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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 3.12 - March 1999
Business
Stan Lee Media Formed. Legendary Marvel comic book creator, Stan Lee,
has formed a new company, Stan Lee Media, to harness the power and global
outreach of the Internet to create a new world of superheros. The first venture
of the newly formed company is StanLee.net, which is being constructed to
attract and accommodate the largest global assemblage of young comic book
enthusiasts, who will be engaged in community creation on the Internet with
Stan Lee and his new universe of superheros. Devendra Mishra is the CEO of
Stan Lee Media, Dave Devarajan, former VP of Operations for Time Warner, is
the company's CFO while Peter Paul, a marketing and branding professional,
is the company's co-founder along with Lee. "Stan Lee is a unique living
global brand revered by three generations, with millions of fans around the
world, as the Walt Disney of the superhero genre of entertainment," said
Paul. "I am excited about the unlimited creative opportunities that will
evolve from establishing the nexus of Stan's new creative universe on the
Internet." Stan Lee will continue to serve as Chairman Emeritus of Marvel
Media and as a member of the Marvel Comics Editorial Board.
Klasky Csupo's Big New Building. After the success of The Rugrats Movie
and plenty of hit television shows, Klasky Csupo is relocating to a bigger
building at 6353-57 Sunset Boulevard, across from the Hollywood Cinerama Dome.
The 6-floor, 95,000 square ft., state-of-the-art glass and steel structure
was originally designed as an auto showroom for Mercedes-Benz, but will now
hold up to 500 Klasky Csupo employees. Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan says,
"This is great news for the heart of Hollywood. The commitment of Klasky
Csupo, one of our city's most creative and successful entertainment companies,
is another important step in the revitalization of Hollywood." Klasky
Csupo, who is currently located a few blocks away from the new location, is
dedicated to staying in Hollywood to "play a major role in the rejuvenation
of this legendary city," as co-founder Gabor Csupo puts it. Renovations
on the new site will begin this month with moving day scheduled for July.
The facilities will feature high-powered computer graphics workstations, post
production facilities, as well as a recording studio.
Pixar Posts Fourth Quarter Results. Pixar Animation Studios took a
bit of a dip in the fourth quarter while still awaiting the cash flow from
their latest blockbuster feature A Bug's Life. The company reported
fourth-quarter profits of $1.1M for the period ending January 2, down from
$4.4M for the same period in 1997. Quarterly revenues dropped from $7.1M to
3.1M, with revenue generated from sales of services and tools to other producers
in Hollywood, as well as proceeds trickling in from their first film Toy
Story (1995). Total year-end profits dropped 65% to $7.8M, or 18 cents
per share, in 1998 compared to $22.2M, or 54 cents per share, in `97.
Grabbit The Rabbit Links Up. Link Entertainment has signed an agreement
with the Israel Broadcasting Authority and Rony Oren for the international
distribution rights to Grabbit The Rabbit, a series of 13 8-minute
clay-animated episodes. Genevieve Dexter, Head of Sales & Acquisitions
at Link Entertainment commented, "Grabbit The Rabbit is a cross
between Stuart Grainger and Jack Nicholson. The humor is very sharp and is
sure to appeal to both children and adults alike." As part of the package,
Link Entertainment secured the international distribution rights for Rony
Oren's previous series Tales Of The Wise King, which has been shown
on the BBC and Channel 4 in the UK.
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Downtowners. © 1998 The WB Network. |
Downtowners Get Down With WGA. The Writers Guild of America (WGA)
has reached an agreement with Castle Rock Television for a collective bargaining
contract covering the writers of The Downtowners, an animated series
premiering on the primetime WB line-up this fall. The dispute had initially
begun when writers on the show were unhappy with the benefits of the union
that was representing them, the IATSE Cartoonists Local 839. A key point in
the agreement was recognition of the WGA as the exclusive bargaining representative
of primetime animation writers employed by Castle Rock Television and Downtowners
Productions. "I want to commend Castle Rock for its decision to sit down
at the bargaining table with us, and I want to congratulate both Castle Rock
and The Downtowners writers on this very satisfactory outcome. These
writers will receive the full protection of the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement,"
said Daniel Petrie, Jr., President, WGAwest.
Pearson Purchases EVA. London-based Pearson Television has purchased
EVA Entertainment for £2 million ($3.3 million). EVA, a five year-old
pan-European venture, produces and distributes children's animation with a
library of around 200 half-hours including Spot The Dog and Billy
The Cat. The company was also one of four co-producers on BBC2's animated
series, Rex The Runt. Pearson's recently appointed director of animation
John Bullivant will oversee EVA. However, the studio will continue to be run
by EVA's managing director Mikael Shields, who'll function as chief operating
officer. Although Pearson owns the old Cosgrove Hall library, the EVA purchase
reflects their first push into animation production. Pearson, which also owns
the Puffin and Ladybird publishing companies, is looking to adapt children's
titles to animation from such authors as Roald Dahl and Beatrix Potter as
part of their aggressive push into the animation marketplace.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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