Pre-production on STAR WARS EPISODE II (Lucas reportedly has a title in
mind, but it has not been released) has already begun. Shooting is set to
start in June 2000 with locations at Fox Studios Australia, Tunisia, and
Italy, and the release is scheduled for summer 2002. The story will focus
on the romance and marriage between Anakin Skywalker (the future Darth
Vader) and Queen Amidala, and the Siths' attempt to gain control of the
galaxy. Whereas the budget for EPISODE 1 was $115 million, Lucas says he

Red Storm, which has been broadening the boundaries of computer gaming with
products like Tom Clancy's RAINBOW SIX, has reached an agreement with
Bohbot Kids Network (BKN), a New York-based syndication network
specializing in children's programming, to produce a series of games based
on BKN's series ROSWELL CONSPIRACIES: ALIENS, MYTHS & LEGENDS, a new show
which will begin airing in the spring of 2000 and already has a two-year
air commitment. The show is a creation of Allen Bohbot, Chairman and CEO of

Elfriede Fischinger died quietly in her sleep at her home on Thursday, May
13, 1999. She was born September 17, 1910, in Gelnhausen near Frankfurt,
Germany. She attended the prestigious College of Design in Offenbach, and
in 1931 one of her abstract textile designs won a prize and was published
in a magazine as well as exhibited in Berlin, where she met her future
husband, animator and painter Oskar Fischinger. They were married in 1933
and she worked on many of his subsequent films. In 1936 they emigrated to

A release date for Aardman Animations/DreamWorks' eagerly awaited
stop-motion feature, CHICKEN RUN, has been announced for June 23, 2000 in
the US. Fifteen minutes of completed footage were recently shown to
enthusiastic Aardman employees in England. The film is being directed by
Aardman co-founder Peter Lord and Nick Park (The Wrong Trousers, Creature
Comforts), and is described as The Great Escape with chickens. DreamWorks
SKG will distribute the film in the U.S. and most international territories

A BUG'S LIFE, a Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation
Studios film, has climbed to $358 million in worldwide box office receipts
to become one of the top-grossing animated films of all time. With its
domestic gross of $163 million, the film has already become the fourth
biggest animated feature released in the United States (behind THE LION
KING, ALADDIN and TOY STORY). Internationally, A BUG'S LIFE has a
gross-to-date of $195 million and has set records in the United Kingdom,

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis' new film, WHEN THE DAY BREAKS, will
compete with ten live-action films, and one animated film, BILLY'S
BALLOON by Don Hertzfeldt (LILY + JIM), for the top prize in the Short
Film competition at this year's 52nd Festival de Cannes in Cannes,
France. The Festival takes place Wednesday, May 12th through Sunday, May
23rd. Wendy Tilby is perhaps best known for STRINGS. For more
information visit the festival's official homepage at
www.festival-cannes.fr/cannes99.

The Quickdraw Animation Society web site has been updated, with the presentation of "When the Water is Sick, The World is Sick," a 5:30' collective film by 10 young QAS animation students. It will be featured this summer in the Annecy International Film Festival in France, and hopefully other festivals as well! Read more about this project on the QAS web site at:


www.awn.com/qas

Frank Gladstone, Head of Artist Development at DreamWorks, and Clifford Cohen, founder and president of AnimAction, have joined forces as members of UNICEF's International Animation Consortium for Child's Rights to create an animated PSA that addresses the Right to a Name and a Nationality. The PSA will be screened on June 4 at the Annecy Film Festival in Annecy, France. Also at the Festival, Mr. Cohen will speak about "How Animation Can Change People's Thinking."

The recently concluded Cartoons on the Bay festival in Poistano, Italy has announced its awards. The Golden Pulcinella for best character went to the Little Entertainment Co.'s BILLY, an animated British TV series for pre-schoolers about an infant daydreamer. The Golden Pulcinella for best program went to Folimage's CHARLIE'S CHRISTMAS, a French TV film about an abandoned child's friendship with a postman.

The California Sun Festival, which took place at California State
University Northridge on April 10 - 11, handed out the following awards:


The Golden Sun (Best of the Festival) went to Hannes Rall, Germany, for
"Der Rabe" (The Raven), an 8-minute film freely adapted from the poem "The
Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe.


