With more than 2,000 exhibits, 500 authors, more than 60 conference sessions as well as a special area for rights business, BookExpo America allows attendees to see all the latest titles across genres, uncover hidden gems, network and meet the industry contacts. For more information, visit www.bookexpoamerica.com.
Mark and Jeanne Simon, founders of SellYourTvConceptNow.com, are hosting a free event for anyone who has an idea for a TV show and wants to pitch it to the networks. The free teleseminar/webinar will begin streaming at 9:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm Pacific.
Topics covered will be: * The Seven Biggest Show-Pitching Mistakes * Five Questions You Must be Able to Answer in a Pitch * Attendee Questions
Attendees may call into the conference or listen to it stream live over the Internet.
Filmaka's aim is to encourage and inspire filmmakers from all around the globe with its upcoming May competition. Its new theme is "The Game."
Film entries must run between 1-3 minutes in length and can be in any language (English subtitles are encouraged). Each month the top 15-20 Filmaka's win cash prizes and the chance show their filmmaking talent to its award-winning jury. Jurors include Colin Firth, Werner Herzog, Neil LaBute, John Madden, Paul Shrader and Wim Wenders.
Well, I'm three for three on keeping the This Weekend's Film Festival alive as a weekly segment on this site. Because there wasn't any worthwhile DVD releases this Tuesday to build the lineup around, I had to come up with another theme to tie the films together. It's far from Valentine's Day, so why romance you might be thinking. Well, it's my 5th wedding anniversary on June 1st and in celebration I thought it was as good as time for any to look at five great films for the romantic at heart. Some of the films in the lineup are fairly straight forward… but I know you're gonna want to know how a zombie film, which I referred to in my original review as "the goriest film I've ever seen," works into this week's group of films.
Midnight Pictures, Wes Craven's production company, has in final talks with Dennis Iliadis (HARDCORE) to direct a remake of THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, reports VARIETY. Adam Alleca has already signed on to adapt the screenplay. Rogue Pictures will fund and release the picture.
Craven will produce alongside Marianne Maddalena and Sean S. Cunningham.
The remake will keep the core premise of killers coming to stay at the home of the parents of one of their victims, but bring a more realistic tone to the characters.
LAIKA Inc. has appointed Cynthia Barton Rabe to the position of vp/cmo, entertainment division. Rabe is a 20-year marketing veteran who has held management positions with consumer product and technology companies, including Intel and Ralston Purina. She is also a business consultant, author and guest lecturer specializing in innovation and corporate strategy.
Artwork that illuminates the role the digital media plays in shaping, extending and reflecting world views and cosmologies will be showcased throughout the SIGGRAPH 2007 Art Gallery: Global Eyes. Global Eyes will take place during the 34th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques held Aug. 5-9 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.
Aardman Animations announced today (May 30, 2007), that it will launch its own branded channel on Joost, the world's first broadcast-quality Internet television service. Aardman began distributing programming on mobile platforms in 2006 and will now broadcast its content online through platforms like Joost.
The Aardman channel will offer classic animated shows from the studio, such as CREATURE COMFORTS and MORPH, surreal comedies REX THE RUNT, PANIC IN THE VILLAGE and The Adventures of Jeffrey, plus some brand-new short films.
Chris and Paul Weitz have gotten a seal of approval from author Michael Moorcock to bring his famed Elric series to the big screen, reports EMPIRE ONLINE. The Weitz brothers would produce the film via their Depth of Field production company. No director has been attached as of yet.
Taylor Jessen delves into some of the inspirations and challenges behind the three shorts recently honored by the SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival.
DreamWorks head Jeffrey Katzenberg said that a fifth installment of the SHREK franchise will be the last, reports THE AGE.
"It's a finite story, has been from the beginning, and I think that's part of its integrity, part of its strength, that we're not thinking this up as we go," Katzenberg said to the Australian newspaper. "Ultimately, we will come back to understand how Shrek arrived in that swamp. We will reveal his story."
In this month's edition of "The Digital Eye," Jenny Fulle explains the strategy behind Imageworks' launch of new satellite facilities in Northern California, India and New Mexico.
