colorado. Twenty-six episodes of SOAP ON THE RANGE will be set for delivery in time for the 2001 television season. Serving alongside Roman, as executive producers will be the husband and wife team of Joyce Wade-May and Patrick W.

Pushing the boundaries of bedtimes everywhere, Nickelodeon will extend their Friday night line-up to 10 pm. Cyma Zarghami, Nick exec VP and general manager, said that the new hour block might be filled with U-PICK, a show that gives kids the chance to vote on what Nick series they want to watch. Currently, U-PICK airs on Friday nights and Zarghami said, "[U-PICKs] performing very well right now. We may expand that to 10 pm. We may put an anchor block in there. We havent decided yet." This decision comes amid rumors that ABCs TGIF Friday family programming is on the skids.

Quebec Animation, an alliance of animation companies in Quebec, announced that Oscar award-winning Productions Pascal Blais has joined the group. Productions Pascal Blais THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA recently won the Oscar for best animated short. Formed in 1999, the organization highlights the creativity and mastery in animation and visual effects of its members, while each company stands as an independent entity. "The rise of Montreal as an internationally recognized shooting center in the past ten years has been impressive," said Pascal Blais, President of Productions Pascal Blais.

On May 11, 2000, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences will hand out their top honors of the year with PC game AGE OF EMPIRES II leading the field with 7 nominations. Held in Los Angeles, this, the third edition, will be hosted by comedian Martin Short. Members of the Academy with expertise in each area formed review panels to vote for the winners. The award for game of the year, computer game of the year and console game of the year was voted on by all of the eligible members of the Academy. This years competition saw over 350 entries from 60 different companies.