A N I M A T I O N F L A S H Tuesday, December 2, 2003 Volume 08, Issue 36 ________________________________________________________________________ The Animation Flash E-mail Newsletter an Animation World Network publication ****Industry News Headlines**** Business 1. ROY DISNEY QUITS, CALLS FOR EISNER'S RESIGNATION. 2. STANLEY GOLD ANKLES DISNEY BOARD & CALLS FOR EISNER'S REMOVAL. 3. 20 FRENCH COMPANIES TO ATTEND THE ASIA TV FORUM. People 4. ASIFA INT'L ELECTS NEW OFFICERS. 5. ROBINSON DEPARTING ABC CABLE NET/DISNEY U.K. 6. TELETOON ADDS DIRECTORS GLUCK AND NAKHLE. 7. DANIXA DIAZ TOSSES PRODUCING HAT INTO 3 RING CIRCUS. 8. ATARI PROMOTES STOCKS IN SALES/MARKETING AREAS. Film 9. FOX/BLUE SKY TARGETS WAINSCOTT WEASEL FOR 3D TREATMENT. 10. HOT MCGREGOR TO VOICE VALIANT LEAD. 11. ENCORE HOLLYWOOD ADDS NEW FX TO ALIEN 3 DVD. 12. THE CAT RULES THANKSGIVING WEEKEND. 13. RHYTHM & HUES LETS THE CAT OUT FOR HAT VISUAL EFFECTS. Television 14. NEW ZOO REVUE GET 3D TREATMENT. 15. NIGHT B4 CHRISTMAS DEBUTS IN U.S. 16. RUGRATS GET ALL GROWN UP NOV. 29 ON NICK. 17. GRINCH WEEK AT CARTOON NETWORK. 18. KID'S WB! OFFERS THANKSGIVING TREATS, REVISED LINEUP AND SNEAK PEAKS. Commercials 19. RHINOFX WRAP SWEET SPOTS FOR POP'ABLES. 20. MACHINIMA MAKING NEW 3D INROADS ON SPIKE TV'S VGAS. Internet & Interactive 21. LORDS OF EVERQUEST AVAILABLE NOW. 22. SARBAKAN WELDS WEIRD ONLINE GAMES FOR VRAK TV. Home Video 23. BROWNBOOTS RAMPS UP DINO-SIZED INDIE FILM. 24. ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY HITTING DVD NOV. 2004? 25. PIRATES: A DVD BOUNTY OF RICHES. 26. DEFINITIVE ALIEN QUADRILOGY DVDS OFFER NEW VFX. Licensing 27. MR BEAN RACKS UP DEALS FOR TIGER ASPECT. Books 28. SYD MEAD TO SERVE ON EXPOSÉ 2 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 29. VIZ ACQUIRES MANGA ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY. Technology 30. DISCREET EXTENDS MENTAL RAY RENDERING OPTIONS FOR 3DS MAX 6. 31. NXN ALIENBRAIN STUDIO NOW SUPPORTS KAYDARA'S FBX FORMAT. 32. DIGITAL ELEMENT AND DIGIMATION TEAM UP ON MODELSHOP. 33. NEVERCENTER RELEASES SILO 1.16. 34. AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS TO INTRODUCE LATEST IO PRODUCTS AT GV EXPO. Awards 35. BAFTA AWARDS GO TO BUILDERS, WHALES & AARDVARKS. 36. AEAF AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED. 37. SPIKE TV GAMES AWARDS PREMIERES DEC. 4. Call for Entries 38. WIN SOFTWARE IN REALTEXTURE XMAS CONTEST 39. CREATE A UFO SIGHTING FOR VFX007 Events 40. PIPELINE 2003 SHOWS CG STRENGTH IN U.K. 41. THE FINAL WESTERN SHOW 2003 COMES TO ANAHEIM. 42. MEET OTHER ANIMATORS OVER DRINKS AT THE ANIMATORS' PUB. 43. FILMS BY NORMAN MCLAREN SCREENING IN SAN FRAN! 44. DON'T MISS THE WIA CHRISTMAS PARTY. 45. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET SUMMIT GOES TO DC. 46. CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH TAIS. 47. HIGH TALES SHOWCASES YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORK 48. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION. Upcoming Films 49. UPCOMING THEATRICAL RELEASES. ****SUBMIT YOUR NEWS!!!!**** If you have news, review materials, events or other items of interest for the Animation Flash send it to: Sarah Baisley or Bill Desowitz, Animation Flash, 6525 Sunset Blvd., Garden Suite 10, Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA. E-mail: editor@awn.com; or Fax: 1-323-466-6619. ****Industry News**** Business 1. ROY DISNEY QUITS, CALLS FOR EISNER'S RESIGNATION. Roy E. Disney, vice chairman of Walt Disney Co. stepped down from the board of directors and called on chairman/chief exec Michael Eisner to resign in a scathing letter. On Sunday, Nov. 30, 2003, he sent a three-page letter to Eisner criticizing the chairman's leadership over the past seven years. Disney has called for Eisner's resignation in the past, but the idea was rejected by the board. "Michael, I believe your conduct has resulted from my clear and unambiguous statements to you and the Board of Directors that after 19 years at the helm, you are no longer the best person to run the Walt Disney Company," Disney wrote. "It is my sincere belief that it is you that should be leaving and not me," Disney wrote to Eisner. Some consider Disney's departure may be a pre-emptive move rather than being forced from the board of The Walt Disney Co. He is the nephew of company co-founder Walt Disney as well as the last family member to be active in the company. The full board is meeting today and Tuesday at its regularly scheduled meetings in New York with board membership is on the agenda. The board's governance and nominating committee did not recommend the 73-year-old Disney for another term because he is over the mandated retirement age of 72, the company said Sunday. The board's presiding director, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, said in a statement Sunday he regretted Disney's actions and confirmed that the governance and nominating committee recently informed Disney that the age-limit rules should apply. Two other board members, Raymond Watson, 76, and Thomas Murphy, 77 were also were not to be re-nominated this year due to the age limit. Watson, vice chairman of The Irvine Co., a large California builder, was an adviser to Walt Disney on the design of Disney's Epcot Center in Florida and has been on the board since at least 1984. Murphy served as chairman/chief exec of Capital Cities/ABC until Disney bought the broadcaster in 1995. Disney previously resigned from the board in 1984, initiating a stock battle for the company when it was headed by Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son-in-law. Disney was later reinstated. Roy Disney's letter also blames Eisner for a loss of morale at the company. He accused Eisner for causing a perception that "the company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the 'quick buck' rather than the long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust." He also criticizes Eisner for the failure to maintain constructive relationships with business partners, including Pixar Animation Studios, which co-produces computer-animated films with Disney, including the record-breaking FINDING NEMO. Roy Disney's three-page letter can be read at: http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=top&newsitem_no=9701 2. STANLEY GOLD ANKLES DISNEY BOARD & CALLS FOR EISNER'S REMOVAL. Close on the heals of Roy Disney's resignation form the Walt Disney Co., Stanley P. Gold today, Dec. 1, 2003, sent the following letter of resignation to the Walt Disney board of directors. Gold, 60, worked with Roy Disney in 1984 to save the company from a takeover attempt and install Eisner as chairman. Gold heads Shamrock Holdings (www.shamrockinc.com), which manages Roy Disney's investments. The text of Gold's letter follows: December 1, 2003 To the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company: It is with regret that I resign effective immediately from the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company and second Roy Disney's call for the removal of Michael Eisner as Chairman and C.E.O. I am proud of my more than 15 years of service and my role in reshaping the Company in 1984 by bringing Frank Wells and Michael Eisner to the Company. I do, however, lament that my efforts over the past three years to implement needed changes has only succeeded in creating an insular Board of Directors serving as a bulwark to shield management from criticism and accountability. At this time, I believe there is little that I can achieve by working from within to refocus the Company. I hope that my resignation will serve as a catalyst for change at Disney. The most recent evidence of the drive for insularity is reflected in the Governance Committee's determination that Roy Disney should no longer serve on the Board, ostensibly because Roy had surpassed the expected retirement age established by the Board's Corporate Governance Guidelines. In fact, these very rules regarding age, by their terms, only apply to non-management directors, not to Roy, who, as the Committee knows, has been deemed a management director. The Committee's decision and George Mitchell's defense of it yesterday are clearly disingenuous. The real reason for the Committee's action is that Roy has become more pointed and vocal in his criticism of Michael Eisner and this Board. This is yet another attempt by this Board to squelch dissent by hiding behind the veil of "good governance." What a curious result. Roy has devoted a lifetime to Disney as both an employee and Director. He has served with renewed vigor during these times of malaise, disappointment and instability at the Company, trying to maintain the morale of employees, focusing on the magic that makes Disney special and attacking bonuses to the CEO and increased compensation for Board members while the Company falters and shareholder value erodes. He and his family have a very large financial stake in the Company. Unlike Messrs. Watson and Murphy who have asked to be replaced, Roy has sought even more involvement only to be told that his input in animation will continue to be minimized and that his role as a Director is no longer welcome. This Board has become an enabler to entrenched management and, in so doing, is not effectively discharging its duties to the shareholders. This conduct has resulted in yet another valuable human asset of the Company slipping away. Within the last year this Board will have managed to cull from its ranks Andrea Van de Kamp and now Roy, two of the staunchest critics of Michael Eisner and the Company's poor performance. I cannot sit idly by as this Board continues to ignore and disenfranchise those who raise questions about the performance of management. As this Board knows, during my tenure I have tried to be an active, engaged Director. I believe a board should not merely rubber stamp decisions of senior management. I decided in August of 2002 that it was not enough just to express my views in the limited time set aside for our infrequent Board meetings. I therefore began a series of written communications to the Board regarding the Company, its management and the Board. I wrote to express my disagreement and growing concern with management, its policies and the effectiveness of the Board. I focused on the failed initiatives of the Company over the past five or six years and admonished the Board for not actively engaging in serious discussions regarding the Company's flawed plans and management's unmet projections and unfulfilled promises. In particular, I have urged the Board to concentrate on the Company's "poor performance, lack of credibility and accountability and poor capital allocation." In an effort to get Directors to seriously assess management's 5-year strategic plan (a plan that is only discussed with this Board, but not submitted for Board approval), I wrote to the Board to detail the Company's unsatisfactory financial performance for the past several years and to suggest a process, a so-called Diagnostic Review, designed to give the non-management directors the tools necessary to evaluate performance and establish a comprehensive framework and baseline from which the Board could be active partners in developing plans to maximize the value of Disney's existing assets and businesses. That approach was opposed by management and then, not surprisingly, rejected by the Board. The Board and its Chairman even criticized me for putting on paper these serious questions about fundamental matters. I believe the Board's adoption of its Corporate Governance Guidelines was yet another example of this Board's commitment to image over substance. Among other things, those Guidelines were carefully crafted to stifle dissent while allowing those supportive of senior management to continue business as usual. This was apparent when the Board applied its Guidelines to conclude that I was not "independent" despite the fact that I frequently challenged management at Board meetings and criticized both the Board's and the Company's performance. That decision was initially based on my daughter's employment in a non- executive position at Disney and, then, after that reason became insufficient under the new NYSE Governance Guidelines, because of my association with Roy. This resulted in my further isolation as I was no longer permitted to serve on the Governance and Nominating Committee or the Compensation Committee. On the other hand, John Bryson was deemed "independent" and appointed Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee despite the fact that his wife is an executive officer at Lifetime Entertainment Television, a 50% owned subsidiary of Disney, where she earned in excess of $1 million in total compensation in fiscal 2001. In addition, Senator Mitchell was appointed Presiding Director, despite having been recently employed as a Company consultant and notwithstanding that the law firm of which he was chairman received in excess of $1 million for legal services on behalf of the Company in fiscal 2001. At the time the Company's new Corporate Governance Guidelines were being considered, I also urged the Board to separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO. This separation would empower the Board and help establish its independence and oversight role. Not only did the Board reject that initiative, the Board failed to give the newly established Presiding Director any real substantive powers. Continuing through March of this year I wrote to express my concerns regarding the financial performance of the Company and the repeated failures of management to achieve its forecasts. I urged this Board to feel a sense of urgency in dealing with the issues of leadership, performance, operations and accountability. Those efforts