MTV Networks Acquires Atom Ent. For $200 Million
Viacoms MTV Networks (MTVN) has acquired Atom Ent. Inc., a portfolio of four leading online destinations for casual games, short films and video, for $200 million. The deal advances the company's multiplatform strategy of building an engaging universe of music, gaming, entertainment, news and interactivity for targeted audiences.
WB Online Launches Web Initiative For Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera & Scooby-Doo
Warner Bros. Online is launching a website for the classic animation house Hanna-Barbera, relaunching its Scooby-Doo website and add a host of new content to its LooneyTunes.com site.
Beginning in mid-August, each site will roll out new, innovative, interactive content, including: broadband video channels featuring classic animated shorts; original downloadable audio content; customized applications; social networking; user-generated content; games and much more.
Gnomon Workshop Releases Creature DVDs
The Gnomon Workshop has released three DVDs by character modeler Laurent Pierlot of Blur Studios. In more than seven hours of lecture, Pierlot shares his myriad techniques for creating compelling life-like creatures. Using 3ds Max, BodyPaint, Photoshop and ZBrush, Pierlot discusses his workflow for modeling, detailing, texturing and rendering an alien creature based on a Carlos Huante design. While Max plays a key role in the development of the creature, virtually all the methods utilized apply to any leading 3D application such as Maya or XSI.
V for Vendetta Strikes on DVD
One of the more intriguing and controversial movies so far this year is V FOR VENDETTA, the adaptation of the graphic novel about terrorism by Alan Moore and David Lloyd from the Wachowski brothers, directed by protégé James McTeigue. Cinesite, Double Negative, Framestore CFC and Baseblack supplied the vfx under the overall supervision of Dan Glass. The two-disc special edition DVD has been released this month (Warner Home Video, $34.98).
Bonus features include:
Digital Dimension in Pole Position with Talladega Nights VFX
Digital Dimension continues to help set the pace for seamlessly believable Hollywood visual effects as the lead visual effects studio on the new NASCAR-themed movie TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY. Following on such collaborations as ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE and BLADE: TRINITY, visual effects supervisor Joe Conmy entrusted the award-winning company with the movies three large NASCAR race sequences, as well as other select scenes, for a total of 267 shots.
Lucasfilm to Consolidate IT Platform
Lucasfilm Ent. Co. Ltd. plans to create a single IT platform for all of its worldwide digital assets, reports TECHWEB TECHNOLOGY NEWS. The system will consolidate everything from California to the Singapore animation studio.
Halo Finds a Director
Acclaimed commercial and shorts director Neill Blomkamp will make his feature debut with HALO, to be produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh under their WingNut Films banner for Universal Pictures (domestically) and Twentieth Century Fox (internationally). Visual effects, miniatures and creature design and creation will all be handled by Weta Digital Ltd. and Weta Workshop Ltd.
Stan Freberg to Receive TV Academy L.A. Area Governors Award
Legendary television performer, satirist, radio, advertising innovator Stan Freberg will receive the prestigious 2006 Los Angeles Area Governors Award, which take place on Saturday, Aug. 12 at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre at 5:00 pm. The live-to-tape show will air as a one-hour special on KTLA on Aug. 26, from 9:00-10:00 pm in Los Angeles. The Governors Award honors a lifetime of broadcasting achievement.
VFX Vets Launch Gradient Effects
Gradient Effects, a new visual effects studio with international expertise specializing in feature work, has set up shop in Venice, California, founded by vfx supervisor/producer Thomas Tannenberger. He will be joined by Olcun Tan as head of R&D, a former lead effects developer at DreamWorks.
Sony Pictures Flexes Box Office Muscle
Sony Pictures Ent. has surpassed the $1 billion mark in box office receipts for calendar year 2006, making it the fifth year in a row the studio has reached that milestone at the box office, a feat matched only by Warner Bros.
One Rat Short Gets ‘People’s Choice’ Nod at SIGGRAPH
After receiving Best of Show honors, ONE RAT SHORT by Alex Weil of Charlex was the winner of the SIGGRAPH 2006 People's Choice Award. This short film follows a New York City rat from his own gritty world to the interior of a futuristic laboratory. Along his journey, the main character experiences love, danger and his fate.
For the second year, attendees were able to vote for their favorite selection from the Electronic and Animation Theaters within the Computer Animation Festival.
Zoic BC Launches in Vancouver
Award-winning visual effects house Zoic Studios has opened Zoic BC. The Canadian-based company is being launched to service Zoic Studios' ever-diversifying client base, and has proven to be a natural step in the company's evolution. Zoic BC has already completed the feature film PATHFINDER for Twentieth Century Fox and is working on two episodics: EUREKA for SCI-FI Channel and BLADE for Spike TV, both of which have proved to be successful for their respective networks.
