People

Jennifer Thomas.

Musical Chairs. PDI (Pacific Data Images) has hired Jennifer Thomas as Executive Producer of PDI's Commercial Division. Most recently, Thomas completed an entirely PDI produced international live-action/CG package for Pepsi. Prior to joining PDI, she produced KFC's "The Little Colonel" campaign. She was also part of the visual effects team on What Dreams May Come. Thomas began her career nearly fifteen years ago in traditional cel animation with Ray Seti at New York-based Sunflower Films. . . Vancouver, British Columbia-based A.K.A. Cartoon, Inc., Danny Antonucci's studio, has hired J. Falconer as storyboard supervisor/storyboard director, and Marlene Robinson-May as storyboard director and animation timing director. Falconer previously worked at Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment on Reboot, Beast Wars, and War Planets. Childhood chums Falconer and Antonucci worked together at Vancouver-based International Rocketship in the '80s on Antonucci's Lupo The Butcher. Robinson-May began her career at Walt Disney Productions as an in-betweener and break-down artist on The Jungle Book, The Sword In The Stone, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, and others. At Hanna-Barbera she worked as an assistant animator and special effects animator on such shows as The Flintstones, Top Cat, and Space Ghost. She has also worked for Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Leo Salkin Productions, Halas & Batchelor, Richard Williams Productions, Filmation, and Chuck Jones Productions. For the last six years she has been a freelance timing director for Film Roman, Graz Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Disney, Universal, Klasky Csupo, and DIC Entertainment. . . Australian animation studio and distributor Energee Entertainment has appointed Genevieve Dexter as Director of Co-productions and Acquisitions, operating out of their new London offices. Dexter's role at Energee will be to forge new relationships with co-production partners, independents, and key creatives. Dexter has ten years experience in the animation business and, prior to Link Entertainment, where she was Head of Sales & Acquisitions, she was Sales Manager for UK-based EVA Entertainment. Energee has 52 half-hours of animation currently in production as well as a feature film, The Magic Pudding, and will shortly begin production on another half hour series entitled Wicked!, which is based on the best selling books published by Penguin about what happens after the release of a virus. The series has been picked up by the BBC and TF1 and is due for delivery in September 2000. . .


Etienne De Villiers.	Michael O. Johnson.	Diego Lerner.	Paul Saleh.

The Walt Disney Company has named four executives to new positions. Etienne De Villiers has been named president and managing director, Walt Disney International Europe; Michael O. Johnson has been named president and managing director, Walt Disney International Asia; Diego Lerner has been named president and managing director, Walt Disney International Latin America; and Paul Saleh has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer, Walt Disney International. De Villiers, a 14-year Disney veteran, has been president of Walt Disney Television International since 1994, where he was responsible for international free, pay and pay-per-view television activities, including Touchstone Television, Disney Television, and ABC entertainment and news programming, for more than 100 markets. He also was responsible for the production of more than 40 weekly programs worldwide. Earlier, he served as president of Buena Vista International Television before assuming the additional responsibilities of managing director of The Walt Disney Company UK, a position he retains. Johnson, who joined Disney in 1986, has been president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment since 1997, when the US organization was merged into the international home video group he had headed since 1992. Johnson established Buena Vista Home Entertainment as the worldwide distributor for Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's premier animation director. Johnson will oversee and coordinate all of Disney's activities in Asia and the Pacific Rim, including Australia. Lerner joined Disney in 1988 and has been executive vice president for Buena Vista International and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Latin America. In 1996, Lerner conceived and oversaw the creation of the Patagonik Film Group, a film-producing firm partnering Disney with the Spanish-language multimedia organization, the Clarin Group. Patagonik is the only film production company outside the United States in which Disney is a partner. A native of Argentina, Lerner will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing all of Disney's activities in Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Saleh has been senior vice president and treasurer of The Walt Disney Company since 1997. Under his leadership, the Treasury organization has implemented a number of financing solutions to support Disney's worldwide growth initiatives in addition to managing effectively the company's currency and interest rate risks in a highly volatile market environment. Before joining Disney, Saleh held a number of senior finance posts with other multinational organizations. In his new position, Saleh will be responsible for International finance, human resources and information technology functions. De Villiers, Johnson, Lerner and Saleh will continue to handle their previous responsibilities during the transition. . . Fox Family Channel has named Nancy Redford Vice President of Programming and Development. Redford will oversee day-to-day management and adminstration of live-action and animated daytime programming and development for Fox Family. She will also serve as production executive on several children's series coming up this fall, including Jellabies and Weird Ohs. Redford had been Associate Vice President of Programming and Development for Fox. . . Disney Consumer Products has named Stephen De Kanter, a 10-year veteran of Disney Consumer Products, president of Global Licensing, a new organization that will oversee Disney's worldwide merchandise-licensing operations. De Kanter has led Disney Consumer Products Latin America since 1989. In his new role, de Kanter will be responsible for planning, strategy, and licensee management for all Disney licensing activities. Walt Disney International has responsibility for the performance of The Walt Disney Co. country by country. During the decade in which he led Disney Consumer Products Latin America, de Kanter opened the regional headquarters in Coral Gables, Florida, and nine Disney-owned satellite offices throughout Latin America. Prior to joining Disney, de Kanter was a marketing executive with Heublein International. . . Full Sail, an animation school in Florida, has hired Rita Street as Chief Editor of Full Sail's Platinum Creative Department. She will be in charge of advertising copywriting, editing Full Sail's magazine, Get In!, a bi-annual which is about Full Sail and getting a job in the animation industry in general, plus writing copy for Full Sail's web-site which will re-launch with a new look in September. Street was formerly Editor in Chief of Film And Video in Los Angeles. . . Sirius Thinking, Ltd. has hired Sharon Lerner as senior vice-president of creative development and animation producer for the new series Between The Lions, a series for children that is scheduled to premiere on PBS in April 2000. Lerner was one of the first ten people hired by Children's Television Workshop to create Sesame Street, and was, until recently, the vice-president and publisher of the Random House Children's Media Division. . .

