Category: Business

Following the demise of Egmont Imagination earlier this year, the company's former U.K. managing director, Tatiana Kober, has launched Bejuba! Entertainment, based in Toronto with an office in Los Angeles. The company will specialize in financing, exploitation and distribution of intellectual property rights across all key markets and platforms.

Opponents of the FCC approved changes in media ownership regulations got a reprieve Sept. 3, 2003 when a federal judicial panel temporarily blocked the rules from taking effect as they were scheduled to the following day, Sept. 4. A three-judge panel of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania issued a stay order preventing the regulatory agency from loosening ownership rules pending further proceedings.

Dae Joong Kim, a veteran animation director for 36 years, has joined Cyper Entertainment Inc., subsidiary of JRE Inc., based in Seoul, Korea. Considered one of the top OEM animation directors in Korea, he has worked on many different animated TV shows such as SUPER MARIO, FUTURE BOY CONAN, CAPTAIN HARLOCK, GALAXY EXPRESS 999 AND NADIA, among others.

"Mr. Kim is a valued addition to our team as we prepare for several large film and television productions. We are excited to have him in our service," said Duk Jim Jang, president of JRE.

Cornerstone Animation is missing one of its cornerstones with the recent departure of president/ceo Jason Marshall VanBorssum, who unexpectedly cleaned out his office at the studio in Glendale, California, leaving company files in disarray and its workers unpaid, AWN confirmed with founder/chief creative officer Larry Whitaker. Although we have been forced to shut our doors, we have not filed bankruptcy to date.

Atari Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering of $125 million of common stock. In the proposed offering, shares will be sold by Atari and by Infogrames Entertainment, S.A., which owns approximately 88% of the outstanding Atari shares. Atari and Infogrames will grant the underwriters an option to purchase additional shares of its common stock valued at up to $18.75 million to cover over-allotments.

As embattled Canadian childrens producer/distributor CINAR Corp. continues to work with the Quebec Securities Commission to have CINAR shares re-listed on the stock exchange, the company has signed 12 confidentiality/ standstill agreements with parties interested in taking part or all of the company. A CINAR statement said, Any major developments in this regard will be communicated to shareholders, regulatory authorities and the public as appropriate.

The creative design/production company twothousandstrong, led by creative director Craig Tozzi, has moved into its new headquarters, a 4,800 square-foot loft space in Venice, California, and added Julia Lennon as new head of sales/new business development.

During the living tribute to voice over master Daws Butler at the ASIFA-Hollywood meeting July 30, 2003 in Glendale, the animation society announced it has embarked on an ambitious project to expand the offerings of the current ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Center in Burbank to include a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility for the benefit of the animation community and general public.