Eye in the sky view of the auction. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Word coming from the Bay Area is that the Totoro Forest Project auction at Pixar was a stellar success. The world's top film animators, comic book artists and illustrators came together after creating original works of art inspired by the iconic animated film My Neighbor Totoro for an auction to benefit the Totoro No Furusato (Totoro's Homeland) National Fund – also known as the Totoro Forest Fund on September 6, 2008, at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA. The Totoro Forest Fund is dedicated to preserving Sayama Forest, a large park outside Tokyo that inspired the beloved film by respected Japanese movie director Hayao Miyazaki. AWN is proud to present some of the exclusive pics from the event to share with you.

The inspirational Sayama Forest in Tokyo needs your help.

If you haven't heard about the amazing Totoro Forest Project fund-raising exhibition/auction, which will be held Sept. 6^th at Pixar, then you are missing out on some fabulous artwork being sold for a great cause. Spearheaded by Pixar art director Dice Tsutsumi, the event features artwork from some the top animators and illustrators working today. The proceeds will go to helping preserve the Sayama Forest, an 8750-acres urban forest in Tokyo. The woods inspired Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece My Neighbor Totoro and the Totoro no Furusato Fund has been the Oscar-winner's most cherished charity for years.

Hey kids! Play the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Drinking Game!

It’s easy! It’s fun! You’ll get boozed out of your mind! Here’s how to play…

1) Every time someone refers to how old Indy looks, have a drink;

This alone will get you off to a smashing – and smashed – start. Shia LaBeouf delivers the best line here: “what are you, 80 or something?” Interestingly, Ford looks in pretty good shape in the action sequences, but noticeably older – wrinkled and white-haired – when he’s teaching his classes.

2) ...

fmx/08 is the international center for all creative people working in the visual fields. Courtesy of fmx.

By Johannes Walters

Buzzing clouds of animators, visual effects people and creative artists of videogames showed up last week in Stuttgart, Germany, at the Haus der Wirtschaft (House of Trade), where fmx/08 was held: the annual and international conference on animation, effects, realtime and content. Once again, this four-day event, the brainchild of Thomas Haegele, head of the Ludwigsburg-based Animationsinstitut, the animation school department of the Filmakademie Baden Wüerttemberg, seemed to become the international center of all creative people working in the visual fields.

If you attend fmx and are addicted to this world of creative and artistic visual development, you encounter a nightmare of decisions. At least eight wonderful panels, talks or lectures are given simultaneously. So you have to decide which programs you positively can't miss. And the one you choose, of course, will turn out to be the wrong one, as DreamWorks Animation's Shelley Page commented with her customary dry British wit.

More than 6,000 people attended fmx/08 again this year. And more than 400 speakers from 30-plus countries were invited. So this event is still growing strong both by numbers and by complexity. But this certain feeling of a big, friendly family meeting is still there, the chance to meet and speak to everyone you want to.

By Peter Plantec

Considering the lousy state of the dollar and air travel, I'd think twice about attending any European conference. It comes down to a personal cost-benefit analysis and you must weigh a lot of personal factors. There is one Euro-conference I am going to -- fmx/08, and for good reason.

fmx is by far the most important, forward looking and entertaining media conference in Europe. Heavily funded by the regional government of Baden Wittenberg, Germany, as well as significant industry sponsorships, it represents one of the best values I've seen for people who want to network, be seen, and learn cutting-edge techniques and technology. That said; fmx is also possibly the most fun I have all year.

Oscar winner Suzie Templeton gets a chance to talk with My Love director Alexander Petrov. © 2008 AWN Inc.

The day before the Oscars DreamWorks hosts a brunch at Campanile. Look at the animation who’s who gallery.

Madame Tutli-directors Chris Lavis (l) and Maciek Szczerbowski (2nd r) share a laugh with Maciek's mother and the head of the NFB Tom Perlmutter. © 2008 AWN Inc.

The night before the Big Night was a chance for the animation community to come together for the 18th annual Chocolate Fosca party, which was hosted by Marilyn Zornado and Libby Simon at the home of Renate Kempowski and Paul Demeyer. The annual event was originally started by Mike Gribble, the co-founder of the Spike & Mike festival, as a way to celebrate the animated shorts nominees. Originally called the Chocolate Oscars, the event was renamed after Fosca, a character from Marv Newland’s Anijam, after the Academy objected to the creation of chocolate Oscars. View the fun that was had by all.

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.

Each year Alain Dudoit, the Consul General of Canada, Los Angeles, hosts a star-studded event to celebrate the Oscar nominees from Canada. Check out who the Madame Tutli-Putli and I Met the Walrus filmmakers got to meet.

On Thursday, Feb. 24th, the Oscar Showcase tour pulled into DreamWorks. View the fun we had there.