GARY AND MIKE Hit the Road
Big Ticket Television has teamed-up with Will Vinton Studios to produce a new Claymation and dimensional animation series entitled GARY AND MIKE, slated to air on FOX this Fall. The series will be executive produced by creators Fax Bahr and Adam Small, along with Academy Award winning Will Vinton and Tom Turpin (CEO/president of Will Vinton Studios).
Job Opportunities For Character Animator
Chadwick Communications, a New York-based creative media company, is looking for a CHARACTER ANIMATION SPECIALIST
Job Opportunities For Lightwave/Softimage Trainer
ImagineAsia Studios is seeking a LIGHTWAVE/SOFTIMAGE TRAINER for a 3+ month commitment in Metro Manila, Philippines. Transportation, accommodations and meals are provided. ImagineAsia Studios is an exciting state-of-the-art digital animation studio currently in production on Columbia TriStar/Cine Groupe's "Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2". Candidate must be highly experienced in the latest versions of Lightwave/Softimage. Areas of critical focus include character modeling, lighting, texturing and animation. Strong demo reel and excellent English communication skills required.
This Week's Special Features In AWN's Ever Expanding Store Are For Adults Only
This Week's Special Features In AWN's Ever Expanding Store: Six Hilarious X-Rated Animated Films by Tanya Weinberger and "Monica's Untold Story: An Amorality Tale," illustrated by Bill Plympton.
Don't miss the California Sun Festival on April 10th
California SUN Festival will happen April 10, 1999 at California State University Northridge. This year's festival has seen an increase in the number of entries from the international animation community, with films from Australia, Canada, China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, and the USA. 57 films were chosen for screening.
Sally Cruikshank's New Animation On-Line Now!
Sally Cruikshank's all animated web site breaks new ground in the web animation world. Her two hilarious characters Anita and Whinsey are embarking on a new adventure - the Titanic Two!
George Lucas & Steven Spielberg give to USC School of Cinema-Televison
George Lucas has donated $1.5 million, while Steven Spielberg has donated $500,000 to the USC School of Cinema-Television to help fund the new, yet-to-be-built Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. The Lucas money will help build a sound stage which will be named for Akira Kurosawa.
SPIDER-MAN to Swing without Cameron
SPIDER-MAN TO SWING WITHOUT CAMERON. Whatever expectations were created in 1990 when Stan Lee (Spider-Man's co-creator with Steve Ditko and possibly Jack Kirby) announced that James Cameron would be directing a Spider-Man film, ended for the director of TITANIC and THE TERMINATOR on Monday when THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER reported that Cameron will not be directing this long dreamed of project. This announcement comes soon after the resolution of legal disputes between most of the involved companies over rights to the Spider-Man character and related properties.
Cynthia Wells profiled on SLICE OF LIFE
The Learning Channel's program SLICE OF LIFE, which features a day in the life of women in various careers, has profiled independent animator Cynthia Wells. The episode will air on April 5 at 12:30 p.m. (ET), and will repeat on June 2. The SLICE OF LIFE crew filmed a day in the making of SHADOW OF DOUBT, a theatrical short film currently being produced by Wells' The Digital Theater Group. The film stars Wells' Talullah Le Roux character who was in one of her earlier films, INTERVIEW WITH TALULLAH, QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE.
"The First Snow of Winter" wins award
Hibbert Ralph Entertainment's half hour film "The First Snow of Winter" haswon the award for Best Children's Entertainment given by The RoyalTelevision Society. The film tells the story of a little Irish duck whogets left behind when his friends and family fly south for the winter.Director Graham Ralph accepted the award.
Chicago International Children's Film Festival calls for entries
The Chicago International Children's Film Festival is now accepting entiresfor the 16th annual Festival, October 14-24, 1999. The CICFF is the largestcompetitive festival of children's films and videos in North America,programming over 150 of the world's best live action and animated featuresand shorts, created for children ages 6-13. Entries must have a productioncopyright date of 1997 or later, and be dubbed in English. Deadline forsubmission of entry forms and preview tapes on NTSC or PAL cassettes is
"SimsallaGrimm" at MIP TV 99
Netherlands based Magus Entertainment will hold a press conference andpresent the first episode of their animated TV series, "SimsallaGrimm," atMIP TV 99 on April 12th. MIP TV 99, the International Television ProgrammeMarket, will be held April 12-17 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes,France. For more information contact the MIP TV Public RelationsDepartment: Margot Gardett - Tel: (33-1) 41 90 45 59 or Keith Daly - Tel:(33-1) 41 90 45 60; Fax: (33-1) 41 90 46 24.
Matrix tops at the weekend box office
The Matrix, a new futuristic, action movie that stars Keanu Reeves andfeatures state of the art visual effects, took first place at the theweekend box office, grossing $27.6 million for the biggest opening weekendthis year, industry estimates showed Sunday.
