Educators and School Administrators - don't miss out! If your school or educational program wasn't included in AWN's Winter 1999 directory, or if you want to update the information that did get published, production on AWN's Winter 2000 directory is now underway...
Antran Manoogian, President of the International AnimatedFilm Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, has announced the nominees for the 27th Annual Annie Awards, ASIFA-Hollywoods honoring of the best in animation. THE IRON GIANT leads the list of nominees with fifteen nominations, including best feature. The final winners will be presented with their awards at the Annie Awards Ceremony to be held at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California on Saturday, November 6, at 7 pm. For more information about the event and tickets call (818) 842-8330.
WARNER BROS. TELEVSION ANIMATION has promoted LINDA STEINER from vice president of development to senior vice president of creative affairs and CHRISTOPHER KEENAN from vice president of programming to vice president of creative affairs. Steiner and Keenan will oversee the development of cartoon series, shorts and direct-to-video projects.
CHERYL MILLS, Deputy White House Counsel, will join OXYGEN MEDIA, Geraldine Laybourne's media company founded to provide content for women, as senior vice president of corporate policy and public programming. In her new post, Cheryl Mills will address women's access to and participation in civic, political and public policy issues that affect their lives. She will oversee Oxygen's philanthropic activities, its grass roots initiatives and will work with Sarah Bartlett, Oxygen's Editor-in-Chief, to develop its legal and political programming.
Iran-based SABA Animation Company has released an 85-minute animated film, THE PASSENGER OF STORY LAND. The film is a re-edited version of a six part, thirty-minute television series, and uses live-action, puppet animation and CGI to tell the story of a puppet who escapes from a film studio. The puppet befriends a boy whose father is a reporter who is covering the film from which the puppet escaped. The boy and puppet try to discover the end of the film, until they finally decide to write the ending themselves. The film was directed by Yosof Babareza.
Twentieth Century Fox has announced that X-MEN, the live-action film adaptation of the Marvel comic books about mutant superheroes which promises to be visual effects heavy, will be released on June 30, 2000. UNCANNY X-MEN #1, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, appeared in 1963, but the series was not popular until it was revamped by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum in 1975. Since then it has spawned many spinoffs, and is probably the most popular US comic book series of the last twenty years.
Channel Four has bought the broadcast rights to London, UK-based Link Entertainment's GRABBIT THE RABBIT, a clay-animated series of thirteen eight-minute episodes. The episodes are based on fables from around the world including those of Jean de la Fontaine and Joel Chandler Harris. (Disney adapted some of Harris' Brer Rabbit stories in SONG OF THE SOUTH.)
UPN has ordered thirteen episodes of DOOMSDAY from Film Roman for the 2000-01 season. As previously announced [Flash 8/17/99], DOOMSDAY is an animated sci-fi/comedy series. While the concept was created by writer/producer Tracy Torme, Howard Stern will play an integral role in the development of the script and in the production of the series, as well as provide the voice for the family dog. Several of Stern's celebrity friends will appear as special guest voices.
Kid Rhino has released WHAT TO DO, BLUE?, an audio tape and booklet set. On the tape, the cast of Nickelodeon's BLUE'S CLUES, Steve, Blue and friends, are joined by BLUE'S CLUES co-creator Angela Santomero who reads, WHAT TO DO, BLUE? In the story Blue searches for something to do, while visiting her friends. The booklet allows listeners to read along with Santomero. WHAT TO DO, BLUE? retails in the US for $7.98. Kid Rhino and Nickelodeon will also release BLUE'S CLUES: GOODNIGHT BLUE on November 2, 1999.
Join The Creative Alliance Monthly Salon Series as they present TV and Film Producing for the Young Audience, a look at how decisions are made to produce today's entertainment for the young audience. The panel includes: Allison Abbate, Producer of THE IRON GIANT; Marne Jones, Children's Programming for CBS and others. The panel will be moderated by Stephen Galloway Executive Editor of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The event takes place Tuesday, September 28, 7:30 pm in Los Angeles, California, USA at The Gower Theater, Paramount Studios. There is an admission fee. RSVP at (310) 789-5686.
Toronto, Canada-based SoftQuad Software Inc., a provider of HTML and XML content authoring tools, has announced HoTMetaL PRO 6.0. HoTMetaL PRO 6.0's new features are designed to increase productivity and provide users with more control over the Web development and management process. They include new FTP and remote file editing capabilities, improved handling of imported HTML source code, an improved drag and drop asset management system, and new customization options.
Alexander Petrov, a Russian master animator whose best known films are THE MERMAID
and THE TRAGEDY OF A RIDICULOUS MAN, has completed a new film, THE OLD MAN
AND THE SEA, based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway about an old man's
struggle to catch a fish. Two years in the making, the film is now playing
at IMAX Theaters throughout the world and features Petrov's renowned
paint-on-glass technique for which he is world famous. For more information
The 16th EuropaCinema & TV Film Festival takes place November 27-December 3, 1999 inRome, Italy. The deadline for entries for the animated shorts competitionis October 10, 1999. For more information contact EuropaCinema & TV, Via XXSettembre, 3 - 00187 Roma, Italy; or Tel. +39 06 42011184 or +39 0642000211; Fax +39 06 42010599; or E-mail: europa.cinema@agora.stm.it. Alsovisit //rg.unicri.it/europacinema/.
