AWN Headline News

London-based Pearson Television has purchased EVA Entertainment for £2 million ($3.3 million). EVA, a five year-old pan-European venture, produces and distributes children's animation with a library of around 200 half-hours including SPOT THE DOG and BILLY THE CAT. The company was also one of four co-producers on BBC2's animated series, REX THE RUNT. Pearson's recently appointed director of animation John Bullivant will oversee EVA. However, the studio will continue to be run by EVA's managing director Mikael Shields, who'll function as chief operating officer.

Comedian and former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast member Adam Sandler (THE WATERBOY, THE WEDDING SINGER) has signed with Columbia TriStar (a division of Sony Pictures) to develop a full-length animated musical comedy featuring a character based on him. Sandler, who is producing the film with his partner, Jack Giarraputo, will also voice the title character.

Helium Productions has produced a complete graphics package for Fox Network in collaboration with design company Big Media Group. Helium produced 19 minutes of 3D animation which is shown in IDs for "Just One Fox," menu beds and on-air promo material including opens, closes and backgrounds for all talent IDs.

Buena Vista International Television (BVI-TV) has signed a first-time volume agreement with NELVANA Enterprises (Paris) to air their programs on Disney Channel in Spain and Italy. BVI-TV will have first rights to NELVANAs production slate for Spain and Italy, acquiring between two and four new series a year. Disney Channel currently plans to air the following NEVLANA titles: NEDS NEWT (Spain), FRANKLIN (Italy, Spain), STICKIN AROUND (Italy, Spain), SAM AND MAX (Spain), LITTLE BEAR (Italy), JAKE AND THE KID (Italy), BIRDZ (Spain) and Rupert (Spain).

The 15th Annual San Diego International Film Festival is currently accepting entries for their Animation Celebration evening in May. There is no entry fee; however, there will be a cash prize for the top film. Send video cassettes to:

Animation CelebrationSan Diego International Film FestivalDept 0078, UCSD9500 Gilman DriveLa Jolla, CA92093-0078

For further information, call 619-534-0497 or e-mail rbaily@ucsd.edu.

The hit Japanese show POKéMON, currently in syndication in the U.S. and exclusively on Kids WB! next season, has been sold to Televisa (Mexico) and Record-TV (Brazil). Both networks will premiere the show in April/May as a five-day-a-week program. The show has also been sold to numerous other Latin American broadcasters including Magic TV and Channel 11 (Argentina), Etcetera and Chilevision Channel 6 (Chile), Caracol (Colombia), Telecorporation (El Salvador), Televicentro (Honduras), Frecuencia Latina (Peru) and Venevision (Venezuela).

Cable network FX has ordered 13 episodes of their first-ever animated comedy series, THE DICK AND PAULA CELEBRITY SPECIAL, produced by Tom Snyder Productions. The show, set to premiere in spring '99, will use a derivation of Snyder Productions' trademark computer-generated process, "SquiggleVision." The weekly half-hour series is about the behind-the-scenes goings on of a husband-and-wife talk show team (Dick and Paula). They interview contemporary stars, fictionalized characters and major historical figures.

Disney is going all out for their release of FANTASIA 2000 by launching anexclusive four-month run of the film in IMAX theaters around the world fromJanuary 1 through April 30, 2000. The updated version will debut with afive-city, London Philharmonic Orchestra-accompanied tour starting inDecember 1999. The tour, which will pass through Los Angeles, London, Paris andTokyo, will have its world premiere December 17 at Carnegie Hall in NewYork City with a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition,

Pixar Animation Studios took a bit of a dip in the fourth quarter while still awaiting the cash flow from their latest blockbuster feature A BUG'S LIFE. The company reported fourth-quarter profits of $1.1M for the period ending January 2, down from $4.4M for the same period in 1997. Quarterly revenues dropped from $7.1M to 3.1M, with revenue generated from sales of services and tools to other producers in Hollywood, as well as proceeds trickling in from their first film TOY STORY (1995).