Vancouver-based Studio B Productions has announced that all three of its animated children's series currently airing on Canada's national television have been picked up for another season. "We’re very proud to have all three of our original shows picked up for national broadcast," said Blair Peters, partner and founder, Studio B Productions. "There's a lot of competition out there and we're pleased that kids have responded well to our characters and stories." D’MYNA LEAGUES follows the wacky baseball adventures of a team of teenage myna birds.

On July 12 in New York, the International Flash Film Festival handed out this year's honors. Thirteen winners from the U.S. and around the world received the "arrow" award. The festival is the highlight of the Flashforward2001 conference and expo. The work of all 60 finalists, selected from over sixteen hundred nominations, was screened for the 200 attendees. The winners can be seen at: www.flashforward2001.com. Finalists and winners were selected by two panels of judges from the Flash community.

Boston-based ViewPoint Studios has completed two on-air promotional packages for Discovery Communications. The first promotional package was for Animal Planet International's "Whale of a Week," which features a line-up of shows revolving around whales. Molly McCarthy, associate producer of international on-air promotion for Discovery Networks International, said, "Our goal was to create a promo that would travel across all regions of the world and portray the beauty and mystery of whales, while maintaining the international on-air look of the Animal Planet network.

Arriving in stores on September 25, 2001, Fox Home Entertainment will release THE SIMPSONS SEASON ONE COLLECTOR'S EDITION DVD BOX SET featuring every episode from the premiere season. The three-disc set will feature all thirteen episodes from the show's first season and outtakes from an un-aired version of the first 22-minute episode. Bonus features include original scripts and audio commentaries by Matt Groening, James L.

Empire Interactive, one of the U.K.'s leading computer game developers and publishers, and Vivendi Universal Publishing has announced a distribution deal, which will bring six new franchises to North America. The deal includes fifteen titles scheduled to premiere in fall 2001. As part of the deal, VU Publishing has acquired the rights to distribute six of Empire's upcoming titles, VICTORIOUS BOXERS, END GAME, ANTZ RACING, STARSKY & HUTCH, GHOSTMASTER and WORLD SPORTS CARS in the U.S. and Canada. Empire plans to publish the titles for multiple next-generation platforms and PC-CD Rom.

Angus Cheng has been named director of development for Hong Kong by Walt Disney Imagineering. Cheng will serve as the point man for Walt Disney Imagineering's Hong Kong-based project team, which is developing the new theme park resort on Lantau Island. The Hong Kong Disneyland project includes a Disneyland-branded theme park, hotels and a retail, dining and entertainment complex. The new park is scheduled to open in 2005/2006. In this role, he will serve as a liaison between the Hong Kong SAR government and the Imagineering team in the United States.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include: Vancouver Film School US Roadshow: Monday, July 16 - Friday, July 20, 2001, Dallas, Austin, Houston & Denver, Texas & Colorado USA. Comic-Con International: Thursday, July 19 - Sunday, July 22, 2001, San Diego, California USA. Puppet Short Film and Video Festival: Sunday, July 22, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA. Animation Workout with Guest Director Marc Cashman: Tuesday, July 31, 2001, Burbank, California USA. Bill Plympton's "Mutant Aliens" West Coast Premiere: Wednesday, August 08, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA.

The World Animation Celebration will offer the only West Coast screening of "Mutant Aliens," Bill Plympton's new animated feature that premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. This sci-fi comedy about totally evil but cuddly aliens coming to Earth to get their revenge won the Feature Film Grand Prix at the 2001 Annecy Animation Festival. Bill Plympton, who did all the animation, will be present at the screening. He will also be signing copies of his graphic novel of "Mutant Aliens." The first 50 attendees will get special collectible viewers with raunchy stills from the film.

New York's Across Frontiers International, producers of CD-Rom based movies for corporate/educational interests, is looking for a VIDEO EDITOR/ANIMATOR. . . India's Animindia, a 2D animation studio, is looking for a BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE. . . Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada's Collideascope Digital Productions, Inc., a new media and convergence company, is looking for ROUGH KEY & INBETWEEN ANIMATORS, CLEAN-UP ANIMATORS and LAYOUT/BACKGROUND ARTISTS for a children's animated series. . .

* Animation Workout with Guest Director Marc Cashman, of Cashman Commercials: Tuesday, July 31, 2001, Burbank, California USA.


Entry Deadline: Wednesday, July 11, 2001