AWN Headline News

New York City-based Cyclotron@Post Perfect has signed Alex Seiden asCreative Director. Seiden will direct commercial projects. Seiden comesfrom ILM where he was a Director & Visual Effects Supervisor on such filmsas JURASSIC PARK, DRAGONHEART, and STAR WARS: THE SPECIAL EDITION. He alsodirected a PSA for the American Psychiatric Association, and numerouslive-action second unit and special effects shoots.

Gold Coast, Australia-based EA Australia, a subsidiary of Redwood City,California-based Electronic Arts, has hired Steve Dauterman to head a newdevelopment studio located in Australia. Dauterman, formerly Director ofDevelopment for LucasArts, had been with the Lucas group for ten years,initially as Financial Analyst for Lucasfilm before moving across toLucasArts in 1992. Since working at LucasArts he has overseen thedevelopment of such worldwide interactive titles as "Rebel Assault," "Dark

Stockholm, Sweden-based Filmtecknarna F. Animation has completed theanimation for "Chilled Cream," a three-spot campaign for British beercompany Boddington. The three ads combine 2D animation with 3D backgroundand CGI effects. The design of the characters and the overall look of thefilms were created at Filmtecknarna under the creative direction of StigBergqvist and Jonas Dahlbeck. The sound editing and overall productionmanagement was handled by London-based Nexus Films with producer ChrisO´Reilly in charge.

Newly launched Atlanta,Georgia-based Giant Studios is a performance animation studio. Theirproprietary Motion Reality? system utilizes the latest advancements inmicroprocessor technology and interfaces with the best animation software.A state-of-the-art motion capture studio is available with a 50' x 50' x24' open floor space. The system can capture and process multiple,subject-object interactions in real-time, as well as the intricate detailof hand and facial captures. The studio offers fully integrated

Six new children's series based on popular titles from noted authors suchas Maurice Sendak, Rosemary Wells, Don Freeman and William Joyce will beproduced by Toronto-based Nelvana for distribution by the PublicBroadcasting Service (PBS) as a weekend block beginning in fall 2000. Thesix book titles upon which the new series will be based are: MauriceSendak's SEVEN LITTLE MONSTERS, William Joyce's GEORGE SHRINKS, DonFreeman's CORDUROY BEAR, Rosemary Wells' TIMOTHY GOES TO SCHOOL, Michael

Culver City, California-based advertising consultants Random/OrderInformation and Entertainment has hired Robert Abel to oversee severalaspects of its consulting services, as well as to develop new content andprogramming. CGI-pioneer Abel has created many landmark titles, includingcommercials for Apple Computer, IBM, the Smithsonian Institution, and theMayo Clinic. His many technical innovations include: the first "motioncontrol" camera system, "streak photography," and the first algorithms forcomputer animated human movement.

Disney's Whomptastic, the previously announced two hour cartoon programmingblock which is set to air daily on UPN beginning September 6, has beenchanged to DISNEY'S ONE TWO so that viewers will associate it with Disney'sother cartoon block, the ABC Saturday morning DISNEY'S ONE SATURDAYMORNING. DISNEY'S ONE TWO will present the premiere of SABRINA THE ANIMATEDSERIES, as well as include the already established shows DISNEY'S RECESS,DISNEY'S DOUG and DISNEY'S HERCULES.

Cartoon Network will offer two premieres on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday,August 22 at 9 pm. On both days at that time, one can see the premiere ofCOURAGE, THE COWARDLY DOG, created by John R. Dilworth, about a timid dogwho defends an elderly couple from paranormal threats. Immediatelyfollowing at 9:30 pm on both days is the premiere of Bill Wray's shortfilm, KING CRAB SPACE CRUSTACEAN, a parody of television science fictionseries. In the film the youngest crewmember of King Crab's intergalactic

On Saturday, July 31, director Brad Bird introduced his specially selectedsegment of THE IRON GIANT, which was then shown in an exclusive Webcastsneak preview. Fans, who have been following the film during its productionand have been fueling the overwhelming early buzz, proved eager for theexclusive look, prompting Warner Bros. to re-broadcast Bird's introductionand the 10-minute segment on Thursday, August 5 beginning at 5 pm (PST) andcontinuing until midnight (PST) at www.theirongiant.com. Warner is using

Among the events at this year's ComicCon International, the country'slargest comic book convention, will be a celebration of the AnimationRenaissance which will include previews of upcoming animation from MTVAnimation, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and more, as well as discussionswith the creators who are shaping the future of animation. Among thescheduled guests are voice actress June Foray (ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE) andBATMAN BEYOND series producer, Paul Dini. Chris Prynoski, creator of the

New York City-based QUIET MAN has completed "Caterpillar," a :20 CGI showopen for the Sci-Fi Channel, a cable service. The spot features a robotcaterpillar who changes into a metallic spider. Todd Mueller directed.

Toronto-based NELVANA has hired Cathy Laughton as managing director of itsLondon-based operations. Laughton will be responsible for the overallmanagement of the UK office. Her responsibilities include the acquisitionof new properties for production/licensing development, sales to the UK,Germany, Scandinavia, and Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemborg),and securing co-production opportunities. Laughton joins Nelvana from theJim Henson Company where she served as director of international televisiondistribution.