SCARY MOVIE, WHAT LIES BENEATH and CHARLIE'S ANGELS all held strong at the international box office. In Italy, SCARY MOVIE debuted at #1 with a strong gross of US$2.28 million. Dropping a lofty 59%, X-MEN fell to sixth, grossing $466,646, thereby lifting its Italian cume to $4.1 million. In seventh, FREQUENCY channeled $460,570 in its Italian premiere. In France, SCARY MOVIE held onto the top spot with a gross of $2.32 million, raising its cume to $15.24 million. The French debut of SHAFT, therefore, had to settle for second, grossing $1.62 million.

Despite DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment's downfall with Pop.com, Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard plan to create Webtoons for CoutingDown.com, the movie-fan site purchased by DreamWorks to be part of Pop.com. Howard's toon will be based on a recurring nightmare he has been having, where he is trapped on a crazed and out-of-control film set. Spielberg's toon will also be based on one of the filmmaker's dreams, but no plot has been released. The site will debut one toon early in December and the other in January.

The Mad Cow Picture Company has just opened its doors in Sydney, Australia. The new studio specializes in Flash animation and animation pre-production, including storyboarding and character design. Mad Cow Picture Company offers a mix of digital and traditional animation. The company is currently creating pilot episodes for StupidHeroes.com and 00STEVEN: PLAYGROUND PRIVATE EYE. For more information contact The Mad Cow Picture Company at: Tel.: ++612 9808 4153; Fax: ++612 9808 1041; or Web: http://www.madcowpictures.com.

Over the past week at the international box office, DreamWorks' WHAT LIES BENEATH and Miramax's SCARY MOVIE have fought it out for global wealth. In the U.K., WHAT LIES over took the top spot by grossing US$2.98 million, thus pushing its 3-week U.K. cume to $12.28 million. Dropping 64% in its fourth full week, DINOSAUR fell to fourth in the U.K., with a gross of $1.44 million, escalating its cume to $17.44 million. In seventh, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE grabbed $670,689, growing its U.K. cume to $4.52 million. In Australia, WHAT LIES BENEATH's debut claimed first place with a gross of $1.72 million.

The Holland festival will be held in Utrecht, November 15-19, 2000. Besides the official competition for Independent Short, Applied Animation and Student Films in Belgium & The Netherlands, this year the festival will offer a variety of retrospectives and special programs.

The 2000 Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Party of the 17th Annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival was held Sunday, October 22, 2000 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Mayer Education Center. The event was hosted by director/actor Harold Ramis (BEDAZZLED, GROUNDHOG DAY, GHOSTBUSTERS). The Chicago International Children's Film Festival is the largest competitive festival of films for children in North America. This year's Festival screened 210 films from over 40 countries, including 36 world premieres. Below is a list of the animation winners.

Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England's Smartdog, a gaming company that is part of the Titus/Virgin/Interplay group, is looking for 3D MODELERS and TEXTURERS to work on their state of the art PSXII title. . . Victoria, British Columbia, Canada's Disney Interactive is looking for an ANIMATION LEAD/INTERACTIVE to overview the entire animation process from pre-production design to delivery of final post-production animations. . . London, UK's Granada Media, one of the biggest TV production companies in the UK, is looking for an ANIMATOR. . .

* Monday, November 27 – Friday, December 1, 2000. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Based in Sydney, Australia, The Mad Cow Picture Company offers a mix of digital and traditional animation experience. The studio specializes in Flash animation and pre-production services including storyboarding and character design. They are currently creating pilot episodes for "Stupidheroes.Com" and "00steven-Playground Private Eye." For more information about what's on offer from Down Under, visit the Mad Cow Picture Company Web site at http://www.madcowpictures.com.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include the Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival in British Columbia, Canada; the Interactive TV & Mobile Games Conference in London, U.K.; the 2nd Outer Limits Film And Video Series in New York; and many 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. Use it to stay abreast of animation related activities across the globe.

