AWN Headline News

Destination Films' newly released horror film, BATS, with visual effects byNorth Hollywood, California-based Netter Digital Entertainment, Inc.,finished seventh at the US weekend boxoffice, grossing an estimated $4.7million. Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visualeffects by DreamQuest, finished ninth, grossing $4.3 million for a total of$255.7 million.

MORE, the stop-motion animated short film in IMAX format that is nominatedfor an ANNIE, is being shown for free as part of the BIG SHORTS FILMFESTIVAL Tuesday night, October 26, at 8 pm. The event is presented by TheSplinter Group, and highlights include: MORE (Mark Osborne's AcademyAward-nominated stop-motion short, CASTRATE BOAR PIGS FOR BETTER SALES,PRIMITI TOO TAA (an animated sound poem), FIRE, and more. Admission isfree, and the program will last about one hour. The event takes place at

Hollywood, California-based ACME FILMWORKS has completed two :30 spots. In"The Challenge," a live-action commercial for commemorative Pepsi cans thatpromote the return of the Cleveland Browns to competition, images offootball plays appear in the stormy sky above Cleveland Browns player ChrisSpielman who asks the viewer, "So are you ready to be a Browns fan?" Thevisual effects were composed, layered and rendered using Adobe Photoshopand After Effects. Scott Ingalls directed the spot for Dallas, Texas-based

FOX FILMED ENTERTAINMENT has named STEVEN BERSCH President of FOXINTERACTIVE, the studio's entertainment and sports computer and video gamesoftware unit. Bersch succeeds Fox Interactive's current President, JonRichmond, who was recently named President of New Digital Media at Fox. Inhis new position, Bersch will be directly responsible for driving allaspects of the business including the development and production of thedivision's interactive entertainment and sports games, as well as

Thursday, October 28 - Sunday, October 31. New York, New York, USA.

The Museum of Modern Art presents The National Film Board of Canada: 60thAnniversary Program, a Retrospective. The Museum is located at 11 West 53Street. For further information Tel. (212) 708-9500.

New York City-based Oxygen Media,Geraldine Laybourne's company founded to provide content for women, hasreached an agreement with Insight Communications to distribute the Oxygencable network. Insight is the 8th largest cable operator in the UnitedStates, serving more than one million customers in six states. Under theterms of the agreement, Insight Communications will launch Oxygen acrossthe majority of its systems. The new Oxygen cable network, which launcheson O2/O2/2000, will be integrated with Oxygen's existing online properties

Kids' WB! has ordered 13 episodes of MAX STEEL, a new 3D CGI animated action-adventure half-hour series from SonyPictures Family Entertainment (SPFE) which is set to debut in January 2000.Set in the fictitious suburban city of Del Oro Bay, it centers around MaxSteel, a young international secret agent who was the product of abio-technical accident which infused him with nano-technology giving himbionic abilities. The teenage hi-tech hero is dedicated to protecting theEarth by fighting the most dangerous and sinister mercenary organization,

The Hubley Studio has created some ofthe most innovative and challenging animation in the history of the artform. Beginning with the partnership of John and Faith Hubley, andcontinuing with Faith and Emily Hubley, they have received countless awardsand international acclaim. Earlier this year, Image Entertainment releasedtheir first Hubley DVD, ART AND JAZZ IN ANIMATION. Now, they offer threemore. HUBLEY COLLECTION #1 includes ENTER LIFE (1981), UPSIDE DOWN (1991),WHO AM I (1989), BLAKE BALL (1988), TIME OF THE ANGELS (1987), PEOPLE,

Montreal, Canada-based LE JOURNAL DE MONTREAL reported Friday, October 15that Cinar, producer of such shows as PBS' ARTHUR, THE BUSY WORLD OFRICHARD SCARRY, ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK and WIMZIE'S HOUSE, substitutedthe names of Canadians for work done by non-Canadians to become eligiblefor tax credits that were intended to help Canada's film industry. Althoughthe film company was not named in the newspaper story, the CanadianBroadcasting Company (CBC) reports that on Friday, in the Canadian House of