AWN Headline News

A long list of Hollywood heavyweights has been announced as the voice cast for Disney/Pixars upcoming CGI feature MONSTERS, INC. The star-studded cast includes Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tily, Bonnie Hunt and first-timer Mary Gibbs. The film chronicles what happens when a careless monster lets a human girl into the land of spooks and scares. Goodman will voice James P. Sullivan, a large, furry and horned employee of Monsters Inc. Voicing Sullivans sassy one-eyed sidekick will be Crystal.

Toon In is AWN's guide to what's new on the Net. This week's installment features the newest toon from John K, Bill Plympton and much, much more.

Get your Toon In: Web Animation Guide here!

Every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"

Rick's Pick For Friday, August 11, 2000!

Class-Key Chew-Po director Voltaire has wrapped up his first national spot for Kelloggs PopTarts Pastry Swirls. The spot features cherries parading in a chorus line then diving into a pool of cream cheese. Innovative Business Communications provided the CGI cream cheese so that the fluid nature would be more believable. The commercial was produced for Chicago-based ad agency Leo Burnett.

Eyeball has livened up the newest spot for Nikes latest shoe line, Presto! The spot that airs in Nike stores shows off the bright colors of the shoes with slick retro style. Director Limore Shur said, "We were after a moving, driving, fun-looking piece to exemplify what the shoes are all about. I think we achieved that. There was a nice aesthetic appeal to the whole thing." Curious Pictures used Adobe After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop and Discreet edit* to blend the graphics with the colors and product shots.

Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (RMCAD), located in Denver, Colorado, has added a new animation program to its bachelor degree program. Currently, the college offers five other Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Graphic Design and Interactive Media, Illustration, Painting, Sculpture and Interior Design. The schools goal is to delve into the medium of animation as the only interdisciplinary visual art that merges art, writing, storytelling, drawing, design, sculpture, acting, filmmaking, art direction and film directing.

* Friday, September 22 Sunday, September 24, 2000. London, U.K.

* Saturday, September 23 Saturday, September 30, 2000. Split, Croatia.

AtomFilms has appointed veteran TV executive Mikael Shields senior VP entertainment Europe. At the Netcaster, Shields will shepherd acquisitions and development of entertainment properties, negotiating and managing co-productions and content partnerships in Europe. He will work out of the year-old London office of the Seattle-based company. Previously, Shields served as CEO of U.K. television production company EVA Entertainment. He was a founding shareholder of EVA and helped negotiate the firms sale to Pearson Television in February 1999.

On Tuesday August 8, 2000, David Spades new animated series, SAMMY, made a lackluster debut in the bottom of its 8:30 pm time slot. Despite a decent lead-in by a rerun of 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN, the new primetime toon drew only 4.1 million viewers and a 1.8 rating/6 share for adults 18-49. The long shelved series follows the reunion of a newly famous son and his deadbeat dad. How long will the series last only time can tell. The last two heavily hyped primetime toons, GOD THE DEVIL & BOB and CLERKS, never made it past six episodes combined.

Former Disney chairman Joe Roths Revolution Studios will turn the Web series, LIL PIMP, into a Flash-animated feature. The MediaTrip.com series will be the first feature length film to be animated using Macromedias Flash software. Creators Paul Gilstrap and Mark Brooks with their team of four animators are set to scribe, produce and direct the project. Production on the flick could begin as early as three to four weeks. No monetary details have been released, however Gilstrap and Brooks look to make most of their money from backend revenues.

* Wednesday, September 20 Thursday, September 21, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.