By Brenda Wooding

US networks like CN, Nick and Disney have been producing creator driven shows for years.  Anywhere you find up and coming creative talent showcasing their work, you will find a development executive from these networks on the hunt for the next Spongebob, Adventure Time, or Phineas & Ferb. Once found, the talent, along with their idea is unleashed upon the development team and funneled into their well oiled development and production pipelines. The goal is to keep the creative talent close to the heart while making a commercially viable (and hopefully successful) show.  With few exceptions, it is a fairly new approach abroad.  At the Annecy International Animated Film Festival this year, it was apparent that this method is starting to catch on abroad and regional channels from US studios like CN and Disney have been leading the charge.

My cat Dexter, doing his impression of the look the waiter at the Imperial Palace gave Max Howard after he'd inquired as to the whereabouts of the capuccino he'd ordered 15 minutes previously.

By Dan Sarto

As the week winds down and I find myself craving a simple green salad, I figured I'd share more images from my time at the festival.  Formal write-ups will have to wait until early next week I'm afraid, when I've recovered from the jet lag, the lack of sleep and the searing memory of a student film in competition depicting a man being sodomized by an umbrella.

By Ellen Besen

I really thought this next piece was going to be about festival programming but fresh from CTN Expo- which wrapped on Sun Nov 18, I feel compelled to shift focus to a more pressing topic: overall spirit. By this I don’t mean so much the mood of the attendees but more the spirit in which the event was conceived and carried out by the organizers. This last factor has a defining impact on every aspect of the event including the attendees’ mood and programming as well, which is precisely why it is the more pressing issue.

This kind of spirit can be an elusive subject- one that doesn’t really show itself directly.  Instead you kind of have to look at an event sideways, to use your detective skills and also keep in mind what other choices could have been made to suss out the organizers intentions.

The Oktapodi crew poses for a pic with their fan, legendary animator Eric Goldberg.

The tour's stop at Disney has an exciting day. This gallery shares some of the highlights.

Oscar winning producer of Peter and the Wolf Hugh Welchman. © 2008 AWN Inc.

Once again, I’d like to congratulate the Peter and the Wolf team on their Oscar win, as well as congratulate all the nominees on their wonderful films. Check out a few exclusive pics from the Big Night.

At the Pixar Q&A, directors Maciek Szczerbowski and Chris Lavis talk about the journey of the title character in their film Madame Tutli-Putli.

Skywalker Ranch is an awesome experience and in this photo gallery you’ll understand why.

Hugh Welchman

Hugh Welchman, who is nominated for producing Peter and the Wolf, has answered the Six Questions. From concept to today, he has been involved with this film for seven years! It’s a major part of his life and he’s happy that the Oscar nod will allow more people to see the labor of love. Here’s what he had to say:

Thursday was an absolute whirlwind day on the tour. I couldn’t possibly write everything interesting that was said during the course of the day. So I’m going to set out to recap the day in full, but tease you with details to come later.

The tour swings into the famed MGM studio lot.

written by Rick DeMott

The L.A. leg of the Oscar Tour kicked off at the Sony lot. For the first time in the tour's history the participants, who include The Lady and the Reaper's director Javier Recio Gracia, producer Raul Garcia, and exec producer Enrique Posner, and Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty's director Nicky Phelan and producer Darragh O'Connell, received a tour of the legendary MGM Studios.

Stops included the Thalberg Building where the studio showcases its Best Picture Oscars, as well as the offices of Sony's top execs including Amy Pascal. For the game show fans out there, the nominees got a chance to see the sets of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. The legendary Stage 30 was being used as a commissary for Adam Sandler's new film, The Pretend Wife. But most of the time, the stage is known for housing the largest water tank where films such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button were filmed. The nominees were treated to the stages were Wizard of Oz and Married with Children were filmed, and there was some debate with our tour guide Tony on whether Oz is the most beloved movie in America or not. Along our walk through the backlot, we had the chance to see the art department building a New York city street set for the upcoming film Burlesque.