Smarterville, Inc., a Web-based childrens media company, announced that Peter Doctorow, former president of Knowledge Adventure, has been named as president and chief executive officer. Founder Ben Sharpe will remain as chief technology officer. "We are excited to add Peter Doctorow to our team," said Ben Sharpe, Smarterville founder and chief technology officer.
Digital Artists Agency (DAA) has signed agreements to represent Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisors Volker Engel (INDEPENDENCE DAY) and Tim McGovern (TOTAL RECALL). In addition, the company has also signed visual effects supervisor Patrick Shearn, an Emmy Award nominee for 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN, and Eric Mises-Rosenfeld, a French national with 15 years of award-winning TV commercial and feature film experience.
TOPIX/Mad Dog was tapped to create the visual effects for the HDTV animated retelling of the Prodigal Son tale entitled, CHOICE. The 25-minute film was produced for Expo 2000s "Pavilion of Hope" in Hanover, Germany. Presented in six languages, the film started airing in June and will run until October. The project was animated by Canuck Creations in Toronto and digitally scanned, inked and painted in Viet Nam at One Shot Pro and Planet Wave. "Originally, our job was to handle the post to finish off the process and put the footage into continuous form.
The New York-based design and production studio hey! has wrapped up 22 thirty-second animations for Arista Records. Presented at Bertelsmann Music Groups marketing conference, hey! created musical sequences highlighting Arista artists Whitney Houston, Santana, Run DMC, Toni Braxton, Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin and many more. "Essentially, we have made stills of the artists come to life by creating 2D animations in inferno*.
ATTIK shot, designed and produced three 15-second spots previewing Sonys Digital Network Recorder with TiVo service. The product allows TV viewers the chance to record programs digitally while they watch something else. ATTIK creative director/designer/director Aporva Baxi said, "We enhanced the existing agency concept with dynamic animated visuals that were specifically designed to reflect the copy line of each commercial. It was also vital that the visuals appear authentic.
Long-time animation producer Zdenka Deitchova has been formally named the chief of the Bratri v Triku (Kratky Film) animation studio in Prague. Deitchova has worked as a producer at the studio for over 55 years. Deitchova commented jokingly, "It's only temporary until they find someone else!" This appointment marks the first female head in the studios illustrious history.
Animation producers/directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have set out to expand their DRAGONS LAIR franchise into the lands of Webtoons, next-generation video games and a feature film. Their new Web site donbluth.com will air the DRAGONS LAIR Webisodes, which will follow the not so valiant Dirk the Daring and his battles with the evil wizard, Mordrock. No release date has been set for the premiere episode. DonBluth.com will also feature animation lessons from the legendary director.
And The Best Of The 2000 Brussels Animation Collection...
In a lackluster weekend at the U.S. box office, early reports had Sonys HOLLOW MAN and Warner Bros. SPACE COWBOYS running neck-and-neck for the top spot, but in the end MAN finished first by a nose. HOLLOW, with primary visual effects by The Ranch Entertainment, Tippett Studios and Sony Imageworks, held on to first place, adding US$13.05 million to its $50.3 million cume. COWBOYS, with primary visual effects by ILM, moved up a spot to settle for second and a gross of $13.02 million, bringing its 10-day cume to $39.02 million.
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After its first full week in theatres, THE PATRIOT finished at the top in Germany, Spain and Brazil. In Germany, THE PATRIOT fought out the debut of CHICKEN RUN with a gross of US$1.62 million, bringing its cume to $6.05 million. CHICKEN came in with a gross of $1.35 million. Dropping two slots to fourth, THE PERFECT STORM washed up $569,269, advancing its cume to $9.63 million. TITAN A.E. premiered in fifth with a gross of $491,902. Slipping to sixth, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 added $463,141 to its German cume of $23.08 million.
Swedish-based animation studio Filmtecknarna has wrapped on a 40-second animated sequence for the latest Madonna music video entitled "Music." Within the video, the tooned Madonna beats up British comedian Ali G who also appears in the live-action part of the video. The animation was directed by Jonas Odell at Filmtecknarna and produced by Leila El-Zein. The backgrounds were designed by Boris Nawratil. Jonas Akerlund of Petterson & Akerlund helmed the live-action portion. Filmtecknarna has previously worked with Akerlund on videos for Madonna and Metallica.
