Universal Pictures has tapped Benicio Del Toro to headline its remake of the horror classic, THE WOLF MAN, reports VARIETY. SEVEN writer Andrew Kevin Walker will pen script from which Scott Stuber, Rick Yorn, Mary Parent and Del Toro will produce.
Like the original 1941 Lon Chaney Jr. film, the redo will be set in Victorian England where a man who returns from America to his ancestral homeland and is transformed into werewolf after being bitten.
Its official; Sony Computer Ent. Inc. (SCEI) has announced that it has moved the launch PlayStation 3 (PS3) to early November 2006 when it will be simultaneously released in Japan, North America and Europe. With a monthly production capacity of one million units, SCEI will push forward a product launch to spread the platform rapidly throughout the world, together with a strong lineup of game titles.
The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is celebrating 100th Birthday animation, which began with J. Stuart Blackton's film, HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES, first released on April 6, 1906.
Industry exec Michael Hefferon, announced the official launch of ibanana integrated media inc., an entertainment company he heads dedicated to developing and producing integrated content for television, web, mobile and gaming platforms.
Responding to industry demand for dynamic content with digital media convergence, ibanana has developed a concept that utilizes the strengths and applications of each platform to develop inherent synergies.
Director Jesse Rosensweet, winner of the Cannes Film Festivals 2002 Jury Prize for his stop-motion short, THE STONE OF FOLLY, will direct Canadas first stop-motion animated feature, NEWTON AND LEO. The film will be produced by Dean English of Vancouver-based Perfect Circle Prods. Karen Powell is serving as exec producer.
The Promax/BDA Arabia Awards are part of the Dubai conference, awarding Gold and Silver trophies in more than 21 categories. Promax/BDA is the association for those working in broadcast promotions, marketing and design. At the conferences leading figures from around the world, as well as experts from the Arabia region, share their secrets and keep you up to date with the latest advances within the industry.
Topics include:
* Communicate to a young audience and keep them watching your program. * Dos and Don
Tom Sito looks into the late, great 2D renaissance with the birth of The Simpsons.
Looking to offer clients a more complete creative experience creative director John Yu and Paul Goldman (founder/creative director of music house Ear Goo) have launched Element, a new design studio offering clients first class motion graphics, visual effects and 2D/3D animation.
Definition 2006: HDTV SummitBanff, Alberta, CanadaApril 20-22, 2006Deadline: March 15, 2006
The Definition 2006: Digital Media Festival will be held during the Accelerators Definition 2006: HD Summit from April 20-22, 2006, at The Banff Centre. The festival is a juried event bringing the best works in HD media from around the world to Banff, Alberta.
Rushes Soho Shorts 2006 Piccadilly, U.K. July 29 August 4, 2006Deadline: May 5, 2006
Rushes Soho Shorts Festival showcases the work of some of the U.K.s most talented young filmmakers. Awards for the best director in each category will be presented on August 3, at the star studded Festival Awards night held at one of Londons hottest venues, The CC Club in Piccadilly.
Each month, ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE focuses its attention on a particular theme.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz.
This week in AWN's Forums, the debate between Blu-ray and HD-DVD has begun. A member wants to know what others feel are requirements for any good animation DVD library. A junior member is asking for some career advice from the pros. Another member has some questions about character animation in Flash. A senior member wants to know if there is any test that can determine if your skills meet with production standards. Lots of members are sending out their congrats to Nick Park and John Canemaker on their recent Oscar wins.
The growing importance of videogames to entertainment culture has been recognized by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), which has elevated the sector to become an equal to those for Film and Television. Champions of the moving image, BAFTA seeks to reward artistic and creative innovation within videogames, as one of the principal contemporary art forms.
The third season of THE NICKTOONS NETWORK ANIMATION FESTIVAL for 2006 has issues a call for entries. Frederator Studios and the Nicktoons Network are again producing the festival. Shorts must be received by 5:00 pm (PST) on May 31, 2006.
The Festival runs six nights (five original screenings plus the best-of) beginning on the Nicktoons Network on August 26, 2006.
This year, the festival will expand with live screenings as well as distributing the shows through a variety of digital outlets.
Lapin Blanc, animation unit of London commercials and film company Lucky Elliot, has signed Oscar nominated animation studio Blur. Celebrating a 10th Birthday, Blur Studio produce some of the worlds finest digital content for features, commercials, game cinematics, music videos and theme park rides. Blur announced at this year's Sundance Festival they are to develop a feature version of the 2005 Academy-nominated short GOPHER BROKE.
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS is now China's #1 rated TV cartoon, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Since its debut on Jan. 29, 2006, the super sponge has grabbed a stronghold in the country, highlighting the increasing difficulty for home-grown toons to make a dent in the market.
Melissa Rivers, host of TV Guide Channel's event programming, will emcee the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundations 27th Annual College Television Awards at 7:00 pm on March 19, 2006, at the invitation-only College Television Awards Gala at the Culver Studios. The winning entries will be showcased at the annual College Television Awards Festival on March 20 at 7:30 pm at the Television Academys Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood, which is open to the public.
Entertainment Rights Plc. (ER) announced that the BBC has commissioned 13 more half-hour episodes of THE BASIL BRUSH SHOW for the BBC and the CBBC channel. The agreement brings the total number of episodes of THE BASIL BRUSH SHOW under license to the BBC to 65.
Dargaud Distribution, home to one of Europes largest animation catalogs, has restructured its sales team, starting with appointing Leon Perahia as the new president of Dargaud Distribution with Véronique Chalandar as deputy gm. Claude de Saint Vincent, ceo of the Dargaud and Dupuis Group, announced the appointments.
Perahia has worked at Dupuis since 1986 in various positions, including finance director and producer. He oversaw production on a number of series, including the popular SPIROU, FLASH GORDON, CEDRIC and KID PADDLE.
Animated Exeter has launched two new bursaries for Devon. The Honeycomb Animation 2D Bursary 2006 is set up to encourage new talent in 2D animation and the Phoenix Media Digital Animation Bursary 2006 is aimed at supporting new and existing talent and develop the overall practice of digital media in the region.
Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) EMEA has promoted Maria Kyriacou from exec director to vp, Portfolio Development Group.
The Animation Guild and Affiliated Optical Electronic and Graphic Arts, Local 839 IATSE, has reached agreement with the animation producers on a three-year collective bargaining agreement, effective Aug. 1, 2006 to July 31, 2009. The Animation Guilds negotiating committee has unanimously recommended ratification to the Guild (TAG, animationguild.org) membership.
VFXWorld presents the third excerpt from Learning Maya 7 | Foundation from Alias|Learning Tool. This excerpt continues a close-up look at how to animate a polygonal orb.
NaturalMotion Ltd. announced euphoria, a breakthrough in run-time animation technology for game play and development on next-gen platforms. Based on NaturalMotions DMS technology, first introduced in endorphin (the off-line character animation tool), euphoria uses the CPUs of next-generation platforms (such as Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) to synthesize interactive animations on the fly, resulting in truly unique game moments that occur during the players experience.
