People
Hollywood Shuffle.
MGM Animation
has restructured its executive lineup, naming Jay Fukuto Senior Vice President-Animation
and retitling Paul Sabella and Jonathan Dern to Executive Producers. Fukuto
joins MGM from Walt Disney Television Animation, where he was Vice President
of Current Programming. Sabella and Dern were both Vice-Presidents-Animation,
a now defunct title at MGM Animation. . . . Margaret Loesch has
been upped to Vice Chairman of Fox Kids Worldwide, from her previous post
as President of Fox Kids Worldwide and Chairman and CEO of its division,
Fox Kids Networks Worldwide. . . . . Klasky Csupo Commercials has
signed Rachel Finn for West Coast representation, replacing former rep
Darr Hawthorne. Finn runs Rachel Finn Representation, a Santa Monica based
firm. . . . David Fain has moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles
to work for Nickelodeon on Action League Now, a recurring segment
within the Kablam animated series . . . . Castle Rock Entertainment
has signed Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, writers and co-executive producers
on The Simpsons, to an exclusive, multi-year deal to create and produce
new television series. . . .Cuppa Coffee Animation has expanded
its staff, hiring animator Marek Colek, director Chris Mullington
and director/cameraman Chris Romeike. . . . .Nelvana has
shuffled their executive management around, naming former chairman Michael
Hirsch and former president Patrick Loubert to the newly created positions
of co-CEOs. . . . Charles Self has been appointed producer at the
design/animation/computer graphics company Atomic Pictures. . .
. Nancy Bassett has left Viacom Consumer Products (Canadian division)
to take on a post as director of Licensing & Merchandising for Alliance
Multimedia in Toronto. . . . Digital Domain has named Nancy
Berstein to Executive Producer. . . . Electronic Arts has named
Peter Loeb (formerly of SegaSoft) to the new position of vice president
of Online Entertainment. . . . Alias/Wavefront has hired Thomas
Williams as chief technical officer and vice president of its research
and development division. Williams, winner of two Academy Awards has 14
years experience in computer graphics, including stints at ILM and Pixar.
. . . .David Wasson has joined the director roster at Acme Filmworks.
Through Acme, Wasson most recently directed three commercials for Starbucks
and worked on design for NBC's animated Johnny Chimes character. . . .
Hearst Entertainment has named Russell Brown vice president
of Licensing. Brown moves over from a post as director of Corporate Sales
and Promotion for Marvel Entertainment Group. . . . . New York-based commercial
production company, N Ur Eye Films has signed director Emanuel Block.
. . . .Electronic Arts has appointed Neil Young to vice president
and general manager, and Chris Yates as vice president and chief technology
officer of their Austin-based studio Origin Systems. Both Young
and Yates join EA as they exit Virgin Interactive.
Miyazaki To Stop Directing Features. Famed Japanese animation director
Hayao Miyazaki recently held a press conference in Tokyo to announce that
he will not be directing any more feature animated films. This announcement
comes on the heels of several unfounded rumors that Miyazaki was planning
to work with an American studio to create a feature film. Miyazaki's body
of work includes the feature films Nausicaa Valley of the Wind and
My Neighbor Totoro, produced through his own Studio Ghibli. Most*
of these films, which are distributed in Japan by Tokuma Shoten Publishing
Co., will be released in the U.S. starting this year through a rights acquisition
by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. A total of eight Miyazaki feature titles
may be released by Buena Vista under the Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli banner,
including the latter two of mentioned above and Kiki's Delivery Service,
Only Yesterday, The Scarlet Pig, Pom Poko, and Princess Mononoke.
*Castle of Cagliostro is distributed in the U.S. by Streamline/Orion.
Animation World News is compiled daily for publication in the AWN Daily Flash, the weekly Animation Flash email newsletter, and monthly issues of Animation World Magazine.
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