A N I M A T I O N F L A S H
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 Volume 08, Issue 38
________________________________________________________________________
The Animation Flash E-mail Newsletter
an Animation World Network publication
****Industry News Headlines****
NATPE News
In response to reader demand, AWN has made it easier for you to get all
your important NATPE news in one concise place. AWN is publishing three
special NATPE newsletters, in Acrobat format, that will be e-mailed to all
subscribers of the Animation Flash and AWN Spotlight. Check out the special
edition for all the happenings at NATPE.
Send all NATPE news information to editor@awn.com. And if you're interested
in advertising in this special series of graphics-enhanced PDF newsletters,
e-mail sales@awn.com.
Business
1. IDT EXPANDS INTO CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING.
2. ALLIANCE ATLANTIS CUTTING PRODUCTION JOBS IN CANADA.
3. 3DS MAX EXPERIENCES MAJOR MARKET EXPANSION IN 2003.
4. ROCKER ZOMBIE & CARTOONIST NILES FORM CREEP ENT.
5. DURFEE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES ARC GRANT DEADLINES.
People
6. UNI'S PARENT & STUBER EXPAND ROLES TO OVERSEE ANIMATION PRODUCTION.
7. DC COMICS HIRES NOVECK TO EXPLOIT SUPERHEROES.
8. LYNTON, PASCAL TO LEAD SPE INTO DIGITAL FUTURE.
9. ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS PROMOTES THREE.
10. SPTI UPS TWO EXECS FOR ASIA AND SALES.
11. JEFF ROSS ON BOARD AT EDEN FX.
12. MULLICAN HEAD TECHIE AT IO FILM.
13. MALTZ TO HEAD ACADEMY'S NEW SCIENCE AND TECH COUNCIL.
Film
14. CHICKEN LITTLE SEES (VOICE) STARS FALLING FROM THE SKY.
15. XYZ RGB CONTRIBUTES TO RETURN OF THE KING'S VFX ACHIEVEMENTS.
16. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE CUTS DOWN LAST SAMURAI.
Television
17. COSBY & GRAMMER GET ANIMATED FOR NICK AT NIGHT/TV LAND ORIGINALS.
18. ASTRO BOY AND NEW KIDS' WB! SCHEDULES LAUNCH IN JANUARY 2004.
19. KIDS' WB! ORDERS SECOND SEASON OF MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR.
20. CANAL+ & ABC FAMILY TO AIR CHRISTMAS ORANGE SPECIAL.
21. NICKELODEON TO DELIVER 'NICKMAS' HOLIDAY SPECIALS.
22. CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS SUPERHERO CHRISTMAS.
23. BOOMERANG GOES BOOMEROCK FOR CHRISTMAS.
24. HBO GREENLIGHTS SECOND SEASON OF CARNIVALE.
25. CULT FAVE FARSCAPE GETS FOUR-HOUR MINISERIES.
26. GALACTICA DELIVERS FOR SCI FI CHANNEL.
Commercials
27. DIESELFX BRINGS WILDFIRE TO LIFE IN FOREST SERVICE PSAS.
Internet & Interactive
28. UBISOFT'S NEW PRINCE OF PERSIA GAME UTILIZES BENEFITS OF 3DS MAX.
29. ALADDIN RELEASES GAME ON! FAMILY PACK.
Home Video
30. SOUTH PARK OFFERS COMPLETE THIRD SEASON TURNING POINT ON DVD.
31. RUGRATS GO WILD ON DVD.
32. LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTS SHOWS OFF VFX ON DVD.
33. SEABISCUIT RIDES ONTO DVD.
Licensing
34. TOKYOPOP EXPANDS TO WAL-MART.
35. EIGOMANGA LAUNCHES ANIME CLOTHING LINE.
36. MR BEAN GETS PARTWORK LICENSING DEAL.
Education
37. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GET YOUR PORTFOLIO READY FOR COLLEGE!
Technology
38. SOFTIMAGE LAUNCHES NEW VERSION OF SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR.
39. BRAZIL RENDERING SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR 3DS MAX 6.
Awards
40. NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY ADDS TWO MORE TOONS.
41. NEMO, BELLEVILLE, RINGS TAKE HOME VARIOUS CRITICS PICKS.
42. GENE DEITCH TO RECEIVE WINSOR MCCAY AWARD AT ANNIES.
43. 6TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL NAMES FINALISTS.
Call for Entries
44. AMERICAN ACCOLADES LOOKS FOR SCRIPTS.
45. GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVAL DEADLINE NEARS.
46. ACTIVISTS UNITE AT ARTIVIST FILM FESTIVAL!
47. FIRST DEADLINE FOR LEO AWARDS APPROACHES.
48. LET THE ELITE SEE YOUR FILMS AT BEVERLY HILLS FILM FEST.
Events
49. DISNEY TELLS ANIMATORS IT AIN'T OVER YET!
50. SLAMDANCE ANNOUNCES 2004 LINE-UP.
51. ANNIE AWARD VOLUNTEERS MEETINGS ANNOUNCED.
52. AMERICAN ANIMATION INSTITUTE HOSTS STORYBOARD PORTFOLIO NIGHT.
53. SEE NEW TALENT AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA PORTFOLIO REVIEW.
54. LA FILM SCHOOL HOSTS FRIDAY NIGHT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL.
55. SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
56. HOW TO BREAK INTO THE GAME INDUSTRY COMES IN JANUARY.
57. UPCOMING EVENTS IN ANIMATION.
Upcoming Films
58. 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. IDT EXPANDS INTO CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING.
Delivering on its promise to expand in the arena of entertainment
distribution, IDT Ent. agreed on Dec. 11, 2003, with NorthStar
Entertainment Group Inc., a subsidiary of the Christian Broadcasting
Network, Inc. (CBN) to create a joint venture that will develop, produce
and distribute family friendly entertainment programming.
This came on the heels of IDT's acquisition of DVD, home video distributor,
Anchor Bay Ent. on Dec. 3 for $60 million, which became final on Dec. 11.
The pairing is strategic and unusual considering that IDT upper management
is primarily Jewish Orthodox while CBN is led by founder/ceo, Pat
Robertson, a Christian Coalition leader.
"Jim Courter, IDT's ceo and I feel this match is made in heaven," said
IDT's founder/chairman Howard Jonas. "It links two innovative
communications companies, IDT Entertainment and The Christian Broadcasting
Network. By connecting IDT Entertainment's proprietary animation technology
and original programming, with CBN's loyal audience, international reach
and the credibility of Pat Robertson, its visionary leader, this joint
venture creates a new distribution channel with the potential for reshaping
the entertainment landscape for positive family entertainment."
Robertson added, "I am a great fan of Howard Jonas. His business acumen is
astounding. Even greater is his personal integrity. I believe that the
joint venture between a division of IDT and a subsidiary of CBN will
provide exciting family entertainment products for a wide segment of the
American public, which I greatly applaud."
IDT and CBN will develop, produce, distribute and promote family friendly
programming and related products through direct marketing and retail. The
initial programming will include HIP HOP & HAMILTON, a 3D,
computer-generated animated series, created and produced by IDT Ent.
Intended for a pre-school audience, this edutainment series uses music and
original characters to entertain and engage children while it prepares and
encourages them to read.
The companies also intend co-develop and co-produce additional positive
family entertainment programming to fill what both companies called a void
for this type of programming in American culture. CBN will contribute
archived interviews from the 700 CLUB, as well as films, programs and
videos from its archives to the joint venture.
"This is a powerhouse deal that will do for family friendly entertainment
programming what Oprah did for books," said Morris Berger, ceo of IDT Ent.
"This agreement perfectly demonstrates what IDT Entertainment is all about,
partnering with top notch companies and using our considerable animation,
production and distribution capabilities to produce family entertainment
with a positive moral message."
IDT also just completed its purchase of a controlling interest in CGI
animation house, Mainframe Ent. in Vancouver. Earlier this year IDT
acquired Film Roman, a minority interest in Vanguard Animation, LLC and
formed Digital Production Solutions, its computer animation unit. These
transactions amounted to a $40 million investment.
Newart, New Jersey-based IDT Ent. is a subsidiary of IDT Corp. IDT Corp.,
through its IDT Telecom Inc. subsidiary, is a facilities-based,
multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications
services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide.
2. ALLIANCE ATLANTIS CUTTING PRODUCTION JOBS IN CANADA.
Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. announced Dec. 10, 2003
that it is essentially stopping TV and movie production with the departure
of entertainment group ceo Peter Sussman and Seaton McLean, the group's
president, production. The company will hone its activities down to
primarily specialty channel broadcasting and TV/film distribution.
While the results of the review will not be completed until the end of
2003, Alliance is scaling down the production division, cutting 60-70
positions its 150 entertainment staffers in the coming days and will close
some of its offices. Alliance (www.allianceatlantis.com) has offices in Los
Angeles, Edmonton and Shannon, Ireland but most of the jobs are expected to
be cut at the Toronto office.
The CSI franchise, (CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION and CSI: MIAMI) which
Alliance Atlantis co-owns and co-produces with CBS Prods. will not be
affected in any way.
The company is reviewing its entertainment group, "In response to what we
believe is a permanent downturn in domestic and international demand for
prime time television series, movies of the week and miniseries as well as
'art house' theatrical motion picture productions, all of which have
represented a sizable portion of our production activities in the past,"
said sevp/cfo Judson Martin.
The review is examining the future of certain television and motion picture
production and distribution activities. The review does not affect the
broadcast or motion picture distribution groups, or the movie distribution
income fund. Alliance will disclose the detailed financial impact of this
review in early in early 2004.
Chairman/ceo Michael MacMillan announced with regret that, "Given the long
history that we have shared in building this company, this was a very
difficult decision. I am pleased to say that both Peter and Seaton have
offered their unqualified support that this overall refocusing and
redirection of the Entertainment Group is the right thing to do and in line
with the company's strategy for the future. Peter and Seaton have each made
enormous contributions to the growth and development of Alliance Atlantis
for many years, and I am personally very grateful to both of them. I am
also pleased that they have each agreed to assist in ensuring an effective
transition in the short-term and providing consulting services as required
in the future."
MacMillan added, "This is the next logical step in our clearly articulated
strategy of reducing our financial and operational exposure to the
production business and focusing on the abundant growth opportunities in
the broadcast and motion picture distribution sectors."
3. 3DS MAX EXPERIENCES MAJOR MARKET EXPANSION IN 2003.
Discreet announced it has significantly increased its share in the 3D
animation tools market this year with expansion in core and emerging
markets. Having exceeded 200,000 license sales of its 3ds max software,
Discreet has forged ahead with 3ds max 6, the most recent release of its
acclaimed 3D modeling, animation and rendering software. Entertainment and
design firms have moved to or expanded their use of 3ds max as a central 3D
application for video and console game development, movie blockbusters and
design-visualization projects. Discreet 3ds max software has also made
aggressive strides in advanced simulation/ design visualization and the
emerging mobile games market.
In 2003, 3ds max 6 continued major expansion in the game development
market. Already used as a primary 3D application for 80% of the top-selling
game titles, 3ds max software was a core 3D application used by 2003's top
10 developers, including: Rockstar, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Konami, and
Microsoft for video, console and mobile games. Headlining games include
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY, PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, STAR WARS
KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC, DEUS EX II: INVISIBLE WAR, MAX PAYNE 2: THE
FALL OF MAX PAYNE and NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND, as well as
much-anticipated 2004 releases HALO 2, THE WARRIORS, FAR CRY, METAL GEAR
SOLID: THE TWIN SNAKES, SYBERIA 2.
3ds max software purchases also grew in the feature and broadcast visual
effects markets, as major studio and animation houses discovered and
utilized the strong new features in 3ds max 6, including Particle Flow and
improved complementary workflow with other 3D applications such as Kaydara,
Alias Maya and SOFTIMAGE|XSI.Visual effects created for movies with 3ds max
in 2003 include: THE LAST SAMURAI, ELF, THE MATRIX RELOADED, X2: X-MEN
UNITED, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, FREDDY VS, JASON, THE
ITALIAN JOB, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, THE CORE and FINAL DESTINATION II.
"For Digital Dimension, 3ds max 6 was the only tool for the film effects
woven throughout THE LAST SAMURAI and ELF", said Ben Girard, founder and
president of Digital Dimension in Burbank, California. "From the
computer-generated swords in THE LAST SAMURAI to snowballs in ELF, the
audience is captivated by the story without any hint of the additional
3D-woven invisibly with the live- action footage..."
