This week's Animation Trivia Quiz: Unusual Animation Techniques
This week's AWN Animation Trivia Quiz features questions about unusual animation techniques and inventions such as the pinboard...
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Exclusive offer on Ray Rohr's ROBBY THE ROBOT WITH BLASTER
Sci-Fi Station's Limited Edition "Robby the Robot" toy is an incredibly detailed original design by Osaka Tin Toy Institute...
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Store Special: New Video Of Estonian Animation, With Priit Parn
Now available in the AWN Store is a 70 minute collection of shorts byaward-wining Estonian animator Priit Parn. Since making his first film, "Isthe Earth Round" (1977), animator, illustrator, and artist Priit Parn hasevolved into one of the most influential animation artists in the world.His films are routinely invited to animation festivals where they have wonseveral major awards. Included in volume 1 of an extensive series examiningthe history of Estonian animation are: "And Plays Tricks" (1979), "Some
THE SIXTH SENSE continues on top of US boxoffice
Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished first at the US weekend boxoffice for the fourthconsecutive week, grossing an estimated $20.1 million, for a total of$138.9 million. No other animation related film finished in the top ten.Newly released Universal's DUDLEY DO-RIGHT, a live-action film which starsBrendan Fraser, and is based on the series about a Canadian Mountie fromJay Ward and Bill Scott's early 1960s THE ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE SHOW,finished eleventh, grossing $3 million.
KING OF THE HILL and SPAWN win Emmies
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the Emmy in the categoryfor outstanding animated programs up to an hour in length to Fox's KING OFTHE HILL ("And They Call It Bobby Love"). In winning its first Emmy in thiscategory, KING OF THE HILL beat out fellow Fox toons THE SIMPSONS, FUTURAMAand THE PJS as well as Cartoon Network's THE POWERPUFF GIRLS. HBO's TODDMCFARLANE'S SPAWN took the honor for outstanding animated program over anhour. UPN's DILBERT won the award for main title design. The Emmy for
QUIET MAN completes spot for Fritos Racerz
New York City-based QUIET MAN has completed "Giant Boy," a :30 spot forFritos Racerz, a race-car shaped snack food. In the spot, a NASCAR race cardriver wakens from a dream just before he and his car are eaten by a boy.Johnnie Semerad directed the visual effects, and Philana Dias was theFlame/Effects artist. Richard Sears directed the spot for New York andHollywood-based production company HKM Productions for New York-basedagency BBDO.
USC joins the Army
The United States Army will give the University of Southern California $45million over the next five years to establish a research center to developadvanced military simulations. The center will use film students and videogame designers to create realistic training simulations using virtualreality technology and artificial intelligence. This effort is part of theArmy's plan to create higher quality training using more realistic war-typeexercises.
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Macromedia relases Flash Player for UNIX
San Francisco, California-based Macromedia, Inc. has announced that itsFlash Player, which enables internet browsers to play web animations, willbe available free on September 1, 1999 for Linux, Sun Microsystems, Inc.'sSolaris, and Silicon Graphics Inc.'s Irix platforms. Flash is the standardfor creating high-impact, vector-based Web sites that deliver motion,sound, interactivity, and graphics. Flash Player versions for UNIX will beavailable for download at no charge from the Macromedia Web site.
New Jay Ward cartoon premieres!
Several movie critics have said that while Universal's new live-actionDudley Do-Right, which opened in the US on Friday, August 27, misses themark, the new cartoon by Universal Cartoon Studios which is playing withthe film, FRACTURED FAIRY TALES: THE PHOX, THE LOX AND THE BOX, is awinner. The cartoon is based on a script by Bill Scott, who wrote most ofthe episodes of the Fractured Fairy Tales series which was originally partof NBC's early 1960s The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show. It was animated for
Adam Sandler makes a cartoon
On Friday, September 3 a cartoon by Adam Sandler will premiere onwww.adamsandler.com, the official Adam Sandler website. Little is knownabout the film, and Sandler's website refers to it only as a "surprise,"but the title is said to be THE PEEPER. Adam Sandler was a cast member ofSATURDAY NIGHT LIVE from 1991-1995, and star of recent hits such as BIGDADDY and THE WATERBOY. He has also had several hit comedy albums such as"They're All Gonna Laugh at You." His best known song is "The HanukkahSong."
LITTLEFIELD and HUNEGS join ATOMFILMS advisory board
WARREN LITTLEFIELD, president of the Littlefield company, and CRAIG HUNEGS,Executive Vice President at Warner Bros. Television, will join theATOMFILMS advisory board. Littlefield, former President of NBCEntertainment, and Hunegs will act as advisors in the areas of contentprogramming for the AtomFilms web site as well as for its distribution andsyndication sites. They will also offer advice on building strongrelationships with traditional media companies for broader distribution.
MARCI SELSBERG returns to WILL VINTON STUDIOS
MARCI SELSBERG has returned to WILL VINTON STUDIOS, a Portland,Oregon-based production company, as their east coast producer. Selsberg wasmost recently the president and executive producer of her own smallbusiness, Peek-A-Boo Productions which represented animation productioncompanies such as Curious Pictures.
Wooton Resigns from PDI
Patty Wooton has resigned as vice president, head of production at PaloAlto-based PDI (PACIFIC DATA IMAGES). Wooton was recently producer with Brad Lewis and Aron Warner on ANTZ.
