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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.4 - JULY 1999
Business
Disney Owes Katzenberg. Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Paul Breckenridge has ruled that Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former head of Disney's film unit, did not forfeit a lucrative bonus when he left the company in 1994 and is entitled to interest on any money he is owed. Judge Paul Breckenridge issued his decision Wednesday and will next hear testimony to determine exactly how much money Disney should pay. Katzenberg, who left Disney in 1994 after he was denied a promotion, is suing Disney for what he says is at least $250 million from an incentive bonus promised in his contract. At stake is 10% statutory interest per year that would be tacked on to any award. Katzenberg claims the bonus is worth 2 percent of all future profits from every Disney product generated during his decade with the company, that includes everything from T-shirts to games from such blockbusters as The Lion King and Aladdin. If the bonus ends up being close to what Katzenberg wants, the compounded interest could be worth tens of millions of dollars. In his ruling, Breckenridge found that Disney breached Katzenberg's contract on Oct. 1, 1994, and "was obligated to pay a post-termination bonus" with interest. The judge further ruled that Katzenberg can go after revenues earned by Disney merchandise created in-house (rather than licensed), and can go after online earnings, but only after the conglom's Internet venture is deemed to be more than a promotional tool. These revenues include profits from merchandise sold in Disney stores and at theme parks. In rulings for Disney, the judge found that Katzenberg was not entitled to any bonus money from profits at the three Club Disney play centers. The judge's decisions also gave a key point to Disney by finding that there was no fraud on the part of the studio's execs in its efforts to deny Katzenberg monies due under his employment contract. Breckenridge's decision - which was made public Wednesday - closes the first phase of Katzenberg's lawsuit against Disney and sets the stage for the second phase. In addition to the amount of the bonus, the judge left undecided the date from which the interest should start accruing. Disney had argued that Katzenberg forfeited his bonus because he left two years before the end of his six-year contract. The parties reached a partial settlement at an earlier time, but most of the terms have been placed under seal. What is known is that Disney has already paid Katzenberg some money - more than $100 million, according to sources. It is this settlement that authorized Breckenridge to resolve disputes on whether certain products fall under the bonus, and the exact value of that bonus. The proceeding has been portrayed as the messy aftermath of the disintegration of a Hollywood power marriage, with the trial turning into a bitter personal battle between Katzenberg and his former boss, Disney Chairman Michael Eisner. In an extraordinarily unusual airing of Hollywood grievances, Katzenberg argued the dispute boiled down to Eisner's animosity toward him. Eisner, under questioning by Katzenberg's lawyer, acknowledged he may have once said of Katzenberg, "I think I hate the little midget." However, Eisner did say that he probably made that remark in anger after Katzenberg left the company.
Virtualmagic Expands To Asia. Don Spielvogel, President of VirtualMagic Animation, Inc., and Jeffrey Harrison, Chairman/CEO of ImagineAsia Studio, announce the formation of VirtualMagic ASIA, a new digital ink, paint and compositing service in the Philippines that will operate as a subsidiary of VirtualMagic Animation, Inc. headquartered in North Hollywood, California. VirtualMagic ASIA is a corporate venture between two animation and digital service studios, VirtualMagic Animation, Inc. and ImagineAsia Studio, of Manila. VirtualMagic Animation is a leader and pioneer in digital ink & paint among just a handful of similar service-based providers. The company was formed in 1992 originally as USAnimation to help develop the USAnimation System. With more than 700 jobs completed both as USAnimation and now VirtualMagic Animation, VirtualMagic Animation is known for quality service. ImagineAsia is a digital and traditional animation production studio based in the Philippines, established by Asia Data, Inc. of San Francisco, CA. ImagineAsia is currently animating the Cine Groupe/Columbia TriStar feature film sequel Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 and will shortly begin production on its own 26-episode, 3D-animated series, The Quest: Tales From The Ramayana. "We formed VirtualMagic ASIA to best serve high-quality, long-form animation. By setting up digital ink & paint services at the ImagineAsia Studio facility, a complete digital animation service in the Philippines. We will be able to provide a variety of production solutions to the digital ink & paint process," said Spielvogel. "VirtualMagic Animation has made the commitment to the Philippines not only because we are impressed with ImagineAsia, but we are also very impressed with the Philippine animation industry." "We're very excited to be associated with a company like VirtualMagic," says ImagineAsia chairman Jeffrey Harrison, "and we look forward to a long and successful relationship." ImagineAsia Studio was founded, in 1997, by Harrison, and partners COO Michael Collinson and President Maria Passion. The studio specializes in 3D digital animation, digital ink & paint, motion capture technology and digital puppetry. With over 150 employees in a 30,000 square foot facility, ImagineAsia is planning an extensive expansion in 1999.
New Studio Opens In India. Toonz Animation India Pvt. Ltd., a new animation production studio in India, will have a limited opening in August, with an official opening following November 1-5, 1999. Toonz will offer a full-range of production services for episodic television series and commercials. Toonz will also be dedicated to developing original pilot shows based on Indian folklore and mythology. "India has a rich treasury of folklore which will form the basis for many of our pilot shows," states Bill Dennis, President and CEO. In its third year, the studio hopes to produce its first feature film project. Cartoon Network, Hong Kong has already signed on to be the new studio's first client, and Toonz will be completing a series of commercials for the network. Toonz has hired an experienced international production and training staff including such people as Prescott Wright, former director of The Tournee of Animation and animation instructor. The studio will be staffed with 150 artists, and located in a 180 acre modern facility called Technopark in Trivandrum, a city situated on the Arabian Sea. For its November opening, Toonz will host "A Week with the Masters" which will bring the top names in international animation pre-production together to discuss the importance of story boarding, character design, and story development. Promising to become an annual event, "A Week with the Masters" will benefit from Technopark's International Conference Center and such high profile guests as keynote speaker Rob Coleman, Industrial Light & Magic's Animation Supervisor on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Other participants currently confirmed are: producer-director-writer Derek Lamb, Ian Diamond of Cartoon Network, and representatives from Wild Brain Studios in San Francisco.
Oxygen Signs With Mediaone. Geraldine Laybourne, Oxygen Media's Chairman and CEO, has announced that Oxygen Media has signed a carriage agreement with MediaOne, a domestic cable operator, to distribute Oxygen's cable network. The new Oxygen network, which is scheduled to launch on 02/02/2000, will be integrated with Oxygen's existing online properties to create a "home base" for women on cable and the Internet. Oxygen's carriage agreement with MediaOne will deliver Oxygen to over 1 million subscribers at launch. Under the terms of the agreement, MediaOne will guarantee distribution of Oxygen to its subscribers primarily as an analog channel on a basic or expanded basic tier. MediaOne is a broadband services company, providing more than 5 million subscribers in 17 states with basic and premium cable television services; last month, AT&T agreed to acquire MediaOne. MediaOne was born in 1996 when MediaOne Group (formerly U S WEST Media Group) united with entertainment provider Continental Cablevision. Oxygen was founded in 1998 to create a media brand that serves women by combining the best qualities of the Internet and television. Since its inception, Oxygen has acquired and developed several online sites, entered into a multi-year anchor tenancy, programming and promotional partnership with America Online, and is partnering with Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, Caryn Mandabach and Oprah Winfrey to develop and launch a new cable network. Programmed by the principals of Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, the Oxygen cable network will launch on 02/02/2000 and be integrated with Oxygen's successful and growing network of online sites. These sites include Oxygen.com (the Oxygen home page and network hub); Thrive, the healthy living site; Moms Online, a parenting site on AOL; Electra, a full service site; ka-Ching, resources to help women better manage their financial lives; and thelab, Oxygen's high-octane streaming media site. Oprah Online will join Oxygen's stable of online properties in August 1999.
Computer Cafe Expands To Santa Monica. Computer Cafe has opened a full service animation studio in Santa Monica. The 1400 square foot site, in the heart of Santa Monica's media district, will be staffed by art director/digital artist Ron Honn, who is relocating from the company's Santa Maria headquarters, and producer Jonathan Stone, who joins the company from Saban Entertainment. Artists from the Santa Maria facility will staff up the Santa Monica studio on a project basis, and the company will also staff the new site with local talent. Computer Cafe specializes in 3D animation for feature films, commercials, broadcast promos, music videos and other media. Honn has been with Computer Cafe since shortly after the company was formed in 1993. His experience runs from the films such as Armageddon and Flubber to television promos, commercials and music videos. Among his recent credits are a series of promos for NBC and TNN . He also art directed a McDonald's logo for a new series of commercials. Stone, who has already produced several projects for Computer Cafe, most recently effects for a Wendy's spot, comes to Computer Cafe with a background in commercials, episodic television and corporate media. He joins the team after four years with Saban Entertainment where he coordinated post production on four different effects-oriented television series. Previously, he was a partner with a Los Angeles-based commercial production company where he co-produced spots for Cohen-Johnson and other Southern California advertising agencies. The new studio is located at is located at 715 Broadway, Ste. 310, Santa Monica, California, USA.
Rob Davies Opens New Studio. Rob Davies, a 1999 Emmy nominee for his work on Steven Spielberg Presents: Pinky, Elmyra And The Brain, has recently returned from Warner Bros. T.V. Animation in L.A. to his native British Columbia to start up a new animation studio, Atomic Cartoons Inc. Joining Davies is former Ren And Stimpy animator and Universal Cartoons director Mauro Casalese, director Trevor Bentley (Nickelodeon's Cat Dog, Nelvana's Ned's Newt), and director Olaf Miller (Sony's Little Witch). "Our main focus is to assist companies with conceptualizing and developing their shows," says Davies. "At Atomic Cartoons we've taken a boutique approach to pre-production in that we specialize in taking the client's idea from its 'seedling' stage and developing it into a solid property." Atomic Cartoons Inc. is presently under contract with Sunwoo Entertainment, designing 26 half-hour episodes of Milo's Great Adventure for international distribution. Also currently underway is pre-production work on 26 episodes of A.K.A/Cartoon Network's Edd, Ed N Eddy, and Stretch Films' Courage The Cowardly Dog also for Cartoon Network, as well as production work on Film Roman's Capbusters.
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Graham Ralph, director, Silver Fox
Films.
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Jerry Hibbert, director, HRA.
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Graham Ralph Founds Silver Fox Films. As of July 1, 1999 Graham Ralph is relinquishing his stake in London-based Hibbert Ralph Animation, which will then be known officially as HRA. This will enable Ralph to invest actively in future films and TV series' through a new company, Silver Fox Films. He will also be acquiring the rights to Hibbert Ralph Entertainment's library. Jerry Hibbert and Kim Burdon, who have worked together since 1983, will continue to develop HRA as an animation production company servicing the advertising industry, and will also continue to invest in new technology through their in-house computer animation facility, HR3D.
Warner Unites Feature And TV Animation Divisions. Warner Bros. is
combining its feature and TV animation divisions under one roof in Sherman
Oaks, California, and TV Animation President Jean MacCurdy will take on the
responsibilities of supervising the production of Warner's animated features.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, President of Worldwide Theatrical Production, will
continue to supervising the creative side of animated feature production.
Warner plans to relocate its feature animation staff from Glendale to Sherman
Oaks later this summer, but in about a year both divisions are expected to
move into the new animation production facility currently under construction
in what used to be the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping mall which is being
converted into office space next to their current headquarters. Warner's feature
animation division has been without a President for a little over a year since
Max Howard left for DreamWorks. Amanda Seward, Feature Animation Vice President,
will continue to supervise day-to-day production under MacCurdy. The TV and
feature animation divisions are already working together with Osmosis Jones
being greenlit simultaneously as a feature and a TV series
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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