failed. Instead, Mr. Eisner was awarded a bonus of $5 million in Disney shares by the Compensation Committee despite objections by Roy and me. I believe that bonuses for senior management must be tied to performance; by that measure, no bonus was warranted. In a similar vein, I recently wrote to express my objection to the Compensation and Governance Committee's joint recommendation that fees paid to Disney Directors be increased dramatically, that stock grants to Directors be substituted for options (and thereby render meaningless the requirement that Directors own $100,000 in Disney shares) and that greater compensation be paid to the Presiding Director. Raises for the Disney Directors at this time are inappropriate based on my assessment of the Company's performance. I objected to the increase for the Presiding Director on the grounds that it did not reflect a reasonable payment for the only slightly increased duties. Finally, I could not make sense of a share ownership requirement for Directors that would be satisfied by a direct issuance from the Company at the same time Directors' cash compensation was being increased. It is clear to me that this Board is unwilling to tackle the difficult issues I believe this Company continues to face -- management failures and accountability for those failures, operational deficiencies, imprudent capital allocations, the cannibalization of certain Company icons for short-term gain, the enormous loss of creative talent over the last years, the absence of succession planning and the lack of strategic focus. Instead, the Board seems determined to devote its time and energies to adopting policies that focus not on substance, but on process and, in reality, only serve to muzzle and isolate those Directors who recognize that their role is to be active participants in shaping the Company and planning for executive succession. Further, this Board isolates those Directors who believe that Michael Eisner (when measured by the dismal results over the last 7 years) is not up to the challenge. Perhaps acting independently, from outside the Boardroom, not hamstrung by a recently enacted Board policy barring Board members from communicating with shareholders and the media, I can have greater success in shaping the policies, practices and operations of Disney than I had as a member of the Board. In accordance with Item 6 of Form 8-K and Item 7 of Schedule 14A, I request that you disclose this letter and that you file a copy of this letter as an exhibit to a Company Form 8-K. Very truly yours, Stanley P. Gold 3. 20 FRENCH COMPANIES TO ATTEND THE ASIA TV FORUM. Asia/Oceania represents a significant growing market for French television exports so producers from France are turning out in record number, organized by TV France (TVFI), to attend the Asia TV Forum in Singapore, Dec. 3-5, 2003. This region accounted for 8.7% of French TV program exports, amounting to 9.3 million euros in 2002 (figures resulting from the annual study carried out by TVFI with INA and CNC, available on the Website www.tvfrance-intl.com). This study reveals that China represented 21% of exports in the Asian/Oceania area, followed by Japan with 17.6% and South Korea with 17.2%. This year, France still holds the first place for the number of exhibitors at Asia TV with 20 companies, which is 19% of the total attending the market (106), followed by the USA (14), the U.K. (14), Singapore (13), Canada (8), New-Zealand (7) and India (5). The French distributors plan to consolidate their positions on the Asian markets. Besides the French pavilion in Singapore, TVFI's other events in the region include the Tokyo and Seoul Showcases (March 1-5, 2004) and Beijing and Shanghaï showcases to be held for the first time in the fall of 2004. Participating TVFI member-companies at the fourth edition of the ASIA TV FORUM in the French pavilion include: 10 Francs, 2001 Audiovisuel, AB International Distribution, Alphanim, Ampersand, Api Distribution, CNDP/SCEREN, Dargaud-Marina, Dupuis Audiovisuel, Ellipse Distribution, Europe Images International/M5, Expand Images International & Adventure Line Productions, Fashion TV, France Televisions Distribution, INA, M6 D.A., Marathon International, RGP France, System TV and Tele Images International. Some 20,000 programs and information on these companies are available on the Website in Chinese (traditional and simplified), Japanese, French, English and Spanish. People 4. ASIFA INT'L ELECTS NEW OFFICERS. The new ASIFA Int'l Board, consisting of the representatives of 14 national and regional groups and offices met Nov. 15, 2003 in Espinho, Portugal during the CINANIMA 2003 festival to elect new officers. They are: President: Noureddin Zarrinkelk (Iran) VP/contact person for Asia: Sayoko Kinoshita (Japan) VP/contact person for Europe: Thomas Renoldner (Austria) Secretary General: Vesna Dovnikovic (Croatia) Treasurer: Carol Beecher (Canada) Editor of ASIFA NET: Thomas Renoldner (Austria) The ASIFA General Assembly also accepted the reports from outgoing officers, which included the President's Report by Abi Feijo and Thomas Renoldner, the Report of Activities 2000-2003 by Vesna Dovnikovic, ASIFA Secretary General, and the Financial Report 2000-2003 by Pierre Azuelos, Treasurer. 5. ROBINSON DEPARTING ABC CABLE NET/DISNEY U.K. Paul Robinson, svp of worldwide programming strategy for ABC Cable Networks Group and svp/md of Disney U.K. branded television is leaving the Walt Disney Co. to pursue new opportunities. Paul joined Disney in November 1998 and has built the U.K. and Ireland branded TV business from a single feed to a commercially successful multiplex of four channels in 5.1 million subscribing homes. He pioneered the development of Playhouse Disney in the U.K., launched Toon Disney and Disney Channel Active. Robinson led the creation of the Capital Disney radio joint venture with Capital Radio and secured Disney's new entertainment channel on Freeview. Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide said, "Paul has made a significant contribution to our worldwide TV business, and I thank him for helping us get close to understanding our global programming needs. I'm sorry to lose him and wish Paul every success." "Paul's time at Disney has been characterized by outstanding business performance and consumer insight, and very significant development and growth of our UK and Ireland branded TV business. He has made a lasting contribution topped off by the strategic acquisition of a channel on Freeview," said David Hulbert, president of Walt Disney Television Int'l. Robinson said, "After more than five outstanding years with Disney, I've decided that its time to seek out the next challenge. I've had a wonderful time, and would like to thank my teams, colleagues and bosses for their wisdom and support. I'm now looking for new opportunities in radio and television." His contract with Disney expires on Jan. 31, 2004, after which he will serve as a consultant to the company. 6. TELETOON ADDS DIRECTORS GLUCK AND NAKHLE. Len Cochrane, president of TELETOON, and Hillary Firestone, VP Network Marketing and Promotions have brought on two new directors to the Canadian cartoon channel. Renee Gluck is the new director of creative services, replacing Gervais Vignola, who continues with TELETOON in a consulting role. Susan Nakhle is director of communications, filling in for Pascale Guillotte, who is on maternity leave until September 2004. Gluck was station manger of Roger's French-language station Rogers Television in Ottawa. Prior to joining Rogers, Gluck worked in a variety of capacities for TVOntario, as gm of the TVOntario Foundation and as a sr producer in on air promotions and scheduling. Gluck has also worked in production for Rhombus Media, The National Film Board of Canada and Carlton Prods., and done communications consulting in regional politics and education. Nakhle joins TELETOON after working in several capacities at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, most recently as director of public relations. Nakhle oversaw internal and external communications for CBC Radio, Television and cbc.ca, including employee and media relations, audience services, strategic partnerships and promotions, and public accountability and issues management. TELETOON is Canada's first and only, 24-hour-a-day animation station for audiences of all ages. With English and French-language services, the network offers cartoons and animation from Canada and around the world. TELETOON's shareholders are Astral Media Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc. and CINAR Corp. 7. DANIXA DIAZ TOSSES PRODUCING HAT INTO 3 RING CIRCUS. Danixa Diaz has joined creative branding firm 3 Ring Circus as exec producer, responsible for new business development and global marketing for the agency. Regarding her joining the company, Sideropoulos said, "Danixa brings to 3 Ring Circus many years of expertise and the right personality mix. We are very sensitive as to how we approach our business development process. Danixa's personable and friendly approach, combined with her knowledge of the industry, really fits our style," said ceo John Sideropoulos. Added Diaz, "3 Ring Circus is a company that has helped define the entertainment branding industry for almost 10 years... I will seek new opportunities for 3 Ring Circus in TV, commercial, promo, motion picture, and high definition projects, both domestically and internationally." Prior to joining 3 Ring Circus, Diaz was director of business development with New York-based design studio FreestyleCollective where she managed all aspects of the collective's marketing plan, and pursued opportunities in new business arenas. She also developed and strengthened relationships with numerous television broadcast and cable networks, as well as advertising agencies. Diaz began her career in Miami, where she held several positions with top production and post-production facilities targeting Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market. She was an account exec with Manhattan Transfer's award winning team, and also with AFI/Filmworks, one of the oldest in the U.S., as its Latin division exec producer. Over the past 12 years, Diaz has developed important relationships with many of the world's leading broadcast, advertising and entertainment companies, including Lifetime TV, Young & Rubicam, VH1, McCann Erickson, USA Networks, Zubi Advertising, Fox Sports, Disney Latin America, Ogilvy & Mather, Nickelodeon, the NFL, American Express, DRM, Rockstar Games, ABC Television Network, The Cartoon Network, HBO, NBC, Oxygen, PBS, Telemundo, the NY Knicks and CBS. In summer 2003, Diaz was elected to the Board of Governors of the PROMAX/BDA Organization. She has also been a member of such other groups as AICP, WOMPI, ADFED, IAA and AHAA, and has served on the Boards for the ADDY's and AICP Awards. 8. ATARI PROMOTES STOCKS IN SALES/MARKETING AREAS. Wim Stocks has been promoted at Atari as evp, responsible for sales, licensing, marketing, distribution and logistics in North America, Latin/South America, Australia and the Pacific Rim region. "There are very few people who can match Wim's depth of experience in the interactive entertainment industry, particularly in sales and marketing, which are so closely connected in our business," said Bruno Bonnell, chairman/ceo Atari (www.atari.com). "Atari is a global company with one of the most recognized brands in the industry, and by consolidating vital areas such as these under one person's leadership, we enhance our ability to deliver a cohesive message to our most important audiences: consumers and retailers." Stocks oversees a sales/licensing force of more than 50 people, a product/brand marketing organization of 50 people and a product distribution network that services more than 22,000 outlets in North America, ranging from mass merchants and superstores to specialty stores, office superstores and wholesale clubs, as well as online retailers. In addition to distributing titles developed and acquired by Atari, the sales team also handles the distribution of the Atari's third-party and affiliate label product lines. He is also responsible for customer service and logistics, fulfillment, warehouse operations, manufacturing and for establishing sales policies and procedures, as well as product pricing structures. Previously, Stocks was svp of sales, distribution and service for Atari since January 2000 when it acquired GT Interactive, where he had held the same position since 1998. Stocks joined GT Interactive in 1996 with sales and marketing oversight for its value division. Prior to GTI, Stocks spent five years at Navarre Corp., holding marketing and sales positions in the company's digital entertainment subsidiary, which distributed and marketed interactive publishing products, and developed proprietary content for the entertainment software and music content categories. Stocks was with Lieberman Enterprises/LIVE Ent. for three years, where he served in several capacities. He held a variety of management positions within AT&T in Minneapolis, where he began his career in 1980. Film 9. FOX/BLUE SKY TARGETS WAINSCOTT WEASEL FOR 3D TREATMENT. THE WAINSCOTT WEASEL, the popular children's book written by Tor Seidler and illustrated by the late Fred Marcelliano, is the latest property to be snatched up by Fox Studios Animation and Blue Sky Studios. Just one look at that eye patch-sporting weasel, who's in love with a beautiful silver fish, and you just know he belongs in the 3D company of Scrat. Fox Animation president Chris Meledandri is spearheading the project, with creative exec John Cohen overseeing for the studio. Creative exec Lisa Fragner is doing the same for Blue Sky. Jane Startz of Jane Startz Prods. serves as producer. However, director Chris Wedge, currently in production on ROBOTS and pre-production on ICE AGE 2, will not be helming, as reported elsewhere. 10. HOT MCGREGOR TO VOICE VALIANT LEAD. Ewan McGregor, Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, is busy doing lots of voice work these days. In addition to Blue Sky's ROBOTS and Disney's upcoming GNOMEO AND JULIET, the Scottish actor has just been signed to voice the title character in Vanguard Animation's CG-animated feature, VALIANT. The animated comedy tells the story of a lowly wood pigeon named Valiant, who overcomes his small size to become a hero in Great Britain's Royal Air Force Homing Pigeon Service during World War II. The RHPS advanced the Allied cause by flying vital messages about enemy movements across the English Channel, while evading brutal attacks by the enemy's Falcon brigade. Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley will voice Gen. Keyserlingk, the feared German falcon leader. Other actors lending their voices include Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (MOULIN ROUGE), Rupert Everett (MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING), Hugh Laurie (the STUART LITTLES), John Hurt (ELEPHANT MAN), and Ricky Gervais (star of the BBC hit series THE OFFICE). VALIANT, which will be wrap in December 2004, is currently in production, with a staff of 95, at Vanguard Animation's recently completed CG studio built at the legendary Ealing Studios in London, as well as continuing at its Los Angeles and New York offices. Disney is distributing the picture in North America, and Odyssey Entertainment in the U.K. is handling international distribution. Disney additionally holds worldwide merchandising, soundtrack and video game rights. Vanguard Animation is a division of Vanguard Films. IDT Corporation, a subsidiary of IDT Entertainment Inc., a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company, has a significant investment in Vanguard Animation. The producer is John H. Williams (the SHREKS) for Vanguard Animation (www.vanguardanimation.com). Exec producers are Barnaby Thompson for Ealing Studios, Ralph Kamp for Odyssey Entertainment, Robert Jones for the U.K. Film Council, and Keith Evans for Baker Street Media Finance. Co-producers are Eric M. Bennett, Curtis Augspurger and Buckley Collum for Vanguard Animation. British character designer Gary Chapman is directing VALIANT. VALIANT is a Vanguard Animation, Ealing Studios and U.K. Film Council Presentation in association with Odyssey Entertainment and Take Five Film Partnerships of a Vanguard Animation production. 11. ENCORE HOLLYWOOD ADDS NEW FX TO ALIEN 3 DVD. Encore Hollywood provided animation and visual effects services for Fox Home Entertainment on ALIEN 3 for the Alien Quadrilogy, the nine-disc boxed set, which arrived on Dec. 2, 2003. Computer animator Greg Tsadilas created a 3D version of a baby alien for the birth sequence, which is part of 30 minutes of added material. The birth sequence shows the newborn alien creature emerging from the carcass of an ox then fleeing down a corridor. The new creature is in a form not seen in any of the ALIEN films. Tsadilas said, "For reference, I had a puppet that was used in the production to represent the creature's infant stage and images of the adult creature. I aimed to create something that was in-between the two and to stay true to both. When it emerges from its 'womb,' it's covered in blood, bile and membranes. With its wobbly legs, it looked like a newborn calf. The creature's strange proportions would naturally tend to make its gait different from a dog's and other familiar animals. It took a lot of trial an error to come up with something that got the creature moving as fast as we needed it to move and still be convincing." Tsadilas, along with Mitch Gates and Kurt McKeever, created the effects on Windows-based desktop systems using Discreet's 3ds max software to model and animate the new alien, and rendered with Chaos Group's V-Ray renderer. Encore Hollywood is a full service post-production facility, which specializes in television episodics, movies of the week, feature mastering, feature promo, and visual effects. For more information, call (323) 466-7663 or visit www.encorehollywood.com. 12. THE CAT RULES THANKSGIVING WEEKEND. After typical studio jockeying back and forth during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, THE CAT IN THE HAT remained on top of the box office chart when all the dust settled. That is, if you count the three-day weekend and not the five-day tally. The Universal movie produced by Imagine Entertainment (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues) hauled in $24.4M for the three-day period (and $32.9M for the five days ended Nov. 30). That brings the CAT total to $75.8M worth of catnip. Following close behind in second place was Disney's THE HAUNTED MANSION (with vfx by Sony Imageworks), which scared up $34M for the five-day period (including $24.2M over the weekend). New Line's surprising ELF (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Chiodo Bros. Prods. and Amalgamated Pixels) continued to roll at number three with $30.9M for the five-day period (including $21.6M for the weekend), giving it a great cume of $129M. Warner Bros.' Halle Berry ghost flick, GOTHIKA (with vfx by CafeFX), held the fourth spot with a five-day gross of $18.4M, including a three-day tally of $12.8M and a total to date of $41.2M. Meanwhile, Dimension's BAD SANTA debuted at number five with a five-day bounty of $16.8M (including a three-day take of $12.2M). Fox's MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (with vfx by Asylum and ILM) captured the sixth slot with $16.6M for the five-day period (including a $12M three-day gross). To date, the Peter Weir seafaring Oscar-contender has mustered $66.6M. Revolution's THE MISSING debuted at number seven with a five-day gross of $15.2M. The Ron Howard western earned $10.8M of that over the weekend. Paramount's sci-fi thriller TIMELINE (with vfx by ILM and Camera e-Motion) debuted in the eighth position with a five-day gross of $12.4M (including $8.4M over the weekend). Universal's LOVE ACTUALLY came in ninth with a five-day gross of $11.2M ($8.2M of which was gathered over the weekend). To date, the English romantic comedy has brought in $43.3M. Warner Bros.' THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (with vfx by ESC FX, Animal Logic, BuF Compagnie, Giant Killer Robots, Tippett Studio and Tweak Films) finished 10th for the five-day period with $6.6M ($4.7M of which was tallied over the weekend). The cume for REVOLUTIONS stands at a disappointing $133.3M. BROTHER BEAR actually finished above REVOLUTIONS for the three-day weekend, with $4.8M. For the five-day period, Disney's last traditionally-animated feature brought home $6.4M for a total of $77.6M. On a final animated note, Sony Classics' highly touted THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE debuted in six theaters, grossing $143,762 over the five-day holiday for a per-screen average of $23,960. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com. 13. RHYTHM & HUES LETS THE CAT OUT FOR HAT VISUAL EFFECTS. Rhythm & Hues used Side Effects Software's Houdini to create the surreal visuals for THE CAT IN THE HAT. 3D animation and effects included clouds, vapor, flying goo, a churning Vortex, motion-blur "streaks" for Thing 1 and Thing 2, authentic water interaction between a fish and its bowl, incidental effects for a multi-armed clean-up car and numerous supporting effects. "This was the first production experience for many of our artists and that added a certain challenge," said FX lead Caleb Howard, Rhythm & Hues. "To keep new artists productive under a demanding schedule, we needed to keep the amount of new information they had to retain to a minimum, which demanded having a robust but encapsulated toolset in place. In the case of this show, we were able to develop tools for each effect and train the artists in the use of those tools only. The ability to create an effective toolset that can be used without prior knowledge of the broader array of the Houdini feature set means artists can become efficient with a powerful application very quickly in a production context." Rhythm & Hues built workflows around Houdini allowing different effects tools to be evolved and maintained in multiple versions, which could be given to the artists who required them without affecting the tools being used by others. A large portion of shots revolved around volumetric effects created via the facility's "Cloud Tank" tools, an integrated in-house system shaped around custom Houdini surface and shader operators. The most challenging effects were for the Vortex, a tornado-like dimension. To render the material and seamlessly incorporate digital and photographic 3D objects, an adaptive ray marcher was put together using VOPs, Houdini's streamlined graphical interface for the VEX scripting language. In addition, Rhythm & Hues used Houdini's new volumetric texturing tools. Globs of goo that fly around indoors and interact with the live-action set were also created in Houdini. The film required motion-blur streak effects for the movement of characters Thing 1 and Thing 2. The "Thing Trails" needed to work in two different pipelines, one for the live-action actors and another for digital actors. Rhythm & Hues had an additional pipeline dedicated to water interaction effects for the film's fish and fish bowl sequences. These effects were done using an in-house water simulation software with a front-end Houdini interface linked up via the Houdini Developers Kit (HDK). Artists handed off animated geometry to tds, who then ran realistic simulations of water as it would react to the fish, the glass and other elements. "CAT IN THE HAT was complex from an organizational point of view," said Rhythm & Hues visual effects supervisor Doug Smith. "Usually, you have a high volume of shots that are similar and fit into one main category; on this film, we had people working on four effects pipelines with lots of overlapping in between. They always say you can do anything you want in production with enough time and money. The reality, of course, for visual effects producers is that you need to do things that are new and different, yet are still achievable in a practical sense." Rhythm & Hues' film division is a preeminent producer of visual effects and character animation, with a track record of more than 75 feature films. In 1995, the studio was recognized with an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for its work on BABE. For more information, visit www.rhthym.com. Established in 1987, Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D and 2D graphics and special effects software for use in film, broadcast and game development. It is a leader in the field of non-linear animation with its unique, award-winning Houdini technology. For more information, visit www.sidefx.com. Television 14. NEW ZOO REVUE GET 3D TREATMENT. ValCom and O Atlas Enterprises will be turning their NEW ZOO REVUE into a new 3D TV series and feature. The original people-in-suits series debuted in syndication in the U.S. in 1971. The new film is budgeted at $3 million and production on both the telefilm and 26-part series should wrap in January 2005. ValCom plans to unveil the project at NATPE. Vince Vellardita and Barbara Atlas are co-exec producing the projects with Dotan Koskas serving as animation producer. The musical show follows the adventures of Charlie the Owl, Henrietta Hippo, Freddie the Frog, Freeda the Frog and humans like Mr Dingle, Doug and Emmy-Jo. O. Atlas Enterprises produces and syndicates the children's television programs throughout the United States, and licenses and distributes children's television programming, movies, sports programs and documentaries overseas. For more information, visit http://www.newzoorevue.com/oatlas. ValCom Inc. is subdivided up into four main dimensions; Studio Division, Motion Picture and Television Division, Broadcast Television Ownership Division and Rental Division. The production company operates on a project-driven basis. For more information, visit www.valcom.tv. 15. NIGHT B4 CHRISTMAS DEBUTS IN U.S. THE NIGHT B4 CHRISTMAS special made its U.S. television premiere on Dec. 2, 2003 at 8:30 pm with a replay on Dec. 9, at 8:00 on Cartoon Network. Aries Spears, (MAD TV), Paramount's next feature film comedy star Earthquake, and Chali 2NA of Universal Music Group's hot hip hop sensation, Jurassic 5, highlight a talented ensemble cast that keeps the laughs coming. Produced by Sunwoo Ent. and Nite B4 Prods. Inc., THE NIGHT B4 CHRISTMAS follows a young elf named Elvin (Spears) on his adventure to become the next pop music icon. He leaves his elf's life behind, changes his name to "Slim Shorty" and sets out on a journey to meet fame and fortune. When he hooks up with a gnome, a dog named Pup (2NA), and his girl Jel-O, the music-filled adventure really takes off, but soon Elvin discovers some of the harsh realities of the music business. Making matters worse, a mysterious virus ends up at the North Pole, leaving Santa (Earthquake) bed-ridden with no toys ready to be delivered. Elvin must lead his "crew" on a wild sleigh ride to save Christmas. THE NIGHT B4 CHRISTMAS is an original story conceived by Brian E. O'Neal and Sib Ventress, and was exec produced by O'Neal, Sunwoo USA svp and Jae Moh, Sunwoo USA president. Sunwoo USA is the Burbank, California division of Sunwoo Entertainment (www.sunwoo.com). Sunwoo, headquartered in Seoul, is comprised of three animation studios: Sunwoo Animation, Grimsaem Animation and Anivision Korea. They all work closely together with Sunwoo Digital Int'l to provide animation series. Sunwoo also produces live-action commercials and feature films through Sunwoo Prods. and maintains an Internet presence through Enpop.com, an entertainment Website. 16. RUGRATS GET ALL GROWN UP NOV. 29 ON NICK. Nickelodeon reintroduced viewers to one of its all-time favorite family of characters, THE RUGRATS in a first-ever spin-off series, ALL GROWN UP, in a two-hour primetime premiere at 8-10:00 pm on Nov. 29, 2003. The familiar characters will continue their adventures above rug level on the cusp of teen-hood, facing classic and comical pre-teen issues and dilemmas. Four back-to-back episodes -- "Truth or Consequences," "Bad Kimi," "Tweenage Tycoons" and "Susie Sings the Blues," produced by Klasky Cuspo, comprised the centerpiece of Thanksgiving vacation's Nicksgiving Weekend. ALL GROWN UP continues regularly Saturdays (8:00 pm as part of the SNICK lineup, while RUGRATS continue with favorite and new episodes in other time periods. Sparked by popular demand, the spin-off is an outgrowth of RUGRATS 10th anniversary special ALL GROWNED UP, which toppled records: a whopping 70% of all kids 2-11 tuned in on July 21, 2001. "The overwhelming, Super Bowl size success of the anniversary special proved kids are ready to embrace these beloved characters in a whole new realm," said Cyma Zarghami, evp/gm of Nick. "The RUGRATS property is 12 years old, so it feels just right now to have the babies turn into tweens." The friends, bonded since babyhood must still negotiate with bossy Angelica and even outmaneuver the trendy 13-year-old on occasion. Flashbacks in the series will give viewers a chance to re-explore moments from RUGRATS as well as peek at the "missing years." Following is a rundown of the quartet of episodes comprising the series premiere: 8:00 pm "Truth or Consequences" -- Tommy enters a filmmaking contest and attempting Cinema Verite shoots his friends in less than flattering situations. When they furiously confront him, he must choose between friendship and his art. 8:30 pm "Bad Kimi" -- Kimi befriends Z, the proverbial "bad boy." Chuckie is determined to prove to his sister this kid is up to no good before she gets into serious trouble. Enlisting the kids to spy on Z, they learn the shocking truth. Meanwhile, Angelica is unable to do her online "Ask Angelica" advice chat and uses Harold to sit in. When Harold is a great success she is no longer "needed." But when Harold's fragile psyche is increasingly saddened by the agony of "preteen angst," he relinquishes the position back to Angelica. 9:00 pm "Tweenage Tycoons"-- A favorite boy band, the Sulky Boys, is coming to town and tickets are $100 apiece! Knowing there is no way their parents will shell out that amount, the kids become mini-capitalists and begin to sell Dil's crazy inventions to their classmates in order to raise the ticket money. But when competition from Angelica and consumer apathy for each product hurts sales, Tommy again and again leans on Dil for the next great product. With Dil about to snap from the pressure of creating the next big fad, Tommy must decide between his brother's sanity and a trip to the Sulky Boys. 9:30 pm "Susie Sings the Blues"-- Talented Susie is discovered by an agent who leads her to believe she's going to be the next teen superstar singer -- and crushed when the phony cons her out of a thousand dollars she borrowed from her sister. Meanwhile, Chuckie is tired of being "Vanilla Finster" and goes head-to-head with the vice principal, former pro wrestler Slam Bang Pangborn. A three-time Emmy Award winner with an enormous following of kids and adults, RUGRATS was the top show on broadcast and cable among kids 2-11 from 1996-2001 (source: Nielsen Media Research) and the highest rated kids' show on cable for eight straight years. Still currently a top 10 show, it wins its timeslot wherever it airs. In addition, RUGRATS is seen internationally in more than 150 countries, was created by Arlene Klasky, Gabor Csupo and Paul Germain and is produced by Klasky Csupo, Inc. for Nickelodeon, a programming service of Viacom International In., ALL GROWN UP is created and produced by Klasky and Csupo, through their studio in Los Angeles. Character list and full credits cal be viewed at: http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=cat&category1=Television&newsitem_n o=9694 17. GRINCH WEEK AT CARTOON NETWORK. That conniving Grinch has stolen four consecutive nights of airtime on Cartoon Network for the annual "Grinch Week." The perennial animated holiday special DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS airs at 8:00 pm Monday-Thursday, Dec. 1-4, 2003. Dr. Seuss' classic fable portrays the mean old Grinch and his efforts to muzzle the holiday spirits of the happy-go-lucky citizens of Whoville. Boris Karloff, narrated and provided the voice in the 1966 version of DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. However, the classic solo of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft, the same voice who gives Tony the Tiger his roar. Cindy Lou Who was voiced by June Foray of Rocky the Flying Squirrel fame. Chuck Jones and Ben Washam co-directed the special for MGM. Phil Roman was one of the animators on it, designed by Maurice Noble. 18. KID'S WB! OFFERS THANKSGIVING TREATS, REVISED LINEUP AND SNEAK PEAKS. Kid's WB! kicked off the Thanksgiving viewing holiday in the U.S. when the TEEN TITANS presented the network's first annual "Turkey Surprise Day" on Nov. 29, 2003 form 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. The teen superheroes hosted the morning event from their T-shaped Titans Towers featuring some of their original home movies - including what they did for Thanksgiving, as well as sneak peeks of what's to come on the channel in 2004. Viewers could catch a glimpse of ASTRO BOY, from Sony Pictures Television and Tezuka Prods., originally scheduled for fall 2003, the series will debut in early 2004. The event included highlights the new seasons of returning hits STATIC SHOCK and MEGAMAN: NT WARRIOR plus returning favorites WHAT'S NEW SCHOOBY-DOO? and OZZY & DRIX to the Saturday morning schedule. Fans of anime/adventure fans could also see into the future of POKÉMON: ADVANCED and YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM. Kid's WB! has revised its Saturday morning schedule with a double airing of POKÉMON: ADVANCED in its regular 10:00 am time period and its new 11:30 am timeslot. 8:00 am: YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM 8:30 am: TEEN TITANS 9:00 am: JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES 9:30 am: XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN 10:00 am: POKÉMON: ADVANCED 10:30 am: ¡MUCHA LUCHA! 11:00 am: YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM 11:30 am: POKÉMON: ADVANCED * (Additional New Time Period) Commercials 19. RHINOFX WRAP SWEET SPOTS FOR POP'ABLES. Rhinofx has reworked new M&M/Mars' Pop'Ables candy ads, YIKES and SEPARATION ANXIETY, to play in theaters and on TV this holiday season. Director Harry Dorrington and his team designed an entirely CG-animated campaign. To adapt the campaign for the cinema, rhinofx re-rendered the spots in 2K and changed the aspect ratio and size. The challenge with this was keeping the candy looking real in the large format's extreme close ups. In the spots M&M/Mars candy bars Snickers, Milky Way and Three Musketeers appear against a stark white background. As pieces of the candy bars break away, they come to life crying out as they fall from the bag, thus forming Pop'Ables. "The agency, BBDO, wanted a sensibility that was a bit off-kilter," said Dorrington. "They wanted something drier than people are used to seeing these days. So, we designed something reminiscent of Chuck Jones and the cartoons this audience grew up with. In the past, I've normally incorporated a film shoot of the product, which gives you an excellent reference for the artist. You're getting the skills of a DP and placing the product under his eyes. But for a long time I've wanted to try it using a still photographer instead." For the Pop'Ables spots, Dorrington, with a still photographer, shot 5x4 transparences to get the texture and lighting references the animators needed. Dorrington credits Natalia Saenko for contributing "a huge amount of texturing work" at that point. "The texture map she built has little faults, and that's what really makes the look of it." In addition, the team put the spots through extensive previsualization, turning out more than 20 edits to fine-tune the results. Credits include: CLIENT: Masterfoods, USA, Hackettstown, NJ Carol Van Den Hende: marketing manager Sharyla Robinson: assoc. marketing manager Lori Engelhardt: commercial manager Nathalie Ross: producer, Mars TV production ADVERTISING AGENCY: BBDO New York, New York, NY Steve Rutter: creative director Susan Credle: creative director Maria Amato: senior producer YIKES Chris McMurtrey: copywriter Scott Higgins: art director SEPARATION ANXIETY Lauren Connolly: copywriter Michael Illick: copywriter Melissa Chester: music producer Pahzeet Liebermann: account supervisor Jill Albert: ass. account exec Ruday Zwack: business manager PRODUCTION & VISUAL EFFECTS COMPANY: rhinofx, New York, NY Harry Dorrington: director/creative director Rick Wagonheim: exec producer/partner Katie Haser: senior producer Linda Gallagher: assoc. producer Natalia Saenko: cg director/digital artist David Barosin: cg director/digital artist Lynn Bacino: digital artist Jeff Guerrero: digital artist Patrick Porter: digital artist Ji Yoon: digital artist Sheldon Chow: digital artist Jim Huntermark: digital artist Marc Steinberg: design director/digital artist Vico Sharabani: inferno artist/partner JR Starace: inferno assistant Steve Bronstein: photographer Terence Ziegler: Avid editor rhinofx is a full-service digital studio, providing visual effects, computer animation, graphic design and digital compositing for commercials, music videos, broadcast and TV programming. For more information, call (212) 986-1577 or visit www.rhinofx.tv. 20. MACHINIMA MAKING NEW 3D INROADS ON SPIKE TV'S VGAS. Spike TV (a division of MTV Networks) will be airing animation created using ILL Clan Inc.'s proprietary 3D animation technique called machinima. By modifying off-the-shelf computer game technology, the New York animation studio produces machinima in a fraction of the time it would take using typical computer animation techniques. The ILL Clan created 12 short animated vignettes, co-directed by David Kaplan and Dan Torop, introducing the award categories on spiketv.com for their Video Game Awards Show (VGA), eight of which will be used during the VGAs scheduled to air Dec. 4, 2003. Each animated intro features 3D assets created by game designers and players from around the world, available for download on the Internet. "By tapping the resources of the public gaming community it allowed us not only to produce animation quickly and effectively, but also to support the efforts of a lot of talented 3D designers," says Frank Dellario, president of the ILL Clan. The vignettes were created using Fountainhead Entertainment's Machinimation toolset based on Id Software's Quake 3 game engine. Each of the roughly 10-second animations can currently be viewed at www.spiketv.com. Machinima (Machine + Cinema) allows the group to accomplish what many animators would never have imagined possible: the ability to control puppet-like animated characters in realtime and record them using a virtual camera as if they were objects on an actual film studio set. All of this using off-the-shelf software and standard desktop computers. The ILL Clan has also demonstrated the potential of machinima when combined with their comedic talent by performing animation live before an audience at the 2003 Florida Film Festival. The result of that performance is a cartoon titled COMMON SENSE COOKING, which recently won best virtual performance at the 2nd annual Machinima Film Festival. Since then the group has continued to push the limits of computer animation with their latest show, LARRY & LENNY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, in which two unemployed Lumberjacks join the race for president in the hopes of landing a cushy, do-nothing job. Audience members at the live premier of LARRY & LENNY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL in New York City were invited to participate in a Q&A session with the animated characters. Upcoming episodes of the show can be viewed on the ILL Clan's Web site: www.illclan.com and a schedule of live performances in New York City is currently in the works. Although machinima itself is an emerging art form, The ILL Clan is moving ahead based on their absurd content and unique talent. The group is currently developing a prototype for an Xbox console game featuring Larry & Lenny Lumberjack, and their agent, Circle of Confusion Management, is shopping around a new animated show concept for television distribution. Brooklyn-based ILL Clan Prods. is a collective of 3D artists, filmmakers and improvisational comedians focusing on creating animated episodic shows and works for hire using the machinima process and 3D CGI. Internet & Interactive 21. LORDS OF EVERQUEST AVAILABLE NOW. The Everquest realm continues with the release of Sony Online Entertainment's fantasy Real-Time Strategy game, LORDS OF EVERQUEST, now at U.S. and Canadian retail stores at a suggested retail price of $49.99. "LORDS OF EVERQUEST has the deep storyline, exciting gameplay and vast armies that fans of the realtime strategy genre demand," said Michael Lustenberger, director of product marketing, SOE. "With our new SOEGames.net service, the game has just begun when the single-player missions are over, as gamers go online to dominate their opponents and decide who will be the new king of RTS." Set in the rich fantasy universe of EverQuest, LORDS OF EVERQUEST features a deep and intricate plot centered around the fabled Lost Age, more than 75 hours of exciting single-player gameplay. With SOE's new SOEGames.net service, LORDS OF EVERQUEST offers free online multiplayer matches to a new audience. Inspired by the world of online gaming phenomenon EVERQUEST LORDS OF EVERQUEST features an enthralling storyline drawing gamers to the land of Antonica as they control one of 15 lords and manage massive armies in their quest for domination. The RTS genre should enjoy hundreds of items, spells, the ability for all units in the game to gain experience and abilities and online multiplayer options (Internet connection required for online multiplayer game modes, online connection fees are the responsibility of the user) for up to 12 players per game via Sony Online's SOEGames.net service. LORDS OF EVERQUEST challenges players to command armies comprised of humans, elves, dwarves, fiends and even drakes as they shape the past of the EVERQUEST universe in a beautiful game world filled with breathtaking environments. The game offers a Spell and Ability system with more than 125 unique properties and a custom 3D engine providing cutting-edge 3D graphics with more than three levels of zoom, 32-bit color and support for 1600x1200 resolution for incredible detail. Developed and published by SOE, EVERQUEST launched in 1999 and has since become both a gaming and cultural phenomenon. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Headquartered in San Diego, with additional development studios in Austin, and St. Louis, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development. For more information, visit www.everquestonlineadventures.com. 22. SARBAKAN WELDS WEIRD ONLINE GAMES FOR VRAK TV. Sarbakan has wrapped up two new online games for VRAK TV, a specialized Canadian channel operated by Astral Media Inc. The two games star Celestin, a bearded fairy in charge of a garage. In the first game, the players will make their way to Celestin's garage and answer trivia questions before they can build a racing jalopy from vintage bits and parts. The second title will have players test their new vehicles in a danger-filled racing derby. The first game will go live on www.vrak.tv Dec. 1, 2003 with the second coming in spring 2004. Characters from the games will also star in two television interstitials that will be broadcast on VRAK TV in early 2004. Founded in 1998, Sarbakan is a development and digital creation studio that specializes in the exploitation of animated content such as GOOD NIGHT MR. SNOOZLEBERG, ARCANE and STEPPENWOLF. For more information, visit http://www.sarbakan.com. Home Video 23. BROWNBOOTS RAMPS UP DINO-SIZED INDIE FILM. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin-based BrownBoots Interactive has begun production on a 3D animated feature entitled, DINOVILLE ADVENTURES: METEOR MADNESS. Co-directing and producing the project are BrownBoots president Alan Hathaway and animator Tim Bowser. The 30-minute film should be finished in July 2004 and BrownBoots hopes to shop the project around to the direct-to-video market. This labor of love is being funded by BrownBoots as well as additional personal money from Hathaway and Bowser. LightWave, Maya, combustion and After Effects are being used to create the animation. Bowser said the film is about a quarter of the way finished with the modeling and most of the texturing complete. BrownBoots will be using a rendering farm to render the project. The company has enlisted 12 employees for the projects, including Chris Ayers, who did character design work on MEN IN BLACK II. Inspired by Hathaway's 6-year-old son's love of dinosaurs and the desire to move BrownBoots into family productions, the story follows three young dinosaurs - C.J., Tommy and Amanda - as they team up with Prof. Liddle to stop the evil Dr. Enos' plan to redirect a killer meteor toward Dinoville. For more information about the film, visit www.dinovilleadventures.com. BrownBoots Interactive is a new media agency offering Website development, 3D animation, CD-ROM or digital business card production, QuickTime virtual reality tours and traditional print advertisement. For more information, visit www.brownboots.com. 24. ORIGINAL STAR WARS TRILOGY HITTING DVD NOV. 2004? Various Internet sources have claimed that Fox Home Video and LucasFilms have released information to retailers that the original STAR WARS trilogy will be released on DVD Nov. 2, 2004. These rumors first started when LucasFilms held a hush hush invitation only marketing preview in San Francisco on Nov. 5, 2003. Force.net is stating that the films with be packaged individually and not as a box set. Fox Home Video has told VFXWorld it is too early to confirm any of the details until LucasFilms informs them. 25. PIRATES: A DVD BOUNTY OF RICHES. Disney's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, which has amassed more than $304M to date, arrives Dec. 2, 2003 on DVD (Walt Disney Home Entertainment, $29.99). The two-disc set includes a bounty of supplemental riches, including audio commentaries by director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp, deleted scenes, a "making-of" featurette, "Moonlight" scene progression, blooper reel and an interactive history of pirates. Rest assured, there will be some attention paid to the stunning vfx by Industrial Light & Magic, with excellent support from Boy Wonder, CIS, Digiscope, Gray Matter FX, Method and Pacific Title. Includes: * Commentary by director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp * Commentary by producer Jerry Bruckheimer and co-stars Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport * Commentary by writers Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio and Jay Wolpert * An Epic At Sea: The Making of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL * 19 Deleted and Alternate Scenes * "Moonlight" Scene Progression * "Below Deck" - An Interactive History Of Pirates * "Fly on the Set" Featurette * "Diary of a Pirate" - Behind-the-Scenes look with cast member Lee Arenberg * "Diary of a Ship" Video Journal * "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" - Archival TV Program * Producer's Diary Featurette With Bruckheimer * Image Gallery * Blooper Reel * DVD-ROM Features: "Moonlight Becomes Ye" Effects Studio, History of the Ride Featurette, Virtual Reality Viewer, Scriptscanner & Storyboard Viewing Modes 26. DEFINITIVE ALIEN QUADRILOGY DVDS OFFER NEW VFX. On the heels of Ridley Scott's recent director's cut of ALIEN comes ALIEN QUADRILOGY, the ultimate box set of the sci-fi franchise and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's (TCFHE) most ambitious DVD project yet. Streeting Dec. 2, 2003 and priced at $99.98, QUADRILOGY contains four films, nine discs and 45 hours of bonus materials. Plus new vfx in ALIEN and ALIEN3 supplied by TCFHE and five houses (Svengali, R!OT, Encore, Frantic and Modern Video). There are 15 new CG shots in ALIEN, including CG blood, CG fire, wire removal and star fields. The two-year undertaking from Fox marked the first time a home entertainment division has ever finished a theatrical film (David Fincher's rejected work print of ALIEN3), and included the collaboration of directors Scott, James Cameron and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, along with other original filmmakers and teams from Fox Restoration, Fox Sound and the vfx houses in restoring, reconstructing and providing new foley as well as new vfx. QUADRILOGY contains the original theatrical versions as well as alternate versions plus a bonus disc of leftover supplementals. The docs are riveting behind-the-scenes looks at the legendary productions and their cultural legacy, and there are plenty of vfx examples, including the physical evolution of the indestructible space creature. Not bad for a project that began as a b-movie known as "Truckers in Space." ALIEN * The original 1979 theatrical version of ALIEN and the 2003 Director's cut * An introduction by Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt and more * Brand new commentary by Scott and the technical crew * Nine brand new documentaries: "Star Beast" - On developing the ALIEN story; "The Visualists" - the direction and design of the film; "Truckers In Space" - Casting the movie; "Fear Of The Unknown" - Behind the scenes at Shepperton Studios in 1978; "The Darkest Reaches" - Developing the Nostromo and Alien planet; "The Eight Passenger" - Creating the Alien; "Future Tense" - Focusing on the music and editing of ALIEN; "Outward Bound" - Peering into the film's visual effects; "A Nightmare Fulfilled" - Reaction to the film's opening * A Multi-Angle Scene Study on the Chestburster sequence with optional commentary by Scott and the production team * Weaver's original screen test with optional commentary by Scott * Seven deleted scenes with a deleted footage marker and deleted scene index * The first draft of the screenplay by O'Bannon * Ridleygrams - Original thumbnails and sketches by Scott * Storyboard Archives * The Art of ALIEN, including a cast portrait gallery, production gallery, the sets of ALIEN, H.R. Giger's Workshop, continuity Polaroids and vfx gallery * The original theatrical posters and stills from the premiere ALIENS * The original theatrical version - available for the first time ever on DVD - and Cameron's special edition version of ALIENS * An introduction by Cameron * Brand new commentary by Cameron, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Terry Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak and Stan Winston * Cameron original treatment * Nine brand new featurettes: "57 Years Later" - Continuing the saga; "Building Better Worlds" - From concept to construction; "Preparing For Battle" - Casting and characterization; "This Time It's War" - A look back at Pinewood Studios, 1985; "The Risk Always Lives" - Weapons and action; "Bug Hunt" - Creature design; "Beauty And The Bitch" - Power Loader vs. Queen Alien; "Two Orphans" - Revisiting Weaver And Henn; and "Aliens Unleashed" - Reaction to the film * The Art of ALIENS, including conceptual art portfolio, cast portraits, production gallery, continuity Polaroids, Winston's workshop, vfx gallery and premiere stills * Deleted footage marker and deleted scene index * Multi-angle videomatics with optional commentary by miniature effect supervisor, McClung * An Easter Egg ALIEN 3 * The original theatrical version and a restored pre-release version with more than 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage * Brand new commentary by cinematographer Alex Thompson, editor Terry Rawlings, vfx designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., visual effects producer Richard Edlund, and actors Paul McGann and Henriksen * 11 new featurettes: "Development" - Concluding the story; "Tales Of The Wooden Planet" - Vincent Ward's vision; "Pre-Production III" - The making of ALIEN 3,"Xeno-Erotic" - Giger's redesign of the Alien creature; "Production: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three" - Behind-the-scenes on the production of the movie; "Adaptive Organism" - Creature design; "Optical Fury" - Visual effects; "Music, Editing And Sound"; and "Post-Mortem" - A reaction to the film * E.E.V. Bio-Scan - A multi-angle vignette with optional commentary by Gillis * The Art of ALIEN 3, including conceptual art portfolio, production gallery and vfx * Furnace construction time lapse * Storyboard archives ALIEN RESURRECTION * The original theatrical version and an extended cut with alternate opening and ending sequences * An introduction by Jeunet * Brand new commentary by Jeunet, Herve Schneid, Gillis, Woodruff Jr., Pitof, Sylvain Despretz, Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon and Leland Orser * First draft of the screenplay by Joss Whedon * 11 new featurettes: "From The Ashes" - Reviving the story; "French Twist" - Direction and design; "Under The Skin" - Casting and characters; "Death >From Below" - Underwater photography; "In The Zone" - Basketball scene; "Unnatural Mutation" - Creature design, "Genetic Mutation" - Creature design; "Genetic Composition" - A listen to the music; "Virtual Alien" - Computer generated imagery; "A Matter Of Scale" - Miniature photography; and "Critical Junction" - A reaction to the film * Multi-angel rehearsal footage * A Mike Carro photo gallery, a conceptual art gallery, vfx gallery, a promotional photo archive and continuity Polaroids * Storyboard archives * An Easter Egg BONUS DISC * A brand new Q&A with Scott * "Experience in Terror" - A promotional featurette from 1979 * "Alien Evolution" - Channel 4 U.K. exclusive documentary on ALIEN, a complete laser disc archive of ALIEN and ALIENS * Original theatrical trailers and TV spots from all four films * "Aliens In The Basement" - Inside the Bob Burns ALIEN Collection * Dark Horse cover gallery - Anthology of 11 issues of the ALIEN comics DVD-ROM feature - Script to screen comparison Licensing 27. MR BEAN RACKS UP DEALS FOR TIGER ASPECT. Tiger Aspect Productions has signed a raft of broadcast and licensing agreements with international partners for animated MR BEAN, extending the popular character and his outlandish adventures to new markets around the world. The property's U.S. and Canadian licensing agent The Sharpe Co. has negotiated a deal with Toy Play to launch an innovative figural toy range to the mass and specialty retail market. Cinder Block, a well-known adult/youth apparel vendor, has signed