Deadline for AWN's Hot Spots Showcase V This Week!!!
It's that time of year again! It's the return of ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE's annual Hot Spots Showcase, featuring the best in commercials and IDs.
It's that time of year again! It's the return of ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE's annual Hot Spots Showcase, featuring the best in commercials and IDs.
Red Giant Software, publisher of a line of professional digital video tools, including Magic Bullet and Knoll Light Factory, just released new versions of the popular Trapcode motion graphics products Shine, Starglow and 3D Stroke. In 2006, Red Giant Software and Trapcode formed a partnership in 2006, giving Red Giant Software exclusive publishing rights to all seven Trapcode products worldwide.
New features:* Shine 1.5, Starglow 1.5, and 3D Stroke 2.5 now work for the first time in Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Avid AVX.
Taylor Jessen reviews five short films -- Copenhagen Cycles by Eric Dyer, Slide by Sharon Katz, Down the Road by Rune Christensen, The Toll by J. Zachary Pike and Who I Am and What I Want by Chris Shepherd, David Shrigley.
Taffy Ent. recently announced sales of eight new titles to key broadcasters and cable channels throughout Scandinavia. These include DIVE OLLY DIVE!, FANTASTIC FOUR, SAMSAM, GROWING UP CREEPIE, TODDWORLD, PET ALIEN, INSECTOSCOPE and WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS.
Norway's NRK has picked up five series (DIVE OLLY DIVE!, SAMSAM, TODDWORLD, INSECTOSCOPE and WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS); SVT Sweden picked up two shows (DIVE OLLY DIVE! & SAMSAM); TV2 Denmark and Finland's YLE picked up SAMSAM and DR Denmark bought DIVE OLLY DIVE!
A virtual space of information about the MIPCOM Mobile & Internet TV Awards has been set up inside the 3D virtual world of Second Life. This virtual platform brings together creators and new talent in emerging areas of entertainment, such as Internet and machinima.
WizKids Inc. will produce the DISNEY'S PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN POCKETMODEL game, to be released in October 2007.
WizKids will be able to use content from all three PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies. The PocketModel game platform allows players to construct 3D pirate ships from pieces punched out of a styrene card. Players then use movie characters and action scenes on cards to help control the strategy of the game.
An Iranian student group recently unveiled a new videogame that simulates an attempt to rescue two Iranian nuclear experts kidnapped by the U.S. military and then held in Iraq and Israel, reports various news agencies.
The RESCUE THE NUKE SCIENTIST videogame, designed by the Union of Students Islamic Assoc., is a response to a U.S.-based company's ASSAULT ON IRAN game (Kuma Reality Games), which depicts an American attack on an Iranian nuclear facility, says its creators.
VH1 has teamed with San Francisco-based design and animation house Gunshop to create a series of animated tales from Scott Baio's past to set the stage for each episode of SCOTT BAIO IS 45 & SINGLE, in which he finds himself having a mid-life crisis of mythic proportions.
Beginning with the show's first episode on VH1, which premiered July 15, 2007, each animated short reveals another chapter from Scott's past, ranging from naked twins to pooping bums. Creative director Stacy Nimmo achieved a quick turnaround for a tight deadline by using Flash for the eight episodes.
The fifth edition of IFF (Imaginaria Film Festival) will take place in Conversano (Italy) on July 22-28, 2007. With the support of the Directorate for Cultural Policies of the City of Conversano and with the contribution of the Puglia Region, Province of Bari and University of Bari, the event is becoming an important appointment for independent cinema, on a national and international level.
The New York Int'l Children's Film Festival is hosting a weekend of screenings of HELP! I'M A FISH. The two screenings will take place both at 11:00 am at IFC Center, located at 323 6th Ave @ West 3rd. The film will be shown in English and is recommended for ages 4-10.
Betty Boop Festival features the annual meeting of the Betty Boop Collectors Club and swap meet of Betty vintage collectibles. On display will be original animation cels and novelties from the '30s and '40s. The baby Betty look-a-like contest brings families together in watching old cartoons and creating costumes for their little girl. The art contest helps identify future young creators. Admission is free.
The Saturday, July 21, program is a 2:00 pm matinee screening of FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. In director Nathan Juran's extremely entertaining adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel, turn-of-the-century British inventor Lionel Jeffries enlists Edward Judd and fiancee Martha Hyer in his scheme to reach the moon using anti-gravity paint. Once the trio hits the lunar landscape, they're captured by a weird subterranean insect race, the Selenites. A discussion will follow with visual effects artist and producer Ray Harryhausen. This is a co-presentation with The Art Directors Guild.
July 21, 2007
Hosted at University of Central Florida - Visual Arts Building auditorium
Free Admission - Free Parking
Mingle and Hors D'oeuvres from 6:00 - 7:00 pm + iPOD raffle
Show at 7:00 pm - Winners announced and prizes awarded immediately following the showing.
Come for the free food and unique opportunity to meet and mingle with industry professionals, students and animation enthusiasts alike...stay for the pure enjoyment of great animation, coming to you from around town, all over Florida and around the world!