According to Discreet, new design visualization tools and workflow with
Autodesk's design products generated a surge of interest and purchases of
3ds max 6 with architects, industrial and mechanical designers and
professionals in the government, medical and educational sectors. Some of
the most groundbreaking global design-visualization work, spanning
buildings, snowboards, planes and golf courses, were completed with 3ds max
software, including the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston), The Great
Court at the British Museum (London), Burton Snow Boards, Bombardier Jets,
Culture Music Center (Copenhagen) and Cartier Headquarters (Geneva).
Other milestones for 3ds max 6 in 2003 include massive adoption in the
education community, from high schools to leading universities and design
colleges worldwide. In 2003, 400 new educational institutions adopted 3ds
max, including The Art Institutes, which purchased 4000 licenses, and the
Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West School of Architecture.
Discreet (www.discreet.com) is based in Montreal, Quebec, and is a division
of Autodesk Inc., a leading design and digital media creation, management
and distribution company. Discreet's 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.
4. ROCKER ZOMBIE & CARTOONIST NILES FORM CREEP ENT.
Metal rocker-turned-film director Rob Zombie and author-cartoonist Steve
Niles have formed a new production company, Creep Entertainment Intl,
reported VARIETY. The firm already has lined-up three comicbook inspired
projects -- THE NAIL with Dark Horse Comics, BIGFOOT with IDW Comics and
LORDS OF SALEM. Zombie and Niles have co-written the scripts for all three
films.
After directing various music videos, Zombie made his feature debut on the
horror film HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES. Lion's Gate, which released the
original, has commissioned Zombie to do a sequel. His first foray into
comics was with his one-off title, SPOOKSHOW INTERNATIONAL, which debuted
in October 2003.
Niles has had several of his comics optioned by studios, including WAKE THE
DEAD and HYDE by Dimension Films; the vampire tale 30 DAYS OF NIGHT by
Columbia Pictures; and his Cal MacDonald titles by MGM.
5. DURFEE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES ARC GRANT DEADLINES.
The Durfee Foundation has announced the deadlines for the 2004 ARC grant
program. ARC grants are awarded on a quarterly basis to approximately 10
Los Angeles artists. The artists can be working with any medium. Grant
requests may be for up to $2,500. Applications must be postmarked on or
before the following deadlines:
First Quarter: February 3, 2004
For presentations between March 4 and August 4, 2004
Second Quarter: May 4, 2004
For presentations between June 3 and November 3, 2004
Third Quarter: August 3, 2004
For presentations between September 2, 2004 and February 2, 2005
Fourth Quarter: November 3, 2004
For presentations between December 3, 2004 and May 3, 2005
The purpose of the grant is to fund enhancement expenses for work that has
a secured commitment to be exhibited by an outside organization (i.e. not a
self-produced show), and funds may be used to cover such expenses as the
purchase of material, rental of equipment or rehearsal space, travel,
shipping, or fees for collaborating artists -- anything that would expand
or enhance the proposed work. Exhibitions may be anywhere in the world. The
selection panel does not judge the work itself, but primarily considers 1)
the impact of the exhibition on the artist's career and 2) the impact of
the funds on the presentation of the work. For more information, visit
www.durfee.org.
People
6. UNI'S PARENT & STUBER EXPAND ROLES TO OVERSEE ANIMATION PRODUCTION.
While NBC awaits final approval of its bid to buy Universal, the studio has
promoted Mary Parent and Scott Stuber from production president to vice
chairman, worldwide production, for Universal Pictures. In their
newly-created positions Parent and Stuber will continue to oversee the
worldwide acquisition, creative development and production of all Universal
Pictures feature films, and will also oversee Universal's original
made-for-video productions as well as the creative development and
production of its original animation properties.
Universal Home Entertainment Prods., led by president Louis Feola,
distributes the lucrative LAND BEFORE TIME animated franchise produced by
Universal Cartoon Studios (THE LAND BEFORE TIME: THE GREAT LONGNECK
MIGRATION, the 10th in the franchise, is the latest release).
Parent and Stuber, whose new deal with Universal extends through 2006, will
continue to report to Stacey Snider, chairman Universal Pictures. "In the
past six years, we've seen a real turnaround in our business, and Mary and
Scott have been instrumental in developing the strategies and delivering
the films that have brought us consistency and success," said
Snider. "Mary and Scott have great taste, deep talent relationships and
the skills to plan our films and our slate with fiscal and strategic
vision. Their unique partnership, with its blend of sharp creative
instincts and rigorous financial responsibility, have made Universal a
destination for filmmakers."
The elevation of Parent and Stuber comes just as Universal Pictures has
crossed the one billion domestic box office mark for 2003, and is set to
become the first studio in history to have six films each grossing more
than $100 million in one year (BRUCE ALMIGHTY, 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, THE HULK,
SEABISCUIT, AMERICAN WEDDING, and the still-in-release DR. SEUSS' THE CAT
IN THE HAT). Both Parent and Stuber joined Universal as svps, production in
August 1997, and rose through the ranks of the studio, with each named
president, production in February 2001.
Over the past six years, Parent and Stuber have supervised the development
and production of such films as: DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS;
SEABISCUIT; GLADIATOR; THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS; 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS; BRUCE
ALMIGHTY; THE HULK; DR. SEUSS' THE CAT IN THE HAT; A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Currently, Parent and Stuber are overseeing Universal's upcoming motion
picture slate, including: VAN HELSING, written and directed by Stephen
Sommers; THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, starring Vin Diesel and Dame Judi
Dench; and KING KONG, to be directed by THE LORD OF THE RINGS' Peter
Jackson.
7. DC COMICS HIRES NOVECK TO EXPLOIT SUPERHEROES.
DC Comics has named Gregory Noveck to the newly formed post of svp,
creative affairs. He will oversee the exploitation of the DC characters in
feature films and television at Warner Bros. and New Line as well as
developing outside creative alliances. The bi-coastal exec will report to
DC publisher and president Paul Levitz.
While at Silver Pictures, Noveck developed and exec produced NBC's upcoming
series NEXT ACTION STAR. Prior to that post, he served as svp creative
affairs/producer at Platinum Studios, where he served in the same capacity,
as he will at DC. There, he co-produced Platinum Comic' Showtime series,
JEREMIAH.
DC Comics is one of the largest publishers of comics in the world. The
company is a subsidiary of Time Warner. For more information, visit
www.dccomics.com.
8. LYNTON, PASCAL TO LEAD SPE INTO DIGITAL FUTURE.
Michael Lynton was named chairman/ceo of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE),
filling the coveted position vacated by the retiring John Calley. In
addition, vice chairman Amy Pascal was promoted to chairman of the Motion
Picture Group at SPE in a further integration of global businesses and
digital media, according to Howard Stringer, chairman/ceo of Sony Corp. of
America and vice chairman of Sony Corp. Lynton, who had been president,
Time Warner International; president, AOL International, and ceo, AOL
Europe, since 2000, will be headquartered in Culver City, California. They
begin their new positions effective January 2004
"The combination of Michael Lynton, with his diverse global business and
creative experience, and Amy Pascal, with her command of the motion picture
process, brings together a formidable partnership at exactly the right
time," said Stringer. "We have just enjoyed two record-breaking years at
SPE, and anticipate a brilliant 2004 with SPIDERMAN 2, BEWITCHED and a
great slate of films. The studio is now in terrific shape, and we have a
solid platform on which to build our digital future.
"Sony has been moving aggressively to achieve a true convergence of all of
our businesses around the world. This is a critical juncture in the
evolution of the digital world, and it is the right time for Sony and SPE
to accelerate our strategy to be a fully integrated media, entertainment
and technology company, merging our creative capabilities with the abundant
digital technologies only Sony can offer."
Lynton and Pascal will both report to Stringer. They will serve on the SPE
operating committee headed by Mr. Stringer, together with Jeff Blake, Yair
Landau, Rob Wiesenthal, Joe Roth and Calley. Together, Lynton and Pascal
will share joint responsibility for the Motion Picture Group.
Jeff Blake will continue as vice chairman, SPE and president, worldwide
marketing & distribution, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, reporting
to Lynton. Landau, vice chairman, SPE and president, Sony Pictures Digital
with responsibility for Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation
and Sony Online Entertainment, will also report to Lynton.
"We are very happy to welcome Michael Lynton to SPE as its chairman and
ceo," said Nobuyuki Idei, chairman/ceo, Sony Corp. "His experience in
managing global businesses, together with his knowledge of both creative
and digital media operations, will enable SPE to continue its evolution
into a global digital media company and further our overall convergence
strategy towards the broadband future."
While at Time Warner, Lynton was responsible for the successful turn-around
of AOL Europe, and for extending AOL's global leadership in Asia and Latin
America. As president of AOL International he oversaw the world's largest
online Internet service, which operated in 17 countries and eight
languages. He managed a significant turn around in revenue, and substantial
growth of the AOL subscriber base. He joined Time Warner from the
international media company Pearson plc, where he served as chairman/ceo of
Pearson's Penguin Group from 1996-2000. While there he led the turn around
of Penguin's global publishing operations, oversaw the successful
acquisition and integration of Putnam Inc., and extended the Penguin brand
to music and the Internet. Under his leadership the Penguin Group set
records in bestsellers, revenues and profits.
Prior to Pearson, Lynton served as president of Hollywood Pictures, a
division of the Walt Disney Co. (1992-96). During his tenure the studio
produced a diverse and successful slate of films including THE ROCK, QUIZ
SHOW, THE SANTA CLAUS and CRIMSON TIDE. He joined Disney in 1987 and
started and built Disney Publishing, serving as its president. He came to
Disney from Credit Suisse First Boston, where he worked in mergers and
acquisitions from 1982-85 in New York, London and Melbourne.
9. ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS PROMOTES THREE.
Entertainment Rights in London has made a raft of new appointments,
starting with Anya Hollis, promoted to director of marketing and consumer
products, responsible for the strategic licensing and marketing of the
company's portfolio of brands. Julie King becomes group PR manager on Jan.
1, 2004 and Jennie Saul will be promoted to the newly created role of head
of live events on this date.
Originally recruited as director of marketing and brands for ER, Hollis had
been at Ragdoll, where she worked on successful global brands such as
BOOHBAH and TELETUBBIES. Hollis has been with ER for six months and will
have the brands, marketing, licensing and merchandising and PR teams
reporting in to her.
King move back across to her PR roots, following a successful year as brand
manager for BASIL BRUSH, King moves to her PR roots again to develop and
implement the group's PR strategy across all media in line with corporate
objectives and maintain a consistently high media profile for ER and its
brands.
Saul will be responsible for the licensing of all ER's characters and
Brands appearances across stage shows, theatre and live appearances. She is
experienced in live events, working on the THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE traveling
shows for Gullane /HIT Entertainment.
"The calibre of these individuals will ensure that we meet our goal of
strategically developing our portfolio of brands globally across a range of
platforms." said Jane Smith, group commercial director for ER.
ER is one of the U.K.'s leading media groups specializing in the ownership
of children's and family programming, characters and brands. For more
information, visit www.entertainmentrights.com.
10. SPTI UPS TWO EXECS FOR ASIA AND SALES.
Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has appointed two key
executives, Ross Pollack as svp of business development, Asia, and John
Fukunaga, svp of sales planning.
This moves Pollack, formerly SPTI's svp of sales planning from Los Angeles
to Hong Kong, SPTI's Asia regional headquarters in Hong Kong as of Dec. 5,
2003, reporting directly to Dewy Ip, SPTI's svp/md, Asia Pollack will work
closely with SPTI's regional team to identify and develop new business
opportunities in Asia in the areas of licensing, international production
and international networks.
"We are extremely pleased to have Ross join our team in Hong Kong," said
Ip. "With his clear understanding of our three primary lines of business
and his experience in several key areas of the company, he will be an asset
to the region. We look forward to developing new business opportunities
under his guidance."
Fukunaga, who continues to be based in Los Angeles now reports to Peter
Iacono, evp of distribution will oversee licensing of SPE programming to
free and basic television channels internationally with a significant role
in negotiating license agreements, devising and implementing sales
strategies, overseeing acquisitions for SPTI and managing SPTI's budgeting
and finance functions. Fukunaga was svp and assoc general counsel of the
corporate/international legal department of Sony Pictures Entertainment
(SPE). He comes to SPTI with a strong knowledge of its core businesses,
having served as one of SPTI's primary attorneys in that position
"We are thrilled to be able to tap into John's expertise in his new
position," said Iacono. "John's extensive experience at SPE, his intimate
knowledge of the international television marketplace and his exceptional
talent as a strategic negotiator make him ideal for his new role."
