A bit of controversy has arisen due to the striking similarity between some
scenes in James Gurney's DINOTOPIA books and George Lucas' STAR WARS
EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE. The questionable parallels include that
between PHANTOM MENACE's royal Naboo city of Theed and DINOTOPIA's
Waterfall City; the trip through PHANTOM MENACE's Naboo's core and a
submarine ride in THE WORLD BENEATH; the celebratory parade at the end of
the film and several scenes from DINOTOPIA books; and between Jar Jar Binks

Don Spielvogel, President of VirtualMagic Animation, Inc., and Jeffrey
Harrison, Chairman/CEO of ImagineAsia Studio, announce the formation of
VirtualMagic ASIA, a new digital ink, paint and compositing service in the
Philippines that will operate as a subsidiary of VirtualMagic Animation,
Inc. headquartered in North Hollywood, California. VirtualMagic ASIA is a
corporate venture between two animation and digital service studios,
VirtualMagic Animation, Inc. and ImagineAsia Studio, of Manila.

* Friday, May 7th, 7:30 pm. Los Angeles, California, USA.


The Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present "A
Taste of Tashlin: Early Hollywood Cartoons," cartoons by Frank Tashlin
which he made before turning to live-action and going on to direct several
of Jerry Lewis' best films. The program includes PORKY'S POULTRY PLANT,
PORKY IN THE NORTH WOODS, PORKY'S ROMANCE, THE MAJOR LIED TIL DAWN, THE FOX
AND THE GRAPES, SCRAP HAPPY DAFFY, PORKY PIG'S FEAT, A CORNY CONCERTO,

The Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present two programs of films by Frank Tashlin and Ub Iwerks. On Friday, May 7, at 7:30 pm A Taste of Tashlin: Early Hollywood Cartoons will present the cartoons Frank Tashlin made before turning to live-action and going on to direct several of Jerry Lewis' best films.

ImagineAsia Studios is seeking a LIGHTWAVE/SOFTIMAGE TRAINER for a 3+ month commitment in Metro Manila, Philippines. Transportation, accommodations and meals are provided. ImagineAsia Studios is an exciting state-of-the-art digital animation studio currently in production on Columbia TriStar/Cine Groupe's "Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2". Candidate must be highly experienced in the latest versions of Lightwave/Softimage. Areas of critical focus include character modeling, lighting, texturing and animation. Strong demo reel and excellent English communication skills required.

SPIDER-MAN TO SWING WITHOUT CAMERON. Whatever expectations were created in 1990 when Stan Lee (Spider-Man's co-creator with Steve Ditko and possibly Jack Kirby) announced that James Cameron would be directing a Spider-Man film, ended for the director of TITANIC and THE TERMINATOR on Monday when THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER reported that Cameron will not be directing this long dreamed of project. This announcement comes soon after the resolution of legal disputes between most of the involved companies over rights to the Spider-Man character and related properties.

Eighties rock singer Billy Idol is providing the lead voice in Sceneries Entertainment's upcoming animated feature HEAVY METAL: F.A.K.K. 2, to be released by Columbia TriStar in fall 1999. The film is based on a graphic novel by TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES creator Kevin Eastman, along with Simon Bisley and Eric Talbot. Idol will play the role of Tyler, a genocidal villain, who will ultimately be conquered by F.A.K.K., an immortal female warrior. The film's soundtrack also features music by Axel Rose, Sammy Hagar and the Stone Temple Pilots.

Manila-based ImagineAsia is the Asian studio chosen to do the production work for HEAVY METAL F.A.K.K. 2, the $15-million sequel to 1981's HEAVY METAL. The film is being co-produced by Canada's Cine-Groupe and Germany's Helkon Media for a U.S. Columbia TriStar release during the second half of 1999. The film is directed by Michael Coldeway, and stars Julie Strain and Billy Idol. This marks the feature debut of ImagineAsia, as well as one of the few times an Asian animation facility has been called upon to fully animate a feature film for a major U.S. studio.

ImagineAsia Studios is seeking an Associate Producer/Production Manager for a six- to nine-month commitment on a contract basis. Permanency is potential. ImagineAsia, Inc. is an exciting state-of-the-art digital and traditional animation studio based in Manila, Philippines (currently in production on Columbia TriStar/Cine Groupe's "Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2"). ImagineAsia is seeking an energetic, creative and highly organized individual who has animation experience from concept development through tape delivery.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SPE) new family entertainment division (AF 03/09/99) has announced their first two development deals. The group has acquired worldwide rights to Kevin Eastman's UNDERWHERE, and has signed Eastman to develop an animated children's series based on his popular book. The series follows the adventures of 10-year-old Jacob who travels to UNDERWHERE, a land that exists in the same space as ours but can only be visited by those who possess the gift of imagination.