Gary Albright. Courtesy of
Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network has promoted Gary Albright to senior vice president of trade creative services. Albright will oversee the graphic design of sales materials, licensed promotions, network print collateral, and event environments. He will also supervise the development of both the international and domestic style guides for Cartoon Network properties used by both individual licensees and Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Albright has been art director at Hanna-Barbera's Orbit City Art Company, design director for Turner Publishing, and manager of design for The Walt Disney Company's publishing division. . . Imagineasia has hired John Rocco as Director of Animation and Eric Alba as Head of Production. Rocco will oversee direction of all studio animation, including the upcoming 3D animated series The Quest: Tales From The Ramayana. His most recent work includes art direction for DreamWork's SHREK, Creative Director for the virtual theme park ride DisneyQuest for Walt Disney Imagineering, and Creative Director at Digital Domain. Alba will supervise and coordinate studio production for feature films, television, and commercials. He recently completed visual effects work on the Fox feature Wing Commander for Austin, Texas-based Digital Anvil. As a visual effects supervisor or producer, his credits include TV series Sliders and Burning Zone, and TV movies such as Generation X, Brothers Of The Frontier, and Sabrina, The Teen Witch. . . Vienna, Virginia-based ITS (The Association Of Imaging Technology And Sound) has named Katy O'Grady Marketing and Communications Manager. O'Grady will be responsible for producing the ITS monthly newsletter, managing the website/e-mail list, membership and conference marketing, coordinating press trade agreements and advertising, and compiling the ITS annual report. She comes from The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy in Washington, D.C. where she was Marketing Specialist. . . The Attik/San Francisco has named Joe Gallegos Director of Strategic Planning. He comes to The Attik from Saatchi & Saatchi where in Miami, Florida he was Regional Account Supervisor for the Latin American market for both Eastman Kodak Company's Professional Division and Nortel Networks; and in Rochester, New York where he was Senior Account Executive. . . The Attik/San Francisco has also named Ian Renton Studio Manager. Renton will oversee the day to day operation of the studio. He is also responsible for insuring that all equipment works correctly, handling briefings with clients, and shepherding design projects from inception to completion. He comes from The Attik's Huddersfield, UK office where he was Digital Artwork Manager/Studio Manager. .

Director John Adams has signed to be represented by Santa Monica, California-based Area 51 Films. Prior to launching his commercial directing career last year, Adams was director of broadcast production at DDB Needham, Dallas. . . Los Angeles-based DNA Studio has named David Badagliacca as its Head of Sales, Marketing & New Business Development, and Jane Greenstein, as a full-time producer. Previously, Badagliacca supervised the launch of Maverick Records' Clio Award-winning Web site while at the label. He also oversaw efforts for other popular, unconventional sites, including a new site for recording artist Alanis Morissette and a music video made exclusively for the Web. Jane Greenstein will produce original content for a wide variety of DNA Studio's consumer product clients, including Mattel's new Generation Girl, and the company's extensive roster of entertainment clients, such as Paramount Pictures, Columbia TriStar, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Fox Searchlight, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Sony Music, Maverick Records, and Island-Def Jam Records. Greenstein began her online career at the Walt Disney Co., where she produced and edited an intranet site for the company's New Technology department. Prior to Disney, Greenstein was a reporter and editor covering traditional and new media, including TV, DVD and music, for publications such as the L.A. Times, New Media Magazine and Video Business Magazine. . .

John Canemaker. Courtesy of John Canemaker.

Animation filmmaker, teacher, and author John Canemaker has been awarded a Rockefeller Foundation residency grant in Bellagio, Italy. From July 27 through August 25, he will stay at the 16th century Villa Serbelloni on Lake Como, where he will work on a storyboard for a personal animated film. From August 31 through September 5, he will be a guest of FANTOCHE, the Swiss Animation Festival in Baden, where he will present two lecture/screenings on Animated Surrealism and Jazztoons: Jazz and Animation. . Vancouver-based Mercury Filmworks has promoted Michael O'Brien to the position of Production Manager for Mercury's Digital Animation Group. O'Brien has been with the company as co-ordinator since July of 1998, shortly after Mercury Filmworks opened its doors. Prior to joining Mercury, O'Brien worked at Marv Newland's animation studio Rocketship International. . . Sydney, Australia-based Southern Star Sales has appointed Teleri Roberts as the first General Manager of its business unit Southern Star Kids, and Katherine Kaufman to the position of Sales Executive for Latin America. Roberts has most recently been working as Sales Head of Cascade, the international sales division of Scottish Television Enterprises based in Glasgow, and prior to that worked in several sales positions at Channel 4 Wales. As General Manager of Southern Star Kids, she will be based in the London office of Southern Star Sales. Kaufman has most recently worked as a sales executive in the Latin American territory for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She will be based in Sydney and will be selling all three Southern Star Sales catalogues: Southern Star Primetime, Southern Star Wild & Real and Southern Star Kids. . .

Voltaire at work.

Los Angeles-based Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials has signed Voltaire as its newest director. Voltaire's style includes a combination of stop-motion animation and live-action. He has done spots for British Nights, Crunch Fitness, Cartoon Network, MTV, and The Sci-Fi Channel.

Read what Voltaire has to say about his unique techniques in "How'd They Do That? - Stop-Motion Secrets Revealed" in the February 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine.