This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include: Metreon Festival Of Anime: Saturday, October 27 - Sunday, October 28, 2001, San Francisco, California USA . . . Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust: Friday, October 05 - Thursday, October 11, 2001, Los Angeles and San Francisco, California USA . . . Durango Film Festival: Friday, March 01 - Sunday, March 10, 2002, Durango, Colorado USA . . . Kinetica 3: Friday, August 17, 2001 - Wednesday, December 31, 2003, Touring, USA and Canada.

Metreon Festival Of Anime: Saturday, October 27 - Sunday, October 28, 2001, San Francisco, California USA. Metreon-A Sony Entertainment Center in downtown San Francisco will host the first annual Metreon Festival of Anime the weekend of October 27-28 inside Metreon's Action Theatre attraction. The Metreon Festival of Anime will take place in conjunction with the Big Apple Anime Fest scheduled for the same weekend in New York City. Throughout the two-day event, fans will have a chance to watch Sony Pictures' "The Making of Metropolis", Bandai Entertainment's "Love Hina" and the U.S.

Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:

- Alexeieff: Itinerary of a Master
Wendy Jackson Hall reviews Giannalberto Bendazzi's latest book, Alexeieff: Itinerary of a Master,that discusses the art and life of pinscreen master Alexandre Alexeieff.

- New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews

Sav! The World Productions brings its latest animated program to MIPCOM with MOLLY, STAR-RACER. Described by the creators as Japanimation meets European 3D, MOLLY is an explosive mix of comedy and epic racing scenes in 3D CGI animation. Strongly influenced by their childhood memories of anime series like DRAGON BALL and LUPIN THE 3RD, as well as by cult classics like Hanna Barbera’s WACKY RACES or Saint Exupéry’s LE PETIT PRINCE, the creators of MOLLY have mixed styles and techniques to create a fresh new kind of entertainment.

With only one new film in wide release, it was another slow weekend at U.S. movie theaters. Box office totals slumped even lower than last week, making this weekend a 52-week low. However, two limited release films made a good showing at the box office this weekend. Anime thriller VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST, debuting in just six theaters, managed to bring in a healthy $4,255 per screen. The Armegeddon-themed MEGIDDO: OMEGA CODE 2, with visual effects by Computercafe and Cinesite, did well in limited release as well, debuting in thirteenth place with $1.6M from 314 theaters.

Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:

- The Career Coach: Jobs In A Visual Effects House -- Defined

The final part of a three part series that describes the steps involved in different specialties of visual effects production, the specific skills required for each specialty, as well as what the studios are looking for in a portfolio and demo reel.

Big Apple Anime Fest: Friday, October 26 - Sunday, October 28, 2001, New York, New York USA. Taking place over Halloween weekend - October 26 to 28, 2001 - at the Directors Guild of America Theater and other venues in mid-town Manhattan, the Big Apple Anime Fest considers itself the "Cannes Film Festival of the Anime Manga Culture," one of the hottest media trends among today's global youth.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include: From Dangermouse to Bill & Ben: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - Tuesday, January 15, 2002, Manchester, England; Aleksandra Korejwo - Screening and Silent Auction: Saturday, September 29, 2001, Hollywood, California USA; FAN International Animation Festival: Thursday, October 25 - Sunday, October 28, 2001, Norwich, Norfolk UK; Big Apple Anime Fest: Friday, October 26 - Sunday, October 28, 2001, New York, New York USA; Animation Workout, Mary Ellen Lord, Guest Director: Tuesday, November 20, 2001,

4Kids Entertainment's YU-GI-OH!, which has already begun airing in the U.S. on Kids' WB!, will be introduced to international broadcasters at this year's MIPCOM. The Japanese anime series follows the adventures of a young boy named Yugi, who morphs into a monster-fighting hero after piecing together the "millennium puzzle" given to him by his grandfather. Additional 4Kids’ series that will be presented at MIPCOM 2001 include 52 new POKEMON episodes featuring all new POKEMON characters.