for T-shirts and sweatshirts. U.K. licensing partner Entertainment Rights has also signed up GE Fabbri for a U.K. partwork deal. A launch is planned for early January 2004 and will be supported by an extensive television advertising campaign. Katherine Senior, exec producer/brand manager of MR BEAN said: "Animated MR BEAN has a distinctive look that really lends itself to licensing and we are delighted to sign these deals expanding the brand worldwide. Launches in new territories such as Japan highlight the universal appeal of the property." In a major deal, BBC Worldwide has won the television and video rights to MR BEAN for the Japanese market and is negotiating with broadcast partners. MR BEAN is a hit with broadcasters in some 35 territories. Worldwide television sales - excluding the U.K., U.S., Japan and Hungary - are handled by Fremantle International Distribution, which has recently concluded sales of the 26x22 series with China, France, Slovakia, Croatia and Austria. In the U.S., American Public Television (APT), distributes the animated series to public television stations. Following the success of the series on APT, A&E Home Video recently launched animated MR BEAN on DVD, following the phenomenally successful DVD and video release of MR. BEAN: THE WHOLE BEAN, which remains one of the best-selling television programs on DVD for 2003. A&E Home Video will release a second installment of the animated series in March 2004. A&E Home Video's programs are marketed and distributed by New Video. The MR BEAN animated series is a Tiger Aspect Production (www.tigeraspect.co.uk) in association with Richard Purdum Productions and Varga Holdings. Books 28. SYD MEAD TO SERVE ON EXPOSÉ 2 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Syd Mead, the renowned designer behind such films as BLADE RUNNER, TRON, 2010, and ALIENS, has joined the EXPOSÉ 2 Advisory Committee. EXPOSÉ 2 is the second in Ballistic Publishing's series of award-winning digital art books celebrating the talents of digital artists worldwide. Advisory Committee members will collaboratively assist in the selection of artwork to be presented in EXPOSÉ 2, as well as take on an advisory role ensuring the highest quality standards. "Idea trumps technique every time," offers Mead. "Creating visualized scenario, (essentially the choice of the artist) is an elaborately furnished skill that first, creates the motivation, then the idea and lastly uses whatever technique seems to suit. The fact that computer-driven creation of visual scenario is now used means that digital computation has finally been able to duplicate the look, the feel and the nuance of 'traditional' hand-drawn, hand-painted artwork." Mead's illustrious career has led him to many high profile projects such as the supersonic Concorde interiors, car prototypes for Ford and celebrated feature film work. More information about Syd Mead can be found at his website: www.sydmead.com. Ballistic is now calling for artists to submit digital images for consideration to be included in EXPOSÉ 2. Images can be created in any 3D or digital illustration application. Photoshop and digitally manipulated photography is also welcome. Ballistic is interested in digitally created fine art, whether it be 3D or 2D, for commercial use or personal satisfaction. Artwork to be considered for EXPOSÉ 2 needs to be submitted before Feb. 29, 2004. Artists can enter their works at the Ballistic Publishing Web site: www.ballisticpublishing.com. EXPOSÉ 2 will go into full production in March 2004, with a release date of July 2004. EXPOSÉ 2 will be published in three editions: the limited collectors edition, with hand bound leather cover with embossed gold; hard cover; and paperback editions. Pre-orders for EXPOSÉ 2 will start in June 2004. Ballistic Publishing, a division of Ballistic Media, is dedicated to creating the highest quality publications for the CG and digital art community. Ballistic Publishing is based in Adelaide, Australia. 29. VIZ ACQUIRES MANGA ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY. VIZ LLC has announced the acquisition of ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY from Shueisha Inc., one of Japan's largest publishers. The manga will be offered through the SHONEN JUMP line of graphic novels and will begin shipping in March 2004 and hit stores in the U.S. in mid-April. The original MUSCLEMAN (KINNIKUMAN in Japanese) was created by the renowned manga artist duo Yudetamago (composed of Nakai Yoshinori and Takashi Shimada) in 1979 while the pair was still in high school. MUSCLEMAN is an action-packed tale of a band of wrestlers who take on a motley gang of evil counterparts to save the earth from destruction. The second booking the franchise, ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY, sold more than seven million copies in Japan. In America, an anime version of ULTIMATE MUSCLE premiered in 2002 on the Fox network's Fox Box. "This is the first time that ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY has been made available in English and we are pleased to offer it exclusively to American audiences on a bi-monthly basis," said Hyoe Narita, svp of editorial and editor-in-chief of SHONEN JUMP. "In the wake of the popularity of the FOX Box televised series, we look forward to fans discovering ULTIMATE MUSCLE: THE KINNIKUMAN LEGACY in its original graphic novel incarnation. VIZ has taken great care to accurately translate the title from Japanese and has secured the blessing of the Yudetamago duo for this release. Both a sports and action adventure tale, fans of the show as well as anime and manga enthusiasts will be captivated by the exploits of Kid Muscle, and I look forward to the graphic novel also serving as a compliment to the ardent following the Fox Box series has garnered." "ULTIMATE MUSCLE: The Kinnikuman Legacy works on a variety of levels and that is part of its enduring popularity," said Yumi Hoashi, vp of SHONEN JUMP. "While the sports and wrestling-related action develops a high level of drama and suspense throughout each issue, the story also communicates lessons in overcoming adversity and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It demonstrates what can be achieved through cooperation and self-confidence. In that respect, the character of Kid Muscle demonstrates a variety of positive personality traits." Based in San Francisco, VIZ LLC is a leading U.S. publisher of Japanese animation and comics for English-speaking audiences. Founded in 1986, VIZ publishes more than 20 titles every month including GUNDAM, DRAGON BALL Z, INU YUSHA and RANMA. It is one of the top five comic publishers in the United States. For more information, visit www.VIZ.com. Technology 30. DISCREET EXTENDS MENTAL RAY RENDERING OPTIONS FOR 3DS MAX 6. In addition to selling mental ray 3.2 integrated in 3ds max 6, Discreet will now offer a standalone version of the high-quality rendering solution. mental ray 3.2 can be deployed in multi-workstation and render farm configurations enabling greater return-on-investment and productivity gains for the world's largest community of 3D animators in film, games and design visualization. The current 3ds max 6 software release, shipping since October 2003, includes an integrated license of mental ray-enabling artists to render on a two processor workstation. Today's announcement offers design and animation studios additional mental ray rendering licenses for 3ds max for use in render farm configurations with pricing of up to 25% less than comparable 3D software solutions that offer the mental ray option. "By offering mental ray as a standalone product in addition to the integrated version in 3ds max 6, customers can significantly reduce the time required to render scenes for interactive tuning as well as set up very high throughput small or large scale render farms," said Rolf Herken, president and director of R&D for mental images. "We already know of 3ds max users who want to buy hundreds of licenses for mental ray 3.2 directly from Discreet." Available through the Discreet Sales and Reseller channel, the new mental ray pricing is $1,500 (single license); $10,000 (10-license pack); and $1,000 for each license above the mental ray 10-license pack. All licenses are available in floating license configurations. For complete pricing and upgrade information, contact a Discreet Sales representative at 1-800-869-3504. Discreet's (www.discreet.com) award-winning solutions are designed for digital media creation, management and delivery-across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading and editing to animation, game development and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk Inc, a leading design and digital media creation, management and distribution company. mental images (www.mentalimages.com), founded in 1986, is the recognized international leader in providing rendering software to the entertainment, computer-aided design, scientific visualization, architecture, and other industries that require sophisticated images. The main product of the company is the high performance, photorealistic rendering software mental ray, which is capable of running on a wide variety of platforms ranging from networks of workstations to parallel supercomputers, producing images of unsurpassed realism. Leading cinematographers use mental ray to generate images of unsurpassed realism in visual effects and with films that are produced entirely using digital techniques. mental ray was initially released in 1989 and has been used in the production of more than 130 major motion pictures. mental images GmbH is a privately held company based in Berlin, Germany, with a subsidiary in San Francisco, California. 31. NXN ALIENBRAIN STUDIO NOW SUPPORTS KAYDARA'S FBX FORMAT. NXN Software has integrated support for Kaydara's universal FBX file interchange format into its flagship asset management product, NXN alienbrain Studio. The integration provides versioning, workflow and intuitive file management for FBX files. "Exchanging 3D data between applications can be a very labor-intensive process," said Gregor vom Scheidt, ceo of NXN Software. "The support for Kaydara's FBX in NXN alienbrain Studio will allow our customers to exchange files quickly and securely, saving them time and money." NXN alienbrain Studio versions, tracks and stores all digital content, regardless of file type, throughout its creation. With support for Kaydara's FBX file format NXN alienbrain Studio now provides a secure pathway for the exchange of 3D data between different content creation packages. The integrated Apple QuickTime viewer in NXN alienbrain Studio allows FBX files to be transferred and viewed in full 3D resolution, without requiring the viewing computer to have the corresponding 3D authoring software applications installed. Throughout the production pipeline, this viewer speeds up file identification and preview and approval processes. "NXN alienbrain Studio is the industry's most widely used asset management system and an essential addition to the FBX community," said Jean-Jacques Hermans, vp of marketing and business development for Kaydara. "NXN's FBX support will enable NXN alienbrain Studio users to share and re-target 3D data quickly saving valuable time and streamlining the production process." Designed for animators working on state-of-the-art feature films, vfx, games, television series and commercials, Kaydara FBX is a platform-independent 3D authoring and interchange format. It allows animation teams to easily transfer assets between the multitude of 3D applications typically used, including 3ds max, LightWave 3D, Maya, Motionbuilder, XSI and others. Supported data includes all major NURBS and polygon surface types, keyframe and mocap animation, shapes and morph targets, materials and textures, lights, cameras, hierarchical information and character animation data, including IK, envelopes and deformations. Kaydara's FBX for QuickTime is available for download on www.kaydara.com. NXN customers can find further information on how to work with FBX files in NXN alienbrain Studio on the NXN Developer Network. Over the course of the past decade, Montreal-based Kaydara (www.kaydara.com) has become a leader in the development of realtime 3D animation software solutions for the entertainment industry. Kaydara's product portfolio serves a vast and varied range of clients in the TV, film, game development and Web content industries, including Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Midway Games, Acclaim, Mainframe Entertainment, Capcom and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. NXN Software (www.nxn-software.com), with offices in Los Angeles, Paris, London, Munich and Tokyo, is the leading supplier of asset management systems for the digital entertainment and computer graphics industries. NXN products provide designers, programmers, and project managers with a powerful framework to manage all assets throughout the development process. Companies using NXN Software include many of the world's most renowned entertainment studios, such as Sony, Electronic Arts, LucasArts and Atari. 