Highlighted by a gala bash at the Hard Rock Café in Orlando, Florida on August 27, Stan Lee Media will unveil their new Webseries, THE BACKSTREET PROJECT, featuring superhero-likenesses of the singing group sensation, the Backstreet Boys. The promotional push will also include a marketing campaign, featuring CDs and action figure toys, at the Burger King restaurant chain. "We are thrilled that the Backstreet/Burger King promotion will be one of the largest promotions ever to support an Internet entertainment franchise," said SLM president and CEO, Kevin Williams.

FRAISER-star Kelsey Grammer and his production company, Grammnet, has signed an exclusive deal with MediaTrip to develop and distribute original content. The first series coming from the new pact will be the toon GARY THE RAT. The Webtoon will chronicle the trials of a lawyer turned giant rat and his death-defying run-ins with exterminator Johnny Bugz. Mark Cullen (writer/producer of HITZ) and his brother Rob created RAT. Grammer and the Cullen Brothers will executive produce, while MediaTrip will produce and finance the project. Both companies will share in the profits.

Toon In is AWN's guide to what's new on the Net. This week's installment features new shorts from Stan Lee Media and Aardman Animations and much, much more.





Get your Toon In: Web Animation Guide here!





Every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"

Rick's Pick For Friday, August 18, 2000!

Animation producers/directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman have set out to expand their DRAGON’S LAIR franchise into the lands of Webtoons, next-generation video games and a feature film. Their new Web site donbluth.com will air the DRAGON’S LAIR Webisodes, which will follow the not so valiant Dirk the Daring and his battles with the evil wizard, Mordrock. No release date has been set for the premiere episode. DonBluth.com will also feature animation lessons from the legendary director.

The legendary Chuck Jones is bringing his first original character in 40 years to the Internet. The series will feature Thomas T. Wolf, an unlucky timber wolf who often falls victim to falling objects when someone yells, "Timber!" Jones created the character 10 years ago as an idea intended for a theatrical short. Executive producer Stephan Fossati, who worked on six Looney Tunes shorts in 1992, was asked by a Warner Bros.’ executive whether Jones had any new characters for the Web. Fossati remembered Thomas T.

Toon In is AWN's guide to what's new on the Net. This week's installment features the newest toon from John K, Bill Plympton and much, much more.





Get your Toon In: Web Animation Guide here!





Every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"

Rick's Pick For Friday, August 11, 2000!

AniVision Inc. has signed a licensing deal with the U.S. college football’s Southeastern Conference (SEC) to transport online game players into key plays from the 2000 season. Under the 5-year pact, AniVision will recreate SEC games and place gamers within the action to view replays on-demand, analyze players’ performance or insert themselves into key plays. The alliance marks the first use of AniVision’s 3D-animation technology for real-sports recreation.

shockwave.com has rolled out the new version of their Shockmachine entertainment player. Shockmachine 2.0 lets users save shockwave.com titles and replay them full-screen offline. The new version also comes with a desktop compact mode that allows consumers access to hundreds of titles with the click of one button, and a new notification feature to keep Netizens in touch with shockwave.com’s new releases. Shockmachine 2.0 is available as a free download at www.shockwave.com.

Toon In is AWN's guide to what's new on the Net. This week's installment features Annecy aired shorts, Playboy contest winners and much, much more.





Get your Toon In here!





Every week AWN's associate editor Rick DeMott highlights what he thinks is the top new toon in cyberspace in "Rick's Picks!"

Rick's Pick For Friday, August 4, 2000!

The company that syndicates the live-action TV series XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, Studios USA Domestic Television (SUDT), and Brilliant Digital have signed a deal to syndicate the 3D animated Web series XENA to sites around cyberspace. This new deal marks the first major television syndication firm that has delved into Web syndication. The XENA Web series debuted on July 14 at SciFi.com, USANetwork.com and StudiosUSA.com. SUDT executive VP sales and new business Arthur Hasson, said, "I am excited about expanding our syndication business into the on-line world.