Discreet, a division of Autodesk Inc., announced a variety of new products at the 2001 International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) held in Amsterdam September 14-18, 2001. Among the new products unveiled to the European community were frost 3, the latest version of Discreet's real-time 3D-broadcast graphics creation and delivery system and combustion 2, the latest version of its paint, animation and 3D-compositing software for Windows and Macintosh platforms. Both products are expected to begin shipping by end-of-year 2001.

Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:

- A Taste of SIGGRAPH 2001

John Edgar Park takes us on a tour of SIGGRAPH 2001, focusing on the latest technology news.

- New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews

San Francisco-based Spazzco Animation has produced an animated music video for “Love This Way,” the latest single from the pop group Eden’s Crush. The video, rendered in a futuristic anime style, depicts the group as interplanetary travelers who touch down on an angry planet. Upon discovering unhappy alien residents, the five women of Eden's Crush get to work spreading their melodic, positive message and transforming the barren landscape into a lush paradise. The video can now be viewed exclusively at cartoonnetwork.com as part of the site's Web Premiere Toons program.

Creative companies Sunbow Entertainment and Rumpus have signed a co-production deal for KAPPA MIKEY, a fish-out-of-water story with an unusual twist. Targeted at 8 – 13 year old kids, the series mixes comedy and action in a satire of anime-style animation and American cluelessness about foreign culture. The show revolves around Mikey, an American superhero, who comes to Japan to fight evil with a team of Japanese anime stars. Mikey is not the most sensitive American ever to work overseas.

In an attempt to keep the MATRIX franchise hot, Warner Bros. has green-lit anime adventures based on the original flick. The film's directors Andy and Larry Wachowski, who were originally inspired by anime to make the MATRIX, are currently looking for anime directors to create episodes for the video. MATRIX ANIME is being planned for a late 2002 or early 2003 release. The live-action sequel, MATRIX RELOADED, is scheduled to hit theaters in May 2003.

* 2nd Annual Festival of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction: Friday, August 03 - Sunday, August 26, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA.

The July Acrobat issue of Animation World Magazine is now on-line! July focuses on Internet animation. There is no denying that the Internet entertainment market has changed...so how are four prominent leaders in the field adjusting to the brave new world? Rick DeMott reports. Jacquie Kubin gains insight from executive Paul Samulski on NewKidCo, which is bringing some of the most well known properties and characters into the children's gaming arena.

TriStar Pictures is set to release METROPOLIS, directed by Rintaro (X) and written by anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA), in the U.S. on November 9. Based on the classic comic by Osamu Tezuka, the film is set in the futuristic city populated by humans and robots. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young female android created to succeed the leader of Metropolis. The film is a combination of cel and digital animation.

According to Sound Scan, a video industry analyst group, Pioneer Entertainment's newly released AKIRA was the number-one selling DVD for the week of July 29, 2001. The classic anime film was first released in 1989, but was recently restored by Pioneer Entertainment at a cost of $1 million. The DVD beat the debut of live-action films FAMILY MAN, starring Nicolas Cage, and SWEET NOVEMBER, starring Keanu Reeves. The film is set is Neo-Tokyo after World War III and follows childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda as they encounter a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject.

Entertainment on the Internet: Where Did the Promised Land Go?

There is no denying that the Internet entertainment market has changed...so how are four prominent leaders in the field adjusting to the brave new world? Rick DeMott reports.



From Akira to Princess Mononoke? Don't Think So

The World Animation, August 7-12, 2001, is proud to announce a new show added to its ambitious schedule. Sony Pictures Entertainment will host a "sneak peek" of Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis." Based on the classic manga by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of anime and manga, "Metropolis" was brought to the screen by two of the most respected figures in Japanese animation today: Katsuhiro Otomo ("Akira") and Rintaro ("X," "Galaxy Express 999"). In fact, Rintaro began his career working for Tezuka on his popular "Astro Boy" (Tetsuwan Atom) television series.