Digital Musings From the Editor:
VFXWORLD begins its new excerpt series this week with THE MAGIC OF HOUDINI by Will Cunningham from Thompson Course Technology.
Uli Meyer Animation’s MonsterMania! Goes Into Production
Uli Meyer Animation has started production on MONSTERMANIA!, a fully computer-animated feature film comedy featuring the classic movie monsters.
Scripted by award-winning British horror writers Michael Marshall Smith and Stephen Jones, based on an idea by Uli Meyer, Stephen Jones and Michael Marshall Smith, MONSTERMANIA! has been in active development for the past three years at the companys London-based animation studios.
ADV Releases Papuwa, Farscape Starburst, Chance Pop Session
ADV Films will release the first volume in the new series PAPUWA, a new FARSCAPE STARBURST Edition and a thin-pack collection of CHANCE POP SESSION on Aug. 8, 2006. Additionally, ADV released the complete collections of CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL and EXCEL SAGA.
Apple Unveils New Mac Pro Featuring Quad 64-bit Xeon Processors
Apple launched the new Mac Pro, a quad Xeon, 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two new Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0 GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad. The introduction of the Mac Pro marks the completion of a rapid and seamless transition for Apple, with the entire Mac family now using Intel's latest processors.
Metalocalypse Strikes Cord on Adult Swim Premiere
Adult Swims newest original series, METALOCALYPSE, which premiered Aug. 6, 2006 at 11:45 pm, earned the networks best premiere delivery and ratings to date in 2006, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The animated satire on extreme rock bands ranked #1 in its time period among adults and men 18-24 and men 18-34. The premiere also charted strong double-digit delivery and ratings gains among all targeted young adult demos.
BBC & Nicktoons Onboard for Collingwood O’Hare’s The Secret Show
BBC Worldwide has acquired global program distribution, merchandising and DVD rights to U.K. independent Collingwood OHare Ents new series, THE SECRET SHOW. BBC Worldwide Americas sales team has already licensed 26 episodes to Nicktoons Network, the 24-hour animation network owned by Nickelodeon, in the U.S. The series airs on Nicktoons Network in January 2007 following its broadcast on CBBC.
Commissioned by the BBC, THE SECRET SHOW will be aired on the BBCs pre-teen digital channel CBBC.
Andrew Perlman New Classic Media Digital Media VP
New York-based family entertainment company Classic Media has named industry veteran Andrew Perlman to serve as its new vp of Digital Media, responsible for managing the mobile and online content distribution strategy for the companys diverse library and characters, consisting of more than 3,000 titles, which also includes its subsidiary, Big Ideas VeggieTales brand.
Michael Gersh New ReelTime VP Corp. Communications
ReelTime Rentals Inc., the first broadband network offering a true full screen, DVD quality, "point, click and watch" online television experience, announced Michael Gersh is onboard as vp of corporate communications. Gersh is responsible for ReelTimes website, the writing and production of sales and promotional pieces, media and investor relations, as well as serving as in-house press spokesman.
NVIDIA Announces Fellowship Award Recipients
NVIDIA Corp., a worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, announced the recipients of the prestigious NVIDIA Fellowship award for the 2006-2007 academic year. The students were selected by a review committee headed by NVIDIA chief scientist David Kirk. Each winner receives a $25,000 grant.
Exodus Film Group Ups Delbert Whetter To COO
Exodus Film Group has promoted Delbert A. Whetter from svp of business affairs to coo, announced John D. Eraklis, president/ceo. In addition to directing the operating activities of Exodus, Whetter will continue to oversee all aspects of business affairs.
Sierra Ent. Sets Star-Studded Voice Talent for TimeShift Videogame
Vivendi Games' Sierra Ent. has secured top Hollywood talent to provide voices for the characters featured in the videogame, TIMESHIFT, scheduled to release for the Xbox 360 and PC this September. Dennis Quaid, Nick Chinlund and Michael Ironside will add their voices to the original first-person shooter videogame offering unprecedented time-control technology that allows players to slow, stop or reverse time in order to overcome difficult scenarios and defeat challenging enemies.
Curious Pictures' Codename: Kids Next Door Movie to Debut
The first feature-length CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR movie, titled OPERATION Z.E.R.O., set to debut on Cartoon Network on Aug. 11, 2006 at 7:30 pm on Cartoon Network. The series and feature are produced by New York-based animation production company, Curious Pictures.
Cars Races to DVD
Disney/Pixars CARS, the summers second biggest hit thus far at $237.5M, debuts Nov. 7 on DVD (Buena Vista Home Ent., $29.99). Unlike the fully loaded two-disc extravaganzas for past Pixar animated features, though, CARS will be a single-disc release available in both anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen versions.
