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InterAmus Music Systems AB announces a new technology for compositional realtime music morphing at the Game Developers Conference, GDC 2006 in San Jose. This technology makes it possible to create computer games with music that seamlessly follows the story in the game, without knowing the gamers actions or the outcome of the game.

Ai-Kon organizers are seeking a new design for Aiko, the Ai-Kon mascot, for use on the convention's 2006 promotional materials. A stylish, energetic anime girl with pink hair and blue eyes, Aiko appears on a variety of Ai-Kon promotional items, including t-shirts, posters, flyers, badges, programs and the Ai-Kon website (www.ai-kon.org).

In the U.K., Toonami has added live-action drama and comedy to its cartoon lineup to broaden the appeal of the channel.

Aimed at boys and girls 6 to 12 years old, Toonami is the first kids channel from Turner Broadcasting to include live-action series, which will be added to the channels popular cartoons including THE BATMAN, POKÉMON, JUSTICE LEAGUE, TEEN TITANS and STATIC SHOCK.

This ingenious mockumentary plays things straight up to a certain point. Where truth and fiction mix is uncertain and who is in on the joke is uncertain as well. All the characters in the film play themselves or exaggerated/mocking versions of themselves.

The premise is that famed German director Werner Herzog, who deals with grand characters in both his fiction and documentary films, is setting out to make a new documentary about the myth of the Loch Ness monster. Zak Penn, the writer of X2 and LAST ACTION HERO, is the producer on the doc. He hires big time feature cinematographer Gabriel Beristain, who worked on films like BLADE II and THE RING TWO. As this film is being made, cinematographer John Bailey, whose credits include AS GOOD AS IT GETS and GROUNDHOG DAY, is making a documentary about Herzog.

This dark comedy on the plight of modern success is gutsy enough to follow a main character who has no clue how to attain his goals.

David Spritz (Nicolas Cage, MATCHSTICK MEN) is a well-known weather man on the local news in Chicago. His father Robert (Michael Caine, QUILLS) is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. The shadow David lives under is huge. David is estranged from his wife Noreen (Hope Davis, AMERICAN SPLENDOR), who he has a very hostel relationship with. His young daughter Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena, ERIN BROCKOVICH) is quite over-weight and is being called names at school because of it. His son Mike (Nicholas Hoult, ABOUT A BOY) is just getting out of rehab and is developing an eerie relationship with his older counselor Don (TV’s ALLY MCBEAL). David’s attitude toward Noreen’s new boyfriend Russ (Michael Rispoli, TWO FAMILY HOUSE) doesn’t help his efforts to clean up his act either.

Arriving in theaters the same year as John Landis’ AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, THE HOWLING starts interestingly and ends strong, but lacks a compelling middle to raise it to the next level.

Karen White (Dee Wallace, E.T.) is a TV news reporter who has been contacted by a serial killer prowling the streets of her city. While wired, she agrees to meet with the killer thus leading police to him. But the set-up goes a bit wrong and she is traumatized by visions she can’t quite remember. Famed therapist Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee, THIS IS SPINAL TAP) advises Karen to go to his retreat in the woods to “recharge her batteries.”

But when Karen and her husband Bill (Christopher Stone, CUJO) arrive at the retreat they find the other guests quite strange, especially the seductive Marsha (Elisabeth Brooks, TV’s DAYS OF OUR LIVES). In the meantime, reporters Chris Halloran (Dennis Dugan, PARENTHOOD) and Terry Fisher (Belinda Balaski, SMALL SOLDIERS) investigate the strange life of the serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo, GREMLINS II: THE NEW BATCH), which points to him being a werewolf.