This month, LucasArts introduces all new features and adventures to its online game, STAR WARS GALAXIES via CHAPTER 6: MASTERS OF THE WILD. The new Beast Master System allows players to create, raise, train and trade more than 150 creatures in game. Through the new Storyteller Event System, players will be able to create their own STAR WARS stories, or they can tackle new adventures through the Azure Cabal Quest Series and in the improved Rebel Theme Parks.
Janet Hetherington talks to professionals in the animation, TV and film industries to find out what they did before they landed their dream jobs.
Cineplex Ent. and VIZ Media announced that advance tickets are on sale now for the special one-day-only Canadian event of the first NARUTO feature film, NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW, opening nationwide on Saturday June 23, 2007.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.cineplex.com as well as at participating Cineplex Ent. theatre box offices; admission for children is $8.95 + tax and general admission is $9.95 + tax.
The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced The VFX Guilty Pleasures Panel for the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects, which will take place Saturday, June 9, at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Director Joe Dante (GREMLINS and THE HOWLING) will moderate the panel, which will explore a wide range of cult films and the VFX that made them possible.
VFXWORLD busily ends the month with the spotlight on features and shorts: Thomas J. McLean looks at the potential impact of 300 in creating a wave of stylized VFX; J.
Despite some structural problems, FAST FOOD NATION shines with intelligent debate, an impressive cast and a layered approach at looking at the entire fast food industry from the corporate level to the meat supply level to the store level. Based on the bestselling non-fiction book, director Richard Linklater and co-writer Eric Schlosser find a way to bring out a bit of the human side behind the disturbing facts that were revealed in the original tome. Seen side by side with the documentary SUPER SIZE ME, one may never eat a fast food hamburger ever again.
For the film's corporate look, the fast food chain Mickey's is riding the success of their new burger the Big One. Marketing exec Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) is sent to Colorado to investigate one of their beef supply facilities after an independent report reveals a high level of crap in the meat, literally. For the supplier side, we follow a group of illegal Mexican immigrants — Raul (Wilmer Valderrama, TV's THAT 70S SHOW), Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno, MARIA FULL OF GRACE) and Coco (Ana Claudia Talancon, THE CRIME OF FATHER AMARO) — as they cross the border and get jobs at the meat packing plant. On the local store level, Amber (Ashley Johnson, TV'S GROWING PAINS) is working to make enough money to go to college, because her mother Cindy (Patricia Arquette, FLIRTING WITH DISASTER) can't afford to send her.
Promax/BDA India is an event for entertainment marketers, promoters and designers. This year's conference will look at the line between branding and promotion that creates meaning, and branding that just adds to the clutter.
ZEITGIEST is a unique and ambitious multimedia, musical event by P.J. Merola. This event is free and not for profit. It runs from May 29 - June 3, 2007 at 8:00-9:30 pm.
ZEITGEIST is an abstract, aesthetic exploration of personal belief and social myth -- told through a multimedia work of live solo percussion, stereo video displays and electronic music. Using animation, live performance, drama, humor, and narrative, ZEITGEIST attempts to bring its audience to a place that most likely counters what they believe as true.
Lauren Corrao, evp, original programming and development, Comedy Central, announced the network's 2007 and 2008 development slate, which includes an animated project by Larry the Cable Guy.
Projects in development run the gamut from short-form and sketch/variety to scripted narrative and animation starring a cross-section of top comedic talent such as Lewis Black, David Alan Grier, Michael Ian Black, T. Sean Shannon, Larry the Cable Guy and JoKoy and feature top producers including Jamie Tarses, Robert Morton, Max Brooks, Scott Carter and David Sacks, and Jim Biederman.
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, created by Stephan Pastis, has been named Best Newspaper Comic Strip of the year, while FOXTROT creator Bill Amend took home the coveted prize of Cartoonist of the Year, as the NCS announced all category winners at its 61st Annual Reuben Awards Banquet on May 26, 2007, in Orlando.
Carter Goodrich won in the Feature animation category for his character design in OPEN SEASON (Sony), beating out nominees Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, directors for OVER THE HEDGE (DreamWorks) and Peter De Seve, character designer for ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN (Fox).
Water is everywhere for the second consecutive summer movie season, and J. Paul Peszko dives in once again to navigate the latest breakthroughs with ILM, PDI/DreamWorks Animation and Sony Pictures Animation.
Karen Raugust reports on how digital technologies have changed the recruiting process, but passion, talent and teamwork still rule.
