People
Charles Schulz Diagnosed With Cancer.
Charles M. Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy
and the rest of the Peanuts gang, has been diagnosed with
colon cancer. The cancer was discovered when the 76-year-old Schulz
underwent emergency surgery on November 16, 1999 for a blocked abdominal
aorta. Schulz' wife Jean said at the time doctors were still determining
the best course of treatment, which could have included surgery,
radiation and chemotherapy. One concern for doctors was that Schulz,
who turned 77 on November 26, 1999, was still recuperating from
the abdominal surgery. After moving out of the intensive care unit
Friday, November 19, Schulz spent time with his family. Considering
Schulz works five weeks in advance, he has created enough new strips
to fill papers through the end of the year and enough Sunday features
to meet demand through February 14, 2000. Get well soon Charlie
Brown.
Hyde To Helm Film Roman. Film Roman's Board of Directors
has finished their search for a new CEO and president with the naming
of veteran industry exec John Hyde to the position. Hyde's expertise
ranges from work in television, film, music and new media. By replacing
former CEO/pres. David Pritchard, Hyde steps into a position with
promise and heightened pressure. Besides producing The Simpsons
and King Of The Hill, over seeing various live-action film
productions, and coddling their infant on-line channel Level13.com,
Hyde must deal with the pressures of a position many Film Roman
employees didn't want to see vacated by Pritchard. Dozens of Film
Roman employees signed petitions protesting Pritchard's termination
after two years at the head of the company. However, since the business
went public in 1996, Film Roman has teetered in the red. With the
recent third quarter decrease in revenue of 32% or US$1.7 million,
Hyde may have been brought in strictly due to financial concerns.
Hyde has overseen films such as Flight Of The Navigator and
the award-winning Das Boot, and television shows such as
Mighty Mouse and Homicide. However, Hyde's main success
may have been as chairman and CEO of MCEG Sterling Inc. where he
spearheaded a complex four-way merger between MCEG Sterling, Orion
Pictures Corp., Actava Group Inc, and the telecommunications group
comprised of Metromedia International and the vice chairman and
CEO of Producers Sales Organization. No doubt Hyde's top priority
will be to make Film Roman more profitable.
Disney TV Toon Boss Exits. Disney's television animation
chief Charles Hirschhorn has been given the boot. The now former
head of Walt Disney Television and Walt Disney Television animation
officially exited the position on Wednesday, December 8, 1999. It's
speculated that Hirschhorn's responsibilities at Wonderful World
Of Disney will most likely be taken over by ABC movies and mini-series
head Susan Lyne, while his duties for TV animation and direct-to-video
flicks will most likely be folded into the feature animation unit
at Disney. However, no offical word from Disney has been issued.
With the recent decline in ratings, Hirschhorn's departure marks
an overall strategy by ABC and Disney to streamline both divisions.
However, Hirschhorn isn't humming the blues with Eeyore quite yet,
he's signed a non-exclusive first-look deal with Disney involving
features and first-run TV flicks for Wonderful World. Home
base for the new productions will be Hirschhorn's own company!
Musical Chairs: Robert Daly is on deck with the Dodgers.
The former Warner Bros. CEO and chairman has purchased 10% of the
Los Angeles Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group. According to the
October 29, 1999 issue of Daily Variety, Daly will take over
complete control of the team, however he has said that he will consult
Fox before making any major moves. We'll all be looking forward
to that first Ted Turner-owner Braves and Dodgers match-up for sure.
. . .Blue Sky Studios adds Dr. Michael Reed as a new
member to its research and development team. He comes to Blue Sky
after receiving his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University
and positions at the laboratories of IBM, Philips, and Bell Atlantic
Corporations. Reed will continue his work with geometric surface
construction techniques to create new solutions in rendering and
geometry for Blue Sky. . . .Barry Schuler, President of America
Online, Inc.'s Interactive Services Group, has joined the Board
of Directors of Oxygen Media. At AOL, Schuler oversees the
company's online services unit that includes the flagship AOL service,
CompuServe, Netscape and AOL Devices. Schuler joins Oxygen's CEO
Geraldine Laybourne, Oprah Winfrey, Marcy Carsey, and others on
the board of the privately-held company. . . .Marvel Enterprises
Inc. announced two new Directors have been appointed to the
Board. Peter Cuneo, President and CEO, Marvel Enterprises,
Inc., and producer Sid Ganis, former Vice Chairman of Columbia
Pictures and President of Worldwide Marketing for Columbia/TriStar
Motion Pictures Companies, were each appointed to the Board of Directors.
. . .House Of Moves Motion Capture Studios, the leader in
motion capture services, has promoted Jarrod Phillips to
Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Phillips also serves as Executive
Producer. . . .Frank T. Caruso has been promoted to VP, Creative,
at King Features Syndicate, a world leader in distributing
comics to newpapers and merchandising licensing. The former Creative
Director, Licensing will oversee new King Features licensing properties
and all creative aspects of the company's Internet, animation and
promotional activities. He will continue to supervise the creative
aspects of Betty Boop, Popeye, and other classic King Feature
comic properties. . .
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Nina Rappaport
joins Wild Brain.
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Wild Brain, Inc. signed Oscar-winning
producer Nina Rappaport to head the production company's
computer graphics endeavors. After joining Wild Brain in May of
this year as a freelance producer, Rappaport helped bring together
the talent needed to produce the company's slate of CG projects.
Before coming to Wild Brain, Rappaport was Executive Producer at
Blue Sky Studios in New York. Her feature film credits include producing
the effects on Joe's Apartment and A Simple Wish and
executive producing Star Trek: Insurrection. . . .Kim
McQuilken has been promoted to executive vice president of Cartoon
Network sales and marketing. Based in Atlanta, his new responsibilities
will include sales and marketing for Cartoon Network.com. Formerly
senior vice president and general sales manager for the unit, McQuilken
joined Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., in 1992 as director of
marketing for special projects for the 1994 Goodwill Games in St.
Petersburg, Russia. After the Games, he served as vice president,
sports and brand licensing for Turner Home Entertainment. He joined
Cartoon Network in 1996 and was promoted to senior vice president
of licensed promotions and presence marketing for Turner Broadcasting
Sales in January 1998. . . .The Florida-based AARGH! Animation,
Inc. has hired Jason Teate as color designer and associate
producer. Jason completed color design for AARGH!'s recent series
of national spots for Cold-Eeze cold medicine, which are now airing.