TOPIX/Mad Dog puts singer on clouds
Toronto, Canada-based TOPIX/MAD DOG has completed the visual effects forMary J. Blige's music video "All That I Can Say." Shot on location in NewYork City, the dreamscape for the music video integrates live-action, timelapse photography, stock footage, and 3D clouds which were modeled andrendered in 3D Studio Max. Softimage artist Sean Montgomery created andanimated orbs in which Mary and the city are reflected. In addition,TOPIX/Mad Dog composited the singer into scenes featuring Times Square, a
METHOD spins New York
Santa Monica, California-based effects studio METHOD completed the visualeffects for Lauryn Hill's music video, "Everything is Everything."Supervised by senior visual effects artist Alex Frisch, the Method teammade New York City rotate around the Empire State Building like a spinningvinyl record, and one of the city's bridges was transformed into a giantarm that descends from the skies. Method used CGI to create the arm's giantshadow, and Maya software to create all the wide shots of the spinning
Disney classics come to DVD
Although Disney has released a few titles on DVD, including THE NIGHTMAREBEFORE CHRISTMAS and A BUG'S LIFE, they have not released their classics inthe US on DVD, preferring to back DIVX, a DVD competitor that was soldthrough Circuit City retail stores. But now that DIVX is defunct, due tothe lack of consumer support, Disney is embracing DVD. Buena Vista HomeEntertainment will debut nine of Disney's animated features on DVD over thenext four months. Each of the titles will be available for a limited 60-day
THE WALL and SPAWN 3: THE ULTIMATE BATTLE among new DVD releases
Columbia Records will celebrate the 20th anniversary ofthe release of PINK FLOYD's album THE WALL with the release of the film onDVD in October. The film includes animation designed and directed by Gerald Scarfe, who went onto design Disney's HERCULES. The DVD features a new transfer of theoriginal widescreen film, as well as unreleased footage, a remastered 5.1Dolby Digital soundtrack, the 25-minute "making of" documentary THE OTHERSIDE OF THE WALL, and the new 45-minute documentary RETROSPECTIVE, with
Women In Animation presents a program of shorts by women
Women In Animation Shorts Fest I is a showcase for short animated filmsmade by Women In Animation members and other filmmakers from around theworld. This evening's program includes films by Suzanne Franzel (Germany),Jaime Levy (USA), and Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (Canada). It takesplace Friday, September 10, 7 pm at Santa Monica, California, USA.at SantaMonica College, Academy of Entertainment and Technology, 1440 StewartStreet, (by Olympic and 26th). Admission is free and open to the public.
Scooby-Doo makes appearance at Storyopolis
Bring the family to meet Scooby-Doo and investigate the arts whilelistening to music at Beverly Hills children's bookstore, Storyopolis.Scooby-Doo will be available for photos, and while listening to the KidRhino audio release, SCOOBY-DOO AND THE WITCH'S GHOST (which ties in withthe direct to video title which is due out on October 5), the kids canparticipate in arts and crafts, interactive storytelling, and a raffle withprizes where everyone is a winner. (The participation fee for the arts and
Don't miss the 1999 Portland Creative Conference
Matt Groening, creator of THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA, will speak at the 1999Portland Creative Conference. He will join Eugenio Zanetti, productiondesigner for WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, Disney producer Don Hahn, and nationallysyndicated cartoonist John Callahan. The Conference includes speakerpresentations, panel discussions, sneak preview film screenings, an openingnight kick-off celebration, and a closing night wrap party, and runsSeptember 16 through 18 at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. The
Check out the latest ASIFA San Francisco news!
Visit the ASIFA San Francisco site in the Animation Village and check outtheir latest news. The June and July '99 issues of the newsletter are nowavailable on line with regular columns on: Magazines, Books, National News,Employment Opportunities, Festivals and Events.--> http://www.awn.com/asifa-sf
Check out Stan Winston, Rhythmn and Hues and other production art!
Sci-Fi Station now offers Limited Edition Original Animation Art created byaward-winning animation production studios such as Stan Winston, Rhythm andHues and The Character Shop...
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New Web Premier Toons and other Hot Stuff from CartoonNetwork.com!
Here's an overview of what's shaking on Cartoon Network's happening web site:
THIS MONTH'S NEXT BIG THING: New Web Premiere Toons! "Germtown" - Lookthrough the microscope at the wonderful world of germs. What do they do allday anyway? "Saturday Night Fred" - Help Fred and Barney choose what to doon a Saturday night in Bedrock! "The Marshmallow Money Show" - Hang outwith the kids on one city block and click to hear them give "shout-outs" orbreak into rap-style songs!
Cinanima announces their 1999 program!
Cinanima International Animated Film Festival will happen from November8-14, 1999, in Espinho, Portugal. This year, the retrospectives and specialprograms include: a screening of Cinanima '98 winners; a compilation offilms from Portuguese studio Animanostra; a program of Irish films; aretrospective of Dusan Vukotic's body of work (Croatia); video clips fromMTV; and a special program from the ASIFA archives, featuring suchprestigious animators as Norman McLaren, Yuri Norstein, Fedor Khitruk,
SGI appoints new CEO
San Jose, California-based SGI has announced that Robert Bishop has beennamed new chairman and chief executive officer effective immediately. Hesucceeds Richard Belluzzo, who resigned last week to accept at position aMicrosoft Online. Bishop joined SGI in 1986 and was responsible forbuilding its international division. He joined SGI's board of directors in1993 and continued to be an active member of the management team through1995. Prior to joining SGI he had similar responsibilities at Apollo