While working with Iacono in sales planning, Pollack helped to lead the
division's strong growth in its international licensing business while
participating in and negotiating key television licensing deals in
Austral-Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle
East. Previously, he was SPE's svp , international human resources and
operations from 1998 to 2000, and was vp, total rewards, from 1996 to 1998.
Prior to joining SPE, Pollack was md of Buck Consultants in Hong Kong from
1993 to 1996. Previously at Hewitt Associates, Pollack was first an
international human resources consultant from 1987 to 1990 based in Chicago
and Santa Ana, California, then became manager, international consulting at
Hewitt Associates' Tokyo office.
During Fukunaga's tenure in SPE's legal department, in addition to advising
SPTI on numerous key deals, he worked on and oversaw a number of corporate
transactions for SPE. He also spent 18 months in SPE's London office as
vp, legal affairs Europe where he helped establish SPE's legal presence in
Europe and devoted most of his time to advising SPTI on its European deals.
Prior To Joining SPE, Fukunaga was a transactional attorney in the business
law department at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker's Los Angeles office
from October 1989 to May 1994.
11. JEFF ROSS ON BOARD AT EDEN FX.
VFX industry veteran Jeff Ross has joined Hollywood-based visual effects
shop Eden FX, in the newly created position of evp.
Ross has built an extensive career guiding, managing and overseeing the
growth of numerous successful, high-end post-production companies. For the
past two years, he served as evp/coo of Sunset Digital, a high definition
facility specializing in feature film mastering, digital restoration,
linear and non-linear editing and DVD compression and authoring.
Prior to that position, Ross was with POP (Pacific Ocean Post) for 11
years. He oversaw and managed the company as evp/coo as it grew from a
single floor, 30-person operation, into a multi-faceted, premiere
post-production facility housed in four locations. He segued into an md
position at POP Film and POP Animation, guiding the development of POP's
visual effects operation that worked on more than 50 feature films. These
included such major hits as INDEPENDENCE DAY, TITANIC, STAR TREK: FIRST
CONTACT, VOLCANO, DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, DR. DOOLITTLE and X-MEN, as well as the
Academy Award winner for visual effects, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME.
Ross has also served in senior management positions at Los Angeles
post-production houses Unitel Video and Trans American Video (TAV).
Formed in 2000 by visual effects and post-production notables John Gross
and Mark Miller, Eden FX continues its role as the primary provider of CG
FX for the syndicated Paramount Television series, STARTREK: ENTERPRISE,
which recently launched its third season on UPN. Other recent projects
include creating unique visual effects for the network series NAVY: NCIS,
for the videogames BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and ULTIMA X Online and 125 effects
shots for the upcoming feature film, HELLBOY. Please visit www.edenfx.com
for more information.
12. MULLICAN HEAD TECHIE AT IO FILM.
Kevin Mullican has been named cto for iO Film, a technologically advanced,
full-service digital film finishing facility specializing in film and video
projects from every sector of the entertainment industry,
Prior to joining iO Film, Mullican founded The Mullican Group, a consulting
company specializing in the design and construction of highly specialized
software and hardware devices for the digital film community. He built the
first and only device for the automated conversion of disparate digital
film images to a high-definition video stream. He also wrote the digital
image-processing engine that now forms the backbone of iO Film.
In l997, Mullican founded LOOK! Effects, a digital effects boutique, where
he led a team of artists as a vfx supervisor to complete shots for 11
full-length feature films within two years, including THE THIRD MIRACLE,
I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS and SIEGFRIED AND ROY: THE MAGIC BOX.
At the start of his career, Mullican designed and built robots for the
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. After MIT, he relocated to
Hollywood, becoming a protégé of four-time technical Academy Award winner
Ray Feeney. Mullican played an integral role in the design and
implementation of large-scale production systems for several high-end
digital effects studios, including Pacific Data Images (later
PDI/DreamWorks), Digital Domain, Rhythm & Hues and VIFX.
Launched in 2002 by Tim Krubsack, Bruce Johnson and Howard Cohen, iO Film
is a full-service, digital film finishing boutique in North Hollywood,
California. You can check them out at www.iofilm.net.
13. MALTZ TO HEAD ACADEMY'S NEW SCIENCE AND TECH COUNCIL.
Andrew Maltz, former president/ceo of Avica Technology Corp., has been
named director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' new
Science and Technology Council.
Maltz has been involved with entertainment technology management, business
development and system design for nearly a quarter of a century. At Avica
he led the deployment of the world's largest installed base of digital
cinema servers, drove the development of key technologies for digital
cinema such as encryption, compression, mastering and distribution, and was
heavily involved with the digital releases of many major motion pictures in
the U.S., Europe and Asia.
As the first director of the Academy's new Science and Technology Council,
Maltz will be in charge of hiring staff and setting up the Council's
operation, which will be housed at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture
Study in Hollywood.
Among its anticipated functions, the Council will be charged with
monitoring the current state of technology, facilitating understanding of
new technological developments, presenting educational programs on the
technology of motion pictures and developing a database of the history of
film technology.
An electrical engineering graduate of the State University of New York at
Buffalo, Maltz served as with Avica for the past four years. From 1985
through 1994 he was exec vp of operations and engineering for nonlinear
editing pioneer Ediflex Digital Systems, and later served for five years as
a consultant to companies such as Microsoft and Sharp Electronics Corp.
Film
14. CHICKEN LITTLE SEES (VOICE) STARS FALLING FROM THE SKY.
Walt Disney has confirmed members of the voice cast of its next 3D feature,
CHICKEN LITTLE. TV series SCRUBS star Zac Braff will voice the lead
character, which changes the original gender of the chick from female to
male. Oscar nominee Joan Cusack (IN & OUT) will voice the ugly duckling
with Steve Zahn (HAPPY, TEXAS) as a fat pig named Runt, Amy Sedaris (ELF)
as Foxy Loxy, Katie Finneran (YOU'VE GOT MAIL) as Foxy's sidekick Goosey
Lucy, Don Knotts (ANY GRIFFITH SHOW) as Turkey Mayor and Garry Marshall
(ORANG COUNTY) as Father.
Directed by Mark Dindall (CAT'S DON'T DANCE), the film follows the classic
tale of the overreacting Chicken Little who sends his town into a panic
after declaring, "the sky is falling down," which spurs the town to send
him to a camp for children with special emotional needs.
15. XYZ RGB CONTRIBUTES TO RETURN OF THE KING'S VFX ACHIEVEMENTS.
When the Visual Information Technology laboratory at the Canadian National
Research Council started developing its high resolution 3D scanners in the
early 1980s, it probably had no idea that 20 years later one of its
spin-offs, XYZ RGB Inc., would be contracted to help bring the characters
of THE LORD OF THE RINGS to life on the big screen.
Turns out that many of the stunning vfx in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF
THE KING (opening Dec. 17) would not have been possible without the
assistance of XYZ RGB, a pioneering 3D scanning bureau that's working to
broaden its brand of Canadian laser technology.
In fact, the unique task of breathing life into the giant spider Shelob
began by scanning detailed resin maquettes that were sent half way around
the world from Weta's Workshop in New Zealand to XYZ RGB offices in Ottawa,
Canada. Once scanned with XYZ RGB's high-precision laser the 3D datasets
stood as the films archival masters. While the level of detail for the
numerous characters varied, the typical CG models produced for the films
visual effects artists ranged in size from 14 million polygons for the bust
of Shelob to more than 28 million polygons for the massive Mumakil
elephants used to populated Middle-earth.
XYZ RGB's unique ability to exactly reproduce characters and creatures
digitally with microscopic detail and photographic realism is the reason
they have also been contracted by the filmmakers of THE MATRIX RELOADED,
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS and PETER PAN (opening Christmas Day).
"The maquette scans that we are getting from XYZ RGB with their high degree
of accuracy, coherence and detail, are enabling us to push our digital
models to new levels of realism," proclaimed Matt Aitken, digital models
supervisor, Weta Digital. " With [RETURN OF THE KING], Weta Digital is
producing visual effects work that will have to withstand an even greater
level of scrutiny than the first two episodes, and our collaboration with
XYZ RGB is part of this process."
XYZ RGB (www.xyzrgb.com) was founded in 2001 by a core team of 3D imaging
specialists. Using a new kind of 3D optical scanner, its digitized data
reputedly exceeds requirements for film, animation, manufacturing and CAD.
16. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE CUTS DOWN LAST SAMURAI.
Counter-programming struck back at the box office, with the middle-aged
romantic comedy SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE knocking THE LAST SAMURAI into
second place for the weekend ended Dec. 14, 2003. The Sony film pairing
Jack Nicholson with Diane Keaton scored $16M compared to the $14M collected
by the Warner Bros. epic starring Tom Cruise (with vfx from Flash Film
Works, Rising Sun and Matte World). In its second weekend, LAST SAMURAI has
racked up $46.8M. Debuting in third place was the Farrelly bros. comedy
STUCK ON YOU, which grabbed $9.4M for Fox. Debuting in the fourth spot was
Warner Bros.' urban comedy LOVE DON'T COST A THING, which took in $6.3M.
Disney's THE HAUNTED MANSION (with vfx from Sony Pictures Imageworks) may
be no PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, but it still earned $6.1M, good enough for
fifth place and $53.7M so far. New Line's ELF (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues,
Chiodo Bros. Prods. and Amalgamated Pixels) dropped to sixth with $6.017M
and a hefty $147.5M to date. Right behind in seventh place was Dimension's
BAD SANTA with $6.012M and a cume of $35.7M. Finishing in the eighth spot
was Universal's HONEY with $4.8M and a total of $19.7M. Universal's THE CAT
IN THE HAT (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues) plunged to ninth with $4.1M and
$90.7 so far. And Warner Bros.' GOTHIKA (with vfx by CafeFX) placed 10th
with $2.7M and a cume of $53.9M.
Sony Pictures Classics critically acclaimed THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE took
in $50,500 in six theaters for a total of $310,900 to date. Box office
information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Television
17. COSBY & GRAMMER GET ANIMATED FOR NICK AT NIGHT/TV LAND ORIGINALS.
New animated series from Bill Cosby and Kelsey Grammer are part of Nick at
Nite and TV Land's first-ever slate of original shows and specials. The
development slate, which also includes new programming from Henry Winkler,
Peter Bonerz, David Steinberg and several others, could be seen on both
networks as early as 2004. The originals will serve as a complement to
Nick at Nite and TV Land's successful acquired programming.
Nick at Nite, which regularly programs contemporary classic sitcoms
including, THE COSBY SHOW and ROSEANNE, will debut a new animated series,
FATHERHOOD - based on Cosby's best-selling book of the same name in
June. Grammer is developing ZEN & BUSTER, an animated comedy series about
dogs in Hollywood.
While Nick at Nite will pursue original comedy to complement its hit sitcom
lineup, the TV Land originals will reflect the fun, passionate and
TV-reverential on-air environment that embraces "all things television,"
according to by Larry W. Jones, evp/gm of TV Land and Nick at Nite, and Sal
Maniaci, vp of development and production, TV Land and Nick at Nite, who
jointly announced the lineup.
Alf, TV's popular alien makes his triumphant return to primetime - this
time as host of a television talk show who interviews celebrity guests, in
ALF'S HIT TALK SHOW for Nick at Night.
Among the projects currently in the TV Land pipeline include: TV LAND
MOGULS, a six-part documentary series from CBS News Prods. that chronicles
the rise of some of television's most successful producers; the return of
THE TV LAND AWARDS, the network's salute to enduring television shows and
stars, which last year was seen by more than 25 million viewers and
featured such presenters as Halle Berry and Matthew Perry; and a 30th
anniversary salute to HAPPY DAYS, which Henry Winkler, who also starred in
the show, will exec produce.
FATHERHOOD - Cosby serves as exec producer of an animated series based on
his best selling book, FATHERHOOD (Doubleday/Dolphin). Blair Underwood (LA
LAW, SEX AND THE CITY) stars. Charles Kipps (LITTLE BILL, COSBY MYSTERIES,
LAW & ORDER) is exec producer and David Brokaw (LITTLE BILL) is producer of
the 30-minute series, which premieres June 2004.
ZEN & BUSTER - Grammer stars as the lead voice in this animated series
about Hollywood pets who navigate their way through life, as seen through
the eyes of dogs. The 30-minute series is being produced by Grammer's
Grammnet Prods.
TV Land and Nick at Night are part of Viacom, a leading global media
company, which also owns CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount
Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, UPN and Spike TV. More
information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.