The Silver Stars (Best in each Category) went
to:


Traditional Animation: Andrea Guaraldo, Italy, for "Soffioni"


Computer Animation: Heiko Lueg, Germany, for "Sandland"

The Cartoons on the Bay International Festival of Television Animation will be held April 20-24, 1999 Positano, Italy.

"Find and be found" in the new Career Connections...


At long last, AWN has built a brand new Career Connections, complete with a new Talent Pool resume database with multiple search capabilities, and a new Job Posting database. Join the thousands of animation professionals who've used the Talent Pool to "find and be found." There is no quicker, more direct way to reach the animation community than through the Job Postings database in Career Connections. Thousands of qualified job seekers browse through the Job Postings database every week.

David McCall, creator of Schoohouse Rock, died April 18th in a car accident
near Kukes, Albania, along with his wife, Penny, and Refugees
International's European representative Yvette Pierpaoli and the car's
Albanian driver. The McCalls were en route from Tirana to Kukes, the
primary reception point for Kosovar refugees. They were on a mission for
Refugees International, the Washington, D.C.-based organization on whose
board Mr. and Mrs. McCall served. Part of the mission was to explore

MIP TV, the international television programme market, where sellers and buyers from all over the world exchange product, takes place April 12th to 17th in Cannes, France. This year’s MIP is expected to reflect a rebounding international TV market. More than 100 TV series from around the world we be offered at MIP, such as DARIA, FAMILY GUY, FUTURAMA, and NORMAN NORMAL. The calendar of events include the following animation related programmes:


MONDAY APRIL 12TH

The 3rd edition of Switzerland's largest Animation Film Festival
FANTOCHE will be held from August 31 to September 5 1999.
Deadline for the "International Competition" is June 15.


Registration forms will soon be available from the festival
office or directly from the website www.fantoche.ch. For further
information as well as details about the supporting members association and
oportunities for advertising and sponsoring, please contact the festival
office:


FANTOCHE

Ottikerstr. 53

CH - 8006 Zürich

The Cinema Guild has released the animation cult classic, VAMPIRES IN HAVANA! Juan Padron, best known in the US for his QUINOSCOPO shorts, directed the 1985 Cuban film which was released theatrically in the USA in 1987. VAMPIRES IN HAVANA! is a spoof of horror and gangster movies, presented in a style reminiscent of FRITZ THE CAT. It features Professor von Dracula, a vampire scientist who leaves Transylvania for Cuba where he invents "Vampisol," a potion that allows vampires to live in sunlight.

* Tuesday, April 27. Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.A.


Roberto Kritzia will give a free slide-lecture to promote the Glenn Vilppu
sketching tour of Italy which will take place in June and July. (See the
Glenn Vilppu tours news item for more information about the tours.) The lecture
takes place at 7:30 pm at Travel Stop, 14011 Ventura Bl., West Bldg., Suite
221, Sherman Oaks, California. Seating is limited. RSVP (818) 994-2402.

* Wednesday, April 28 - Sunday, May 2. Oslo, Norway.


The 6th International Oslo Animation Festival invites both animators and
spectators to take part in five days of animated fun. The festival
presents: Nordic and Baltic films in competition, Nordic and Baltic
Panorama, International highlights, a Focus on British animation, Animation
as Music, a Celebration of Lotte Reiniger, Jury programs, Exhibitions and
even more. For further information contact: Oslo Animation Festival, P.O.

BOO WONG has been promoted to head the CGI Department at
Curious Pictures, the bi-coastal, live-action, graphics, special effects
and animation studio, it was announced today by Executive Producer/Head of
Production Richard Winkler. Wong, 33, succeeds Tammy Walters, who recently
left the company to pursue a career as a producer. In her new post, Wong
will be responsible for the overall operation of the CGI department
including scheduling, media flow, resource management, evaluation and

DIC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Disney, has sold two new animated series
to Pax TV, a new family-oriented network in the US. "Archie's Weird
Mysteries" and "Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century" will appear this Fall
as part of the weekday "Pax Power Mystery Hour." "Archie's Weird
Mysteries," a co-production with M6 France, is based on the long running
Archie comics series. In the series, a lab experiement goes awry, creating
such characters as a 50-foot Veronica, and Dr. Jughead and Mr. Hyde.