* Tuesday, February 20 – Saturday, February 24, 2001. College Station, Texas, U.S.A.

* Sunday, February 11 – Thursday, February 15, 2001. New York, New York, U.S.A.

Touchstone's UNBREAKABLE is truly becoming an international box office hero with top place finishes all over the globe. In France, UNBREAKABLE held on tight to the top spot, with a gross of US$4.68 million, elevating its cume to $11.74 million. At #3, CHICKEN RUN escaped with a gross of $2.64 million, flying its French cume to $11.48 million. DINOSAUR roared in at #4, grossing $2.22 million, thereby growing its French cume to $25.14 million. In sixth, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS slew $1.16 million, increasing its French cume to $2.83 million.

* Monday, January 8 – Saturday, January 27, 2001. New York, New York, U.S.A.

Valley Cottage, New York's Southeast Design Co. is looking for a 3D ANIMATOR with 4-5 years broadcast animation experience. . . Santa Clara, California's Believe, Inc., a pre-IPO start-up, is looking for experienced SOFTWARE ENGINEERS who will create, implement and support new features, tools and other improvements in custom software. . . New York's Center for Advanced Digital Applications - New York University, an advanced training facility for animation and visual effects, is looking for PART-TIME INSTRUCTORS with experience in digital production and/or art in a professional environment. .

On January 19, 2001, ASIFA International will announce a joint venture with the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design to host a new chapter of ASIFA in Denver, Colorado, USA. The announcement will be made at the college in Denver during a special screening of "The Best of Ottawa '00," featuring award winners from the 2000 Ottawa animation festival. The collection, hosted by Chris Robinson, executive director of the Ottawa International Film Festival, encompasses a wide array of techniques and subjects by some of animation's leading figures.

Linda Kudzmas' animated short, "The Egg," will be screened at the upcoming Moondance International Film Festival (Boulder, Colorado, USA, January 19-21, 2001), as a Festival Favorite. Linda is an independent animator and instructor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. You can discover her work through her gallery in the Animation Showcase.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes the Voicebank.net Demo, Toronto, Canada, January 24-25, 2001; The Evening of Remembrance 2001, Hollywood, California, USA, January 27, 2001; Cartoon Masters, Strasbourg, France, February 15-17, 2001; Tough Eye Festival, Turku, Finland, May 15-20, 2001; and more! With multiple search capabilities, AWN's new calendar of events gives you a customized way to look through the upcoming events - by Name, Location, Entry Deadline, Category, Event Type and more.

January 1997 saw the passing of Louise Beaudet, a person who dedicated her life to helping the animation community define itself. Louise Beaudet was known for her work at the Cinémathèque Quebecoise in Montreal, perhaps one of the only archives where animation is considered a top priority. In her role as curator of the Cinémathèque, she more than helped fulfill that organization's special interest in animation. Louise was passionate about promoting independent animation. She authored a number of historical texts, essays and monographs.

* Saturday, February 10 – Sunday, May 13, 2001. San Francisco, California, U.S.A.





The Exploratorium is sponsoring a major exhibition entitled "Behind

Unbound Studios, an animation and interactive entertainment company, has announced Jill Proctor Ramirez to the newly created position of VP of business development. Proctor Ramirez began her career as a newscaster in Dallas, Texas. Later she held the positions of director of development at Morgan Hill Films/Hearst Entertainment and vice president of development at the Dick Clark Film Group.

* Wednesday, January 24 - Thursday, January 25, 2001. Toronto, Canada.

Nickelodeon Latin America and TV Globo have signed a deal that will send Nicktoons to Brazilian airwaves. The two-year deal gives Globo the rights to air Nicktoons on Saturday mornings. Nick has similar deals with Mexico's Televisa and Venezuela's Radio Caracas Television. The cartoons that will air from 7 – 8 am will be dubbed versions of CATDOG, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and THE WILD THORNBERRYS.

* Thursday, January 11 – Friday, January 12, 2001. Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.





Larry Lauria will be conducting a "hands on," interactive animation fundamentals and character design workshop. The event is being held at Al Collins Graphic Design School. On Thursday, Lauria will present a talk on "Careers in Animation." The workshop will be held on Friday. For more information contact Jeff Marcus at: Tel.: (800) 876-7070.

* Thursday, January 18 – Sunday, January 28, 2001. Park City, Utah, U.S.A.

* Friday, January 19, 2001. Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.





The newly formed ASIFA-Colorado is holding a big kick off bash. Chris Robinson, an ASIFA-International board member and the Ottawa International Animation Festival executive director, will present "The Best of Ottawa," a program of international award-winning animation. For more information contact Edward Bakst at: R.M.C.A.D., 6875 E. Evans Ave., Denver, Colorado 80224, U.S.A.; Tel.: (800) 888-ARTS or (303)-753-6046; E-mail: EBakst@RMCAD.edu; or Fax: (303) 694-2314.

* Thursday, August 2 – Monday, August 6, 2001. Hollywood, California, U.S.A.


Entry Deadline: March 31, 2001.

UNBREAKABLE was simply unstoppable at the international box office this past week. In France, the UNBREAKABLE premiere grossed an amazing US$7.06 million. Five-week champ, DINOSAUR, slipped to second with a gross of $3.87 million, escalating its French cume to $22.92 million. In third, CHICKEN RUN cooped up another $3.58 million, flying its French cume to $8.84 million. At #6, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS drummed up only $1.67 million in its French debut. In its second week in France, POKEMON 2 collected $1.31 million, pushing its cume to $2.3 million.

UPN may be backing out of its plans to produce DOOMSDAY, a new animated series produced by talk radio host Howard Stern. The show would have chronicled the Bradley family who travel in a motor-home across a post-apocalyptic United States in search of a new home and traditional family values. UPN head Dean Valentine told the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS that the first drafts of the show were "decent, but it wasn't great and if you do this kind of show, a show about the aftermath of nuclear war, it has got to be great.

Worthington, Ohio's Big Fish Animation is looking for a 2D ANIMATOR and ANIMATION ASSIST/CLEAN UP to work on a TV pilot for a major network. . . Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Cuppa Coffee Animation, a mixed media animation house known for its organic, hands-on approach to animation, is looking for CREATIVE DIRECTORS. . . New York's Curious Pictures, a commercial animation and effects studio currently expanding into web design, is looking for experienced MAYA TD/MODELERS for freelance work. . .