18. ASTRO BOY AND NEW KIDS' WB! SCHEDULES LAUNCH IN JANUARY 2004.
Legendary Japanese icon ASTRO BOY series debutes Jan. 17, 2004 on Kids' WB!
(8:30 am ET/7:30 am PT), bringing 25 new anime adventures to kids in the
U.S. The network also will launch that day 13 new episodes in the fourth
season of returning hit STATIC SHOCK (11:30 am ET/10:30 am PT). In
addition, STATIC SHOCK moves into the weekday lineup to air six days a
week, beginning Jan. 5, in its new 3:30 p.m. ET timeslot.
The classic icon of Japanese animation, based on the original manga
character from the popular comic book series launched in the 1950s, ASTRO
BOY tells the story of youthful, atomic-powered robot, Astro. A reluctant
superhero fighting for justice and peace for humans and robots alike, Astro
possesses awesome abilities and a highly advanced artificial brain. Termed
kokoro in Japanese, Astro is able experience all of the same emotions as
humans. Mankind's only hope to surviving the onslaught of rebellious
robots is a robot himself...the fearless, selfless, incorruptible champion
known as Astro. ASTRO BOY is produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan
and Tezuka Productions, and distributed in the U.S. by Sony Pictures
Television.
ASTRO BOY was created 50 years ago by the legendary Osamu Tezuka, the
pioneer of Japanese anime animation and known as the "father of manga,"
Japanese comic books. In 1963, ASTRO BOY became the first Japanese series
imported to the U.S. and one of the country's top-rated syndicated
programs. The 50th Anniversary of ASTRO BOY was celebrated in 2003.
The 2003 winner of the prestigious Humanitas Prize, STATIC SHOCK follows
the exploits of the first African-American teenage superhero, Virgil
Hawkins. After being exposed to a mutagenetic gas, Virgil became "Static,"
an urban hero of his own creation with electromagnetic superpowers. Along
with his best friend Richie, who developed his own metahuman powers and
assumed the guise of techno-whiz "Gear," they have become the new
justice-enforcing duo.
Action abounds in the fourth season of STATIC SHOCK as Static, the first
African-American teenage superhero, and techno-whiz Gear unearth an
underground group of metahumans whose exposure to sunlight can be fatal,
help African superhero Anansi protect the secret of his power, save a
gifted young athlete from the criminal clutches of a powerful supervillain,
get jolted into a face off with the Green Lantern who may have gone
renegade and discover that world famous NBA All-Stars have a super secret
of their own. The season premiere takes Static on an electrifying adventure
into the future as he teams up with Batman to save his adult
Static-self. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, STATIC SHOCK brings a
total number of 52 episodes to Kids' WB!'s Monday-Friday afternoon and
Saturday morning lineups.
The Saturday morning lineup, beginning Jan. 17, is as follows (all times
Eastern):
8:00 am JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES (New Time Period)
8:30 am ASTRO BOY (Series Debut)
9:00 am TEEN TITANS (New Time Period)
9:30 am XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN
10:00 am POKÉMON: ADVANCED
10:30 am ˇMUCHA LUCHA!
11:00 am YU-GI-OH!: ENTER THE SHADOW REALM
11:30 am STATIC SHOCK (Fourth Season Premiere)
The new weekday lineup, beginning Jan. 5, is as follows (all times Eastern):
3:00 pm JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES (New Time Period)
3:30 pm STATIC SHOCK (New To Weekday Line-Up)
4:00 pm POKÉMON
4:30 pm YU-GI-OH!
19. KIDS' WB! ORDERS SECOND SEASON OF MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR.
Kids' WB! has ordered 26 more episodes of the cyber/adventure anime hit
series MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR from ShoPro Entertainment for a second season
that will kick off in Spring 2004.
"MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR proved to be the breakout hit we knew it would be,"
said John Hardman, svp of Kids' WB! Programming (www.KidsWB.com). It
debuted on May 17, 2003 as the #2 overall program among boys 6-11, and
ranked #1 against the broadcast competition in kids 2-11 and kids 6-11, #2
in boys 2-11, and among the top seven programs in tweens 9-14 and male
tweens 9-14.
"We are extremely proud and excited to continue our strong partnership with
Kids' WB!," said John Easum, svp, ShoPro Ent. " MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR
delivers the perfect fusion of computer-technology, superheroes and humor
for today's tech-savvy, adventure-seeking fans."
MEGAMAN: NT WARRIOR, based on the popular comic book series, is set in the
not-so-distant future during the Cyber Revolution of the year 200X, where
virtually all technology is linked to a central computer system. Citizens
of ACDC Town interface with this network using their personal "NetNavis"
(Net Navigators) via their portable terminals (PETs). Each NetNavi
possesses characteristics and traits like its owner, but also includes
enhanced technological powers. The anime/adventure series follows the
discoveries and exploits of fifth-grader Lan, whose NetNavi an alter
ego is a blue-suited, virus-fighting, virtual superhero named Mega Man.
Lan and his friends plug in different powerchips to change their personal
NetNavis' gadgetry and defense capabilities. These net-warriors unite to
expose the darkness within their digital universe.
This high-marquee property has captivated millions of fans in Japan for 15
years via a hugely successful comic book series inspired by a MEGAMAN
videogame, as well as a trading card game series.
ShoPro Ent. (www.shopro-entertainment.com) is an affiliate of ShoPro Japan,
a subsidiary of Shogakukan Inc., one of Japan's largest publishing
companies. Headquartered in San Francisco, ShoPro Ent. develops and markets
animated series (HAMTARO, INUYASHA and MEGAMAN NT WARRIOR) from initial
production, television placement and distribution, merchandise licensing
and promotions reaching audiences around the world.
20. CANAL+ & ABC FAMILY TO AIR CHRISTMAS ORANGE SPECIAL.
Canal + has picked up Bardel's award-winning holiday special, THE CHRISTMAS
ORANGE special for its Christmas 2003 season to air in France, Monaco,
Mauritius, Switzerland and Africa,
"THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE isexactlythe kind ofmoral tale we like to have on
Canal+", says Sandra Ouaiss, acquisition director of fiction & animation at
Canal+ international acquisition.
The story is about Anton Stingley who discovers on Christmas morning that
instead of the 600 toys he has requested, his gift from Santa is one single
orange. He is outraged and decides to sue Santa! As the story unfolds,
Anton discovers the meaning of that one sweet, simple orange. Bardel Ent.
in Vancouver produced the special.
ABC Family in the U.S. has scheduled a second run to air the special on
December 17 at 7:30 PM. "I think you have produced what I hope will become
a Christmas favorite," says Brian Casentini, vp, development and current
programming, ABC Family.
Last year during its premiere on Dec. 9 at 8:30 pm, THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE
held its own while it faced stiff competition from Nick's holiday episode
of RUGRATS. The half-hour animated special attracted an average of 1.4
million total viewers with a 1.0/1.5 household rating/share. (NHI, Galaxy
Explorer, 12/09/02, 8:30pm-9pm, coverage area rating/share)
Studioworks Ent. LLC, a Ventura Distribution Co., has licensed the North
American home video and DVD distribution rights for the property.
Other CHRISTMAS ORANGE sales include two in-flight movie deals with Spafax
Inflight Media on behalf of Air Canada and Delta Airlines. Both will show
this festive story on selected routes for the entire month of December.
Emphasis Video Entertainment Ltd. from Hong Kong has also picked up the
show for all of its Malaysia Airline flights from Dec. 1, 2003 to Jan. 31,
2004 and will air THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE on its Kidz channel.
Bardel specializes in 2D, 3D and FLASH animation production. The
15-year-old studio services major international studios for feature film,
TV, interactive media, and commercials, as well as options, develops and
finances proprietary properties such as THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE
(www.christmasorange.com) and the SILVERWING series.
21. NICKELODEON TO DELIVER 'NICKMAS' HOLIDAY SPECIALS.
Nickmas is on through most of December 2003, as the kid channel delivers
nightly primetime presents programming marathons and throughout the month
in the U.S.
The holiday shows includes premieres of THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON,
BOY GENIUS/"Holly Jolly Jimmy," ROCKET POWER/"A Rocket X-mas" and ROMEO!/"A
Lil' Som'en Some'en for Christmas" -- along with holiday favorites galore.
Treats for tots include BOB THE BUILDER festive one-hour extravaganza, "A
Christmas to Remember," with Elton John voicing a musician who steps in for
an ailing singer to save the day with a Christmas concert.
Nickelodeon lights the menorah and heaps the basket with matzo, too,
celebrating Chanukah in special episodes of AS TOLD BY GINGER (Dec. 17) and
RUGRATS (Dec.18) and Kwanzaa with THE RUGRATS (Dec. 26).
Following is a detailed rundown of the Nickmas schedule. All shows are
ET/PT with each night's telecast at 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted:
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS/"Patchy the Pirate Presents the SpongeBob SquarePants
Christmas Special" -- Nobody in Bikini Bottom has heard of Christmas or
Santa Claus until Sandy lets them in on this surface tradition. SpongeBob
wants to bring Christmas to Bikini Bottom this year and his enthusiasm is
infectious. Everyone except a scoffing Squidward gets into the picture,
waiting for Santa to arrive on the big day. (Airs Dec. 2, 13 25)
THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS/"Christmas Every Day" -- The globe is put into
gridlock after Timmy wishes for 365 days of Christmas a year. Santa's
overworked, Mom and Dad can't work and the other holidays are furious that
jolly old Saint Nick is getting all the attention, not to mention all the
holiday magic. The other holidays set out to take Santa down for good.
Since Wanda and Cosmo are magically depleted during this season, Timmy must
go it alone to the North Pole in order to save Santa and put the calendar
back on schedule. (Airs Dec. 13, 15 & 25)
HEY ARNOLD X-mas/"The Christmas Show" -- Arnold draws Mr. Hyunh's name for
the boarding house Secret Santa. To capture the true spirit of Christmas,
Arnold tries to reunite the lonely boarder with the daughter he hasn't seen
in over 20 years. When Arnold and his friends succeed, Mr. Hyunh and the
boarding house clan have the best Christmas ever. (Airs Dec. 4, 13 & 25)
BOB THE BUILDER/"A Christmas to Remember" This one-hour festive
extravaganza features Elton John as musician John, who steps in for an
ailing singer to save the Christmas concert. Bob's twin brother Tom is
coming home from the Artic for the festivities, and Bob's busy building the
stage for Lenny and the Lazers' concert. But Tom has been unavoidably
delayed, and Lenny is losing his voice! (Airs Dec. 5 & 19, 9:00 am & 1:00
pm & Dec. 25)
THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS/"Holly Jolly Jimmy" Jimmy is
convinced that Santa Claus does not exist. To prove his theory, he travels
to the North Pole with Carl and Sheen where they discover a remote toy
factory. When Jimmy's homing device malfunctions, it emits a blast of
energy that hits the source of the signal: Santa Claus. With the big guy's
atoms temporarily scrambled, who can deliver the presents? Jimmy must now
put his doubts aside, load up the hypercube and try to save Christmas.
(Airs Dec. 8, 13, 16 & 25)
ROCKET POWER/"A Rocket X-mas" -- In order to make some extra cash for the
holiday, the kids start their own dog-walking service. The business proves
to be so successful it monopolizes all their time and keeps Reggie and Otto
away from home, where Ray is obsessed with maintaining holiday traditions.
Ray grows increasingly upset when Reggie and Otto show little or no
interest in the holiday games he has gone to so much trouble to plan.
Eventually, both Ray and the kids realize that Christmas isn't just about
presents and traditions, it's about spending time with and appreciating the
people you love. (Airs Dec. 9, 13. 22 & 25).
