* Sunday, October 11. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.


Griffith Place Entertainment presents Hollywood Shorts, a monthly film festival dedicated to introducing emerging directors/writers and producers to Los Angeles’ film community. This month’s animated film is “Exo-Skeleton and companion cartoons,” a 10-minute computer animation by Pyros Pictures. The screening will take place at The Joint, 8771 West Pico Boulevard (at Robertson) in West L.A. from 6 to 9 p.m. Guests must RSVP by October 10. Call (310) 358-7634.

Vancouver, Canada-based Gordon Stanfield Animation (GSA) has hired Penny Fenwick as head of program sales and co-production coordinator. She has been working in television sales and promotions since graduating from Concordia University 1997 with a masters degree in animation.

Sydney, Australia-based independent producer and distributor Energee Entertainment Pty Ltd., producers of the animated series “Crocadoo,” has acquired two cartoon series from the 1960s to sell to the nostalgia niche market. “Clutch Cargo” follows the seaplane travel adventures of Clutch and his friends Spinner and Paddlefoot, and “Space Angel” follows the intergalactic adventures of law enforcer Scott McCloud from the Earth Bureau of Investigation. Both are contained in half-hour episodes which can also be shown as five-minute daily strips or used as fillers.

TOM SITO has left his post as head of story at DreamWorks Feature Animation, entering a one-year development deal with WARNER BROS. FEATURE ANIMATION. At Warner Bros. he will join development on the animated feature, “Osmosis Jones,” which sources say will be directed by Sito if the film is green-lit. As president of the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonist’s Union (M.P.S.C.) Local 839 and vice president of ASIFA-Hollywood, Sito is an influential force in the animation industry.

One-year-old Gloucester, U.K.-based The Little Entertainment Company (LEC Ltd.) has two new series, “Magical Mystery Merlin” and “Charlie Marmalade.” The company’s first two animated shows have recently secured broadcast spots on BBC (“Little Monsters”) and ITV (“Billy”).

After 20 years in the animation industry, including Oscar and Emmy wins, animation producer and consultant NICK BOSUSTOW and his wife Julie have fulfilled a lifelong dream and accepted an invitation from the U.S. Peace Corps to work in Guatemala for the next two years, where they will assist small businesses. The Bosustows will leave the U.S. in January, after selling their home. Nick is the son of Steven Bosustow, a founding member of the legendary UPA animation studio.

Copenhagen, Denmark-based Interactive Television Entertainment is launching several new interactive game shows, including two that will incorporate animation, based on the concept used for the series “Hugo the TV Troll.” “Tush Tush” will use real-time motion-capture animation to allow viewers to interact with the program via the Internet and telephone. “Yo-Yo,” developed with Los Angeles-based Dream Entertainment, will offer animated carnival-type games linked to video games which viewers can play simultaneously on consoles in their homes.

Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.

Dublin, Ireland-based Monster Productions, an animation studio and distribution company formed in 1995 by former management and artists from the Don Bluth studios, has acquired the rights to produce a television series based on 7th Level’s video game “Arcade America.” Monster is also currently distributing the 13-episode animated series “The Storykeepers,” while seeking co-production partners for several other animated projects including an animated feature film based on “Jack and the Beanstalk,” a series called “Kwiatkowski” based on detective nov

Manchester, England-based animation studio Cosgrove Hall, known for its stop-motion production on series such as “Brambly Hedge” and “The Animal Shelf,” is launching production on a new, 26-part, drawn 2D animated series called “Foxbusters.” The show is about a group of renegade chickens that challenge the process of natural selection and try not to get eaten by foxes. David Freedman and Alan Gilbey are writing scripts. The ITV Network Centre has commissioned 11 episodes for debut in September 1999.