The legendary Chuck Jones is bringing his first original character in 40 years to the Internet. The series will feature Thomas T. Wolf, an unlucky timber wolf who often falls victim to falling objects when someone yells, "Timber!" Jones created the character 10 years ago as an idea intended for a theatrical short. Executive producer Stephan Fossati, who worked on six Looney Tunes shorts in 1992, was asked by a Warner Bros. executive whether Jones had any new characters for the Web. Fossati remembered Thomas T.
Big Idea Productions, Inc. is currently looking to hire a 3D MODELING/TEXTURING SUPERVISOR, a MODELING SUPERVISOR and two MODELERS/TEXTURERS. . . Sherman Oaks, California-based Animation Creations, an animation workshop which teaches animation fundamentals to children, is looking for an ANIMATION INSTRUCTOR. . . NewTV.com, an early stage Internet TV station, is looking for ANIMATORS who can build their work with Flash for a brand new Internet television station. . .
Wildbrain.com is a must-visit site for anyone who is interested in cutting edge Internet animation...
Playboy has started to air the picks from their Comix & Animation Contest, which ran this Spring...
The newest Career Coach, our monthly column by Pamela Thompson, is online...
Plympton's new series of comics extracted from the comic book, "Sleazy Cartoons of Bill Plympton," is for ADULTS ONLY...
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz...
USA Entertainment is set to release the direct-to-video feature, FRANKLIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. Hitting stores on October 10, 2000, the film based on the popular childrens series will be released on VHS and DVD. The DVD will feature coloring games, puzzles, music videos, Web site links and a behind-the-scenes featurette with creator Paulette Bourgeois and illustrator Brenda Clark. "There is very little risk with this project," USA Entertainment executive VP Joe Amodei said. "FRANLIN has been a huge success with a long track record of family satisfaction.
In a lackluster weekend at the U.S. box office, early reports have Sonys HOLLOW MAN and Warner Bros. SPACE COWBOYS finishing neck-and-neck for the top spot. COWBOYS, with primary visual effects by ILM, moved up from third to claim an early-tally share of #1, with a gross of $13.1 million, bringing its 10-day cume to $39.1 million. HOLLOW, with primary visual effects by The Ranch Entertainment, Tippett Studios and Sony Imageworks, held on to a piece of first place, adding 13.1 million to its $50.4 million cume.
Nelvana Limited has announced plans to produce two new animated series. BRACEFACE will be a co-production between Nelvana and Chinese studio Jade Animation. Voiced by Alicia Silverstone (CLUELESS), the series tells the story of Sharon Spitz, a 13-year-old who turns her metal mouth into a winning smile. The first 26 episodes are set for completion in spring 2001 for Fox Family in the U.S. and Teletoon in Canada. CYBERCHASE will be a co-production between Nelvana and WNET/13 in New York, which will air nationally on PBS KIDS in winter 2002.
A long list of Hollywood heavyweights has been announced as the voice cast for Disney/Pixars upcoming CGI feature MONSTERS, INC. The star-studded cast includes Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tily, Bonnie Hunt and first-timer Mary Gibbs. The film chronicles what happens when a careless monster lets a human girl into the land of spooks and scares. Goodman will voice James P. Sullivan, a large, furry and horned employee of Monsters Inc. Voicing Sullivans sassy one-eyed sidekick will be Crystal.
For the live-action feature SIMONE, writer-director Andrew Niccol (THE TRUMAN SHOW) has decided to go completely CGI for the title character in the New Line Cinema drama. According to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, the CGI actress will star opposite Al Pacino, who will play a Hollywood film producer. The story centers on the life-changing challenges of an aspiring young actress who becomes a movie star overnight. In a move that marks actors worst nightmares, Niccol decided to go with the computer-generated lead after unsuccessfully testing several young, up-and-coming actresses.
Toon In is AWN's guide to what's new on the Net. This week's installment features the newest toon from John K, Bill Plympton and much, much more.
Get your Toon In: Web Animation Guide here!
Every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"
Rick's Pick For Friday, August 11, 2000!