ROMEO!/"A Lil' Som'en Some'en for Christmas" -- Romeo and Louis
inadvertently have allowed a watch that their late mother purchased one
Christmas for Percy to be donated to Louis' former foster home. Meanwhile,
Percy is stuck at an airport outside of Chicago, desperately trying to make
it home for the holiday. (Airs Dec. 10 & 25)
RUGRATS/"Babies in Toyland" -- America's favorite tots frolic in a
spectacular, high-tech Christmasland designed by Stu Pickles for Dil's
first Christmas, and greedy "little angel" Angelica finally learns the joy
of giving -- after driving Santa (Jim Belushi) to quit and treking to his
North Pole workshop. The babies brave the Battle of the Toy Soldiers in
search of Santa and ride a goat to "Bethlehem." And a malfunctioning snow
machine strands the grown-ups in a cabin on the prairie to celebrate and
appreciate an old-fashioned Christmas. (Airs Dec. 11, 24 & 25, 8-9:00 pm)
BLUE'S CLUES/"Blue's First Holiday" -- This holiday flashback answers how
Blue's Clues all began! After popping in a couple of home videos, we
glimpse baby Joe unwrapping a fuzzy duck blanket for Christmas. Little
Steve is there too, wearing his green striped shirt. But one baby is
missing - where's Blue? We enter a flashback as Mr. Salt tells us the story
of the day we met Blue-and of how we started playing Blue's Clues. (Airs
Dec. 12, 19 & 25 10:30 am & 1:00 pm)
AS TOLD BY GINGER/"An Even Steven Holiday Special" -- When a family tree
reveals that Ginger is one-quarter Jewish, she insists on celebrating
Chanukah as well as Christmas, but her best friend Dodie worries that the
"Jewish Ginger" is shutting her out. Also, when Hoodsey sets out to
convince a disbelieving Carl that Santa Claus exists, he unknowingly brings
about a small holiday miracle. Only after an accidental fire from the flame
of the menorah or a Christmas tree on electrical overload -- and an
unexpected rescue by a Santa recognizable as the Foutley kids' absentee dad
-- can Ginger and Carl put the holidays in perspective. (Airs Dec. 17)
RUGRATS CHANUKAH SPECIAL -- The Rugrats attend an annual Chanukah festival
where Grandpa Boris and his old rival Shlomo perform in a play about the
meaning of Chanukah. When the babies think the actor playing the evil king
is the "meany" of Chanukah, they set out to protect Tommy's beloved
grandpa, only to inadvertently help reconcile Boris with his old friend
Schlomo. In a touching ending, the Rugrats initiate the beautiful
candle-lighting ceremony to serve "as a night light for the people" and
guide Boris and Schlomo back to the true meaning of Chanukah. (Airs Dec. 18)
MAX & RUBY/"Max's Christmas" & "Ruby's Snow Queen" premiere -- Max is full
of questions when Ruby hurries to bed on Christmas Eve so Santa Claus can
come. No one ever stays up to see Santa; no one except Max. "Ruby's Snow
Queen" -- Max wants play with his new Christmas gift, a Screaming Green
Alien Gorilla, but Ruby wants him to help her build a beautiful Snow Queen.
When they finally finish making the beautiful Snow Queen, and Grandma comes
to admire her, they discover where Max's missing Screaming Alien Gorilla
has gone!(Airs Dec. 19, 9:00 am & Dec. 25)
SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH/"Christmas Amensia" -- It's beginning to look a
lot like Christmas until Sabrina accidentally erases the holiday. (Airs
Dec. 21 & 25)
THE WILD THORNBERRYS/"Thornberry Christmas" -- Eliza takes desperate
measures to help animals survive during tough times along the Skeleton
Coast. However, the price she pays for her goodwill is her family's holiday
cheer, including their Christmas dinner! (Airs Dec. 23 &25)
Nick offers a bounty seasonal Nick Jr. shows on Dec. 25 (9:00 am-2:00 pm)
and continuing nonstop with holiday themed hits for all kids through 9:00 pm
9:00 am MAX & RUBY/"Max's Christmas"
9:30 am - BOB THE BUILDER/"Bob's White Christmas"
10:00 am DORA THE EXPLORER/"A Present for Santa"
10:30 am - BLUE'S CLUES/"Blue's Big Holiday"
11:00 am DORA THE EXPLORER/"City of Lost Toys"
11:30 am - BLUE'S CLUES/"Blue's First Holiday"
12:00 pm LIKTTLE BILL/"Merry Christmas, Little Bill"
12:30 pm MAX & RUBY/"Max's Christmas"
1-2:00 pm BOB THE BUILDER/"A Christmas to Remember"
2:00 pm -- RUGRATS/"A Santa Experience"
2:30 pm -- ROCKO X-mas
3:00 pm -- THE WILD THORNBERRYS/"Thornberry Christmas"
3:30 pm -- CATDOG/"A Very CatDog Christmas"
4:00 pm -- THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS/"Holly Jolly Jimmy"
4:30 pm -- ROMEO!/ "A Lil' Som'en Some'en for Christmas"
5v pm -- HEY ARNOLD X-mas/"The Christmas Show"
5:30 pm AS TOLD BY GINGER/"An Even Steven Holiday Special"
6:00 pm -- ROCKET POWER/"A Rocket X-mas"
6:30 pm -- SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH/"Christmas Amensia"
7:00 pm RUGRATS /"Babies in Toyland"
7:30 pm -- RUGRATS /"Babies in Toyland"
8:00 pm THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS/"Christmas Every Day"
8:30 pm SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS/"Patchy the Pirate Presents the SpongeBob
SquarePants Christmas Special"
RUGRATS/"The Kwanzaa Special" -- When effervescent Aunt T. (guest voice,
Irma P. Hall, SOUL FOOD) arrives with a festive flourish to celebrate
Kwanzaa with the Carmichaels, she tells little Susie, "The holiday is a
time to honor the legacy of our great people." Not having won any trophies
or awards like the rest of her family, the forlorn tot concludes that she
isn't great and won't be able to celebrate. Through pictures in a
scrapbook, Aunt T. teaches Susie that greatness doesn't come from awards;
it's how you live your life with kindness and dignity every day. (Airs Dec.
26)
22. CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS SUPERHERO CHRISTMAS.
How superheroes celebrate the holidays is the topic of an all-new holiday
episode of JUSTICE LEAGUE, Cartoon Network's top-rated original animated
series based on the popular, long-running DC Comic book. The half-hour
special, "Comfort and Joy," premieres at 10 pm on Dec. 13, 2003.
Its one more mission for the each of the superheroes who comprise The
Justice League, before each embarks on a week's vacation to enjoy the
Christmas holidays. Flash pays his traditional visit to the Central City
Orphanage as "that jolly man in the red suit" to bring a special present to
the resident kids. Green Lantern shows Hawkgirl his favorite childhood
games and activities in the snow, resulting in a spectacular snowball
fight. Superman, heading home to spend Christmas with his Earthly parents,
the Kents, brings along a depressed Martian Manhunter, who doesn't
understand why everyone finds the season so magical. (Batman and Wonder
Woman volunteer to serve "world monitor duty" at the League's Watchtower
headquarters.)
Little does each hero suspect that major surprises await them all. When
Flash is asked to produce the hottest toy of the season, a "DJ Rubber
Ducky," he is forced to search the world for it. With the doll at last in
Flash's possession, arch-villain Ultra-Humanite appears and nearly destroys
it. Through an amazing act of goodwill and compromise, Flash and
Ultra-Humanite actually join forces to repair the toy and deliver it the
anxious kids before resuming their adversarial relationship. Hawkgirl
reciprocates Green Lantern's holiday "gift" by showing him the place and
unique way she prefers to celebrate resulting in mayhem. One last
surprise awaits them both: a secret romance.
Superman's family embraces Martian Manhunter warmly, leaving him the
freedom to explore the peace and joy of Christmas Eve on his own. His
unexpected experiences that night lead him to compose his own song of joy,
which he shares with the Kent family.
The Justice League was born when Superman and Batman enlisted Green
Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl to face down
powerful threats on Earth and from other parts of the galaxy. Gathering at
their orbiting space station, The Watchtower, they may not always agree on
the best way to conquer a threat, but they put their personal differences
aside to work together to defeat any peril.
JUSTICE LEAGUE has become one of the highest-rated shows on all of cable in
its time period with key demographics since its debut.
23. BOOMERANG GOES BOOMEROCK FOR CHRISTMAS.
If you asked Santa for loads of commercial-free FLINTSTONES, your wish has
been granted as Cartoon Network's Boomerang channel offers a 240 hours
Bedrock's first family, Dec. 15-21, 2003, including such holiday classic
specials as A FLINTSTONE CHRISTMAS (1977), A FLINTSTONE CHRISTMAS CAROL
(1994) and CHRISTMAS FLINTSTONE (1964). Covering almost 35 years of
Hanna-Barbera motion picture and television production, BOOMEROCK will
showcase television's largest-ever tribute to the cave-dwelling comedy,
pre-empt Boomerang's entire schedule.
"Our vast cartoon library and the commercial-free on-air environment on
Boomerang make for the perfect combination to produce rare, comprehensive
programming tributes such as BOOMEROCK," said Mark Norman, svp/gm of
Boomerang. "We believe our viewers will appreciate this rare opportunity
to enjoy The Flintstones in nearly every form they appeared during their
lengthy television career."
Produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, THE FLINTSTONES premiered on
ABC Friday, Sept. 30, 1960, as the first primetime animated series made
especially for television. Creating 166 half-hour episodes, the program
aired Friday nights on ABC until Sept. 2, 1966.
Dec. 20, will be devoted entirely to classic episodes of THE FLINTSTONES,
and Sunday, Dec. 21, will pay tribute to FLINTSTONES movies.
FEATURE FILMS:
* THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE (1966) Dec.. 15 at 10:00 am, 6:00 pm and 2
am-Dec. 21 at 12:30 pm, 8:30 pm and 4:30 am
TELE-FILMS:
* THE JETSONS MEET THE FLINTSTONES (1987) Dec. 16 at 10 am, 6:00 pm and
2:00 am-Dec. 21 at 11:00 am, 7:00 pm and 3:00 am
* I YABBA-DABBA DO (1993) Dec. 17 at 10 am, 6:00 pm and 2:00 am-Dec. 21 at
8:00 am, 4:00 pm and 12:00 am
* HOLLYROCK-A-BYE BABY (1993) Dec. 18 at 10:00 am, 6:00 pm and 2:00 am-Dec.
21 at 9:30 am, 5:30 pm and 1:30 am
* A FLINTSTONES CHRISTMAS CAROL (1994) Dec. 19 at 10:00 am, 6:00 pm and
2:00 am-Dec. 21 at 2:00 pm, 10:00 pm and 6:00 am
HALF-HOUR SPECIALS:
* THE FLINTSTONES: FRED'S FINAL FLING (1981) Dec. 15 at 11:30 am, 7:30 pm
and 3:30 am
* THE FLINTSTONES: LITTLE BIG LEAGUE (1976) Dec. 16 at 11:30 am, 7:30 pm
and 3:30 am
* THE FLINTSTONES: JOGGING FEVER (1981) Dec. 17 at 11:30 am, 7:30 pm and
3:30 am
* THE FLINTSTONES: WIND-UP WILMA (1981) Dec. 18 at 11:30 am, 7:30 pm and
3:30 am
* CHRISTMAS FLINTSTONE (1964) Dec. 21 at 3:30 pm, 11:30 pm, 7:30 am
* A FLINTSTONE CHRISTMAS (1977) Dec. 19 at 11:30 am, 7:30 pm and 3:30 am
24. HBO GREENLIGHTS SECOND SEASON OF CARNIVALE.
HBO has greenlit a second season of the cult TV series, CARNIVALE, reported
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The David Lynch/Stephen King-like series will get
another 13 episodes, debuting at the end of 2004. Production should start
in the spring with the original cast members all returning. The series
didn't pull in audiences like THE SOPRANOS or SEX IN THE CITY, but it
averaged a solid 3.5 million viewers each week.
25. CULT FAVE FARSCAPE GETS FOUR-HOUR MINISERIES.
Jim Henson Co. will begin production Dec. 15 in Australia on a four-hour
miniseries based on the cult favorite TV series FARSCAPE, reported SCI FI
WIRE. Citing sources close to the production, the story will pick up and
resolve issues left open at the end of the cancelled series. Stars Ben
Browder and Claudia Black among others will be reprising their roles. The
miniseries has no television distribution deal to date. Both Jim Henson Co.
and the Sci Fi Channel had no comment on the rumor.
26. GALACTICA DELIVERS FOR SCI FI CHANNEL.
Sci Fi Channel has scored another win with the premiere of BATTLESTAR
GALACTICA. The two-night, four-hour original event delivered a
3.5/2,897,000 HHs/4,177,000 P2+ average for its primetime premieres (Dec.
8-9, 2003, 9:00-11:00 pm ET/PT) - marking Sci Fi's best ratings performance
in 2003 and the highest audience delivery for any original miniseries
production on cable for the year.
Growing out of last night's strong 2.0 rating/1,643,000 HH/2,366,000 P2+
for the 7:00 pm encore presentation of Night 1, SCI FI produced a true
television rarity - the primetime premiere of Night 2 of BATTLESTAR
GALACTICA outperformed Night 1, with a stunning 3.8 rating/3,159,000
HH/4,460,000 P2+. The miniseries ranks as the third highest-rated original
event in the Channel's history, behind only STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS TAKEN
and FRANK HERBERT'S DUNE.
