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Festival Events

Bitfilm Festival 2007

By Guest (not verified) | Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 11:00am

The Bitfilm Festival presents films that have been realized using digital technologies in a creative and innovative way.

The global Internet audience will vote for the best films in the following categories, winners will be awarded with the Bitfilm trophy and price money:

- 3D Space - Fx-Mix - Flash - Machinima - Micromovies (movies for small screens) - Grand Prix

The Bitfilm Festival is now open to submissions, please submit your films online at www.bitfilm.com/festival

Work Events

Betsy Streeter Presentation

By Guest (not verified) | Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 11:00am
Begins: September 8, 2007

The Cartoon Art Museum hosts cartoonist Betsy Streeter, creator of BRAINWAVES and THE MOMMY TRACK'D FUNNY PAPERS on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum visitors will have the chance to watch Streeter at work and chat with her about cartooning. This event is free and open to the public.

Blogs

SHUT UP & SING (2006) (****)

In 2003, the Dixie Chicks were country music princesses. They were at the top of the charts and their concerts were selling out arenas around the globe. Then, when the U.S. was on the brink of invading Iraq, lead singer Natalie Maines made the statement that they were ashamed that President George W. Bush was from Texas. This began a fervor, which this great documentary intricately documents, making it one the best rock docs ever made.

Part of the backlash from the statement started with country music stations banning their songs, spurred by calls from irate fans. Some stations even sponsored promotions for former fans to bring in their Dixie Chicks CDs to have them run over by a steam shovel. Alienated from their Red State base, the threesome, which also includes sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maquire, had to work on reaching out to new fans. We watch as they prepare for the U.S. leg of their world tour post incident, record their next two albums and strategize on how to handle the predicament and how it has changed their image.

Blogs

ROMPER STOMPER (1992) (***1/2)

Named by THE TIMES OF LONDON as one of the most controversial films of all time, ROMPER STOMPER is everything AMERICAN HISTORY X wished it were. In not making a movie "about" skinheads, director/writer Geoffrey Wright makes the best movie about skinheads. We are put directly inside an Australian white supremacist gang and the film only gives us a troubled outsider as our in-route into the story. It's unflinching about the violent lifestyle of skinhead gangs and never forces characters to have epiphanies where they learn that racism is bad.

Hando (Russell Crowe, 3:10 TO YUMA), leader of the skinhead gang, is enraged by the growing number of Vietnamese immigrants buying property around his neighborhood. Along with his quiet right hand man, Davey (Daniel Pollock), and the rest of the thugs, he brutalizes a trio of Vietnamese skateboarders, which includes Tiger (Tony Lee), a young man who vows revenge. At the local bar one night, Hondo sets his eyes on Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie, TV's THE 4400), a trouble epileptic girl, who has some serious daddy issues. The gang's violent attacks on the Vietnamese will have their repercussions, leading to more and more desperate actions.

Film Events

Moondance 2007

By Guest (not verified) | Friday, September 7, 2007 at 11:00am
Begins: September 7, 2007

Moondance is an international film festival dedicated to enhancing the role of women in and on the silver screen as well as promoting, encouraging, educating and rewarding non-violent conflict resolution in the arts and film. Screenwriters, filmmakers, playwrights, short story writers, TV writers, librettists, film music composers, children's filmmakers and writers, and young (18 & under) filmmakers, screenwriters and multimedia filmmakers are encouraged to participate.

Anime Events

Connichi 2007

By Guest (not verified) | Friday, September 7, 2007 at 11:00am
Begins: September 7, 2007

Connichi is the biggest anime and manga convention in Germany organized by the biggest German speaking anime and manga association. Located in the middle of Germany, the Connichi has become one of the most important conventions for all German speaking anime and manga fans in Germany, Austria and Suisse, including other European countries. Last year there were more than 7,500 visitors in Kassel.

