In March, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd said it was interested in participating in a proposed project to build a Disney theme park in Hong Kong, but it depended on the outcome of talks between the government and Walt Disney Co. . . In Orlando, Florida, Walt Disney World officials said they expected more people than ever to flock to its sprawling Orlando theme park complex, after a 1998 performance that many industry analysts described as mixed. Year in and year out, Disney World proves to be the most popular tourist attraction on the planet.

The second part of UCLA's tribute to Japanese anime takes place May 8 -
June 1, 1999. (The first part of the series, titled MAGICAL BOYS & GIRLS,
took place in January 1999 and was devoted to children's animation.) The
tribute includes the following programs:


THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1999 - 7:30 PM

PRAISE BE TO SMALL ILLS (NAMU ICHIBYO SOKUSAI) (1973, 35mm, 18 min.)
Directed by Tadanari Okamoto. In Japanese with English subtitles.

THE DEMON (ONI)(1972, 35 mm, 8 min.) Directed by Kihachiro Kawamoto. In

Warner Bros. has greenlit OSMOSIS JONES for a Thanksgiving 2000 release.
The film is a comedy/adventure about a street smart white blood-cell called
Osmosis Jones who teams up with a rookie cold tablet to fight a virus that
is attacking their host body, a construction worker named Frank Detomello.
The film is written by Marc Hyman, with Tom Sito and Piet Kroon directing.
The film will be Warner Bros. Feature Animation's third completely animated
release after QUEST FOR CAMELOT, and the upcoming THE IRON GIANT. In

SP0NGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, a new animated series which is being produced at the
Burbank Nicktoons Studio, will premiere on Nickelodeon on July 17 at 10:00
am ET/PT in the USA, becoming Nickelodeon's first original Saturday morning
cartoon. A preview of the cartoon appeared on Nickelodeon on May 1, and
received a 6.3 rating and a 25 share when it was watched by 6.9 million
viewers. The cartoon features the adventures of SpongeBob, a hopelessly
optimistic and earnest sea sponge whose good intentions often lead to bad

Nickelodeon's Digital Animation Studio is looking for an experienced Director of Digital Technology...

Passion Pictures has created a new fully computer generated spot starring
Willy Wonka (WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY). Launching Rowntree's
new Wonka Xploder chocolate bar, the :20 spot shows Wonka and his chocolate
factory where teams of robots stir vats of bubbling chocolate, and brightly
colored machines create delicious chocolates. Willy tests his new
invention, the Wonka Xploder, on two boys who are inside a sealed testing
room. The boys are startled when the chocolates explode and the secret

Manga Video will release BLACK JACK in the US on June 29, 1999. Directed by
Osamu Dezaki, this 1993 direct to video release from Japan is based on a
manga by Osamu Tezuka that was first serialized in Japan from 1973-78.
Tezuka is known as the father of animation and comic books in Japan, and
specifically as the creator of such TV series as ASTRO BOY and MARINE BOY,
as well as award-winning shorts such as JUMPING. In BLACK JACK, Dr. Black
Jack, an unlicensed but extremely successful surgeon, is a lone wolf who

REALVIZ S.A. has announced the availability of its MatchMover software
solution for animation and special effects professionals on Microsoft,
Windows, NT and GI IRIX platforms. Using MatchMover, computer-generated 3D
images can be easily integrated with video or film to create Simulated
Reality. Using computed 3D coordinates and geometric constraints,
MatchMover transforms original live-action footage into an accurate 3D
space. The transformed 3D live-action space can be precisely matched to 3D

Lucas Learning has released THE GUNGAN FRONTIER, the first simulated world
Star Wars game on CD-ROM. As heroes of the Battle of Naboo, players are
called before the Gungan High Council to handle a critical mission. Their
city is threatened by overpopulation, and players must establish a new
colony on a nearby moon. The Gungans need to create a new world filled with
fantastic creatures and plants from across the galaxy. Players discover how
these alien animals and plants interact and how they depend on each other

Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis' short film, WHEN THE DAY BREAKS (The
National Film Board of Canada), won the Palme d'Or at the recently
concluded 52nd Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France. It
took four years for Forbis and Tilby to finish the softly colored,
wordless, but musical, story of a pig whose world shifts after a car
accident kills a stranger (a chicken) on her block. Forbis and Tilby began
the production of "When the Day Breaks" by shooting High-8 video of the

J.J. Sedelmaier Productions has created "Lintbrush," a :30 spot for Quilted
Northern bathroom tissues. Directed by J.J. Sedelmaier, and designed by
Bonnie Timmons, the 2D animated spot shows quilters at work while they
discuss the amount of lint in other tissue brands, as compared to Quilted
Northern tissues.