32. DIGITAL ELEMENT AND DIGIMATION TEAM UP ON MODELSHOP. Digital Element, an Oakland-based software developer and publishing firm specializing in art tools, and Digimation Inc., a leading provider of 3D models, announced the release of the Modelshop plug-in for Photoshop, which includes 50 3D models from Digimation's Model Bank Collection. Modelshop allows users to rotate, scale and place 3D models from such popular formats as .obj, .3ds, .lwo and .dxf in a traditional Photoshop picture. Users may choose lighting effects and add shadows for realistic placement in the scene. Modelshop is easy to use and powerful, providing users with a high-quality, low-time requirement method of adding new content to pictures. Modelshop ships for $229 download / $249 boxed and includes the four major themes of: Civil Engineering, Vehicles, Architecture and Landscaping. Several other themes include furniture, computer peripherals and anatomy Digimation and Digital Element plan to release successive theme disks with additional models taken from Digimation's vast supply of 3D models. Individual models are available for purchase from Digimation's Website (www.digimation.com). Additionally, Digimation is extending a special discount to Modelshop owners. The offer, which will come included with the Modelshop package, will provide Modelshop users with access to thousands of 3D models at discounted prices. "Modelshop is an application that we are particularly excited about" said Digimation president David Avgikos. "Modelshop introduces the 2D community to the benefits of 3D and opens up a new and potentially large base of users to our world-class collection of 3D models." Modelshop works with Mac and PC, Photoshop 6 and 7. A free upgrade for Photoshop CS will be available in early December. More information about Modelshop can be found at Digital Element's Web site: www.digi-element.com. Founded in 1999 in Oakland, California, Digital Element is a software engineering firm specializing in 3D programming. In addition to its Technology-on-Demand program, which provides 3D programming services to a diverse array of organizations, Digital Element develops and distributes software products and services to film and television animators, video game designers, Web developers, architects and landscape designers. Digimation is the exclusive distributor of Viewpoint Premier 3D models. Founded in 1992, Digimation is known for such plug-in technology as Bones Pro, Shag:Hair and Illustrate!. Digimation's Premier model archive contains more than 30,000 individual 3D models, which can be delivered in every major 3D file format. 33. NEVERCENTER RELEASES SILO 1.16. Nevercenter Ltd. Co. has released its new modeler Silo, version 1.16, which now includes support for linking to RenderMan-compliant renderers and POV-ray for direct rendering from Silo. Options include the ability to add header and footer files to the render file, and the ability to optionally include or exclude light, camera and material information. In addition, version 1.16's improvements include a more advanced universal manipulator and manipulator options, as well as some tool enhancements and workflow improvements. Additional 1.16 updates include: * Integrated rendering for Renderman-compliant renderers and Povray, expandable to others * rib and .pov export formats added * Custom lighting (point, spot, and infinite lights) * New universal manipulator allows for all possible transforms in one manipulator * Flatten command options added * Alternate auto-orient manipulator modes added (such as orient to object axis, to world, to normal, etc. on each new selection) The latest version of Silo is available for download at the Nevercenter Website, www.nevercenter.com. Previous Silo users get the upgrade for free. New customers can try the free 40-use demo included with the full version, and buy the full version for $109. 34. AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS TO INTRODUCE LATEST IO PRODUCTS AT GV EXPO. AJA Video Systems will introduce Io LD and Io LA to the U.S. at GV Expo in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 3, 2003 The two newest members of AJA's Io family, Io LD and Io LA support the highest quality 10-bit uncompressed video available - on both the digital and analog inputs and outputs. These smaller and lower cost relatives of Io are application specific: Io LD is designed to work with SDI digital systems, and Io LA is for analog component or composite systems. AJA will be located in Apple's booth # 412 at GV Expo. Io LD and Io LA will begin shipping in January 2004. Suggested retail price is $1,190. Io LD and Io LA made their first worldwide appearance at InterBEE in Japan last month. First with Kona and now with Io, editors have embraced the post-production products from AJA that have brought new levels of performance, stability and quality to editing and finishing with Final Cut Pro. "Once again, AJA is providing new choices for the professional post-production industry at amazing price/performance ratios without compromising quality," said AJA president John Abt. Post-production systems ranging from basic to sophisticated, whether on the set, in post facilities or on location, will benefit from the tremendous ease of installation and use of Io LD and Io LA. Both Io LD and Io LA work with Final Cut Pro 4 and connect to the Apple Power Mac with a single 400mb FireWire cable. Like Io, Io LD and LA have multi-channel 24-bit audio, RS-422 machine control and Genlock. Because of their small size, Io LD and Io LA can be used in either a desktop configuration or be mounted in an optional 1 RU mounting bracket, also available from AJA. Specifications Io LD * 10-bit SDI video with 8 ch 24 bit embedded audio I/O * 10-bit component/composite analog video output * 2 channel balanced analog audio output * 2 channel S/PDIF digital audio output * Genlock with looping BNC connections * BNC/XLR analog out breakout cable Io LA * 10-bit component and composite analog video I/O * 4 channel balanced analog audio I/O * Simultaneous output of component/composite and S Video * Frame Synchronizer architecture * Genlock with looping BNC connections * 8 XLR analog audio breakout cable Since 1993, AJA Video Systems Inc. (www.aja.com) has been a leading manufacturer of professional digital video solutions for the professional broadcast and post-production markets. AJA offers SDI and HD-SDI QuickTime PCI capture cards, miniature stand-alone converters, and a complete line of rack mount interface and conversion cards and frames. With headquarters located in Grass Valley, California, AJA Video designs and manufactures all of its products in the U.S. Awards 35. BAFTA AWARDS GO TO BUILDERS, WHALES & AARDVARKS. The winners for the 2003 British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards in association with the LEGO Co. were announced on Nov. 30, 2003. THE BOB THE BUILDER SPECIAL: A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER took home the prize for Best Animation. The special was produced by HOT Animation, HIT Entertainment and the BBC and features music by Sir Elton John. Jackie Cockle, producer of BOB THE BUILDER for HIT Ent. and MD of HOT Animation said, "We're absolutely chuffed to bits with this award for Best Animation. A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER was our first feature-length special of BOB THE BUILDER and needless to say we're over the moon that the team's talent and hard work has been recognized with a Children's BAFTA." In a surprising win, WHALE RIDER beat out HARRY POTTER & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS and THE WILD THORNBERRYS for Best Feature Film. ARTHUR, from WGBH and animated by CINAR, can add another award to its résumé, taking home the Best International Production prize. The Pre-School Animation Award went to HILLTOP HOSPITAL, a co-production between Pascal Le Notre, Robin Lyons Siriol Prods. and CiTV. STAR TICKET ACTIVE, an interactive TV program, garnered the Interactive prize. This year's awards returned to the London Hilton and were hosted by comedienne and TV host Fearne Cotton. The British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards were created in 1996 with the ambition to raise the profile of the children's industry. For more information, visit www.bafta.org. 36. AEAF AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED. Finalists in the nine of 12 categories of competition for the Australian Effects and Animation Festival (AEAF) Awards have been announced. Winners in each category will be announced at the AEAF Awards presentation, Dec. 9, 2003 at 7:00 pm. AEAF will be held at the Sydney Convention Center, Darling Harbor from December 7-10. All finalists entries will be screened during the Awards ceremony in an evening of animation and vfx entertainment Tickets for the AEAF Awards night cost $75 + guest and can be purchased from the AEAF by phoning 02 9319 4277. Festival Passes can also be purchased for $495 + guest (which includes entry to the AEAF Awards) and single Day Passes for $264 + guest. The finalists in each category are: COMMERCIALS: Animation VISA MONSTER CHASE: Animal Logic FEDEX: Fire Horse Studio MOUNTAIN DEW SLING SHOT: Postmodern Sydney COKE - BUS: The Moving Picture Co. M & M'S WATCHING YOU NO. 1: Unreal Pictures TOOHEYS PARTY TONGUE: The Mill SPRITE KEBAB: Glassworks DOWN UNDER MELBOURNE AQUARIUM: Act3Animation SCION TRANSFORMER: Ambience BLUE HAVEN POOLS, THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT: Candy Animation AUD BULL: Framestore CFC AUDI DRINK LIKE A FISH: Framestore CFC TWISTIES BLUEBIRD: Iloura BATTERY WORLD WEDDING: Cutting Edge Post V GNOMES: Oktober OLD EL PASO WRESTLING: Oktober TIME CEL MAGIC CARPET: Moon FX SDN. BHD. WATTYL PASCOL: Complete Post PADDLE POP ANCIENT TREASURES: Filmgraphics COMMERCIALS: Visual Effects ROYAL MAIL REVEAL: The Moving Picture Co. SKY TV EVERYDAY CHOICES: The Moving Picture Co. HEWLETT PACKARD BANG & OLUFSEN: Passion Pictures INVESTEC - PRIVATE BANK: The Refinery VISA UNEXPLAINED: Fuel International CARLTON COLD COLD PIPE: Postmodern Sydney QANTAS RECHARGE: Postmodern Sydney INDY CAR: Beeps BLUE HAVEN SPAS, NEVER PAY RETAIL: Eye Candy Animation WRIGLEYS EXCITE DOG BREATH: Framestore CFC JOHNNIE WALKER FISH: Framestore CFC HOLDEN MONARO: Cutting Edge Post CARE NZ NO BRAINER: Oktober BANK MANDIRI SUPERHIGHWAY: Moon FX SDN. BHD. PETRONAS SYNTIUM HOTWHEELS: Moon FX SDN. BHD. CEAT TYRES THE SAVIOUR: Moon FX SDN. BHD. PMU THE BET: La Maison CITROEN PICASSO THE ZAPPING: La Maison GAZ DE FRANCE DOLCE VITA: La Maison DIVER: RGB Pictures WATTYL PASCOL: Complete Post EMPIRE LAGER JUMPING CASTLE: Digital Pictures Melbourne MUSIC VIDEO SPACE HOTEL: Sparx* FUR PATROL FADE AWAY: Fuel International CRIMSON LABYRINTH: Ambience Madonna, DIE ANOTHER DAY: The Moving Picture Co. Radiohead, GO TO SLEEP: The Mill Bjork, NATURE IS ANCIENT: Glassworks Pacifire, EVERYTHING: Oktober Rogue Traders vs. INXS, YOU'RE ONE OF A KIND: Rising Sun Pictures TITLES IDENTS & STINGS Channel V, SIX DEGREES OF VIDEO: Animal Logic Dance Music Awards: Kapow Pictures E4 Idents: The Moving Picture Co. Channel 9 Launch: Beeps PLATYPUS Promo: ABC TV DR. WHO #2: ABC TV ARIA Awards: Visual Playground Melbourne Cup Carnival: Channel 7 BRISBANE LORD MAYOR'SCHRISTMAS CAROLS: BTQ Channel 7 Hunter Pirates Promo: Ten Newcastle NAPOLEON: Hybride DIE ANOTHER DAY: Framestore INSIDE STORY: Digital Pictures Iloura GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE 2: Cutting Edge Post UNDER THE RADAR: Cutting Edge Post Channel 9 Master Identity: Moon FX SDN BHD LOVELY RITA: La Maison BBC 2 Big Read: BBC Post EDUCATION & TRAINING LIFE IN THE KAIKOURA CANYON: Animation Research (NZ) SECRET WEAPONS: BBC Post CREATURE FEATURES: ABC TV COLLEX WOODLAWN BIOREACTOR CPDM RECOVERY ASSIST SECURING TRANSVERSING: Royal Aus. Navy A COSMIC VOYAGE: John Rowe Animation SHORT FILM POLAR BEARS: GARY'S FALL: Passion Pictures HELLO: Jonathan Nix ICE AGE: DVD GONE NUTTY: Blue Sky Studios ANIMATRIX: FINAL FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS: Postmodern Sydney PLUMBER: Red Rover Studios EARLY BLOOMER: Sony Pictures Imageworks THE PAINTER: 422 South ANANDA: Vinton Studios THE FIRM: Dean White HOCHBETRIEB (NUTS & BOLTS): Institute of Animation PLAY WITHOUT WORDS: Cactus Ink Animation Studios ETERNAL GAZE: Sam Chen DOWN TO ERF: Grahame Wilson PRESS ANY BUTTON: AFTRS TERATOMA: AFTRS A SAD STORY: Sang Hee Park STUDENT BANANARAMA: Silicon Graphics Center CONSTANCE & TED: VCA BLUE BIRD: Martin Klint MAURICE: David Cochrane THE LIFE & TIMES OF COVINGTON CHICHESTER: Ryan Nankervis, AIE FART OPERA: Tanya Vale, AFTRS BRAIN DRAIN: Tanya Vale, AFTRS PAN: Warwick Mellow CAPTAIN WEBB: THE ART OF SWIMMING: Robert Milne, Royal College of Art Animation, Ernest Emu, Mitzi Drysdale LOOSE SCREWS: Joseph Kim SPICE OF LIFE: Silicon Graphics Center THE WAY: Qing Huang DESTRUCTION: ANU ACAT LEMMINGS: Brigham Young University NOKIA G7: University of Technology Sydney STARSHIP CLEANING SERVICES: Filmakadamie Baden GAMES JIMMY NEUTRON: Animal Logic WARCRAFT3: REIGN OF CHAOS: Blizzard Entertainment ROADKILL MONTAGE: ACT 3 Animation BRIDGE IT: Auran TV SERIES EXTREME MARTIAL ARTS: THE HIDDEN WORLD OF MARTIAL ARTS: Animal Logic POLAR BEARS: GARY'S FALL: Passion Pictures BBC SCIENCE HUMAN SENSES: Beeps WILD WEATHER: The Moving Picture Co. NAPOLEON: Hybride DINOTOPIA: Framestore CFC WALKING WITH SEA MONSTERS: Framestore CFC THE SHAPIES WET WORLD: Light Knight Prods. PIRATE ISLANDS: Jonathan M Shiff Prods. WICKED SCIENCE: Jonathan M Shiff Prods. 