AWN Headline News

The World War II submarine pic, U-571, easily sailed into the top spot at the U.S. box office on Easter weekend. By grossing US$19.55 million, the Universal actioner more than doubled the second place film LOVE AND BASKETBALL. Slipping two places, THE ROAD TO EL DORADO finished the holiday weekend at #7. The DreamWorks animated buddy flick grossed another $5.22 raising its total take to $41.91 million. Landing in 9th place for the third straight week, FINAL DESTINATION grossed another $2.76 million bringing its total cume to $42.59 million.

Currently, the National Film Board of Canada has four animation projects in production. LITTLE ARMADILLOS is based off a song by filmmaker John Forrest. The educational piece creates a world inside the body where the eardrum is a dance hall and the elbow is a playground. Animator Debra Dawson is bringing the story to life with Long John Baldry performing the title song for the film. Jill Haras is creating JOE. The film follows the true-life story of Vancouver personality Seraphim "Joe" Fortes. Born in Barbados, Fortes came to Vancouver in 1885 and taught the children of the city how to swim.

Warner Bros. will be releasing ANCHORS AWEIGH on DVD. The Oscar award-winning film features the classic dance number featuring Gene Kelly and Jerry from TOM & JERRY. Nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the classic story of two sailors on leave in Los Angeles will be sailing into video stores on May 2, 2000.

SIMEX returns to Toucan Sam with new Kellogs' spot. In the 30-second "Nose Detector" commercial, SimEx artists created the 2D and 3D animation for an adventurous spot, where Toucan Sam follows his nose to Kellogs' delicious-smelling new cereal, Froot Loops with Cherry Berry Swirls. This spot is the sixth Froot Loop commercial for SimEx and paired them with long-time creative partner Peter Lohmeier of Chicago-based ad agency Leo Burnett. The animation director was Jean Perramon and Christina Cox produced.

On Sunday, April 9, 2000, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts bestowed the honor of best animated short on THE MAN WITH BEAUTIFUL EYES. The film was adapted from a Charles Bukowski poem where a group of boys make a hero of a deadbeat alcoholic. The film by Jonathan Hodgson beat out Oscar winner THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Alexander Petrov, the 1998 Oscar nominated JOLLY ROGER by Mark Baker and festival favorite THE PERI-WIG MAKER by Steffen Schaffler. As it did at the Oscars, THE MATRIX took home the awards for sound and special effects.

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS rules cable. The original U.S. broadcast on April 16, 2000 drew nearly 10.7 million people. The show was seen as a three-hour special on the Discovery Channel instead of a six-night mini-series as it was originally shown on the BBC. The large audience made it the most-watched non-sports event on cable TV during the 1999-2000 season with a rating of 8.0. Based on Discovery Channel numbers, approximately 40 million viewers saw some part of the special during its back-to-back Sunday telecasts at 7 pm and 10 pm.

STAN LEE MEDIA (SLM) has hired Iwerks/Universal executive JON CORFINO to head their new location-based entertainment division. Most recently senior vice president, executive in charge of production at Iwerks Entertainment, Corfino previously served as project manager of the planning and development group at Universal Studios. In his newly created post as president, theme park and location-based attractions of Stan Lee Media, Corfino will help the company leverage for the expanding market a new generation of superheroes and super-villains originated on the Web.

MONDO MEDIA, a leading creator and distributor of serial-based animated content, announced that it has named ROBIN HARPER, former VP of marketing for Ninth House Network and Maxis (a division of Electronic Arts), as its new Senior vice president of marketing. In her new position, Harper will be responsible for Mondo Media's marketing operation and help guide the company's overall marketing strategy.

WILL VINTON STUDIOS has delivered a new spot entitled "Choices" promoting 989 Studios' video game SYPHON FILTER 2. Mike Wellins directed the CGI commercial for San Francisco-based ad agency, Butler, Shine & Stern. The spot is designed to look like a scene taken directly from the game. The ad starts with the hero running on top of a speeding train firing his machine gun at approaching enemy. When the valiant hero corners the villain, the evil foe suddenly asks whether he can be "done in" with something less painful than a gun.

The newest trailer for Disney's upcoming CGI epic DINOSAUR has hit the Web. The trailer, which runs 2 minutes, 26 seconds and offers new footage from the film, was available on the Internet for one week prior to its nationwide debut in theaters on March 10, 2000. Richard Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group said, "Premiering the new DINOSAUR trailer on the Internet is a great way to bring this fantastic film to a large cross-section of moviegoers.

Abacus Software, Inc. has release a new add-on for Microsoft's COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR called BEHIND ENEMY LINES. The fictional voice-accompanied adventure takes you into the heart of Axis Germany. Players volunteer to fly a critical mission for the Allies. After sneaking behind enemy lines, one must follow the voice instructions from the mission commander or from secret agents. BEHIND ENEMY LINES features 30 new missions, 16 for the RAF and 14 for the Germans, and 3 new aircraft: the Supermarine Spitfire MkIX, the Schweizer 2-32 glider and an UltraLight. The game is priced at US$29.99.

Based on the forthcoming release of 20th Century Fox's futuristic animated feature film, TITAN A.E., Fox Interactive announced its plans to develop the TITAN A.E. game for PlayStation. Fox Interactive is banking on the sci-fi feel of the film to translate easily to the gaming world. "We're raising the level of excitement for the film and inviting fans to embark on their own TITAN adventures through the game," said Dave Shaw, executive director of Worldwide Brand Marketing. "Titan A.E.