THE PHANTOM MENACE finished first in last week's Memorial Day weekend US
boxoffice race, taking in an estimated $64.8 million to bring its total to
$204.8 million. Based on this, experts are now predicting that the film
will eventually pass $400 million in North Amercian receipts. THE MUMMY
finished in third place, taking in $12.7 million, for a total of $117.1
million. Newcomer THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR, an effects driven thriller about
virtual reality, finished fifth, taking in $4.3 million. THE MATRIX

Fox has announced their US Fall prime-time lineup and it includes some
surprises. For one, Toon Tuesday is no more. The closest to it is Toon
Sunday. Fox's confidence in FAMILY GUY appears to be high, as it has been
moved to Thursday night where it will stand out as the only animated
series, sandwiched between two new live-action shows, MANCHESTER PREP and
ACTION, shows that seem to be geared to the male 18-49 demographic group.


The schedule, which begins in September, is as follows:


Thursday

9:00 FAMILY GUY

Don Spielvogel, President of VirtualMagic Animation, Inc., and Jeffrey
Harrison, Chairman/CEO of ImagineAsia Studio, announce the formation of
VirtualMagic ASIA, a new digital ink, paint and compositing service in the
Philippines that will operate as a subsidiary of VirtualMagic Animation,
Inc. headquartered in North Hollywood, California. VirtualMagic ASIA is a
corporate venture between two animation and digital service studios,
VirtualMagic Animation, Inc. and ImagineAsia Studio, of Manila.

Eoin Clarke's DEVIANT! won the Best of Festival award at the first New York
Animation Festival. The first New York Animation Festival presented a
diverse international program of film and video animation from May 13-15 in
New York City. Over 2500 attended the three-day event which was held in
Greenwich Village at The New School for Social Research's Tishman
Auditorium. Here is the complete list of winners: Best of Festival:
DEVIANT! by Eoin Clarke; Honorable Mention: ONE SELF: FISH GIRL by Emily

On July 6 Kid Rhino and Cartoon Network celebrate tunes from some of the
best-loved cartoon TV shows of this century with CARTOON MEDLEY, a
collection of 38 of Cartoon Network's greatest hits. The collection
features themes from JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS, THE FLINTSTONES, SPEED RACER,
THE JETSONS, SPACE GHOST COAST-TO-COAST, SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU?,
DEXTER'S LABORATORY, and the current cult favorite THE POWERPUFF GIRLS.
Lyrics are included in the CD booklet. CARTOON MEDLEY will retail for

On May 15, 1999 the 26th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were presented in 43
categories during ceremonies held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York
City, and the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. Outstanding Achievement
in Animation Emmy Awards were presented to William Joyce, Production
Designer for Nelvana's ROLIE POLIE OLIE, Dave Wasson, Production Designer
for "Max and His Special Problem," part of Nickelodeon's OH YEAH! CARTOONS
series, and Mark Zoeller, Storyboard Artist for DreamWorks' TOONSYLVANIA.

Nelvana Communications has announced several key personnel changes. STEVE
GALLOWAY has been recruited for Vice President of Development for Nelvana
Communications. He comes from Universal Studios/Music Group where he served
for eight years as Vice President Longform Programming & Production. He
will be responsible for overseeing the development of Nelvana's new
animated series for television.


DAVID HARLESTON has been named Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs
for Nelvana Communications. He was formerly General Counsel for Carter

PHIL LOFARO has been promoted from Vice President to Senior Vice President
of Production for Walt Disney Feature Animation. He will continue to
oversee production for the studio's animated features and shorts, including
scheduling, budgeting and new technologies.

JENENE J. WILSON has been appointed Vice President, Human Resources by
Pacific Data Images. She will be responsible for directing the company's
corporate human resource initiatives, including organizational design,
employee compensation and benefits, corporate recruiting and training.
Previously, she was Director of Human Resources for Mattel, Inc. Prior to
that she was Vice President, Compensation and Employee Benefits for Los
Angeles-based Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc.