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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.2 - MAY 1999
People
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| Fred Seibert. Courtesy of Nickelodeon. |
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Pam Coats. Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures. |
Judy Fearing has been appointed to the newly
created position of senior vice president, Global Marketing and Studio Development
for Disney Consumer Products, it was announced Thursday by division Chairman
Bo Boyd and President Anne Osberg. Fearing, 44, will be responsible for developing
and implementing marketing and branding strategies around the world for all
of Disney Consumer Products' businesses: Licensing, The Disney Store, Buena
Vista Publishing, Walt Disney Art Classics, Disney Direct Marketing and Disney
Interactive. She will also oversee the development of consumer products based
on all entertainment properties from The Walt Disney Studios, ABC and ESPN.
Fearing most recently served as senior vice president of marketing at ESPN,
where she helped build consumer awareness of that brand. Prior to joining
ESPN, Fearing spent 12 years at PepsiCo, where she was vice president of cola
marketing. She also served as vice president and general manager of RJR Nabisco's
specialty-foods division. Fearing, who is married, holds a bachelor's degree
from Duke University and a master of business administration degree from Dartmouth.
. . . Pam Coats has been promoted from producer to senior vice president
of creative development at Walt Disney Feature Animation, making her the highest
ranked woman at Disney Animation. Coats, who produced Mulan, will direct
creative development of all projects in the studio's feature animation division.
Her previous credits include producing the Roger Rabbit short, Trail Mix-Up,
and executive producing the Mickey Mouse short, Runaway Brain. She
joined Disney feature animation in 1989. . . .
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Don MacBain. Courtesy of Pacific Data Images. |
PDI has named producer/director Don MacBain as
Visual Effects Producer for its Commercial and Feature Film Effects Division.
MacBain's credits include Production Supervisor for the Starship Troopers
Miniature Unit, the crash sequence for Money Train, and line producer/production
manager for 25 projects at Sony Pictures Imageworks, as well as making the
independent, experimental IMAX film, Fire. . . . Boo Wong has
been promoted to head the CGI Department at Curious Pictures, the bi-coastal,
live-action, graphics, special effects and animation studio, it was announced
today by Executive Producer/Head of Production Richard Winkler. Wong, 33,
succeeds Tammy Walters, who recently left the company to pursue a career as
a producer. In her new post, Wong will be responsible for the overall operation
of the CGI department including scheduling, media flow, resource management,
evaluation and purchase of software and hardware, and in-house producing for
the high-end, 3D computer generated imagery department which provides 3D animation
and effects, digital compositing, digital ink and paint, 2D graphics, and
integrated motion control/motion tracking. Wong, who joined Curious as an
intern four years ago, most recently was the company's Senior Compositor creating
digital effects for clients such as Cap'N Crunch, Kraft, Wendy's, Showtime
and HBO. She was also the in-house Visual Effects Supervisor on live-action,
stop-motion and effects shoots, and the project lead on numerous CG jobs including
several Cap'N Crunch and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese spots. Prior to working
in digital production, Boo Wong, spent eight years immersed in the world of
modern dance. In addition to choreographing original work for companies in
the United States, Europe and Asia for stage, film and broadcast, she performed
and studied under such notables as Sankai Juku, Doug Varone, and Merce Cunningham.
During this period she also acted in the Japanese film, Raffles Hotel,
as well as acting and modeling in numerous TV commercials and print ads in
Asia for clients including American Express Hong Kong and Swatch. A native
of Singapore, Boo Wong came to the United States to earn her degree in Electrical
Engineering, with an emphasis in computers, from California State University,
Fullerton, CA. She makes her home in New York City with Voltaire, a director
of stop-motion and live-action commercials, and their son, Mars. . . . The
president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Chuck Viane, has promoted
Manuel "Rod" Rodriguez to the post of senior vice president
and general sales manager for Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. In his new
role, Rodriguez will be responsible for handling sales and distribution operations
throughout the United States and Canada for all motion pictures released under
the Walt Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures banners. Rodriguez, an
industry veteran who has been based at Buena Vista's Atlanta headquarters
for the past 14 years, will report directly to Viane. Commenting on the announcement,
Viane said, "Rod is an outstanding choice for the general sales manager
spot because he is so highly respected by his colleagues and co-workers. His
industry background includes top executive jobs on both the exhibition and
distribution side and he is well qualified for his new duties with our national
operation. He is a great guy and we look forward to having him with us in
California as a major player on the team." Rodriguez joined Buena Vista
Pictures Distribution in 1985 as branch manager for the Atlanta/Charlotte
office. Four years later, he was promoted to division manager for the Southeastern
division, where he was responsible for ten major territories. He was subsequently
promoted in 1989 to vice president, Southeastern division. He launched his
industry career in 1962 as a theater manager for the Atlanta-based Storey
Theaters circuit. During his 21-year association with that company, he worked
in a variety of capacities and ultimately held the post of executive vice
president/senior film buyer. A native of Havana, Cuba, Rodriguez came to the
United States in 1957. . . . Roger A. Burlage has joined Harvey Entertainment
to lead a new permanent management team. Mr. Burlage is the former Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of LIVE Entertainment Inc. Gary Gray, Chairman
of the Board of the Company, stated, "After a full and complete review
of strategic alternatives over the last six months, we are pleased to have
reached agreement to bring Roger Burlage and his management team on board,
backed by a substantial equity infusion.". . . .
David Kilmer, author of The
Animated Film Collector's Guide: Worldwide Sources For Cartoons On Videotape
And Laserdisc, has been appointed Associate Editor of Animation
World Magazine. "We are absolutely delighted to have someone of David's
caliber join AWN. He brings an incredible base of knowledge and enthusiasm
to the company," said co-publisher Dan Sarto. . . . Will Vinton Studios
has promoted Zilpha Yost to executive producer, a new position in the
advertising division which is headed by president David Altschul. Yost has
been a senior producer at Vinton Studios since 1992, taking a leave of absence
in 1995 to run the stop-motion studio in Los Angeles for Tim Burton's Mars
Attacks. When Burton chose to complete the film in CGI, Yost returned
to Vinton, bringing some of the creative artists who had been doing stop-motion
animation on Mars Attacks. with her. Yost will work very closely with
Rich Durkin, executive producer in Vinton's New York office. "Zilpha
is a perfect choice," Durkin said. "Her work over the years, and
particularly on M&M's, has given her a depth of insight into characterization
and storytelling that is rare in this business.". . . Richard Shurtliff
has been named Head Systems Administrator at Curious Pictures, the bi-coastal,
live-action, graphics, special effects and animation studio, it was announced
today by Executive Producer/Head of Production Richard Winkler. In his new
post, Shurtliff, 33, will work directly with Boo Wong, who heads Curious'
CGI Department, and will be responsible for managing the company's network
of 30 NT Workstations, 10 Macs and 10 SGIs running Maya and 3D Studio Max
for 3D, and After Effects for 2D compositing. "We're really looking forward
to having Rich refine the digital technology of all of Curious, which includes
the CG, editing, cel and stop-motion departments in New York and San Francisco,"
explained Boo Wong. Shurtliff comes to Curious from RGA Digital Studios (New
York, NY) where, for the last three years (August 1995 - present), he was
Senior Network Administrator, with duties including: the management of RGA's
network of SGI workstations; the configuration and installation of workstations,
peripherals and software; and, the design and deployment of multi-platform
backup systems. Earlier in his career, Shurtliff spent five years (January
1990 - August 1995) with Electronic Data Systems (Detroit, MI) where he held
a variety of positions including UNIX Systems Administrator for almost three
years, Systems Programmer/Analyst and LAN Support. Richard Shurtliff earned
his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California
(Irvine, CA) in 1988.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.