The combined airings of Night 1 (Dec. 8 - 9:00 pm, 11:00 pm, 1:00 am and
Dec. 9 at 7:00 pm) delivered an aggregate audience of 8,905,000 P2+.
Commercials
27. DIESELFX BRINGS WILDFIRE TO LIFE IN FOREST SERVICE PSAS.
Dieselfx provided design and vfx services to Foote, Cone & Belding Southern
California and The Advertising Council for a new public service
announcement about the dangers of wildfires. Sponsored by the USDA Forest
Service and the National Assn. of State Foresters, the ad is part of the
groups' Firewise program meant to educate homeowners on how to protect
their properties from fire.
Titled ASSAULT, the spot centers on a group of grotesque characters with
flaming bodies who attempt to attack a home on the edge of a forest.
However, the creatures are stymied by actions the homeowner has taken, such
as creating a fire barrier around the home and using fire-retardant
materials in its construction. The voiceover encourages viewers to take
similar measures, asking, "What have you got to lose...except everything?"
Exec producer Carl Seibert, who also supervised the production of the spot,
encouraged Diesel's involvement from pre-production forward to help develop
the look. "PSAs and visual effects can be a challenging combo
economically," observed Seibert. "It was important for us to define the
look and process early so we could develop a shooting methodology with the
director."
"Having Diesel at the shoot was a big help," added Chip Fuller, FCB's group
creative director. "We didn't waste a lot of time shooting stuff that
wouldn't work once we got to post."
Diesel's creative director Elliott Jobe worked with agency creatives in
developing a look for the wildfire characters. "They were restricted from
using practical fire elements in the production, so we had to develop a
look for the characters that showed heat and flame but did not depend on
using real fire," Jobe explained.
Instead, Jobe suggested a design where fire elements would be added in
post-production. The characters, played by a trio of actors, were dressed
in Lycra suits with red patches applied to areas meant to be aflame. In
post, Diesel's compositing team digitally replaced the patches with
animated flame elements resembling bubbling lava.
Before the shoot, Jobe conducted tests using both flat artwork and a
mock-up of the suits to demonstrate the finished look. "The tests were
helpful in gaining the agency's confidence in our approach because on the
set, it simply looked like actors in costumes with patches on them," Jobe
observed.
The pre-production work paid off in both a dynamic look and a smooth post
process. "Because the look of the characters was predetermined, we were
able to complete it very quickly," Jobe said, noting that post work was
completed in under a week.
In fact, Jobe said, the agency and client were so pleased with the look,
they asked to see more of the characters. Jobe and his crew increased the
number of Wildfire characters in several shots by pulling elements from
alternate takes and adding them to the scene. Additionally, Diesel
reconstructed the lawn around the property to give it a more uniform
appearance by cloning bits of sod. "We were able to give them a lot of
production value for a relatively modest budget," Jobe said.
"Creativity, attention to detail, forward thinking and incredible speed,
that's how I characterize the team at Diesel," said Fuller.
The spot is part of a multifaceted campaign that also includes radio and
print advertising encouraging the public to visit www.firewise.org for more
information about how they can make their homes more defensible against
wildfires.
Other Dieselfx credits include: Craig Price, inferno artist; Korey Cachon,
producer.
Santa Monica, California-based Dieselfx (www.dieselfx.com) recently worked
on THE BROTHERHOOD OF POLAND, NEW HAMPSHIRE TV spot.
Internet & Interactive
28. UBISOFT'S NEW PRINCE OF PERSIA GAME UTILIZES BENEFITS OF 3DS MAX.
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME from Ubisoft, poised to become one of
the hot computer games of the holiday season, was created with Discreet's
3ds max professional animation, modeling and rendering software. Available
now for all game platforms, PRINCE OF PERSIA offers impressive graphics,
polished game play mechanics and level of design.
The game, with visually rich core graphics, Middle Eastern inspired levels,
curtains and tapestries (which serve to hide deadly enemies), is
complemented by a host of lighting and particle effects. The prince's
"sands of-time" powers, with fluid cloth animation and a soft focus, gives
the game a dreamlike haze. Leading computer game designers Jordan Mechner
led the team of Ubisoft artists in Montreal, working with 3ds max software
to create all 3D modeling, character animation, effects and texturing.
"As Ubisoft brings PRINCE OF PERSIA ...to market, it has been extremely
reassuring for our animation and design team to rely on the productivity,
tool sets and workflow of 3ds max-version over version -- and its support
for the demands of our production environment," said producer Yannis
Mallat. "Discreet is delivering excellent new features in 3ds max 6 that
Ubisoft Montreal intends to benefit from, as we produce our next generation
of games," continued Mallat.
Ubisoft recently strengthened and solidified its investment in Discreet as
it upgraded and grew its Montreal animation department to a grand total of
167 installed seats of 3ds max 6 software on Discreet's subscription
program. Discreet continues to be the preferred and most used 3D solution
for Ubisoft, reinforcing its choice earlier this year to standardize on 3ds
max.
With more than 200,000 users worldwide, 3ds max currently retails for
$3,495. For more information, visit www.discreet.com/3dsmax or call
800-869-3504 or 514-393-1616.
Discreet (www.discreet.com) is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division
of Autodesk Inc. Discreet's 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.
Ubisoft (www.ubi.com) is an international producer, publisher and
distributor of interactive entertainment products.
29. ALADDIN RELEASES GAME ON! FAMILY PACK.
Aladdin Systems Inc. recently shipped GAME ON! FAMILY PACK, volume 1, a
collection of six popular titles including TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 3 and
REALMYST, valued at over $120 for only $49.99.
" GAME ON! FAMILY PACK is an outstanding assortment of games for the whole
family," said David Polzine, product manager. "This collection brings Mac
users top-rated games at a great price and will bring their families hours
of enjoyment."
GAME ON! FAMILY PACK includes the following fully registered products:
-- BURNING MONKEY MAHJONG -- Monkey business in full force when Monty,
Jackie, and even more monkeys head to the Far East to challenge you in a
beautiful Mahjong Solitaire game.
-- BURNING MONKEY SOLITAIRE 2 -- There's more fun than a barrel of monkeys
when a bunch of freewheeling simians play pranks, tell jokes, offer
suggestions, and mock users playing this collection of popular solitaire
games including: Klondike, Freecell, Canfield, Pyramids, Golf,
Calculation, Little Spider, Will O' the Wisp and 52 Card Pick-up.
-- REALMYST -- The version of MYST that Cyan and the world-famous Miller
brothers always wanted to make, but the technology wasn't ready, until now.
It's a totally immersive, surreal and beautiful adventure of MYST in
realtime 3D.
-- SNOWBALL RUN -- Guide the snowball-riding penguin on a bold adventure
through 75 fish-packed levels to a frozen homeland. Roll up and down ramps,
around curves and obstacles and over jumps for an exciting challenge.
-- TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 3 -- Fly high through the coolest skate parks in
the world and pull off daring skateboarding tricks as skateboarding legend
Tony Hawk's presents exciting cement-shredding action.
-- ZOO TYCOON -- Enjoy the challenge of building and running the ultimate
Zoo. With over 200 animals, exhibits, and zoo materials, your job is to
create the most healthy and vibrant animal refuge possible.
The system requirements vary from game to game; all require a Macintosh
with a G3 processor (450mhz or faster recommended); at least 128mb of
memory (256mb recommended, and required for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3); and
an accelerated 3D video card with at least 16mb of video ram (Tony Hawk's
Pro Skater 3 requires a Radeon or GeForce class video card with at least
32mb of video ram.) All will run on Mac OS 10.2.4 or higher while some are
also compatible with Mac OS 10.1.x and Mac OS 9.x or higher.
Founded in 1988 in Watsonville, California, Aladdin Systems Inc, an Aladdin
Systems Holdings Inc. company, develops and publishes award-winning
software solutions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris. For more
details on the company and to purchase these games, visit
www.aladdinsys.com/gameon.
Home Video
30. SOUTH PARK OFFERS COMPLETE THIRD SEASON TURNING POINT ON DVD.
Finally, with SOUTH PARK'S pivotal third season, released on DVD on Dec.
16, 2003 (Paramount Home Entertainment, $49.99), fans get actual episode
commentary - or "commentary-mini" - by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone,
who riff for five minutes before all 17 episodes. Called a turning point by
Parker and Stone, the third season from 2000 was actually produced while
making the feature, SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT. The creators
proclaim "Tweek vs. Craig," "Jewbilee" and "Worldwide Recorder Concert" as
their favorites, champion "Jakovasaurs" and "Sexual Harassment Panda" and
trash the entire second season. Among THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON highlights
gracing the three-disc set are: the SCOOBY-DOO-inspired "Korn's Groovy
Pirate Ghost Mystery," which argues whether the term should be "pirate
ghosts" or "ghost pirates"; "Rainforest Shmainforest," which pokes fun of
environmentalists utilizing the guest voice of Jennifer Aniston; and the
shamefully irreverent "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics."
31. RUGRATS GO WILD ON DVD.
The collision of RUGRATS and THE WILD THORNBERRYS into the RUGRATS GO WILD
animated feature makes its way to DVD on Dec. 16, 2003 (Paramount Home
Entertainment, $29.99). The Nickelodeon Movies/Klasky Csupo production
offers both families marooned on a not so deserted island in the Pacific,
with the bratty Angelica and Debbie basically stealing the show. Among the
extras are deleted scenes, alternate ending, a behind-the-scenes featurette
and exclusive interactive game. Directed by John Eng and Norton Virgien,
written by Kate Boutilier and boasts the guest voice talents of Bruce
Willis as Spike and Chrissie Hynde as Siri, the clouded leopard.
32. LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTS SHOWS OFF VFX ON DVD.
Billed as a Victorian-era X-MEN, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, led
by Sean Connery and a cast of legendary monsters, arrives on DVD on Dec.
16, 2003 (Fox Home Entertainment, $27.98). LEAGUE may have disappointed
fans of the inspired graphic novel, but the movie is still a fascinating
train wreck full of flashy vfx (which utilized about two dozen houses,
including ILM, Cinesite, Tippett Studio, Double Negative, Pixel Magic,
Asylum and Modern Videofilm).
Extras include commentary by visual effects supervisor John E. Sullivan and
miniatures creators Matthew Gratzner along with producers Don Murphy and
Trevor Albert and actors Shane West, Jason Flemyng and Tony Curran. Plus 12
deleted and extended scenes and "Assembling the League," a six-part
behind-the-scenes doc.
33. SEABISCUIT RIDES ONTO DVD.
SEABISCUIT, writer/director Gary Ross' acclaimed screen adaptation of Laura
Hillenbrand's revered bestseller about the legendary race horse and his
place in American lore, comes to DVD Dec. 16, 2003 (Universal Home
Entertainment, $26.98) with several noteworthy extras: commentary from Ross
and director Steven Soderbergh, production notes, three featurettes
("Racing Through History," "Bringing the Legend to Life" and "Anatomy of a
Movie Moment: From Script to Screen") and co-star Jeff Bridge's on-set
photographs. Yet nearly lost in the dazzling recreation of the
Depression-era saga is the superb vfx performed for the thrilling racetrack
scenes by Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Orphanage, Pixel Playground and
Digiscope.
Licensing
34. TOKYOPOP EXPANDS TO WAL-MART.
TokyoPop has announced that it will be the first manga publisher to have
titles carried at mega-retailer Wal-Mart. The initial test will be in 100
stores across the U.S. As well department store Fred Meyer and discount
chain ShopKo have agreed to sell TokyoPop titles in a select amount of
their stores. This adds to the Nov. 2003 launch of special TokyoPop manga
displays in Barnes & Noble and Sam Goody. This continues ceo/cco Staurt
Levy's goal of putting a TokyoPop manga in the home of every American.
35. EIGOMANGA LAUNCHES ANIME CLOTHING LINE.
eigoMANGA has launched a new line of anime inspired clothing. Fashion
designer Kayo Mitsuyama has agreed to be the exclusive licenser of clothing
for eigoMANGA.
Mitsuyama said, "I had always dreamed to wake up as a foxy strong anime
heroine in a great costume. I see many intersections between fashion and
anime. It presents reality and non-reality. What I would like to present in
my fashion is a bridge between those two worlds. A lot of people wish to be
a different person or character each day and what you wear can make it
happen without changing your own personality."
