This weekend's syndicated episode of SISKEL AND EBERT AT THE MOVIES, Roger Ebert's weekly movie review show in the US, is an animation special entitled "That's Not All Folks!," during which the film critic will explore the past, present, and future of animation.
Jan Nagel has been named Interim President of the non-profit, professional organization Women in Animation. Nagel replaces Women In Animation founder Rita Street until elections are held later this year. Nagel, formerly Vice President of the organization, has worked hand-in-hand with Street since WIA's inception in 1994. "As the Interim President, I will work with everyone in Women in Animation to help nurture the organization through this transition," commented Nagel.
Los Angeles-based Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials has created a series of"Agent M" spots for McDonald's. Directed by Walter Santucci (EVIL CAT), the2D animated spots feature two characters, Agent M and his partner Sidecat.Their goal is to find and acquaint the public with the great food bargainsat McDonald's. Agent M, voiced by Adam West (BATMAN), is a detective withthe cool confidence of James Bond, but with the clumsiness of InspectorClouseau. Sidecat, voiced by Taurean Blacque (HILL ST. BLUES), saves theday when his boss screws up.
eToys Inc., an Internet retailer of children's products, reports that DarthMaul tops their list of most popular action figure characters. Samuel L.Jackson's Mace Windu, despite limited screen time, is number two. The leastpopular action figure characters at eToys are Senator Palpatine and theNaboo space craft pilot Ric Olie. Hasbro paid $590 million, and gave GeorgeLucas a 7.4% stake in the company, for the licensing rights to STAR WARSEPISODES ONE, TWO, and THREE.
Top Ten Action Figure Characters at eToys
IN SEARCH OF THE MIGHTY REPTAR, an audio adventure based on THE RUGRATS,the Nickelodeon TV series, will be released by Nickelodeon and Kid Rhino onJuly 20th. The release contains two separate stories, "Reptar On Ice" and"Journey To The Center Of The Basement." "Reptar On Ice" takes the Rugratson a quest to meet Reptar, the giant lizard beloved by Tommy Pickles andhis pals, at the Reptar on Ice Show. "Journey To The Center Of TheBasement" tells how the Rugrats summon up their courage to rescue baby
Red Storm, which has been broadening the boundaries of computer gaming withproducts like Tom Clancy's RAINBOW SIX, has reached an agreement withBohbot Kids Network (BKN), a New York-based syndication networkspecializing in children's programming, to produce a series of games basedon BKN's series ROSWELL CONSPIRACIES: ALIENS, MYTHS & LEGENDS, a new showwhich will begin airing in the spring of 2000 and already has a two-yearair commitment. The show is a creation of Allen Bohbot, Chairman and CEO of
A building at 2449 Charlotte St. on Hospital Hill, former home of theKansas City Slide Co., where A. Vern Cauger hired Disney in 1920, wasbought last year by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which plans todemolish the site to make way for a life-sciences facility and parking lot.Disney worked for more than two years at the Charlotte address, helpingproduce slides and one-minute films shown as advertisements in movietheaters. He worked alongside other Kansas City artists who, like him,
The 26th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced on May 21st at NewYork's Madison Square Garden Theatre. ARTHUR won Outstanding Children'sAnimated Program; Rob Paulsen, the voice of "Pinky" on STEVEN SPIELBERGPRESENTS: PINKY AND THE BRAIN, won for Outstanding Performer in an AnimatedSeries; PINKY AND THE BRAIN won for Outstanding Special Class/AnimatedProgram; VOLTRON won for Outstanding Sound Editing; THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMANADVENTURES won for Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class; STEVEN
Pre-production on STAR WARS EPISODE II (Lucas reportedly has a title inmind, but it has not been released) has already begun. Shooting is set tostart in June 2000 with locations at Fox Studios Australia, Tunisia, andItaly, and the release is scheduled for summer 2002. The story will focuson the romance and marriage between Anakin Skywalker (the future DarthVader) and Queen Amidala, and the Siths' attempt to gain control of thegalaxy. Whereas the budget for EPISODE 1 was $115 million, Lucas says he
Cyclotron has completed a new open for CBS' "Late Show with DavidLetterman." It features a sweeping night view of the illuminated StatenIsland Ferry, the Manhattan skyline, and the newly renovated Grand CentralStation. It was shot on High-Def in preparation for future broadcasts ofthe show in HD. On-set supervision was conducted by Visual Effects ProducerRobert Buganza and Digital Composite Artist Tim Farrell during shoots ofthe Staten Island Ferry, the Manhattan Skyline and Grand Central Station to
San Francisco-based (COLOSSAL) PICTURES has created a hand-drawn 2D :30animated spot for Old Navy Tie-dye shirts that is done in a retro-style.George Evelyn directed "Pool Party," which features a pastiche of early1930s rubber-hose style animation, and is especially reminiscent of UbIwerks and color Van Beuren shorts. The spot opens with a black and whitescene of children and animals moping around a deflated backyard pool, andbegins to change to color when two kids arrive wearing Old Navy Tie-dye
A collection that includes several Felix the Cat films, as well as more than 1,500 16mm and 35mm silent films and a vast archive of stills, large-format celebrity portraits, clippings and other memorabilia from Hollywood's Silent Movie Theater will be offered at auction by Butterfield & Butterfield in Los Angeles, California, USA May 23 and 24, 1999. For more information contact Butterfield & Butterfield, Los Angeles, Michael Schwartz, (323) 850-7500 ext. 295; or Levi Morgan, (323) 850-7500 ext. 216; or (415) 861-7500 ext. 348.
