AWN Headline News

* Wednesday, March 1, 2000. Burbank, California, U.S.A.

Ideas, new properties and pitching will be the topic of discussion at this

month's Women In Animation Production Management Group Meeting (PMG). The

event will be held at Nickelodeon in Burbank at 7 pm. Monthly meetings will

be on the 1st Wednesday of each month at Nickelodeon. To attend please RSVP

to Kellie-Bea Cooper at (818) 623-0020 or E-mail:

kellie-bea@kellie-bea.com. For more information on WIA events please visit

* Friday, March 10 - Friday, March 17, 2000. Santa Clarita, California, U.S.A.

The Santa Clarita International Film Festival is strictly dedicated to

family entertainment. It includes a film and screenplay competition,

student filmmaker award, as well as panel discussions. Co-sponsored by

FOCUS Institute of Film, the winning screenplay will be mentored and

developed for future production with a later-announced studio. For more

* Thursday, March 16 - Tuesday, March 21, 2000. Stuttgart, Germany.

The 10th International Trickfilm Festival will present the best animated

productions from the past two years. More than 500 films will be screened

at the festival. The Best of Animation includes a selection of the most

interesting films in the history of artistic, animated film. Young

Animation is a competition featuring animated film schools and colleges.

The festival will also present the International Panorama, Tricks for Kids,

* Sunday, April 9 - Sunday, April 16, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Comic book fans can hobnob with the best in the business on a 7 day/7 night

cruise benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit

organization protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics community.

The "Making WAVES" cruise will stop at three Mexican ports -- Puerto

Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan. The event will feature week-long

* Friday, February 18, 2000. New York, New York, U.S.A.

Cinema Village, the city's venue for alternative animation, will be

presenting the U.S. theatrical premiere of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS from

French filmmaker Michel Ocelot. Based on a West African legend, this film

follows a miraculous infant who singlehandedly saves his small village from

a sultry yet evil wizard. Featuring an original score by Senegalese music

artist Youssou N'Dour, KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS offers a unique spin: an

Riding the wave of the box office success of STUART LITTLE, Columbia/Sony

Pictures has announced a sequel to the tiny toon. Shooting on the new film

could start as soon as this summer. The intended release date for the flick

is Christmas 2001. Producer Doug Wick is set to return, however actors,

director and screenwriter have not yet been confirmed. Sony Picture

Imageworks, who comprised the effects for the first flick, are expected to

return on the sequel. The first STUART LITTLE was directed by Rob Minkoff,

Macromedia, Inc. announced its acquisition of Time4.com, a

Minneapolis-based Net application development firm. The privately-held

business, which created a Web-based reservation system, was acquired for an

undisclosed amount. Time4.com's president and chief executive officer

Douglas K. Olson will become vice president of engineering for the

Macromedia eBusiness Solutions Group. In his new role, Olson will lead the

development of Macromedia's eBusiness Infrastructure, one of the first

In association with Children's Television Workshop and IF/X Productions,

CineGroupe will be producing 40 half-hour episodes of SAGWA, THE CHINESE

SIAMESE CAT for PBS KIDS. The series is adapted from the award-winning

children's book by Amy Tan, author of THE JOY LUCK CLUB. SAGWA follows the

title character's escapades through Ancient China. Each episode will

include 11-minute segments and related interstitials woven together by

music, folk stories and fairy tales. The executive producers of the project

Vitoria, Spain-based Mb Producciones is reaping a huge success from its new

animated series MIMI AND MR. BOBO. Since its debut on TVE, the average

share the series has received is 25.8. The show airs Saturday at 9 am and

re-runs at 8:30 am on Sundays. Mb Producciones is currently in negotiation

to create merchandise for the program with several well-known Spanish toy

and book companies. The company is also in the developing stage of a

feature based on the characters of the MIMI AND MR. BOBO series.

Montreal-based CineGroupe and Saban International Paris will co-produce a

new half-hour series entitled WUNSCHPUNCH. The show will be based on the

novel by Michael Ende, whose previous novel, THE NEVER ENDING STORY was

made into a live-action feature. Radio Canada will broadcast the series in

Canada and TF1 will air it in France. Hubert Gariepy and Bruno Bianchi will

produce the series and Philippe Amador will direct.