Disney has decided to divide its toy merchandising between rivals Hasbro and Mattel. Disney has had a long licensing relationship with Mattel, which now will only handle their preschool and plush toys, dolls, games and puzzles. Hasbro will handle the more lucrative toys, action figures and games portion of Walt Disney products.
PI director Darren Aronofsky is set to helm the newest in Warner Bros. BATMAN franchise, BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Aronofsky will write and develop the screenplay with Frank Miller, writer of the graphic novel BATMAN: YO from which the film will be based. The noir-styled graphic novel was originally published by DC Comics in 1987 and chronicles the trials and tribulations of Bruce Waynes first year as Batman. Aronofsky as director is an interesting direction for Warner to take with the BATMAN movie franchise.
Cologne-based licenser and children's TV producer BKN International has acquired international TV, video and merchandising rights for New York-based childrens animation production company GoodTimes Entertainments 51 title library. The deal worth US$13 million includes titles such as RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and MOBY DICK.
Hyderabad-based Webtoons India, Sriven Multi-Tech's creative
animation and digital ink & paint facility has partnered with Toon
Boom Technologies to set up USAnimation, the leading vector-based
digital ink & paint and compositing software, at their studio. With
facilities and offices in India, Australia, Canada and the U.S.,
Sriven Multi-Tech Limited (www.srivenmultitech.com) offers expertise
in software development, multimedia content production, digital
For feature films Martin Goodman is taking a look at this summer's
hits and misses. Gerard Raiti is figuring out why some cartoons don't
work as live-action adaptations and others do. Amid Amidi is
profiling feature films that have been released outside of the big
studios' theatrical machine. Plus, for a look into the Japanese
feature film market, resident expert Fred Patten is going to outline
the lay of the land of the rising sun. Plus, Larry Lauria speaks with
Norrköping, Sweden-based UDS, an interactive entertainment developer,
is looking for a 2D ANIMATOR to create content and animations for
online/wireless and PC games. . . Cambridge, UK-based Kelseus
Limited, a 3D computer graphics software company, is looking for 3D
PROGRAMMERS to join their R&D team. . . San Francisco,
California-based Mondo Media, a successful new media company that
creates, develops, and syndicates animated entertainment, is looking
Take a 5-day Softimage XSI Essentials course so that you can hit the
ground running with XSI. This course is offered by The Renaissance
Center, Dickson (just west of Nashville), Tennessee, September 25-29,
2000. The Avid Certified Instructor is Olwen Nash, who has worked for
London-based MetroNewMedia (soft3D ATC) and The Finishing School
(European XSI ATC). For more information and registration please
contact: Vona Redden, tel.: (615) 740-5517; email:
vona.redden@rcenter.org; or visit
Digital Hollywood, Japan, and DH Institute of Media Arts (DHIMA),
Santa Monica, California, one of the world's largest digital media
institutes, have recently appointed John Hughes, President and CEO of
Academy Award-winning studio Rhythm & Hues, to their advisory board.
John Hughes will provide curriculum advice and deliver periodic
lectures, introducing state-of- the-art technologies to the school
curriculum. For more information, check out the school
Ottawa 00 is getting ready to welcome the 'cre de la cre' in
animation next Tuesday, with animators from all over the world --
this year, the festival received 1,300 submissions, from over 50
countries...
After the announcement of their nominees last week, the festival now
presents their jury members for its 24th edition...
This week's updates to the Calendar
of Events includes the upcoming
Bit by Bit Exhibition in Manitou Springs, Colorado, USA; the Wanadoo
Talent Show in Cannes, France; INDAC 2000 in Cologne, Germany; and
many more! With multiple search capabilities, AWN's new calendar of
events gives you a customized way to look through the upcoming events
- by Name, Location, Entry Deadline, Category, Event Type and more.
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...
Chinese Animation Volumes 1 & 2 are now available to add to your
library of international animation. These two 80-minute volumes
include traditional cell animation and puppets, shown in their highly
original techniques of cut-paper, folded paper and brush painting by
some of Shanghai's famous animators. Witness some of the animated
shorts created in the last 50 years that have delighted both children
and adults in China and throughout the world. Te Wei, Qian Jiajun, Yu
From September 23 - 29, 2000, the British terrestrial station Channel 4 is screening a veritable deluge of animation, ranging from the far-flung universe of FUTURAMA to the sharply-observed mundane world of POND LIFE. The only catch is most of it's being shown in the small hours, so set your video recorders. Saturday is the main night, kicking off at 9 pm with Channel 4 regular SOUTH PARK, followed FUTURAMA with a special introduction from creator Matt Groening. This is the series first time airing on British terrestrial TV.
Design and cross media studio Miss Jones produced three 30-second spots for AT&T's new media services, which started airing during the Sydney Olympics. Against a white background in the first spot, "Pop," AT&T's familiar blue globe morphs into a pan of popcorn, at first popping slowly and then building to a crescendo while the globe swells to bursting. The second spot "Newton" opens on six AT&T globes lined up in a white field.
Digital animation company Mixin Pixls has birthed a new spot for Verizon Wireless entitled "Cellular Division." Directed by See Spot Run's Lawrence V. O'Flahvan, the spot begins with a view through a microscope studying a phone-looking cell. The "cell" divides into two phones, then splits into five, explaining that with Verizon's Family Share Plan one pool of minutes can be divided between up to five phones. "Creating the animated sequence was an exciting creative challenge," said Mixin Pixls CG animation director Harri Paakkonen.
Stan Lee Media Inc. has eliminated 19 positions, deciding to outsource animation production to overseas companies. The move is part of SLM's deal with Toon Boom Technologies to use its U.S. Animation software on SLM productions. The Web content creator said in a press release that the decision would allow the company to maintain quality animation while reducing internal overhead costs.
With newcomers like thriller THE WATCHER and black comedy NURSE BETTY finishing #1 and #2 respectively, THE CELL slipped to fourth at the U.S. box office. Finishing right after the former two-week champion BRING IT ON, THE CELL, with primary visual effects by Toybox, grossed another US$3.65 million, raising the films cume to $51.34 million. Finally fading at #5, SPACE COWBOYS made 51% less than last weekend with a gross of $3.34 million. The senior citizen space saga, with primary visual effects by ILM, has floated $78.83 million thus far.
After a whirlwind tour of the World Animation Celebration in
Hollywood and the International Festival of Animated Film in Annecy,
wildbrain.com will be coming to you live from their houseboat on the
scenic Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Wednesday, September 20 through
Sunday, September 24 (4:30-6:30 pm EST)...
* Sunday, October 29 Thursday, November 9, 2000. Cologne, Germany.
* Monday, October 30 Friday, November 3, 2000. Trivandrum, India.
* Monday, October 30 Friday, November 3, 2000. Bourg-en-Bresse, France.
Animation Stock Ticker For Tuesday, September 19, 2000
This past weekend the international box office saw the Miramax record breaker, SCARY MOVIE, hold strong in the U.K. and Australia, while HOLLOW MAN and GONE IN 60 SECONDS premieres topped charts around the globe. In the U.K., SCARY scored another US$2.04 million, lifting its British cume to $7.6 million. Holding on in second, SNATCH by Guy Ritchie summoned $1.54 million, raising its homeland cume to $11.96 million. Another shoot 'em up flick took third - SHAFT's debut drew $1.22 million in the U.K. THE CELL made a less than flashy premiere in fifth, with a gross of $776,039.