Emilio Estevez wrote and directed this drama following the lives of 22 people in the Ambassador Hotel the day Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. Though his name supplies the title to this Altman-esque feature, Bobby Kennedy is not a character. The real politician is however seen in archival footage woven throughout the narrative. The various stories are meant to peek into the various cultural currents that were running through America at the time from the hippie movement to the war in Vietnam. The stronger stories keep the film from lagging under its own ambitions, making it a compelling look into the ways RFK's death altered the course of America and the lives of its people.
One of the film's best stories is kitchen worker Jose, who has tickets to go see Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale beat the consecutive shut out record. However, racist kitchen manager Timmons (Christian Slater, ROBIN HOOD) has assigned him a double shift without telling him. So Jose gives his tickets to the dignified cook Edward Robinson (Laurence Fishburne, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?), much to the dismay of angry fellow kitchen worker Miguel (Jacob Vargas, 2004's FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX), who wants to make money on it. Diane (Lindsay Lohan, MEAN GIRLS) plans to marry fellow high school student William (Elijah Wood, LORD OF THE RINGS) in an effort to keep him out of Vietnam. Kennedy campaign workers Cooper (Shia LaBeouf, TRANSFORMERS) and Jimmy (Brian Geraghty, JARHEAD) play hooky from their duties to find drug dealer Fisher (Ashton Kutcher, TV's THAT 70S SHOW), who gives them acid so they can get closer to God. And waitress/wanna-be actress Susan Taylor (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, GRINDHOUSE) knows they're high. Wade (Joshua Jackson, TV's DAWSON'S CREEK) is running RFK's campaign and sets up a meeting with Bobby and dedicated black campaign worker Dwayne (Nick Cannon, DRUMLINE), who is just shy of militant.
Inspiring is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this compulsively watchable documentary on the rise of the clowning/krumping dance movement in South Central Los Angeles. Involving face-painting (and in some cases all-out clown outfits), the dance style is a unique blend of aggressive hip-hop, moshing and African tribal. The speed at which the best dancers move is astonishing. The fact that it all grew as a positive alternative to gangs makes its central characters heroic.
Tommy the Clown is one of the originators of the clowning faction of the dance movement. Less aggressive in some aspects than krumping, the main differences are all in style. Clowning, apparent from its name, has a more comical bent, while krumping is more of an outlet to unload anger. Lil C. (guest choreographer on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE) was once a dancer for Tommy and left his crew to form his own, which spawned the krumping style. At the time of the making of this film, there were more than 50 active clowning/krumping groups in Los Angeles.
Ghostlight has announced the release of DECATHLETES for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP in spring 2008. Ghostlight has confirmed that development duties will be handled by The Code Monkeys, the studio behind games, such as SHREK TREASURE HUNT and CHARLOTTE'S WEB.
Adrian Hirst, development director at Code Monkeys, said, "Our goal is to create a highly realistic athletics simulator whilst maintaining a compelling pick up and play game style akin to titles, such as TRACK AND FIELD and DALEY THOMPSON'S DECATHLON."
Oscar-nominated producer of short film GIVE UP YER AUL SINS, Brown Bag Films, has opened a new animation studio at Smithfield Market in Dublin, Ireland.
The studio was founded in 1994 by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell. Now with the new Smithfield office, the company will employ 53 people.
The new office is Ireland's first hi-def animation and post house.
The company is working on production of its first animated TV series, I'M AN ANIMAL, which has already sold to 140 countries.
Seth Rogen, star of KNOCKED UP, is in final talks to write, and possibly star in, Columbia's GREEN HORNET feature, reports VARIETY. In addition, he would exec produce with his co-writer Evan Goldberg.
He would take on the role of millionaire publisher-turned-masked crusader Brit Reid. The heavy-set actor is a far different choice for the part than previous contenders George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Hugh Jackson's X-MEN spinoff, WOLVERINE, has found its director in TSOTSI helmer Gavin Hood, according to VARIETY. 20th Century Fox is producing the film from a script by David Benioff. Lauren Shuler-Donner, Jackman and his Seed Prods. partner John Palermo are the producers.
The story, which will follow Wolverine as he tries to discover his origins, will combine plotlines from Marvel Comics with Frank Miller's Weapon X graphic novels.
Production is set to start in November 2008.
VFX house CafeFX is branching out into character animation, which will be headed up by Academy Award-nominated animation supervisor James Straus. The move is a reaction to an increased demand for the company's character animation work following its participation on PAN'S LABYRINTH.
Alain Bielik shines a spotlight on The Moving Picture Co.'s work for Danny Boyle's sci-fi space epic, Sunshine.
Award-winning animation director Andy Wyatt joins University College Falmouth to head up the school's new BA degree in Digital Animation.
His appointment is part of a multi-million pound expansion of the Media Centre at University College Falmouth's Tremough Campus, which includes a new animation studio students will be attending in September 2007.
Mario Lopez hopes to revitalize the motion picture industry in Mexico with an animated film about an ancient Mayan myth, Uxmal, now 16 years in the making, reports CALAVERASENTERPRISE.COM.