DIC Entertainment has named Melissa Bomes executive vice president of worldwide consumer products. Bomes will oversee the growth of the division, including such areas as licensing and merchandising, promotions and retail marketing. Bomes recently served as VP of business development at estyle.com and before that was an executive at Walt Disney working in strategic alliances and business development for its retail stores.
ADV Films is releasing Mainframe Entertainment's 3D animated TV series WEIRD-OHS on video. The series chronicles the town of Weirdsville, the fast-paced world just off Route 66, where cars and racing is the way of life. The first 110 minute volume will be released on November 28, 2000 with two more following on December 5, 2000 and January 23, 2001. Each tape will retail for US$12.98 each.
GASARAKI 2: THE CIRCLE OPENS arrives on video from ADV Films November 28, 2000. In this sequel, giant robots battle to uncover the secrets of the T.A. team, which is attacked by a mysterious unknown enemy. The film will be released in an English-dubbed VHS version and on DVD, which will contain both an English-dubbed and English-subtitled edition. Volume 3 is set for release on January 23, 2001 with Volume 4 available on March 27, 2001. The VHS tape will sell for US$19.98 and the DVD for $29.98.
The anime feature, LEDA: THE FANTASTIC ADVENTURES OF YOHKO, is arriving on video November 28, 2000. The story follows high school student Yohko as she travels to Earth's mirror planet Ashanti and must aid the universal warriors in defeating the dimension's new leaders from taking over Earth. The video will be available in an English-subtitled and English-dubbed version for US$9.95.
Right Stuf International will release three new CAPTAIN TYLOR collections on video November 28, 2000. The final volume of THE IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR will contain part one and two of the "From Here to Eternity" tale, which concludes the bumbling war between UPSF and Raalgon forces. The humorous series continues in the release of THE IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR "Music Video Collection," which features Captain Tylor belting out funny tunes with the crew of the Soyokaze.
Based on the popular TV series SUPERDIMENSIONAL FORTRESS MACROSS, MACROSS II is the follow-up to the original anime classic. Hitting stores on November 28, 2000, the second film in the theatrical MACROSS franchise, continues the tale of Earth's fight against the Zentradi, an alien race of giants. Taking place eight years after the first MACROSS in a time of peace, renegade Zentradi bent on war use strength sapping music to defeat the humans.
Manga Video is releasing anime classic WINGS OF HONNEAMISE on DVD November 28, 2000. At the time of the production in 1987, HONNEAMISE marked the highest budget for any Japanese animated feature ever at ¥800 million (approximately US$8 million). The DVD's special features are: three language tracks, one in English, one in Japanese and one in Japanese with English subtitles; director commentary; an original promotional short; a deleted scene; conceptual artwork; and storyboards.
On Tuesday, November 28, 2000, EM.TV & Merchandising AG shares hit a new two-year low of 17.58 euros (US$15), but by the end of the day rebounded a bit to finish out the day at 21.50 euros ($18.42). A company spokesman assured the public that EM.TV is "definitely not broke." Rumors abounded yesterday that German media giant KirchGroup is in talks to buy a controlling stake in the branded merchandising and children's TV company. EM.TV is scheduled to release its third quarter results on Friday.
Disney's in-development animated feature SWEATING BULLETS has gained a voice cast. Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Judi Dench will join Sarah Jessica Parker and Ja'Net DuBois on the cast of the Western-themed musical. Randy Quaid is also in talks to voice a character. The story chronicles a group of cows who team together to save their farm. No production date has been announced, but the film has been in development for about three years.
Macromedia has announced that the eagerly awaited Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio is now available. Dubbed "the complete solution for professional Website design and production," the new package is comprised of Dreamweaver 4, the new version of Macromedias award-winning Web design package and the new version of their popular graphics tools Fireworks. The studio package unifies HTML code and graphics workflow and provides professional Web designers with an integrated authoring platform designed to simplify the Web design process, while retaining maximum control over the final outcome.
Turkey's health minister, Osman Durmus, has urged TV stations to remove POKEMON from their line-up in light of two children suffering injuries copying the actions of the cartoon's characters. On Friday, November 24, 7-year-old Seda Aykanat suffered a broken leg when she leapt off the fifth-floor balcony of her apartment. Previously this year, a 4-year-old boy in Turkey also sustained injuries copying the super-powered stunts of POKEMON characters.
In a restructuring move, Icebox.com has cut its staff of 100 in half. The decision was made in an attempt to make the company profitable by the end of next year. Icebox will no longer produce its content in-house, but will use freelancers some being the laid off employees -- and Flash animation production firms. Company CEO Steve Stanford reassured the industry that Icebox has US$2 million on hand, but needed to convince investors that the company is close to profitability. Stanford said that a new round of about $10 million in financing should close next month.
Continuing the revamping of its finance division, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has announced three top-level finance appointments. Peter Halt was appointed senior VP and chief financial officer of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, which was formed last spring. Previously he served as VP finance and corporate controller at SPE. Filling Halt's old role will be Mark Rudolph, who is currently VP finance at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Simon Baker was named VP finance and corporate treasurer at SPE. Prior to Sony, Baker was the VP of finance at Fox Entertainment Group.
Icebox.com has announced that Strauss Zelnick has joined the company's board of directors. Until his recent resignation, Zelnick served as president and CEO of Bertelsmann AG's music company BMG Entertainment. He also serves as non-executive chairman of broadband application service provider On2.
New York design studio hey! designed and produced the new ID campaign for the TNN networks' transformation from The Nashville Network to The National Network. All five of the 5-second IDs contain the tag line, "We've got pop!" "Each element in the series took a slightly different approach to defining what 'pop' is and how it looks, feels and sounds," said hey! creative director Josh Pelzek. "In three of the IDs, we interpreted 'pop' as an action - popcorn exploding like fireworks, a button popping off a large man's shirt and bubbles - which contain the TNN logo - popping in mid-air.
Santa Maria, California-based Computer Café has created photo-realistic 3D animation simulating a NASCAR race for an Electronic Arts product demonstration. Produced by Western Images the video showcases a new game
Affiliate animator Raimund Krumme won the German Film Prize, Gold, for short films, for his new short "The Message." The prize comes with a cash prize of DM 60.000 (approx. $50,000). "The Message" is a 6-minute film where the message, "He is back again" is passed on to many people until there is a discussion about who is back again; it was in competition at the Annecy, Ottawa, Cinanima and Holland festivals. Discover or rediscover Riamund's work in his gallery on AWN.
Animator Dave Lambard has been working feverishly and just released a new Web cartoon, "Tattoo"...
Check out the latest "behind the scenes" features and tutorials from Visual Magic Magazine...
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes the 2nd "Art & Animation" Conference & Screenings in Torino, Italy, December 11-12, 2000; the 41st Monte Carlo Television Festival in Monaco, February 16-22, 2001; Cartoon Movie in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany, March 15-17, 2000; the World Education Market in Vancouver, Canada, May 21-24, 2001; L!CENSING 2001 in New York, June 12-14, 2001; and more!
Leading experts in their respective fields are there to answer your questions and give you personal advice and insight in the Discussion Forums. Ask questions! It only takes a few minutes and any topic is fair game. Pose your questions to experts on 2D animation, 3D animation, finding a job, putting together a portfolio, and much more. You can even jump up on your soapbox in the Animation Café!
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. Where did "Ersatz," the first film from outside of the United States to win an Academy Award for best animated film, originate from? What is Rembrandt Film's home country? Where did Jiri Trnka create his body of work? Good luck...you'll need it!
Great gift ideas for Disney buffs of all ages. Plus, the AWN store has plenty more Disney favorites available...
* Monday, January 22 Thursday, January 25, 2000. Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
