The 2nd Annual New York Lower East Side Film Festival
* Wednesday, April 19 - Sunday, April 23, 2000. New York, New York, U.S.A.
Geographical Region: North America
CINAR Co-Founders Exit With $122M Missing
In the continuing crisis at CINAR Corp., husband and wife co-founders, Micheline Charest and Ronald Weinberg, have stepped down after senior VP and CFO Hasanain Panju was fired when US$122 million was found to have disappeared into investments without board approval. With tax fraud allegations floating in the skies, Charest will leave her chairman and co-CEO seat, while Weinberg will give up his president and co-CEO position. The couple will remain as leaders and directors of the company.
Snow Slips, Pitch Black Steady At 5th
With strictly live-action fare reigning the U.S. box office, SNOW DAY slipped to sixth place, while PITCH BLACK remained steady in fifth place. Paramount's kid-pic, with special effects by Curious Pictures, fell from #2, grossing US$4.8 million this past weekend and bringing its total gross to $49 million. USA Films' PITCH BLACK, with primary visual effects by Double Negative Ltd. and The Chandler Group, clocked in at #5 for the second straight weekend, grossing $5.07 million raising its total gross to $29.7 million.
Win $25,000 and a One Year Contract with Playboy
Be a part of Playboy's rich heritage of cartoon humor. Participate in
Playboy's Comix and Animation Contest. All multimedia formats welcome:
Shockwave, Flash, videotape, pen and ink and more! Grand prize winner
receives $25,000. Five honorable mentions will also be selected. Judges
include Scott Adams, Award winning creator of Dilbert, and Kevin Smith,
Writer/Director of hit films "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma." The deadline for
submission is April 1, 2000. As with any contest there are lots of rules
Bill Plympton Around the World
Bill Plympton has updated his
In the next months, his
films will be appearing in various festivals and other events around the
world. Bill will be attending the Newport Film Festival, Newport, RI, USA;
Annecy Animation Festival, Annecy, France; Florida Film Festival, Maitland,
FL, USA; and Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, Zagreb, Croatia.
Snow Picks Up Momentum At #2
The big snow ball of Paramount's SNOW DAY picked up momentum and rolled in
to #2 at the U.S. box office. In its second week in theatres, the kid-pic,
with special effects by Curious Pictures, grossed US$8.34 million bringing
its gross to $43.1 million. USA Films' ALIENS-like PITCH BLACK, with
primary visual effects by Double Negative Ltd. and The Chandler Group,
finished at #5 grossing $7.14 million raising its total gross to $22.9
million. THE TIGGER MOVIE finished the weekend in sixth place, making $6.31
J. Stuart Blackton Screening
* Wednesday, March 1, 2000. Hollywood, California, U.S.A.
In celebration of the 125th anniversary of J. Stuart Blackton, The Silent
Society of Hollywood Heritage, Inc. and the International Animated Film
Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, are presenting a program highlighting this motion
picture and animation pioneer. A diverse sampling of works by the medium's
first director-producer-animator and actor will be featured, all drawn from
Cartoon Seminar
* Thursday, March 9, 2000 - Saturday, March 11, 2000. Madrid, Spain.
Cartoon, the European producers organization, will present a seminar on
"how to negotiate with the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and Japan."
Discussions will focus on the structures, customs and constraints of the
fore mentioned markets. After an introduction on each country, the various
policies on international co-productions will be discussed. A question and
March's WIA Writers' Group
* Thursday, March 9, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
This month's Women In Animation Writers' Group Seminar will be held at 7:30
pm at Saban Entertainment, 10960 Wilshire Blvd. (corner of Midvale). The
discussion centers around the outline, the scene, and animation terms. Fee:
US$5 to cover costs. RSVP to Jean Ann Wright required. Tel.: (818)
360-8321 or E-mail: jjwright@gte.net. For more information on WIA events,
please visit the Website at
WIA, Inc. General Meeting
* Saturday, February 26, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Women In Animation, Inc. will be holding their annual meeting with guest
speaker Lynda Weinman of lynda.com. The meeting introduces members and
anyone interested in WIA with what has happened in the past year and what
exciting events and activities are on the way for 2000. Weinman, a pioneer
of graphics and animation on the MAC, will bring to the event her knowledge
Snow Falls At 3rd Again
The kid flick SNOW DAY, with special effects by Curious Pictures, settled
at third place for a second straight week at the U.S. box office. The
Paramount-produced flick grossed US$14.8 million over the President's Day
holiday weekend, bringing its cume to $31.5 million. USA Films release
PITCH BLACK finished at #4. Yet another ALIENS-esque sci-fi flick, PITCH
BLACK grossed $14 million. THE TIGGER MOVIE finished the weekend in fifth
place, making $10.5 million, bringing its cume to $22.3 million. Even
New Jobs: Professor of Computer Art & Stop-motion Animation
The SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, located in historic Savannah,
Georgia, USA, is seeking candidates with college-level teaching experience
for the position of PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER ART to teach beginning and
advanced level courses in Stop-Motion and Clay Animation. The successful
candidate should have professional experience as an
animator/director/designer, and familiarity with a wide range of
fabrication materials, techniques and styles, including armatures and
A Closer Look: Fox's Tribulations in the Feature Production World
Two years ago, following the theatrical release of "Anastasia," Fox was
expanding its commitment to animation. Fox Family Films, one of Twentieth
Century Fox's four film divisions, was being renamed Fox Animation Studios,
to reflect the division's new plan to focus solely on animated feature
films, including stop-motion, mixed media (live-action mix) and digital
production. Several animated projects were on the development slate then,
including "Dark Town" with Henry Selick, "Santa Calls" with Blue Sky|VIFX,
Women In Animation, Inc.'s Annual Meeting
* Saturday, February 26, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Women In Animation, Inc. will be holding their annual meeting with guest
speaker Lynda Weinman of lynda.com. The meeting introduces members and
anyone interest in WIA with what has happened in the past year and what
exciting events and activities are on the way in 2000. Weinman, a pioneer
of graphic and animation on the MAC, will bring to the event her knowledge
Futurama at the AFI's Writers' POV
* Tuesday, February 22, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Come hear from the team of Fox's FUTURAMA at the AFI's Writers' POV. In
past years, AFI has featured the writing teams from THE SIMPSONS and KING
OF THE HILL, who gave a Writers POV on the making of an animated series.