Mitsuyama's designs are featured in eigoMANGA's year round live event
productions, including the recent anime concert produced on the campus of
San Francisco State University. The clothing will be promoted in future
issues of the eigoMANGA anthology series, RUMBLE PAK, featuring a tie-in
comic strip series based on Mitsuyama's designs. The new edition will ship
in February 2004. eigoMANGA plans to distribute the clothing to major
clothing stores as well as comic book retailers.
eigoMANGA is an independent comic book publisher producing original manga
and media works. The company was formed in 2000 and is based in San
Francisco with branches in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California. For
more information, visit www.eigoMANGA.com.
36. MR BEAN GETS PARTWORK LICENSING DEAL.
Entertainment Rights announced a deal with GE Fabbri to license the rights
to the animated MR BEAN series, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, for a
partwork title. Partworks are a limited-run series of magazines, sold
weekly or fortnightly, designed to be collected and kept. MR BEAN'S AMAZING
A TO Z will have Mr. Bean help children explore the world through the use
of the alphabet. GE Fabbri undertook a regional market test in September
2003, with a full U.K. National roll-out of 52 issues commencing on Jan. 7,
2004. Each issue will sell for Ł1.85. The launch will be supported by an
extensive national TV advertising campaign in the U.K.
"MR BEAN'S AMAZING A TO Z gives children a view of the world we live in, as
seen through the unique eyes of Mr Bean. Each week the partwork explores
different aspects of life using one particular letter of the alphabet. In
one edition, children can learn about Bacteria, Baboons, Babies and
Basketball, all with Mr Bean's own inimitable style. Each page is packed
with bright colors, images and photos. In fact it's so much fun that it
doesn't even feel like learning, especially with the text being
interspersed with loads of jokes and fun filled trivia facts."
GE Fabbri is a U.K. leader is partwork publication. Other titles include
SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, THE RUGRATS, JAMES BOND and ANGELINA BALLERINA.
For more information, visit www.gefabbri.co.uk.
Entertainment Rights is one of the U.K.'s leading media groups specializing
in the ownership of children's and family programming, characters and
brands. For more information, visit www.entertainmentrights.com.
Education
37. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GET YOUR PORTFOLIO READY FOR COLLEGE!
High School Student Portfolio Preparation Class
Pasadena, California, USA
January 15 March 18, 2004
Presented by Armory Center for the Arts, this class is for high school
students getting ready to apply to art school. Students will create a body
of work that reflects their individuality. They will increase technical and
foundation skills in drawing and painting from observation. In addition,
students will become more proficient in a variety of art media: charcoal,
pastels, acrylic paint. They will develop their artistic voice and personal
style through experimentation. Finally, they will learn how to edit their
artwork and present a portfolio in an appropriate way. Ages 16-18 are
welcome. Artist and teacher Lorraine Cleary-Dale will conduct the class.
The class costs $150, Armory members $135. The class will take place every
Thursday from 3:30 6:00 pm at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N.
Raymond Ave., Old Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 792-5101 x140
or visit http://www.armoryarts.org/studio/high.html.
Technology
38. SOFTIMAGE LAUNCHES NEW VERSION OF SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR.
Softimage has launched SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIORv.1.5 - the latest version of its
cutting edge crowd effects software. This third release includes an array
of customer-driven improvements as well as new and innovative features that
enable users to build sophisticated behavioral simulations quickly and
creatively. Along with its production-proven Integrated Development
Environment (IDE), the SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR v.1.5 system, includes an SDK, as
well as a batch processing module, offering greater flexibility for both
art and development pipelines in the visualization, film and commercial
broadcast industries.
"At Rhythm & Hues, speed, ease of use and flexibility are key to our
production pipeline," said Mark Brown, vp of technology for Rhythm &
Hues. "The SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR software lets us begin designing the shot
immediately rather than fighting with the software. Not only does
SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR increase our ability to handle large, complex scenes
with ease, it lets us expand our visual effects repertoire, and build on
our creative vision."
"As expectations for crowd simulation continue to grow, the demand for
fast, production-ready solutions is increasing dramatically," stated Gareth
Morgan, product manager at Softimage. "This release addresses the need for
rapid simulations that follow the creative process. SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR
combines highly innovative flocking algorithms, a powerful IDE and the new
Batch module to deliver our customers a superior crowd effects environment."
The SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR v.1.5 system includes the only batch processing
module available for crowd simulation applications. This module enables
the off-loading of CPU-intensive simulations to a background process that
can be "farmed" out to separate CPUs, freeing the artist to continue
working within the unique IDE. In response to feedback from industry
leading clients, this new version of the SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR system includes
a robust SDK that allows for easier integration into existing 3-D
pipelines, regardless of the application on which the pipeline is
based. The SDK will also make more complex effects, such as dynamics,
available to simulations within the SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR environment.
The SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR v.1.5 system is now available for purchase at
$14,995. One license of SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR batch is included as part of the
standard SOFTIMAGE|BEHAVIOR package; additional licenses can be purchased
separately for $1,995. Contact Softimage or your local Softimage reseller
for more details or visit www.softimage.com.
Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology Inc., is an industry leader
in 3D animation, 2D cel animation, compositing and special effects
software, designed to address the demands of the film and
commercial/broadcast and games/interactive industries. The SOFTIMAGE|XSI
software, an integral player in Avid's Make, Manage and Move Media
strategy, is the flagship product offering from Softimage. It is the
industry's first 3D nonlinear production environment providing animators
and digital artists the freedom to make professional animation, vfx and
games.
39. BRAZIL RENDERING SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR 3DS MAX 6.
SplutterFish's Brazil Rendering System v. 1.2, the advanced,
fully-integrated rendering suite for Discreet's 3ds max software, is now
available for 3ds max .6.
"As a strategic partner with Discreet, SplutterFish is committed to
ensuring that Brazil r/s meets the demanding standards of quality and
compatibility for this latest version of 3ds max that the renderer is
already known for," said SplutterFish ceo Scott Kirvan.
The Brazil r/s toolkit features a familiar, easy-to-use interface that
integrates seamlessly into existing production environments to provide
artists a natural workflow, unprecedented control and flexibility, and a
minimal learning curve. Built upon a modern and extensible rendering
architecture, Brazil r/s is designed for use in heavy production
environments to produce the highest levels of photorealism, stylized
animation and cartoon style NPR renderings.
Brazil r/s is the only production renderer actively supported and available
for Discreet's 3ds max 3, 3ds max 4, 3ds max 5, the just released 3ds max 6
animation software, as well as Autodesk's visualization software, VIZ 3 and
VIZ 4. Brazil r/s is also fully compatible with nearly all third party 3ds
max plug-ins, including the critical third party rendering plug-ins
(materials, textures, lights, and volumetrics) that 3ds max artists depend
on.
Brazil r/s v. 1.2 is available immediately to both individual artists and
production facilities at the following prices:
The "Artist Bundle" includes licenses for three computers (one Brazil r/s
workstation-node license and two render-node licenses) at a cost of $1,200.
The "Renderfarm Bundle" includes licenses for four computers (four
render-node licenses) at a cost of $750.
For product details, purchase information and the list of authorized Brazil
r/s international resellers, please visit www.splutterfish.com. Brazil r/s
may also be purchased direct at the SplutterFish secure online store.
SplutterFish LLC, established in 2001, is a Venice, California-based
software provider of high-end, affordable and efficient 3D rendering tools.
The company develops solutions focused for production professionals working
in the film, broadcast, architectural and product visualization, design
engineering, 3D cartoon-style animation and CG research industries.
Awards
40. NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY ADDS TWO MORE TOONS.
The Library of Congress has added 22 new films to the National Film
Registry, which includes two animated shorts. The Looney Tunes classic ONE
FROGGY NIGHT joins other Warner classics WHAT'S OPERA, DOC?, PORKY IN
WACKYLAND and DUCK AMUCK. In addition, Pixar's 1988 short TIN TOY also made
the list. The registry, established by Congress in the 1988 National Film
Preservation Act, now contains 375 films. For more information or to find a
complete list of films in the registry, visit http://www.loc.gov/film.
41. NEMO, BELLEVILLE, RINGS TAKE HOME VARIOUS CRITICS PICKS.
FINDING NEMO, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and LORDS OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF
THE KING have started racking up various awards from film critics societies
across the U.S. Following up its prize for best animated feature from the
National Board of Review, NEMO nabbed a spot on the AFI Top Ten List for
2003. In addition, the fish tale took home the best animated feature prize
from the New York Film Critics Online.
However, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE beat out the behemoth NEMO for best
animated feature from the New York Film Critics Circle. The French import
also took home the best foreign language film prize from the Boston Film
Critics. Even more impressive was BELLEVILLE's director Sylvain Chomet's
runner-up acknowledgement for best new filmmaker from the Bean Town critics.
On the visual effects front, RETURN OF THE KING captured the New York Film
Critics Circle best picture recognition as well as best director award for
Peter Jackson from the San Francisco Critics Circle. The final Tolkien tale
in the RINGS series was also named to the AFI Ten Best List.
Comic book inspired AMERICAN SPLENDOR has also brought home some kudos.
Hope Davis was awarded best actress and directors Robert Pulcini and Shari
Springer Berman best first feature by the New York Film Critics Circle. The
film also made the AFI and New York Film Critics Online's Top Ten List.
Joining NEMO, KING and SPLENDOR on AFI's list were THE LAST SAMURAI and
MASTER & COMMANDER. Moreover, NEWSWEEK's reviewer David Ansen named
SPLENDOR the best film of the year as well as placing RETURN OF THE KING at
#2 and NEMO at #5 on his Top Ten List. ROLLING STONE's Peter Travers placed
KING at #2 with MASTER & COMMANDER at #4, COLD MOUNTAIN at #5, SPLENDOR at
#6, BIG FISH at #7, KILL BILL: VOL. 1 at #9 and HBO's TV mini-series ANGELS
IN AMERICA at #10. Critic Ed Gonzalez of SLANT MAGAZINE ranked BIG FISH at
#4 and anime epic MILLENNIUM ACTRESS at #6.
42. GENE DEITCH TO RECEIVE WINSOR MCCAY AWARD AT ANNIES.
The board of directors of ASIFA-Hollywood has selected Gene Deitch to be
one of the recipients of its prestigious Winsor McCay Award. Each year a
Winsor McCay Award is awarded to a maximum of three individuals in
recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation in
producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and
sound effects, technical work, music, professional teaching or for other
endeavors which exhibit outstanding contributions to excellence in
animation.
The presentation of the award will be made on Feb. 7, 2004 at the Alex
Theatre in Glendale California. In conjunction with the award, animation
historian Jerry Beck will be hosting a retrospective of Deitch's work at
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre. The program will include BUILDING FRIENDS FOR
BUSINESS, as well as 35mm prints of SCOPE TERRYTOONS, Tom Terrific, MUNRO
and other Rembrandt and Weston Woods productions. The screening will also
include a Q&A with Deitch and a book signing.
43. 6TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL NAMES FINALISTS.
The Independent Games Festival has announced the finalists in the sixth
annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) Competition, which will exhibit
their games at the Game Developers Conference March 24-26, 2004 in San
Jose, California. Selected by a panel of game industry professionals, game
development teams will compete for more than $40,000 in cash prizes, double
the payout from previous years.
The 10 games selected for the "open" category are (in alphabetical order):
ACMI by Selectparks (Richmond, Victoria, Australia)
ANITO: DEFEND A LAND ENRAGED by Anino Computer Entertainment Inc.
(Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, The Philippines)
BONTAGO by Circular Logic (Redmond, Washington)
FACADE by InteractiveStory.net and The Georgia Institute of Technology
(Atlanta, Georgia)
FASHION CENTS by My Game Company (La Mesa, California)
FUZZEE TEEVEE by Gastronaut Studios (Washington, DC)
SAVAGE: THE BATTLE FOR NEWERTH by S2 Games (Rohnert Park, California)
SPARTAN by Slitherine Software U.K. Ltd. (Epsom, Surrey, U.K.)
