AWN Headline News

AtomFilms and German carmaker Volkswagens U.S. division have sealed a content deal which will send AtomFilms shorts to vw.com. Aardman Animations ANGRY KID will be among the shorts aired on Volkswagens Website. As part of the deal, Volkswagen will be one of the sponsors of AtomFilms upcoming college promotional tour. The deal marks a prime opportunity for AtomFilms to get mass offline exposure for its content and brand.

Anteye.com has signed an agreement with HBO, giving the pay cable channel exclusive rights to taking Anteye content to television. "Linking with Anteye helps us to stay in the forefront of talent discovery," said Chris Albrecht, HBOs president of original programming. "HBO will now get the first look at some of the Webs hottest filmmakers." Anteye CEO Matti Leshem said, "Theres no network I would want to be in the business with more.

The 2000 edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival has come to a close with the announcement of this years winners. The winners were chosen by an international jury, comprised of acclaimed Canadian animator Suzanne Gervais, former ASIFA-Hollywood general manager and critic, animator and teacher Wendy Jackson Hall, Wild Brain co-Founder and creative director John Hayes, renowned Estonian animator Priit Pärn, and the head of the Shanghai Animation Studio in China Jin Guo Ping.

Scandinavias leading computer and video game developer, UDS (Unique Development Studios), has gained the computer gaming rights to Foxs hit series FUTURAMA. The three-year deal grants UDS the right to co-publish with Fox Interactive FUTURAMA games for all gaming platforms. Fox Interactive will publish the games in North America, while UDS will handle the rest of the world. The first game is scheduled for release in the first half of 2002. This co-production deal for such a well-known TV series marks a first for European gaming companies.

PI director Darren Aronofsky is set to helm the newest in Warner Bros. BATMAN franchise, BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Aronofsky will write and develop the screenplay with Frank Miller, writer of the graphic novel BATMAN: YO from which the film will be based. The noir-styled graphic novel was originally published by DC Comics in 1987 and chronicles the trials and tribulations of Bruce Waynes first year as Batman. Aronofsky as director is an interesting direction for Warner to take with the BATMAN movie franchise.