Doug's 1st Movie, the Disney released animated feature based on the hit TVshow, finished eighth, grossing $3.1 million during its first week inrelease. The movie was based on a TV show, formerly of Nickelodeon, now
Bill Plympton to appear at James River Festival
The following three programs will be presented at this year's James RiverFestival: Tuesday April 6th, 7:30pm. Bill Plympton will host "Animation byPlympton" and show I Married a Strange Person, "Your Face," "How to Kiss,""25 Ways to Quit Smoking," "and his latest shorts. Sunday April 11, 3pm."Brief History of the Animated TV Commercial" will feature over 50commercials from 1948-1993. Janet Scagnelli will introduce the program.Sunday April 11, 5pm. "Pre-1950 American Animation" will feature several
Kathy Rose performs in Paris
Animator and performance artist Kathy Rose will be performing April 8, 1999in Paris at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. In her uniqueshow Ms. Rose performs her own dances in front of projections of her filmsShe will present an excerpt from "Oriental Interplay," "Syncopations," apiece called "Precious Metals," and three scenes from her new performance,"Kleopat'Ra," which begins its world tour this summer. TEL: (1) 42 18 5650; Address: 261 boulevard Raspail; Paris, France. More information:www.krose.com
INK TANK produces "Hockey Monkey"
THE INK TANK has produced "Hockey Monkey," a mixed-media music video forNickelodeon's KA-BLAM!, which will air this spring. The 1-minute, 30-secondpiece follows a group of live-action adults who are in search of a monkey.Unbeknownst to them, the animated monkey is in an ice hockey match with agroup of cut-out animated kids. For The Ink Tank, R.O. Blechman wascreative director; Brian O'Connell, executive producer/co-director; JesseGordon, live-action director/cameraman; Maciek Albrecht, cut-out
RADIUM animates characters for Wrigley's Juciy Fruit Gum ad
San Francisco-based RADIUM has animated more than a half-dozen 3Dcomputer-generated building block characters for "Toys," a nationaltelevision spot promoting Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum. Conceived by BBDO(Chicago, IL), the 30-second spot revolves around a group of toy figuresthat spring to life in pursuit of the sweet taste of Juicy Fruit. Thecommercial blends 3D animation, 2D effects, live-action and cel animation.Radium created the tiny plastic blok characters as 3D elements. Afterwards,
SIMEX helps create King World logo
Marketing and communication company Pittard Sullivan (Culver City, CA)engaged SIMEX (Santa Monica, CA) to help create a new full-motion, computeranimated logo to accompany all of King World's programs. The animated logofeatures a star burst animated in Alias|Wavefront PowerAnimator. FromPittard Sullivan, Reid Thompson directed, and Jim Capp and Debra Kaufmanproduced. Nick Bates was the visual effects supervisor and George Mendozawas the executive producer at SimEx Digital Studios.
"Futurama" has popular premiere
Matt Groening's new animated series, "Futurama," was watched by more thannineteen million viewers when it premiered on Sunday, March 28. It was theeleventh most watched TV show in the USA as it received a 11.2 rating and a17 share, better overall ratings than both "The Simpsons" (9.3/15) thatpreceded it, and "The X-Files" (10.1/15) that followed it.
Ottawa Festival to release videos
The Ottawa International Animation Festival and Canadian Film Institutehave acquired the North American video rights to all Estonian animationfilms produced by the studios,Tallinnfilm, Eesti Joonisfilm, and Nukufilm.The collection includes award winning films by Priit Parn, ("Hotel E,""Breakfast on the Grass," and "The Night of the Carrots"); Rao Heidmets("Hell"); Mati Kutt ("Underground," "Smoked Spout Baked in the Sun"); JannoPoldma ("Birthday"); Rein Raamat ("Hell"); and many more.
UPN's HOME MOVIES gets air date
The half-hour comedy series HOME MOVIES [AF 12/22/98] premieres Monday,April 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. The show, featuring a "SquiggleVision"technique, is being produced by Tom Snyder Productions, makers of ComedyCentral's DR. KATZ: PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST and ABC's Saturday morningseries, SQUIGGLEVISION. The show centers around a single mom (PaulaPoundstone) raising a precocious tot and an eight-year-old son who aspiresto be the next Steven Spielberg.
CURIOUS PICTURES creates five spots for Round Table Pizza
The San Francisco office of CURIOUS PICTURES has created a pool of fivespots for Round Table Pizza through Wieden & Kennedy (Portland, OR). Thereare four 15-second spots - "Steam Dance," "Rooster," "Full," and "Freedomof Speech" - along with a 30-second spot, "Tornado." The commercials weredirected by Michael Bade and designed by Seattle-based alternativecartoonist Peter Bagge (HATE), marking his first foray into both animationand television. Featuring various characters, the commercials guarantee the
Billy Idol gets into HEAVY METAL
Eighties rock singer Billy Idol is providing the lead voice in Sceneries Entertainment's upcoming animated feature HEAVY METAL: F.A.K.K. 2, to be released by Columbia TriStar in fall 1999. The film is based on a graphic novel by TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES creator Kevin Eastman, along with Simon Bisley and Eric Talbot. Idol will play the role of Tyler, a genocidal villain, who will ultimately be conquered by F.A.K.K., an immortal female warrior. The film's soundtrack also features music by Axel Rose, Sammy Hagar and the Stone Temple Pilots.
POKEMON sold to Europe
Lacey Entertainment has sold the hit show POKEMON to the following European broadcasters: RTL 2 (Germany), Sky TV (UK) and MediaSet (Italy). Sky TV began broadcasting the show the week of March 29, while RTL 2 and MediaSet will begin airing the series in September. All three networks will air the series as a five-day-a-week strip. In a related announcement, EM TV & Merchandising of Germany has secured POKEMON merchandise and promotion licensing representation in that territory.
RUPERT arrives on DVD
George Pal's first feature film, THE GREAT RUPERT (1950), is being released on DVD by Image Entertainment. The film, which has never been released on home video before, is an Arnold Leibovit Entertainment Presentation, and will be released on May 7 for a retal price of $24.99. It stars the legendary Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake and Terry Moore (Jill from the 1949 film MIGHTY JOE YOUNG); as well as Rupert, a dancing squirrel brought to life using Pal's trademark Puppetoon animation technique. The rarely seen film was transferred from one of the few 35mm nitrate prints in existence.
