* Friday, September 25 - Sunday, September 27. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.


UCLA hosts three puppet performances brought over from the Henson Festival of Puppet Theater, in conjunction with the new Cotsen Center for Puppetry at Cal Arts: “Ubu and the Truth Commission” by South African group The Handspring Puppet Company (featuring animator William Kentridge), “Electric Shadows” by American-Indonesian act Wayang Listrik and “Short Stories” by Peruvian Teatro Hugo and Ines. For show times and tickets, call (310) 825-2101.

Los Angeles-based Klasky Csupo has expanded its commercials division with the signing of eight directors to its roster: CORKY QUAKENBUSH is a stop-motion animator famous for his raunchy “MAD TV” spots; Sweden-native STIG BERQVIST is a 2D animator who recently completed working on “Stressed Eric” with Klasky’s TV division, and also co-directed short films including “Otto” and “Revolver;” JIM BLASHFIELD is a Portland, Oregon-based mixed-media director known for his cut-out look utilized in such music videos as Michael Jackson’s “Leave Me Alo

ASIFA-Hollywood has released the list of nominees for its 26th annual Annie Awards, which will take place at Alex Theatre in Glendale, California on Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. For information call (818) 842-8330.


For a complete list of nominees, click here.

* Friday, September 25. London, England, U.K.


In honor of Warner Bros.’ 75th anniversary, The Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) launches an exhibition of original Looney Tunes art work. In honor of MOMI’s tenth anniversary, admission is free until the end of September! For more information about MOMI, visit the “Hidden Treasures” feature in Animation World Magazine’s October 1997 issue.

Golden Books Family Entertainment has signed a deal with animation production company Varga tvc Ltd. (formed last year between Hungarian Varga Studios and TVC London) to produce animated video specials based on the Golden Books titles: "The Poky Little Puppy," "Saggy Baggy Elephant" and "Scuffy the Tugboat." The three videos will be available by Spring 1999. All animation production will take place at Varga tvc's London studio, with a production team that includes writer Bruce Talkington, creative director Dave Unwin and director Ramon Modiano.

Santa Monica, California-based Epoch Ink Animation and Phoenix, Arizona-based Todd McFarlane Entertainment collaborated on a fully-animated music video for Pearl Jam's song "Do the Evolution." The four-minute video was produced in just 12 weeks with a budget of U.S. $220,000.

Czech production and distribution company Kratky Film Praha a.s., which owns the Bratri v triku and Jiri Trnka animation studios, has been substantially restructured. The company has been struggling financially since 1994, and has been facing possible bankruptcy since 1997, a measure prevented by a recent investment from insurance company Ceska Pojistovna, now the majority shareholder in Kratky Film. The restructuring has also caused a management shake-out.

Animation director CHRIS BAILEY has joined the full-time staff of DREAM QUEST IMAGES, the effects studio owned by Disney.

Recycling is alive and well in Hollywood. An astounding number of animation properties are being optioned for adaptation as live-action films, such as "Inspector Gadget" and "Sailor Moon." This week, two more such deals have been announced. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," a book by Dr. Seuss and then an animated feature directed by Chuck Jones at MGM, will have its next reincarnation as a live-action feature starring Jim Carrey. Universal, which already owns the theme park rights to Dr. Seuss properties, and Ron Howard's Imagine Films paid Dr. Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel nearly U.S.

The Independent Feature Project (IFP) and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) have announced the winners of their first student film competition, IFC2000. The U.S. $2,500 "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" prize has been awarded to "Hisao" by Masahiro Sugano, a student from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Art & Design.