STARSHATTER by Destroyer Studios (Rancho Santa Margarita, California)
TAKE COMMAND: 1861 THE CIVIL WAR BY MadMinute Games Inc. (New Freedom,
Pennyslvania)
The 10 games selected for the "Web/downloadable" category are (in
alphabetical order):
ALPHAQUEUE by Large Animal (New York City)
BEESLY'S BUZZWORDS by Flashbang Studios, LLC (Tempe, Arizonia)
BILLIARD BOXING by Shizmoo Games Inc. (New York City)
CHOMP! COMP! SAFARI by AstroManic Studios (San Francisco)
DR. BLOB'S ORGANISM by Digital Eel (Kirkland, Washington)
DUNGEON SCROLL by Robinson Technologies (Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan)
GISH by Chronic Logic LLC (Santa Cruz, California)
OASIS by Mind Control Software (San Rafael, California)
SPACE STATION MANAGER by Mistaril (Helsinki, Finland)
YOHOHO! PUZZLE PIRATES by Three Rings Design Inc. (San Francisco)
Responding to the skyrocketing number of games played within web browsers,
and games small enough to be downloaded from Websites, the IGF split the
competition into two categories: "Web/Downloadable Games" and an "Open"
category for all other games. Games in each category will be eligible for
six awards: Innovation In Audio, Innovation In Game Design, Innovation In
Visual Arts, Technical Excellence, The Audience Award and the Seumas
McNally Grand Prize for Independent Game of the Year.
The Independent Games Festival was established in 1998 by the CMP Game
Group to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best
independent game developers, the way the Sundance Film Festival has
benefited the independent film community. More information about the
finalist games can be found at www.igf.com.
Call for Entries
44. AMERICAN ACCOLADES LOOKS FOR SCRIPTS.
American Accolades Screenwriting Competition
World Wide Web
February 27, 2004
Deadline: December 30, 2003
American Accolades Screenwriting Competition is all about turning heads in
the Hollywood community. It's not about fancy banquet dinners or trophies.
It's about cash prizes, feedback and trying to get your work discovered and
produced. The American Accolades is focused on getting great material into
the hands of people who can make a difference. Grand Prize Winner will be
awarded $2,500. Five first place prizes of $500 will be given to the best
entries in each genre category. All 15 finalists will receive a
comprehensive story analysis. The late deadline is February 27, 2004. For
more information, visit http://www.americanaccolades.com.
45. GARDEN STATE FILM FESTIVAL DEADLINE NEARS.
Garden State Film Festival
Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA
March 25-28, 2004
Deadline: January 1, 2004
The mission of The Garden State Film Festival is to promote the art of
filmmaking on all levels by showcasing a wide variety of film, video and
animated works as well as to provide educational programs in the creative
arts to the public. The event will feature screenings, discussions and
workshops. "Animation from Clay to Cartoons" will teach kids how the
animation process works. For more information, visit http://www.gsff.org.
46. ACTIVISTS UNITE AT ARTIVIST FILM FESTIVAL!
Artivist Film Festival
Hollywood, California, USA
April 22 29, 2004
Deadline: January 15, 2004
Artivist Film Festival is dedicated to addressing social, global,
political, animal rights and environmental issues through visual arts and
music to strengthen the voice of international activist filmmakers and
artists as well as raise public awareness and funds for global social
causes. It seeks to unite the entertainment industry, the corporate world
and non-profit organizations towards a common goal of giving exposure and
support to socially aware artivists. For more information, call (310)
712-1222, e-mail: info@ArtivistFilmFestival.org, or visit
www.ArtivistFilmFestival.org.
47. FIRST DEADLINE FOR LEO AWARDS APPROACHES.
Leo Awards 2004
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
May 9 10, 2004
Deadline: January 16, 2004
The fifth annual Leo Awards is where the best and brightest film and
television talent and programs in British Columbia will be honored for
their work. The event believes that honoring and rewarding individuals for
their efforts goes a long way towards fostering a strong future for British
Columbia film and television. The deadline for films completed between
January 2003 and June 2003 is January 16, and films completed between July
2003 and December 2003 is January 30. For more information, visit
http://www.leoawards.com/index.php.
48. LET THE ELITE SEE YOUR FILMS AT BEVERLY HILLS FILM FEST.
3rd Beverly Hills Film Festival
Beverly Hills, California, USA
May 6 - 9, 2004
Deadline: February 1, 2004
Beverly Hills Film Festival began in 2001 to showcase and promote the most
auspicious non-studio films to the entertainment elite. Beverly Hills Film
Festival's focus is in highlighting the most original and exclusive work in
independent cinema from around the globe. Festival rundown includes
screenings at the Clarity Theatre, nightly mixes at Beverly Hills hotspots
and a new screenplay competition. This year, the festival will screen
25 30 films and conclude with an awards night ceremony honoring one of the
best films of the year voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Science.
For more information contact Beverly Hills Film Festival's office at (310)
779-1206 or visit www.beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com.
Events
49. DISNEY TELLS ANIMATORS IT AIN'T OVER YET!
Well is wasn't exactly Santa Claus who attended the Animation Guild's
holiday open house party on Dec. 12, 2003 but it was just about as
anticipated and welcome amongst animators when Roy E. Disney strode into
the banquet room at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, California. The huge crowd
rose to its feet and parted like the Red Sea for Moses when Disney,
embroiled in a power structure with Michael Eisner for the direction of the
Walt Disney Co., made his dramatic entrance. Animation chat rooms have been
buzzing with gratitude for Disney's letter to Eisner, in which he resigned
from the company board of directors before it officially dumped him, and
accused Eisner of mishandling and leading the company astray from the
vision of his uncle and father who founded the company.
After visiting for about an hour, Guild president Kevin Koch brought Disney
to the microphone to say a few words. A hoarse but impassioned Disney
reminded animators to be true to their art and their passion, saluted them
for their dedication and thanked everyone present for helping him revive
Disney animation. He concluded with the salvo, "It ain't over yet!" to
which he received a thunderous ovation.
A group of animators have been collecting signatures in support of Disney
and his longtime trusted adviser Stan Gold, who also resigned from the
board and has gone public with his disapproval over Eisner's performance
and direction of the company. The animators have collected more than 4,000
signatures, which can be viewed and added to at
http://www.pruiksma.com/letterofsupport.html.
Gold and Disney have started a Website, www.savedisney.com, seeking support
"to restore Disney to its position as the preeminent entertainment company
in the world."
The rest of the holiday party was relatively upbeat, compared to previous
years. More 2D animators are making the transition to 3D, finding new areas
to work in or finding seemingly unappealing projects far more rewarding and
enjoyable than they had anticipated. A great many are still out of work or
looking for better assignments.
50. SLAMDANCE ANNOUNCES 2004 LINE-UP.
Slamdance Film Festival has announced its lineup for the 2004 event. The
festival will take place Jan. 17-24, 2004, in Park City, Utah. Running
alongside the Sundance Film festival, Slamdance is seen as
counter-programming.
Several animated films were selected to compete in the Short Films
Competition. Bill Domonkos' THE FINE ART OF POISONING is a moody piece
about plotting revenge with gothic imagery rendered in 3D and hand-drawn
animation, combined with still photography. Sarah Brown's LIVE BAIT follows
a starving fisherman, who is saved by three bird women and taken to their
island of instant gratification. Christine Dunn's PARTICLE VALENTINE is a
symbolic tale that involves an orgy of butterflies and the cycle of life.
Roger Oda's REQUIEM is a Japanese woman's true story of her older brother's
final visit home before going off to fight and die in World War II. Gerald
Lewis' REVELATIONS #1 is a meditation on life and love, influenced by
channel and Web surfing.
"Slamdance Number 10 will celebrate, as always, our original mission of
showcasing emerging filmmaking talent. If you want to see true independent
film Slamdance is the place to be," said Peter Baxter, Slamdance
president/co-founder. "This year is the festival's biggest line-up and is
mostly made up of newcomers. Since it's inception in 1995, the festival's
goal has been to continue to reach out to new filmmakers and to exhibit
fresh, raw and largely unknown talent at its best, in the spirit of
filmmaking without apologies."
Slamdance is a year-round organization dedicated to serving new filmmakers
from around the world. Started in 1995 by a group of upstart
writer/director/producers, Slamdance continues to be organized and
programmed by active filmmakers. Now in its 10th year as an annual
festival, Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering
independent films by first-time directors working with limited budgets. For
more information, visit www.slamdance.com.
51. ANNIE AWARD VOLUNTEERS MEETINGS ANNOUNCED.
ASIFA-Hollywood is putting out a call for volunteers for the upcoming Annie
Awards on Feb. 7, 2004. On January 8 at 7:30 pm, the ballot meeting needs
volunteers to prepare the ballots for mailing. On January 14 at 7:30 pm,
the Annies Volunteer Meeting will address event pre-production, which will
include assistance with the program book, coordination of advertising, name
badges, signage/layout, printing, juried award recipient coordinators and
ballot coordinators. On January 28 at 7:30 pm, the meeting will be
discussing day of the event action items and post-production, which will
include ticket check-in and name badge distribution, will-call check-in,
ushers/seating assistance, program distribution and presenter assistants.
For more information, visit www.annieawards.org.
52. AMERICAN ANIMATION INSTITUTE HOSTS STORYBOARD PORTFOLIO NIGHT.
American Animation Institute's Storyboard Portfolio Night
North Hollywood, California, USA
December 18, 2003
The American Animation Institute is hosting a storyboard portfolio night.
The guest artists who will critique portfolios include Linda Miller, Karl
Gnass and John Fountain. The American Animation Institute was founded in
1980 by the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists and Affiliated Optical
Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 IATSE, to further the art of the
animated cartoon in the United States through educational and other
activities.
The following people have arranged to show their portfolios:
1. Llyn Hunter
2. Christa Percival
3. Jim Cleveland
4. Dave Williams
5. Kenji Ono
6. Jay Baker
7. Vaughn Johnson
8. Michel Hannan
9. Sarah Hanley
10. Gary Percovac
11. Amanda Manning
12. Sue Bielenberg
13. Cynthia French
All attendees can bring portfolios for review. Only the above 13 will be
able to pitch their portfolios. The event will take place from 7:00 pm to
10:00 pm at The American Animation Institute, 4729 Lankershim Blvd., N.
Hollywood. For more information, call Christa at (323) 664-2711 or visit
http://mpsc839.org/_Classes/Classes_h/class1.html.
53. SEE NEW TALENT AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA PORTFOLIO REVIEW.
Art Institute of California Orange County Portfolio Review
Santa Ana, California, USA
December 18, 2004
The Art Institute of California Orange County will be holding its fall
portfolio review. The students in the Graphic Design, Animation and Web
Design programs will be displaying their work. The event will run from 5:00
to 7:00 pm. For more information, contact Amber Fielding - Student
Employment Advisor at The Art Institute of California - Orange County, 3601
W. Sunflower Avenue, Santa Ana, California 92704-9888; tel: 888-549-3055
x206; fax: 714-546-2184; e-mail: fieldina@aii.edu; or Web:
www.aicaoc.artinstitutes.edu.
54. LA FILM SCHOOL HOSTS FRIDAY NIGHT SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL.
LA Film School Friday Night Shorts Film Festival
Los Angeles, California, USA
January 16, 2004
The Los Angeles Film School is hosting its Friday Night Shorts Film
Festival. The event is designed for emerging filmmakers to showcase your
best work. It takes place in the school's spacious 345-seat THX/Dolby
digital surround sound theater. Friday Night Shorts is free and open to the
public (suggested donation: $2). For more information about how to showcase
your short, visit http://lafilm.com or e-mail igreen@lafilm.com.
55. SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
Sarasota Film Festival 2004
Sarasota, Florida, USA
January 23 - February 1, 2004
Since our first mini-festival in 1999, the Sarasota Film Festival has grown
into a highly respected regional film festival with strong industry
involvement and support. SFF is proud to showcase diverse and balanced
programming of features, student, short, documentary and studio films in
35mm and digital formats. Dedicated to presenting the best, new stars of
independent film, this 10-day festival will present a non-stop schedule of
films, premieres, symposiums and parties. For more information contact the
festival at 635 S. Orange Ave, Suite 10-B, Sarasota, Florida 34236, USA,
tel: (941) 364-9514, fax: (941) 364-8411, or Web:
www.sarasotafilmfestival.com.
56. HOW TO BREAK INTO THE GAME INDUSTRY COMES IN JANUARY.
How To Break Into The Game Industry Mini-Conference
San Francisco, California, USA
January 31, 2004
This event is designed for students and professionals looking to get into
the game industry as well as existing industry insiders looking for new
opportunities. The comprehensive program will provide an overview of the
industry, identify technology trends and requirements as well as the
qualifications and skill-sets that are in demand. Attendees will have the
opportunity to speak with industry insiders, including top recruiter
Mary-Margaret.com, hiring managers from local game companies as well as
network and meet with industry veterans. Attendees will learn what
employers are looking for now and in the future. The event will run from
8:30 am to 3:00 pm at 600 Townsend Building, San Francisco, California. The
price for admission is $35 in advance for students and professionals and
$45 for on-site registration. For more information or the register, visit
http://www.thegameinitiative.com/sfbreakin/index.html.
57. 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
58. 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.
|