Continuing this popular topic, AFI has invited the FUTURAMA team to
participate in this question & answer event. Guests will include: executive
producer David X. Cohen, and writers Ken Keeler, Eric Horsted, Lewis
Oscar Nominations Announced
When the day broke on February 15, 2000, an old man wasn't humdrum about
joining a list of Oscar nominees that included three misses and my
grandmother who irons shirts! The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and
Sciences has released its list of nominations for this year's Oscar
competition. In the category of animated short films the nominees are:
Aardman Animations' Peter Peaks' HUMDRUM; Torril Cove's MY GRANDMOTHER
IRONED THE KING'S SHIRTS; Alexander Petrov's oil paint on glass in IMAX
Moss Fills New President Seat At CINAR
CINAR ENTERTAINMENT has filled the newly created seat of president with
PETER MOSS. In his position effective March 1, Moss will focus on
developing CINAR's entertainment business in North America, Latin America
and Asia. Before joining CINAR, Moss served as programming and production
VP for YTV, Canada's youth network. Moss has regularly worked in pre-school
programming with the Children's Television Network and the CBC.
Disney Will Close Canadian Doors
Rumored since last fall, Walt Disney Animation Canada Inc. announced
Monday, February 14, 2000 it will close the doors of its animation studios
in Canada by the spring. Opened in 1996, the Toronto and Vancouver branches
of Walt Disney were created to produce primarily direct-to-home video films
in connection with Walt Disney Television Animation. The company slowly
started winding down production last fall and will completely close around
Joe Cartoon Co. Sues For Cybersquatting
Joe Cartoon Company has filed a lawsuit against two entities, John
Zuccarini and Cupcake City, for the violation of the newly enacted
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit is one of the first
cases filed under the anticybersquatting statute in the U.S. The act
outlaws the unauthorized use of an Internet domain name that is
"confusingly similar" to another name, for the purpose of intercepting
users of the pre-existing domain. Filed with United States District Court,
Harvey Forms New Fashion Company
The Harvey Entertainment Company and PG Capital, an apparel industry
investment company, have finalized a joint venture for a new apparel
company, Harvey Fashion LLC. The new company will be responsible for
manufacturing, selling and marketing a complete apparel collection, based
on the popular Harvey Classic Character library. Paul Guez will serve as
chairman of the board and CEO. The creation of Harvey Fashion LLC replaces
and extends the scope of an earlier Harvey apparel venture planned with
Ring Of Fire Walks With Christopher Reeve in Super Bowl Spot
RING OF FIRE made the crippled walk in Nuveen & Co.'s Super Bowl spot.
Andrew Douglas of SATELLITE was brought in to direct the futuristic spot
where paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve walks to a podium to receive an
award. The super feet was done for Minneapolis, Minnesota-based ad agency
Fallon McElligott. Ring of Fire's founder, Jerry Spivack, served as
creative director and visual effects supervisor for the commercial. Ring of
Fire isn't new to creating outstanding Super Bowl spots, their 1999
More Bill Plympton
Bill Plympton has updated his
In March, "Surprise Cinema"
will be appearing in various festivals and other events in the US, Canada,
Belgium, Germany and Australia. Bill will be appearing at the Zagreb World
Festival of Animated Films in Zagreb, Croatia, June 12-25, 2000.
American International Toy Fair
* Sunday, February 13, 2000 - Thursday, February 17, 2000. New York, New
York, U.S.A.
The American International Toy Fair, one of the world's leading toy trade
shows, features over 1,800 exhibitors and highlights the newest and most
exciting toys on the market. Toy Manufacturers of America, Inc., the
industry trade association, brings the 97th annual event to several
showrooms all across the Manhattan area. Three new showplaces have joined
Kirikou And The Sorceress's U.S. Premiere
* Friday, February 18, 2000. New York, New York, U.S.A.
Cinema Village, the city's venue for alternative animation, will be
presenting the U.S. theatrical premiere of KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS from
French filmmaker Michel Ocelot. Based on a West African legend, this film
follows a miraculous infant who singlehandedly saves his small village from
a sultry yet evil wizard. Featuring an original score by Senegalese music
artist Youssou N'Dour, KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS offers a unique spin: an
WIA Production Management Group Meeting
* Wednesday, March 1, 2000. Burbank, California, U.S.A.
Ideas, new properties and pitching will be the topic of discussion at this
month's Women In Animation Production Management Group Meeting (PMG). The
event will be held at Nickelodeon in Burbank at 7 pm. Monthly meetings will
be on the 1st Wednesday of each month at Nickelodeon. To attend please RSVP
to Kellie-Bea Cooper at (818) 623-0020 or E-mail:
kellie-bea@kellie-bea.com. For more information on WIA events please visit
