Animation
World Magazine, Issue 3.2, May 1998
Films
The mysterious Quay Brothers.
Quays New Film In The Works.
The Brothers Quay, the London-based twin brother directing duo known for
their dark, bizarre puppet animated films (Street of Crocodiles,
Epic of Gilgamesh ), are developing a feature length film with producer
Keith Griffiths and his company, Koninck. Tentatively titled The Mechanical
Infantata, the film has been developed for Film 4. Koninck is currently
seeking co-production partners and hopes the film will go into production
in Europe during the Spring of 1999. Polish composer Lech Jankowski is
set to score the film and preliminary casting in underway. The Brothers
Quay made a departure from animated shorts with their first live-action
feature, Institute Benjamenta in 1995. Lech Jankowski's film score
from "Institute Benjamenta" will be available in May, via mail
order from Koninck, 19-20 Rheidol Mews, Rheidol Terrace, London N18NU,
U.K.
Spike & Mike Fest. No, it's not "sick and twisted."
It's Spike & Mike's 1998 Classic Festival of Animation, which
opened on April 10 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California.
The program includes Pixar's Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game, Piet
Kroon's T.R.A.N.S.I.T., Aardman's Stage Fright, Lasse Persson's
Hand in Hand, Ben Gluck's Man's Best Friend, Berad Beyreuther,
Daniel Binder and Robert A. Zwirner's Güten Appetit, Don Hertzfeldt's
Lily and Jim, Blair Thornley's Underwear Stories, Rob Breyne,
Nico Meulemans and Lef Goosen's Museum, Silke Parzich's Spring,
Zlatin Radev's Shock and Alexei Karaev's Welcome. The show
is also booked at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts (April 24-May 9),
and elsewhere in California, in Spike and Mike's home town of La Jolla
(April 3-June 13), Landmark's UC Theater in Berkeley (April 17-26), the
Towne Theater in San Jose (April 24-May 14), The Lark Theater in Larkspur
(May 15-28), Stanford University in Palo Alto (May 14-23), Lakeside Cinemas
in Santa Rosa (May 29-June 4) and theaters in Sonoma (June 26-July 2),
and in Los Angeles (July 3-9) and Orange County (July 17-23). Additional
confirmed showings are slated for Austin, Texas (June 26-July 16), Louisville,
Kentucky (June 26-July 9), Kansas City, Missouri (July 3-9), Lexington,
Kentucky (July 17-30), Atlanta, Georgia (August 7-13), Charleston, South
Carolina (August 21-27), and in Canada at the Ridge Theatre in Vancouver
(April 17-May 10) and the Roxy Theatre in Victoria (May 15-21).
Prince Of Egypt Making Religious Rounds. When you make a
film based on the bible, the public's perception of it's content cannot
be taken lightly. That's why DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is
screening the film to religious leaders around the world. On a recent trip
to Europe, Katzenberg presented the film to 68 cardinals and officials
at the Vatican, and to Moslem clerics, Jewish rabbis and the Anglican Archbishop
of Lambeth, sources inside the company say. Although the Pope himself was
unable to attend the Vatican screening, he is expected to see the film
in May. Sources say the trip was a "great success," but DreamWorks
declined further comment. Prince of Egypt is expected to wrap production
in July, and will open in U.S. theaters on December 18, 1998.
Disney, DIC Extend Live-Action Deal. Animated characters such as
Sailor Moon, Inspector Gadget and Carmen Sandiego are making moves into
live-action features, through a recently renewed first-look deal between
Walt Disney Pictures and DIC Entertainment's DIC Films division. Inspector
Gadget, a live-action feature based on the 1980s animated series about
a bumbling detective, is slated for release in summer 1999. Projects in
development include: Sailor Moon, based on the Japanese animated
series/merchandising property and set to star actress Geena Davis, and
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, produced in association
with Sandra Bullock and her company, Fortis Films. DIC Films' first live-action
feature with Disney, Meet the Deedles opened in April in U.S. theaters.
In late March, DIC announced the formation of a direct-to-video animation
division, which will produce an animated Inspector Gadget video.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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