37. SPIKE TV GAMES AWARDS PREMIERES DEC. 4. Spike TV has named the 16 finalists in wide-ranging awards categories for the network's first annual "Video Game Awards" (VGAs), hosted by actor/comedian David Spade from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, airing 9-11:00 pm on Dec. 4, 2003. The all-men's channel promises to deliver a non-traditional awards show without podiums, presenters and acceptance speeches. The show will unfold in a futuristic setting that's part "next-century Tokyo" and part "Minority Report" that will seamlessly blend real and animated worlds into a dynamic awards show presentation All viewers and videogame fans are encouraged to visit Spike TV's Website at www.spiketv.com and cast their votes for their favorite videogames including "viewer's choice" categories. All nominees and winners of Spike TV's "VGAs" are tallied from gaming industry experts, public opinion via Spike TV's Website and Spike TV's editorial board. Game of the Year * GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICECITY (Rockstar Games) * MADDEN NFL 2004 (EA Sports) * TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL (Ubi Soft) Best Sports Game * MADDEN NFL 2004 (EA Sports) * NBA STREET VOL.2 (EA Big) * TONY HAWK'S UNDERGROUND (Activision) Best Action Game * FREEDOM FIGHTERS (EA Games) * MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE (Rockstar Games) * TRUE CRIME: STREETS OF LA (Activision) Best Animation * DEAD OR ALIVE XTREMEBEACHVOLLEYBALL (Tecmo) * GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICECITY (Rockstar Games) * WARCRAFT III: THE FROZEN THRONE (Blizzard Entertainment) Best Game Based on Movie * ENTER THE MATRIX (Atari) * THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (EA Games) * STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLDREPUBLIC (LucasArts) Best Driving Game * F-ZERO GX (Nintendo) * NASCAR THUNDER 2004 (EA Sports) * THE SIMPSON'S: HIT & RUN (VU Games) Best Music * DEF JAM VENDETTA (EA Big) * GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICECITY (Rockstar Games) * MADDEN NFL 2004 (EA Sports) Best Performance By A Human * Def Jam Crew - DMX / Ludacris / Method Man / Red Man (DEF JAM VENDETTA; EA Big) * Jenna Jameson (GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICECITY; Rockstar Games) * Ray Liotta (GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICECITY; Rockstar Games) * Snoop Dogg (TRUE CRIME: STREETS OF LA; Activision) * David Duchovny (XIII; Ubi Soft) Most Anticipated * DOOM 3 (Activision) * DRIVER 3 (Atari) * FABLE (Microsoft) * FULL SPECTRUM WARRIOR (THQ) * GRAN TURISMO 4 (SCEA) * HALF-LIFE 2 (VU Games) * HALO 2 (Microsoft) * METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER (Konami) * THE SIMS 2 (EA Games) * TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL: PANDORA TOMORROW (Ubi Soft) Most Addictive * PLANETSIDE (Sony Online Entertainment) * SOUL CALIBUR II (Namco) * THE SIMS: SUPERSTAR (EA Games) Best PC Game * HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED (Microsoft) * MAX PAYNE 2: THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE (Rockstar Games) * WARCRAFT III: THE FROZEN THRONE (Blizzard Entertainment) Best Online Game * BATTLEFIELD 1942: THE ROAD TO ROME(EA Games) * FINAL FANTASY XI (Square Enix) * STAR WARS GALAXIES (Lucas Arts) Best Handheld Game * ADVANCE WARS 2: BLACK HOLE RISING (Nintendo) * FINAL FANTASY XI (Nintendo/ Square Enix) * TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL (Ubi Soft) Best Fighting Game * DEF JAM VENDETTA (EA Big) * SOUL CALIBUR II (Namco) * WWE SMACKDOWN!: HERE COMES THE PAIN (THQ) Best First Person Action * CALL OF DUTY (Activision) * HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED (Microsoft) * RAINBOW SIX 3: RAVEN SHIELD (Ubi Soft) Best Fantasy Game * FINAL FANTASY XI (Square Enix) * STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLDREPUBLIC(Lucas Arts) * THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER (Nintendo) Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 87 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, a package of 13 digital services, which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide. Call for Entries 38. WIN SOFTWARE IN REALTEXTURE XMAS CONTEST RealTexture Xmas Contest World Wide Web December 1 - December 24, 2003 Deadline: December 24, 2003 RealTexture will be offering an Xmas contest where participants can win a coupon for realtexture products, the "Weihnachtsmannspiel Deluxe" t-shirt and the brand new "Weihnachtsmannspiel Deluxe" game. Participants must create cool and impressive Christmas related stuff. At the beginning of the contest, RealTexture will offer a small package with a selection of our products for download. The three finest pieces done with this material will be awarded prizes listed. Industry Graphics develops the RealTexture's line of texture products for the 3D graphics and visual effects industry. For more information, visit http://www.realtexture.com/contest.html. 39. CREATE A UFO SIGHTING FOR VFX007 VFX007 - UFO World Wide Web December 1 - 31, 2003 Deadline: December 31, 2003 VFXTalk.com & eyeon Software Inc. have announced VFX007 - UFO, which allows entrants the chance to win eyeon's Digital Fusion 4 compositing application. This challenge is the seventh in a 12-month competition. Contest prizes include a $100 Gift Voucher at Hotline Bookstore, Sydney Australia and a six-month subscription to DIGITAL MEDIA WORLD MAGAZINE. This month's challenge has participants creating a UFO sighting during a rainy/misty/cloudy day, or at night.. Submissions will be accepted from Decemeber 1 - August 31, 2003 with the winner announced January 7, 2003. Full VFXChallenge details can be found at www.vfxtalk.com/challenge.php. Events 40. PIPELINE 2003 SHOWS CG STRENGTH IN U.K. The Pipeline 2003, held by Techimage at the ICA in London on Nov. 20, attracted more than 700 digital artists and animators. Katy Edwards, human resources, Framestore CFC commented: "The Pipeline event was well organized and attended, and Framestore CFC were very glad to be involved. It was particularly exciting to see so many motivated and enthusiastic students at the event, who will no doubt be adding to the existing talent within the U.K. in the next few years." Prof. John A Vince, head of Computer Animation Academic Group, NCCA at Bournemouth University added: "For us The Pipeline was a great success. A large number of attendees visited the NCCA stand to discuss their training requirements. There was a great deal of interest in our Masters courses and we had lots of enquiries for our newly announced Houdini and RenderMan short courses. We look forward to attending this event next year." Adam Foat, marketing manager, Nvidia continued: "Nvidia has close ties with the CG industry as you would expect from a leading graphics card manufacturer. The event itself was packed with high quality delegates as there was so much for them to see on the day, it was like taking all the good parts of a large exhibition and putting them in one place!" Seamus Morley, director, Techimage added: "The great level of interest and attendance at The Pipeline shows that the growing demand for high quality CG, delivered in large quantity, on budget continues. The commitment of the attendees...shows that the U.K. has a growing committed CG workforce looking to develop and grow their skills to meet the new challenges." The Pipeline 2003 was designed to inspire, enthuse and educate at all skill levels from experienced animators to students looking to advance their skill set. It comprised presentations from Greg Butler, CG supervisor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy; Darin Grant, manager technical directors at Digital Domain; and Mark Walsh, directing animator on FINDING NEMO. In addition there were technical presentations from Jeff Warner of Side Effects on Houdini, Dylan Sisson from Pixar on RenderMan, Steve Tyson of NXN on Alienbrain and Grahame Andrew of Lola on Science D Visions 3D Equalizer. Techimage Ltd. (www.techimage.co.uk), formed in 1995, is the U.K. reseller for advanced 3D graphics software such as Houdini, RenderMan and 3D Equalizer. 41. THE FINAL WESTERN SHOW 2003 COMES TO ANAHEIM. The Western Show 2003 Anaheim, California, USA December 2 - 5, 2003 The Western Show is dedicated to the technological advancements that will drive bottom lines for the cable, Internet, telephone, computer, satellite, broadcast, motion picture or new media industries. This, the 36th edition of the event, will be the last. The National Show has grown so much that the National Cable & Telecommunications Association decided there was only need for one show. The Western Show is allows people to network in timely educational seminars, interactive roundtables and CableNET '03, a gathering of demonstrations by companies from various industries as part of a educational exhibit. The 2003 program will cover the latest developments in these areas: digital cable services, high-speed Internet, video-on demand, HDTV, digital rights, security, retail CPE and POD, sports programming -- "to tier or not to tier," home networking, WiFi, IP telephony and cable telephony. For more information, visit http://www.thewesternshow.com/. 42. MEET OTHER ANIMATORS OVER DRINKS AT THE ANIMATORS' PUB. Animators' Pub Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 3, 2003 Squeeze Productions and The Toronto Animated Image Society present the Animators' Pub. The event offers an opportunity to meet friends and colleagues in the animation scene for conversation and some drinks. All animators are welcome and admission is free. The gathering will take place the The Bishop and the Belcher Pub, Queen Vic Room, basement, 361 Queen Street West, Toronto from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. For more information, e-mail: Tais@bellnet.ca or visit http://www.awn.com/tais. 43. FILMS BY NORMAN MCLAREN SCREENING IN SAN FRAN! Adventures in Animation: Nine Films by Norman McLaren San Francisco, California, USA December 5, 2003 The San Francisco Media Archive will be holding "Adventures in Animation: Nine Films by Norman McLaren." The program will feature selections from throughout McLaren's career at the NFBC, including: BEGONE DULL CARE, an abstract interpretation of jazz sounds by the Oscar Peterson Trio painted and scratched directly onto film; A CHAIRY TALE, with music by Ravi Shankar, a pixilated film in which a man tries to sit, but the chair declines to be sat upon; and PAS DE DEUX, an elegant, optically printed study of dance movement. Preceding the show will be a talk with author, archivist and teacher Karl Cohen. The San Francisco Media Archive is located at 275 Capp Street. The screening will begin at 8:30 pm and it is free and open to the public. For more information, call (415) 558-8117 or e-mail: archive@sfm.org. 44. DON'T MISS THE WIA CHRISTMAS PARTY. WIA Christmas Party North Hollywood, California, USA December 9, 2003 Women in Animation is hosting an evening of Santa-Ria at WIA/LA's annual Christmas Party. The event offers a chance for schmoozing, networking and general catching-up, accompanied by an array of finger foods. A no-host bar will be available for libations and wassails. The event will take place at the Barsac Brasserie, 4212 Lankershim Blvd, beginning at 6:30 pm. Attendees must RSVP by December 5 by calling (310) 535-3838. 45. NEXT GENERATION INTERNET SUMMIT GOES TO DC. Next Generation Internet/ US IPv6 Summit Arlington, Virginia, USA December 9 - 11, 2003 The U.S. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Summit in Washington, D.C. from December 9-11 will describe the business potential of the new Internet, described by Forrester Research as in the trillions of dollars. The new Internet protocol makes possible the "Extended Internet," with better multimedia transmission, video streaming, wireless gaming, etc. One of the participants is DARPA, the same people that created the first Internet. Billions of new gadgets with Internet addresses will be enabled by the new Internet, many of them (like the new Sony PlayStation, which is new Internet-enabled) with graphics and animation. For information and online enrollment, go to www.usipv6.com. 46. CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH TAIS. TAIS Holiday Party Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 11, 2003 The Toronto Animated Image Society will be hosting its annual Holiday Party. Everyone is invited to come and celebrate the season. Organizers are asking everyone to bring food and drink to share. TAIS Animators' Co-op is located at 37 Hanna Avenue, Suite 231, Toronto. Enter the building by door 5A, south side of building and walk up to the second floor. The party will run from 6:00 to 9:30 pm and admission is free. For more information, e-mail: Tais@bellnet.ca or visit http://www.awn.com/tais. 47. HIGH TALES SHOWCASES YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORK High Tales Nenthead, U.K. December 12, 2003 The Nenthead School in collaboration with filmmaker David Brunskill will be presenting "High Tales," a collection of animated films from the students of the school. The 30 minutes presentation will screen the work of the youngsters, followed by a light buffet. The program starts at 7:00 pm and is free to the public. For more information, call +01434 381 400, e-mail: event@hightales.co.uk or visit http://www.hightales.co.uk. 48. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION. Search AWN's expansive Calendar of Events section for a list of animation and visual effects events spanning into the year 2004. Find out about all the places where you can see the hottest toons or showcase your own work at http://events.awn.com. Upcoming Films 49. UPCOMING THEATRICAL RELEASES. Want to know what's hitting your local movie house this weekend, or what your favorite director is working on? Then go online to http://releases.awn.com and check out AWN's new Upcoming Theatrical Releases' database to find out the release dates for the forthcoming feature animated and special effects flicks! __________________________________ Animation news written and compiled by AWN.com editor Sarah Baisley. Visual effects news written and compiled by VFXWorld.com editor Bill Desowitz. Additional news written by managing editor Rick DeMott. Publishers: Dan Sarto and Ron Diamond. __________________________________ Copyright 2003 AWN, Inc. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written consent of Animation World Network. |