AWN Headline News

The East Coast's largest film festival for young people seeks works forages 3-16. The festival takes place February 4-13, 2000 in New York City.It accepts shorts, features, animation, documentary, narrative andexperimental film and video. To qualify, works must be completed no earlierthan July 1, 1997. Foreign language films must be dubbed or subtitled inEnglish. The festival is looking for passionate, creative, intelligent,entertaining film and video for ages 3-16. The entry deadline is October 1,

(Colossal) Pictures will ceaseoperations on August 31, 1999 after 23 years in business. According to theSan Francisco-based production and design studio, the decision was made inorder to liquidate property and honor outstanding debts. (Colossal) hasfiled for Chapter 11 protection before on May 30, 1996, and emerged frombankruptcy on December 1, 1997. It enjoyed a successful year in 1998,employing a lean work force. However, the beginning of this year saw adownturn in revenue. Financially weakened by the bankruptcy, as (Colossal)

David Allen, one of a handful of truly great stop-motion animators, died of cancer on Monday, August 16. Hewas 55. Allen's work in commercials includes animating the Swiss Miss andearly Pillsbury Doughboy in the 1960s, and his feature work includesCAVEMAN (1981), Q-THE WINGED SERPENT (1982), WILLOW (1988) and FREAKED(1993). For ten years he had been working on an independent project, afeature called PRIMEVALS. (The film will be finished at Full Moon Studioswhere the film was being animated before Allen's death.) Allen began his

Women In Animation Writers Roundtable. Have voice-over artists read yourscript and give you feedback. You must call and schedule your script tohave it read. The event takes place at the Klasky Csupo studio at 1258 N.Highland Ave. in Hollywood, California, USA on Thursday, August 26, 7-9 pm.For more information contact Sybil Baker by E-mail: scrybble@juno.com, orTel. (626) 798-1523.

The Women In Animation Production Group meets the 1st Monday of each month

The 1999 Golden Marble Awards show and conference program is a multi-tracklarge-scale event aimed at professionals who are marketing, promoting andadvertising to kids. The conference content will be streamed along threethematic 'tracks': Focus on the Teen Market; Advertising & Promoting toKids; and Licensing, Merchandising and Retailing to Kids. The event takesplace Wednesday, September 8-Thursday, September 9 in New York, New York,USA. For more information contact: Brunico Communications Inc., 366

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS has appointed WILLIAM A. SUTMAN as senior vice presidentand chief financial officer. Sutman will be responsible for overseeing allworldwide financial activities for the Universal Studios Group. Sutman mostrecently served as chief financial officer for Universal Pictures. Sutmanjoined Universal in January 1997 from Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, where heserved for three years as vice president of auditing.

Tony Caio of New York City-based DMA has designed a new program ID andtitle sequence for The Food Network's "Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay."In the ID, a Bobby Flay caricature appears in black tie, and juggles acocktail shaker, slab of steak, shrimp, and a pickle. Stylized stars dancein the background. Dancing pieces of food spin across the screen and circleonto plates, as the show's logo comes back into view, pulsating in apainterly fashion.

A major fire has gutted the Ottawa Animation Festival office and put theoffice completely out of commission. "It looks like a war zone," says ChrisRobinson, Festival Director. "Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fire, butvirtually the entire contents of the office have been destroyed. I believethat we can salvage some things. Fortunately wehave insurance...however, a number of animation cels, our animationvideo/film library, and all sorts of priceless archival materials are

SKIPPER KIRSCH has joined the client services department of Washington,D.C.-based computer animation and special effects house INTERFACE MEDIAGROUP. Kirsch comes to Interface from Austin, Texas-based 501 Post where hewas operations manager.

INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC has hired ANDY HENDRICKSON as director of systemsdevelopment, and promoted DAN MCNAMARA to director of film and editorialservices. Hendrickson returns to ILM after two years, following a stint asthe Director of Computer Systems at San Francisco-based Advanced PathologySystems. In his new role, Hendrickson will be working with the architectureof existing digital infrastructure systems at ILM, as well as shaping thefuture innovations in this area. In addition, he will be primarily

ITS, a Vienna, Virginia-based trade association of the post-productionindustry, has announced the winners of the 1999 International MonitorAwards. "The Awards recognize artists who have successfully mastered thesynthesis of creativity and technology. It is the highest recognition foroutstanding production and post-production," says Ruth Roland, Chairman ofthe 20th Annual International Awards. This year's animation related winnerswere:

BEST ELECTRONIC VISUAL EFFECTS FOR FILM ORIGINATED TELEVISION SERIES

Amy Boothe Green and her husband, Walt Disney Pictures publicist and vicepresident of studio communications, Howard Green, will appear in person tosign copies of their book, REMEMBERING WALT: FAVORITE MEMORIES OF WALTDISNEY, on Saturday, August 21 at The Disney Gallery in New Orleans Squareat Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1:30-3 pm. For the book, theauthors interviewed more than 100 individuals about their experiences withWalt Disney, including Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, animators Frank Thomas