The Game Show Network has signed a deal with Interactive Television Entertainment (ITE-USA) to start airing the live, real-time animated action game THROUT AND NECK in the U.S. Using technologies developed by ITE-USA, home viewers are able to control the movement of the animated characters using their telephone keypads to input commands. In the game, Throut and Neck are two unruly beasts who somehow wind up in SheepHeaven, a mind-numbing world of annoyingly cute and adorable sheep. The players at home control their monsters to see which one can defeat the most sheep and return home.

Fox Kids Network is adding seven new animated series (146 new episodes) and nine returning series (121 new episodes) to its fall '99 slate of weekday afternoon and Saturday morning programming.

Comedian and former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast member Adam Sandler (THE WATERBOY, THE WEDDING SINGER) has signed with Columbia TriStar (a division of Sony Pictures) to develop a full-length animated musical comedy featuring a character based on him. Sandler, who is producing the film with his partner, Jack Giarraputo, will also voice the title character.

The hit Japanese show POKéMON, currently in syndication in the U.S. and exclusively on Kids WB! next season, has been sold to Televisa (Mexico) and Record-TV (Brazil). Both networks will premiere the show in April/May as a five-day-a-week program. The show has also been sold to numerous other Latin American broadcasters including Magic TV and Channel 11 (Argentina), Etcetera and Chilevision Channel 6 (Chile), Caracol (Colombia), Telecorporation (El Salvador), Televicentro (Honduras), Frecuencia Latina (Peru) and Venevision (Venezuela).

Interactive Television Entertainment has firmed deals with Columbia and Peru for the interactive television show "Hugo, the TV Troll." Hugo premiered in Columbia on Canal Capital in December '98, and in Peru in January '99. The show, which allows the TV audience to respond instantaneously to programming content by using their telephone touchpad, currently airs in over 20 countries.

"Kevin Saves the World" is Monster Productions' newest entry, based on books by Daniel Postgate, produced and directed by Kine Aune and Oscar-winning British animator Bob Godfrey ("Great," 1964). The series (13 x 5 minutes) follows the misadventures of Kevin, a boy who always manages to come out on top despite his apparent ineptitude. The series, targeted for kids 4-8, has already been acquired by Nickelodeon U.K., Nickelodeon Scandinavia, RTE and ABC Australia among others.

Columbia TriStar Television Children's Programming (CTTCP), who currently produces and distributes shows like "Jumanji," "Men in Black" and "Godzilla: The Series," announces a number of show pre-sold to U.S. broadcasters: "Dragon Tales," a co-production with Children's Television Workshop for PBS, "Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot" for Fox Kids Network and "Bug Wars: A Starship Troopers Adventure" for BKN. In direct-to-video, CTTCP is currently developing "5,000 Fingers of Dr. T," "Berenstein Bears," "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and "I Dream of Jeannie."

Columbia TriStar Television Children’s Programming (CTTCP) has appointed Michael T. Helfand to Vice President, Business Affairs where he will be responsible for CTTCP’s full range of business affairs negotiations for pilots and series. Helfand joins Columbia TriStar from DIC Entertainment where he was Head of the Legal and Business Affairs Department.

San Francisco-based The Attik has produced and designed 5 seconds of live-action and graphics for the theatrical trailer end card for "Idle Hands," an upcoming Columbia Pictures film. The segment involves a live-action human hand clutching and clawing at the screen. The Attik team blended the live-action with an illustrated graphic of a hand, animated using a technique similar to stop-motion, to give the piece an organic feel while maintaining a scratchy, hand-crafted texture. Simon Dixon was the Creative Director/Director and Monica Perez was Senior Art Director.

* Sunday, January 3 - Saturday, January 9, 1999. Sydney, Australia.


Flickerfest, 8th International Short Film Festival will consist of a main competitive program, a short documentary competition and additional programs and forums aside from the competition. For more information, visit www.flickerfest.com.au or call 61 (0)2 9211 7133.

The Attik, a worldwide design agency, has opened offices in Sydney, Australia to create a stronger global presence. In the past two years, the company has also launched U.S. offices in New York and San Francisco. The new office in Sydney will be headed up by Simon Needham who will relocate to Australia with a number of other colleagues from the London, U.K. home office. “This is a natural progression for us. We are a global design company.

The results are in from the 20th Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latino Americano, which took place in Havana, Cuba, from December 1-11, 1998. All the films in competition were from Latin American countries. The following awards were given out for animated entries:

Hollywood Shorts, a monthly series designed to screen short films and introduce their directors to the Hollywood film community, is currently accepting animated entries for possible exhibition in upcoming programs. Submissions received by February 1, 1999 will be given first consideration for spring programming. Films must be under 30 minutes in length and submitted on VHS - NTSC only. For complete entry info, contact Kimberley Browning at Hollywood Shorts: griplace@aol.com or (310) 358-7634.

The premiere of Faith Hubley's new film "Africa" is set to take place at Storyopolis on December 15th. The 10-minute film will screen at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 p.m. at the New Line Cinema. A reception follows afterwards at Storyopolis from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Faith and Emily Hubley will be present at the reception. The screening and reception are open to the public free of charge, however, guests must RSVP by calling (310) 828-7577.

Sony Signatures' Film and Television division has named Hasbro, Inc. as the master toy licensee for the holiday '99 Columbia Pictures live-action/visual effects film, "Stuart Little." Hasbro will produce everything from plush toys to interactive software. The film is based on the classic E.B. White book of the same name about a mouse who is raised by the Littles, a human family who learns to dream big and live large when they think little.

New York-based The Attik produced a pair of 30-second spots, "Save Chef," to promote the new Comedy Central "South Park" musical offering "Chef Aid: The South Park Album" on American Recordings (Los Angeles)/Columbia Records (New York). The CD, which was released on November 24, is an extension of the "Chef Aid" episode, where Chef gets sent to prison and the community sponsors a "Chef Aid" concert to raise money and bail him out.

* Tuesday, December 15. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.


The downtown central Los Angeles Public Library will screen a selection of
the best experimental animation made at CalArts in the last 25 years at 6
p.m. The free event is open to the public and will be introduced by
founding director of the CalArts Experimental Animation Program, Jules
Engel. Early work from "Antz" co-director Eric Darnell and "Nightmare
before Christmas" director Henry Selick will be among the fourteen works

Columbia Tristar Home Video and the Harvey Entertainment Company will
release "Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure," a live-action, feature-length
musical comedy, starring the classic oversized, diapered duck in his first
movie ever. The direct-to-video film, which will be released on March 2,
1999, stars Joseph Bologna, Maureen McCormick, Harvey Korman, David Lander,
and David Leisure. The song-filled film also includes a bonus Baby Huey
cartoon, "Daycare Duckie," packaged with the film. The film is about how

* Friday, November 13 - Sunday, November 15. Coffs Harbour, New South
Wales, Australia.


The 1998 STANLEY AWARDS AND CARTOONISTS' CONFERENCE, hosted by the Australian Black and White Artists' Club, will take place at the Novotel
Opal Cove resort and Pacific Bay resort. The annual event features the
presentation of the Stanley Awards, the Australian "Academy Awards for
cartooning," in 10 categories. The two day conference following will
examine topics including comic strip syndication, marketing, and using

* Thursday, October 29. Toronto, Canada.


The fourth Toronto’s Animators’ Zoetrope Association (TAZA) Digital Image Festival will showcase independent computer animation such as “Macca Strewth” by Momentum Animations (Australia). For information visit www.interlog.com/~dolish/taza.htm.