Three new artists are profiled in the Animation Showcase, offering a wide range of techniques, from life drawing to TV station IDs. Linda is an independent animator and instructor at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Edwing is an independent animator from Columbia. Tobias is an independent animator from Northern California. Plus, a new series called "Pandora" from Jean Detheux, with a clip.

Columbia TriStar Home Video will be releasing Destination Films and Gullane Pictures' THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD on VHS and DVD October 31, 2000. Based on the wildly popular THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE franchise, this feature film tells the story of a young girl's trip to visit her grandfather and their very special train-ride upon the famous tank engine named Thomas. This is the first THOMAS DVD and will include one deleted scene from the motion picture, as well as the theatrical trailer. The VHS tape will retail for US$19.99 and the DVD for $24.05.

On Friday, October 27, 2000, four-year Sony Pictures veteran Bob Levin officially settled out the remaining 1 1/2 years of his contract and left his post as president of worldwide marketing for Columbia TriStar Pictures Group. His resignation came one day after Sony restructured the executive arm and gave chief of worldwide distribution, Jeff Blake, Levin's duties. According to insiders, there were tensions between Blake and Levin. Levin is best known in the animation community for playing a key cog in the phoenix run of Walt Disney animation.

In an attempt to strengthen its executive ranks, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has retooled, leaving a worldwide marketing executive seemingly without a job. Chief of worldwide distribution, Jeff Blake has assumed the duties of Bob Levin, who had held the post of marketing exec. Levin, who was in New York yesterday for the CHARLIE'S ANGELS premiere, was not available for comment and no word was announced on his definite future with the company or otherwise. According to insiders, there were tensions between Blake and Levin, who has 1 1/2 years left on his contract.

With HOLLOW MAN claiming strong debuts in Germany and Italy, WHAT LIES BENEATH and X-MEN hold on tight to other tops spots around the world. In first place, HOLLOW MAN scored big in its German premiere with a gross of US$3.78 million. SCARY MOVIE came in right behind with a gross of $3.47 million, raising its German cume to $8.84 million. WHAT LIES BENEATH sunk to third with a gross of $1.37 million, lifting its German cume to $7.11 million. In seventh, FINAL DESTINATION piled up $487,846, bringing its German cume to $6.66 million.

* Wednesday, February 28 – Friday, March 2, 2001. Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada.


Entry Deadline: December 31, 2000.

In February, Warner Bros. will start shooting their live-action adaptation of SCOOBY-DOO. Raja Gosnell, director of HOME ALONE 3 and the Drew Barrymore comedy NEVER BEEN KISSED, will direct the film from a script by James Gunn, with Chuck Roven producing. The picture will shoot in Australia and no cast has been announced. The story will feature the gang of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby, but no specific plot summary has been release.

With WHAT LIES BENEATH slowly sinking, THE X-MEN have claimed debut victories around the globe. In Spain, the mighty mutants premiered in first with a gross of US$2.02 million. In its second week in Spain, THE CELL fell to third, grossing $997,797 thus elevating its cume to $2.02 million. Dropping 46%, HOLLOW MAN placed sixth with a gross of $381,275, lifting its Spanish cume to $8.86 million. In eighth, NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS fell a humongous 52%, grossing $315,201 and raising its Spanish cume to $1.65 million.

The 5th edition of Castelli Animati took place in Genzano Di Roma, Italy, October 4-8, 2000. An international jury comprised of Massimo Bucchi (Italy), Paul Driessen (Netherlands), Julian Nott (UK), Furio Scarpelli (Italy) and Wendy Tilby (Canada) chose the winners. The Grand Prize (ex-aequo) went to "Flying Nansen" by Igor Kovalyov, USA, and "Village Of Idiots" by Eugene Fedorenko & Rose Newlove, Canada.

This week's update to the Calendar of Events includes a wide range of international events such as the Animation Sensation Weekend in Seattle, USA; the Melbourne International Student Animation Festival, Australia; Anime A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, USA; the AnimExplosion Festival in Mandaluyong City, Philippines; a Virtual Reality Conference in London, UK; and many more!