LucasFilm and 20th Century Foxs visual effects-driven STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE took in $61.8 million gross over the three-day weekend. Its five-day total of $102.7 million since its Wednesday debut broke the previous five-day record of $92.7 million set in 1997 by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, but its three-day weekend gross failed to challenge the $72.1 million record still held by THE LOST WORLD.
*Wednesday, May 19th - Friday, May 21st. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Highlights of the 1999 Conference and Film Festival of the Large FormatCinema Association include a tribute to large format film pioneer LesterNovros, the Large Format Film Festival, Large Format animated films, paneldiscussions about theater operations and industry business, sessionsexploring production and post production technology, and a screening ofLAWRENCE OF ARABIA. For more information contact LFCA at (310) 823-4901.
Two years of our Desert Island series and over 60 new articles and affiliate web site links have been added to the Student Corner this week...
This week's update to the Calendar of Events includes six new animation-related affairs...
This week's comic is about the circle of life -- through hair growth!
This week's special features in AWN's ever expanding store: Sally Cruikshank's long awaited video "Face Like A Frog"...
This issue #40 is Animato!'s special 15th Anniversary issue with 144 boundpages. Featured articles include: Gerry Anderson, The McKimson Brothers,Cartoon Network, Warner Bros., Jay Ward Voices, Flip the Frog, Bartlett,Rose, Quakenbush, Fogel, Simensky, Tartakovsky, McCracken, Mulan, a hugeAnime section and more. There's just too much to list everything! Orderyour copy in AWN's Newsstand, where you can subscribe to your favoriteanimation publications directly from the Internet 24 hours a day! Already
NELVANA LIMITED, Canada's largest animation studio and internationalproducer of quality programming, has exciting opportunities in their 3-Ddivision. They are currently looking to fill the following positions:TECHNICAL DIRECTOR (5 positions) with experience using Maya, Wavefront orSoftimage and proficiency in Unix and Unix scripting; CG MODELER (3positions) with proficiency in Nurbs and polygonal modeling using Maya,Wavefront or Softimage with previous animation production experience.
The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is looking forpart-time ANIMATION INSTRUCTORS to teach both computer and traditional studio animation courses...
Artist, painter, sculptor, writer, photographer, designer and director,this prolific Polish creator has authored more than thirty short films...
As expected, STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE set a record forsingle day gross on Wednesday with $28.5 million, breaking the previousrecord of $26.1 million set by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK in 1997 on theSunday during the three day Memorial Day weekend. The previous record for aWednesday opening was $17.4 million, set by INDEPENDENCE DAY in July 1996.Despite reaching a new record, the film failed to fulfill early predictionswhich were in the range of $30 to $40 million and were based on early
Each year, Annie Award trophies are awarded for the year's best featurefilm, video, television program, commercial, and animated interactiveproduction, as well as individual achievement by artists, writers and voicetalent. The most prestigious awards given at the annual award ceremoniesare the June Foray award, presented for special service to the artform, andthe Winsor McCay award for a lifetime of achievement in animation. The 27thAnnual Annie Awards ceremony will take place Saturday, November 6, 1999 at
TRON, Disney's innovative computer-animated feature, is set to return to the big screen for a special one-week limited engagement (May 14-20) at the Disney-owned Pacific El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, USA with a new 70mm print. A special panel discussion on May 14 and 15 will feature several filmmakers involved with the 1982 production including director Steven Lisberger, visual effects supervisors Harrison Ellenshaw and Richard Taylor, and computer-image choreographer Bill Kroyer (who went on to direct TECHNOLOGICAL THREAT and FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST).
