UK Culture Secretary Strikes Out Against Trashy Cartoons
British Culture Secretary Chris Smith was quoted in the LONDON SUNDAY EXPRESS as saying he will issue orders to U.K. TV regulators to cut back on "trashy cartoons" which have flooded the airwaves and replace them with "high-quality educational shows." Broadcasting Minister Janet Anderson told the newspaper, "The government shares parents' concerns that violent and unsuitable material is being broadcast in ever earlier slots." However, some U.K. officials may be uninformed about where the illicit animation is actually coming from.
Learn What's Up In Learning At Interactive TV & Online Learning Conference
* Tuesday, December 5 Wednesday, December 6, 2000. London, U.K.
Telluride IndieFest Is A Premiere Showcase For Indie Filmmaking
* Thursday, December 7 Sunday, December 10, 2000. Telluride, Colorado, U.S.A.
ISEA2000 Symposium On Electronic Art Comes To The French Capital
* Thursday, December 7 Sunday, December 10, 2000. Paris, France.
Psychic Files Lawsuit Against Pokemon
Uri Geller, world-renowned psychic entertainer and author, has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court against Nintendo for unauthorized use of his name on Pokemon cards and related materials. The lawsuit demands that the Koyto, Japan-based company stop using Geller as a character on its Pokemon cards and pay substantial general and punitive damages.
New Jobs: Animators, Digital Artists, Directors, Visual Artists And More...
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England's Smartdog, a gaming company that is part of the Titus/Virgin/Interplay group, is looking for 3D MODELERS and TEXTURERS to work on their state of the art PSXII title. . . Victoria, British Columbia, Canada's Disney Interactive is looking for an ANIMATION LEAD/INTERACTIVE to overview the entire animation process from pre-production design to delivery of final post-production animations. . . London, UK's Granada Media, one of the biggest TV production companies in the UK, is looking for an ANIMATOR. . .
German Post-Production House Das Werk Makes Move On London
German post-production house Das Werk has announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in UK effects house Glassworks. The parties are aiming to achieve a definitive agreement early next year. Das Werk is a well-known provider of post-production services, from scanning and archiving, to editing and composing. London-based Glassworks is a leading facility in digital effects, combining expertise in 3D computer-generated imaging with high-end compositing and special effects. Glassworks will become an integral part of Das Werk's line of animation services and products.
New Career Coach: Age, Religion, Sex - What Reel-Y Matters
The newest Career Coach, our monthly column by Pamela Thompson, is online in AWN's Student Corner...
New At Visual Magic Magazine: Softimage|XSI Reviewed
Check out the latest "behind the scenes" features and tutorials from Visual Magic Magazine...
Industry Expert Jay Francis Joins AWN's Forum, The Business Of Animation
AWN welcomes Jay Francis as host of our new Discussion Forum, THE BUSINESS OF ANIMATION...
Plympton's Comic Of The Week
Plympton's new series of comics extracted from the comic book, "Sleazy Cartoons of Bill Plympton," is for ADULTS ONLY. A new (REALLY!) outrageous comic by Bill Plympton can be found each Friday at http://www.awn.com/plympton/.
This Week's Animation Trivia Quiz
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz...
Store Specials: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki
The films of one of Japan's most highly noted directors, Hayao Miyazaki...
Marvel Names Milo President Of New Media
Marvel Enterprises, Inc. has named Steve Milo president of Marvel New Media. In his new role, he will oversee development, organization and implementation of Marvel.com's strategic direction. Previously, Milo spent 5 years in senior management positions at Fandom and AnotherUniverse.com, a leading e-commerce and content site for toys and collectibles, which he founded.
J.J. Sedelmaier Animates "Tons of Ts" For Old Navy
J.J. Sedelmaier Productions animated its fifth 30-second spot for Old Navy. In the commercial "Tons of Ts," the animated Old Navy kids cut loose to the Jackson Five tune "ABC," as they model dozens of new T-shirts. The spot ends with an animated version of Old Navy's spokesdog Magic jumping into a T-shirt hanging on a clothesline.
Mac Guff Ligne Says Oui To Pillsbury Doughboy Ads
Paris-based animators Mac Guff Ligne have created seven new Pillsbury Doughboy spots. According to Mac Guff Ligne executive Niko Trout, the main challenge faced by his company's designers and animators was learning proper respect for the character. "The only thing we had as reference was our own Michelin man," Trout said. "We had to be careful to understand the permutations of what we were dealing with." Working on the spots for Mac Guff Ligne were executive producer/CG and special effects wizard Nicolas Trout, visual effects supervisor Frank Baradat and executive producer/U.S.
F/X Wizard Douglas Trumball Speaks At Columbia College
* Monday, November 27 Friday, December 1, 2000. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
17th EuropaCinema & TV Film Festival Celebrates The Best From Europe
* Tuesday, November 28 Sunday, December 3, 2000. Viareggio, Italy.
The 17th EuropaCinema & TV Film Festival highlights European film and television projects. The festival has a European animation shorts category. All films must be 15 minutes or less. For more information contact Thomas Martinelli at: Tel.: ++39 (0)6 42011184 or ++39 (0)6 4200021; Fax ++39 (0)6 42010599; E-mail: lthomasm@yahoo.it(link sends e-mail); or Web: http://www.europacinema.net.
Cinemagic 2000 Celebrates The Wonder Of Work For Children
* Thursday, November 30 Sunday, December 10, 2000. Belfast, U.K.
This Week's Web Animation Guide For Friday, November 3, 2000
AWN's Web Animation Guide is the place for what's new on the Net. This week's installment features a Distant Corners' Halloween horror marathon, AtomFilms' Animation Showdown and much, much more.
Get your Web Animation Guide here!
Also every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"
A Closer Look: Film Roman Changes Direction
Earlier this week, Film Roman, Inc. and Chennai, India-based Pentamedia Graphics, Ltd., formerly known as Pentafour Software and Exports, Ltd., have announced a letter of intent pursuant to which Pentamedia will purchase a 51% stake in Film Roman. The deal was a US$15 million cash deal, which is aimed to close by January after regulatory and board approvals. The deal was concluded by Film Roman's president and CEO John Hyde, who joined the company in December 1999, after a tumultuous three year period. Since the company went public in 1996, Film Roman has teetered in the red.
Toronto Reel Asian Festival Celebrates The Fast East In The Great North
* Thursday, November 23 Sunday, November 26, 2000. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Effects Feast At The London Effects & Animation Festival
November 14-16, 2000 the 7th annual London Effects & Animation Festival (LEAF) will once again showcase some of the best achievements of the past year in computer-generated animation and special effects...
Cartoombria 2000 Takes A Hard Look At The Current Status Of Animation
* Thursday, November 23 Saturday, November 25, 2000. Perugia, Italy.
Mainframe & Studio B To Begin Co-Production
Mainframe Entertainment and Studio B Productions have announced that the two Vancouver animation studios are entering into a co-production agreement to develop an original series utilizing both traditional and computer animation. Mainframe CEO Ian Pearson said, "We've admired Studio B's work for some time and were looking for a partner in the traditional animation realm to co-produce projects that combine 2D and 3D animation techniques.