MIP INTERACTIVE INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT will debut the week of September 20, 1999 atwww.mipinteractive.com. The Spotlight will be bi-monthly and the on linesession will last one business week. Each Spotlight will explore specificprogram genres or territories with articles, executive viewpoints,programming highlights, special e-mail sections, bulletin boards,statistics and logistics, reviews and interviews, and more. The firstSpotlight will feature "The Science of Programming Children's Blocks."
Disney's sequel to its 1953 PETER PAN, which had been in production at Disney's Toronto and Vancouverstudios, has been put on hold, resulting in layoffs of animators and staffat the Canadian studios. The rumors that the studios are being completelyshut down appear to be untrue at this time, but the total number ofemployees who have been laid off is unknown. According to Laurel Whitcomb,a Disney spokeswoman, the PETER PAN sequel "was in early stages ofproduction and needed to go back into development for retooling of thestory."
Nickelodeon is opening a new animation studio in New York City at 1515 Broadway which will be knownas Nickelodeon Animation Studio New York (NASNY). The digital animationstudio and development laboratory will open in October, although the movehas already taken place. Among the series that will be produced at the newstudio will be BLUE'S CLUES, LITTLE BILL, and GARBAGE BOY, a new weeklysegment for KABLAM!. The studio will house 140 employees including 70animators/digital designers. All phases of production other than
According to Reuters, Patrick Naughton, 34, of Seattle, Washington,executive vice president of products at Infoseek Corp., the Internet mediasite which is part of Disney's Go Network, was arrested on Thursday,September 16, 1999 on the Santa Monica Pier, an amusement park area in WestLos Angeles. The arrest came after he met a female FBI agent who hadarranged to meet him there, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for theU.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. He is charged with interstate travel
Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished third at the US weekend boxoffice, grossing anestimated $11.2 million over the weekend, for a total of $216.7 million. Noother animation related films finished in the top ten.
SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT has hired MEL HARRIS as Co-President and ChiefOperating Officer, sharing both of those titles with Bob Wynne. MASAYUKI(YUKI) NOZOE has also been promoted to Co-President, Digital Entertainment.The three executives will oversee the day-to-day operations of the companyand report to John Calley, Chairman and CEO of SPE. Nozoe will focus on theDigital Studios division and technology expansion, Wynne will managecorporate and financial operations, and Harris will emphasize worldwidetelevision and related businesses.
Toronto-based NELVANA LIMITED has promoted EMMANUELE PETRY to vicepresident of Nelvana Europe International Limited. In her new position,Petry will be responsible for supervising the company's London and Parisoffices. She will continue to investigate co-production and financingopportunities in Europe, and she will also oversee the distribution of TV,video, theatrical and merchandising rights in countries outside NorthAmerica.
Denmark-based The Animation Workshop is running a short intensive week oflectures concentrating on storyboarding November 8-12, 1999, with JohnRamirez and Dan Jippes. Prices and details will be available upon requestbeginning October 1. For more information Tel. (45) 86672007; Fax (45)86675007; or e-mail colin@animwork.dk. Also visit www.animwork.dk.
The Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG) has named ABCInc. President Steven Bornstein as chairman. Bornstein will oversee BVIG'spreviously announced plan to merge with Infoseek, an internet searchengine, to form a single Internet business called go.com and issue a newclass of common stock to track the performance of the new enterprise. Thetransaction is expected to be completed by the end of the 1999 calendaryear. At that time, Bornstein, who is currently a member of the Infoseek
Animation Magazine and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, Inc., a producer of3-D animated content on the Internet and a developer of animation tools andtechnology, have announced that they will co-host the Dancing PixelFestival. Dancing Pixel will be the first all 3-D real-time animationfestival on the Internet. Animators, both professionals and aspirants, areinvited to submit their work for public viewing and judging on the festivalsite. Submissions will be taken from October 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999.
On Monday, October 4 at 4 pm Jean-Marie Messier, president of Vivendi, aFrench multimedia, communications and power company, will deliver thekeynote address for the special three day forum on convergence, TV Meetsthe Internet @ MIPCOM. The address will be entitled "21st CenturyTelevision: Visions for Next Generation Broadcasting.". . . Rome,Italy-based RAI TRADE will offer BROTHER JACOB, an animated edutainmentseries for children about a storytelling monk, as well as GONE WITH THE
Harrison, New York-based BLUE SKY STUDIOS has promoted CHRIS BURROWS andTIM SPELTZ to technical directors. Since beginning as a technical assistantat Blue Sky Studios in 1998, Burrows has worked on a variety of projects,including lighting and rendering for Blue Sky's Oscar award-winning short,BUNNY. Speltz has been with Blue Sky Studios since he graduated from BrownUniversity in 1997. Since then, he has excelled at effects, particle work,and lighting. He was credited as technical assistant and technical directoron BUNNY.