Blogs

3:10 TO YUMA (2007) (***1/2)

WALK THE LINE director James Mangold does with 3:10 TO YUMA what all good remakes do — use the original's strengths as a basis while fleshing out the weak moments. The 1957 original is a minor Western classic. However, while not perfect, the remake is a superior film. This is done by giving more depth and sublty to the characters and pumping up the excitement level in good ways. The addition of two of today's premiere actors — Russell Crowe and Christian Bale — as well as a star making performance by Ben Foster, does not hurt either.

Dan Evans (Bale, BATMAN BEGINS) lost a leg in the Civil War. Now he's struggling to keep food on the table and pay off his debts. His son William (Logan Lerman, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT) resents the fact that his father doesn't charge after the men sent to burn down their barn. One day while tending the cows, they witness ruthless outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe, CINDERELLA MAN), along with his bloodthirsty sidekick Charlie Prince (Ben Foster, BANG, BANG, YOU'RE DEAD), use their cattle as a blockade in a robbery of the stagecoach. After Wade and his gang leave Evans and his sons without horses, they help the injured stagecoach driver Byron McElroy (Peter Fonda, EASY RIDER) and end up finding their horses on the road to town where Wade promised they would be. Desperate for money, Evans helps capture Wade and joins railroad manager Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD), Doc Potter (Alan Tudyk, I, ROBOT) and hired thug Tucker (Kevin Durand, WILD HOGS) on a mission to deliver Wade to the 3:10 train to Yuma.

Channel Headline News

KidsCo Channel Launches in CEE

KidsCo, the joint venture channel owned by leading media companies Sparrowhawk Media, DIC Ent. (DIC) and Corus Ent. Inc.'s Nelvana Enterprises, goes on air today in Romania, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Poland carried by local cable operators. Deals have also been signed in Ukraine, where KidsCo will launch next month, and in Asia Pacific, where viewers will be able to tune in by early 2008.

Animation Headline News

Fireman Sam's Derring-Do Soon to Be HD CGI

HIT Ent. has announced that the upcoming sixth series of FIREMAN SAM will be produced in high-definition CGI animation. Since acquiring the property from S4C in March 2007, HIT has teamed up with London-based Hibbert Ralph Animation (HRTV), who in turn joined forces with Beijing-based animation studio Xing Xing to produce the series. Delivery of the new FIREMAN SAM will commence in May 2008.

Headline News

Jetix to Air 4Kids' Chaotic

4Kids Ent. has announced that Jetix has licensed the U.S. cable and Latin American pay satellite rights for CHAOTIC. The popular trading card game-themed series will air on the Jetix Block and is anticipated to launch October 2007. CHAOTIC will continue to air on weekends in the U.S. on 4Kids TV on Fox Network and is also available for viewing on the Comcast VOD Channel.

Toon Headline News

Toon Boom Releases Studio 4

Toon Boom Animation announced today the release of Toon Boom Studio 4, the latest version of its all-in-one animation software solution. Incorporating a more user-friendly interface for greater flexibility and ease of operation, the new release includes a number of improved features:

* Photo Animation Made Easy to animate bitmap images like any other vector drawing.* Extended Line Styles to create a multitude of line styles including calligraphy.* Feather Edges to create vector blur or glow effects.

Series Headline News

Ludorum Unveils CGI Kids Series

U.K. kids company Ludorum has announced the start of production for its first property, a $7.3 million CGI-animated series for the BBC. Targeting kids 3-6, CHUGGINGTON (52x10) is based around a group of talking trains, each with its own personality and style. The series is being directed by Sarah Ball, who won a BAFTA for her work as a director and writer on BOB THE BUILDER. Shanghai-based Motion Magic Digital Ent. will animate the series, and writers have been drafted from the U.K., the U.S. and China to ensure the scripts are international in scope.

Series Headline News

Tobey Maguire Gears Up for Robotech

Tobey Maguire and Warner Bros. will be producing a live-action adaptation of the classic anime series ROBOTECH, reports the trades. Maguire looks to star in the potential blockbuster as well as produce via his Maguire Ent. production co.

The 1980's mecha series was produced by Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoko Prods. The sci-fi series followed Earth's use of alien technology to engineer giant robots to help fight various alien invasions.

Series Headline News

Creative Differences Spur Showrunner To Exit Bionic

BIONIC WOMAN showrunner Glen Morgan has left the new NBC production, VARIETY reports. The trade pub states that creative differences were the reason for the former X-FILES showrunner to ankle the fledgling series.

David Eick is now the sole showrunner on the sci-fi production. Jason Smilovic is the exec producer.

The network made a statement congratulating Morgan for helping build a foundation for the series, which debuts later this month.

Headline News

Open Season Sequel Debuting on DVD

Sony Pictures Animation confirmed that it's making a sequel to OPEN SEASON, which will debut on DVD. Though the original film only took in a modest $190 million worldwide, it performed strongly on DVD, warranting a sequel. The studio hopes to have the project ready for release in 2009.

World Headline News

EA Announces The Sims on Stage

Electronic Arts Inc. announced the beta launch of THE SIMS ON STAGE, an interactive online playground for PC and Mac. By visiting www.thesimsonstage.com, people can immediately and free-of-charge start recording karaoke songs, stories, comedy routines and more. The site offers accessible tools that make it easy to watch, create and share recordings with friends, The Sims On Stage community, or the entire world online.

Headline News

Phoenix Technologies Launches New MoCap Accessories

Phoenix Technologies recently launched a lineup of new accessories for its next-generation Visualeyez II VZ4000 Active Optical Realtime motion capture system.

* New VZSuit -- redesigned with new features that will ultimately reduce operating costs for users. This is a two-piece stretchable Lycra motion capture suit that is completely Velcro-compatible (except for the armpit areas). This suit is very easy to wear and allows for free unrestricted acting motions. The VZSuit is designed for quick and easy arrangement of the LED markers for optimal capture performance.

Animation Headline News

Earthlight Launches All-Live Remote Animation Training

Earthlight Pictures has launched a major innovation in animation training with a groundbreaking live-video classroom that closely approximates the real thing. The unique TelAnimate system came online earlier this year after two years of development in Santa Barbara, Boise, and at Earthlight's current base of operations in Portland.

Awards Headline News

Digital Domain, ILM, Imageworks, Side Effects Up For Scientific Oscars

The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 scientific and technical achievements have been selected for further awards consideration, with an emphasis on fluid and other sim solvers.

The committee has selected the following methods or devices for further consideration:

* Industrial Light & Magic Water System; ILM

* FSIM-Fluid Simulation Pipeline at Digital Domain; Digital Domain

* The Sandstorm Software System; Sony Pictures Imageworks

Blogs

This Weekend's Film Festival Celebrates The Western Code of Justice

In general I love Westerns. They often work as simple morality tales, but the more ambitious ones serve as metaphors for the era in America in which they were made. With the excellent remake of 3:10 TO YUMA coming to theaters this Friday, this seems like a great week to dedicate This Weekend's Film Festival to the Western.

Often referred to as the "dead" genre, Westerns were once the most popular form of film in the U.S. Many were just escapist fun, but the truly great ones took on a grander scale. The good and the bad in the genre did often have one thing in common — characters who live by a strict code of honor. Or in some cases found one. In the new YUMA, Christian Bale's character has a strong sense of duty to what is right… and so does Russell Crowe's killer in a way. So I've chosen a selection of five great Westerns that feature characters with a unique sense of justice. So saddle up for a lineup worth your weight in gold.

Film Events

Toronto International Film Festival 2007

By Guest (not verified) | Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 11:00am
Begins: September 6, 2007

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the premiere film festivals in the world. The event features many debuts of films that will go on to be box-office and critical successes. This major industry event is a place where studios test their films and seek out independent features.

Drawn Events

IBC 2007

By Guest (not verified) | Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 11:00am
Begins: September 6, 2007

IBC is committed to providing the world's best event for everyone involved in the creation, management and delivery of content for the entertainment industry. Run by the industry for the industry, IBC is owned by six partners who represent both visitors and exhibitors. Uniquely, the key executives and committees who control the convention are drawn from these organizations, bringing with them experience and expertise in all aspects of our industry. For more information, visit www.ibc.org.

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