The partners behind the summer’s surprise hit 28 DAYS LATER, Fox Searchlight Pictures and DNA Films have announced a five-year, $50 million joint production and distribution deal, reported the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. DNA Films operates on unused U.K. lottery funds and first needed approval by the U.K. Film Council before the agreement could be signed. The new joint venture will remain with the name DNA Films and producer/exec Andrew Macdonald has been hired to head up the company.

Big Idea Prods has announced an agreement with Classic Media LLC to purchase the company’s assets. As required by the deal, Big Idea has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Opponents of the FCC approved changes in media ownership regulations got a reprieve Sept. 3, 2003 when a federal judicial panel temporarily blocked the rules from taking effect as they were scheduled to the following day, Sept. 4. A three-judge panel of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania issued a stay order preventing the regulatory agency from loosening ownership rules pending further proceedings.

Whamo Ent’s partners Joseph Szew, Fernando Szew and Mar Gaya, along with PorchLight Ent’s Michael Jacobs and Anchor Bay Ent’s George Port, have formed Mar Vista Entertainment, reported DAILY VARIETY. The new company will produce and distribute family and children's productions. Joseph Szew will serve as president/ceo and his brother will be managing director. Based in Barcelona, Gaya will be the director of European operations. Jacobs, former svp of worldwide sales for PorchLight, will serve as president of production and distribution.

Former EYE Animation creative director Ian Bird has opened Bird Studios, a CG/3D animation production studio in London. The studio is working on various feature film, commercial and music video productions. It recently wrapped on the animated video for Iron Maiden entitled, WILDEST DREAMS. Bird Studios’ animation team storyboarded and animated the video from director Howard Greenhalgh’s script. The team at Bird is comprised of award-winning animators and illustrators with backgrounds in film, BBC, documentaries, history of art and classic comic illustration.

It took a while for AWN to hear from animation and vfx people in New York City and areas in the U.S. affected by the massive power blackout on Aug. 14, 2003. Between downed power grids, tied up telephone lines and the subsequent attack of the BIG computer virus, communication is just now returning to normal. However, a few brave souls managed to share how their shops were disrupted in our increasingly power-hungry industry and lessons they learned for the next outage.

Quiet Man

Dae Joong Kim, a veteran animation director for 36 years, has joined Cyper Entertainment Inc., subsidiary of JRE Inc., based in Seoul, Korea. Considered one of the top OEM animation directors in Korea, he has worked on many different animated TV shows such as SUPER MARIO, FUTURE BOY CONAN, CAPTAIN HARLOCK, GALAXY EXPRESS 999 AND NADIA, among others.

"Mr. Kim is a valued addition to our team as we prepare for several large film and television productions. We are excited to have him in our service," said Duk Jim Jang, president of JRE.

The following is a statement from Jason VanBorssum in response to a story about the demise of Cornerstone Animation that appeared in the AWN Flash and on the AWN.com Website on August 12, 2003. AWN is happy to present all sides as the parties make themselves available for comment.

Statement by Jason VanBorssum
August 15, 2003

Vancouver-based Mercury Filmworks is broadening its digital production scope in Canada with the addition of an Ottawa-based animation studio. Under the direction of former Funbag animation director Jerry Popowich (KING, UNDERGRADS, FREAKY STORIES, WATERSHIP DOWN, NEVER ENDING STORY, THE SIMPSONS, THE CRITIC, PINK PANTHER, TALES FROM THE CRYPT KEEPER), Mercury Filmworks’ new studio will offer design, pre-production and digital animation capabilities.

The sale is complete, U.S. billionaire Haim Saban took control of German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 by acquiring a majority stake from the insolvent parent house KirchMedia. The deal was finalized August 9, 2003 with Kirch’s creditor banks and the transaction is expected to be completed this week. Saban acquired 36% of the share capital of ProSiebenSat.1, which gives him and his investors 72% of the company’s voting rights.

Cornerstone Animation is missing one of its cornerstones with the recent departure of president/ceo Jason Marshall VanBorssum, who unexpectedly cleaned out his office at the studio in Glendale, California, leaving company files in disarray and its workers unpaid, AWN confirmed with founder/chief creative officer Larry Whitaker. “Although we have been forced to shut our doors, we have not filed bankruptcy to date.

Atari Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering of $125 million of common stock. In the proposed offering, shares will be sold by Atari and by Infogrames Entertainment, S.A., which owns approximately 88% of the outstanding Atari shares. Atari and Infogrames will grant the underwriters an option to purchase additional shares of its common stock valued at up to $18.75 million to cover over-allotments.

As embattled Canadian children’s producer/distributor CINAR Corp. continues to work with the Quebec Securities Commission to have CINAR shares re-listed on the stock exchange, the company has signed 12 confidentiality/ standstill agreements with parties interested in taking part or all of the company. A CINAR statement said, “Any major developments in this regard will be communicated to shareholders, regulatory authorities and the public as appropriate.”

With Electronic Arts consolidating its west coast operations in the Los Angeles area, its new 250,000 square-foot Playa Vista campus will rival those of the major visual effects houses. EA will begin moving staff from the current studio in Bel Air into its new space by the end of this year, hoping to complete the move by early 2004.

The creative design/production company twothousandstrong, led by creative director Craig Tozzi, has moved into its new headquarters, a 4,800 square-foot loft space in Venice, California, and added Julia Lennon as new head of sales/new business development.

During the living tribute to voice over master Daws Butler at the ASIFA-Hollywood meeting July 30, 2003 in Glendale, the animation society announced it has embarked on an ambitious project to expand the offerings of the current ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Center in Burbank to include a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility for the benefit of the animation community and general public.

Now rumors AWN reported on two weeks ago about POWER RANGERS-powered billionaire Haim Saban making another run to buy ProSiebenSat.1 Media have been confirmed. A group of investors led by Saban have submitted a revived bid to buy a majority stake in the broadcaster from insolvent German media group KirchMedia. Saban has made a “better offer” to acquire 72% of ProSieben’s vote-wielding ordinary shares at an estimated cost of$575 million plus an additional $225 million for a 16.5% stake held by KirchMedia and German publisher Axel Springer.

Corsham Entertainment, a new TV and film production company in the U.K., has been formed by Oscar-winning Gary Kurtz (producer of AMERICAN GRAFFITI, STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and DARK CRYSTAL), Richard Bazley (a lead animator on Disney’s HERCULES and POCAHONTAS plus Warner Bros.' OSMOSIS JONES and THE IRON GIANT), and writer Alastair Swinnerton (co-creator of THE BASKERVILLES and LEGO’s BIONICLE).

Paradise Financial Group has launched a new animated production firm called Paradise Family Pictures LLC. The El Segundo, California-based company will produce animated 3D TV and feature film projects for the worldwide market. The new company will have three divisions: development, production and marketing. An international sales division will launch in May 2004. The toon house is in production on two 22-minute shows, COOL CAT ROCKY and IT'S A VERY MERRY JOLLY CHRISTMAS. Both projects will be completed early 2004.

IBM and Threshold Digital Research Labs have signed a four-year, multi-million dollar deal to increase Threshold’s production output. The pact puts in place an IT commitment to help Threshold produce computer-animated movies, location-based entertainment, primetime TV animation and visual effects for feature films.