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AWN Headline News

Film Headline News

Imagica Reorganizes, Renames

Imagica Holdings Inc. has reorganized its group companies. The parent company has been renamed Imagica Robot Holdings Inc. Imagica Technologies Corp., the engineering solutions division responsible for developing the Imager XE and HSX Film Scanners and the Imager HSR Film Recorder has been spun off as an independent entity.

Version Headline News

Bionatics Releases natFX Version 4 for 3ds max

Bionatics announces the release of the version 4 of its 3D plant modeler natFX for 3ds max.

This latest version was developed to integrate even better into an Autodesk 3ds max production workflow, explains Stephan Gourgout, vp/sales director. It answers, in large part, the needs requested for the last 12 months by our clients from the varied industries such as architectural visualization, to the production requirements of the videogame industry and the 3D animation film studios, who need to build rapidly complex realtime or pre-rendered scenes.

Animation Headline News

Romantic Comedy Wins Animex Audience Award

Animex Awards has announced that Francisco Alvarez, from Sheridan College, has won his years this years Animex Audience Award. Of the 43 nominated entries posted on the Animex website, Alvarezs romantic comedy entitled LA BALADA DEL CARUPANERO TIMIDO received an average user rating of 4.75 out of a possible 5. Alvarez will receive a prize donated by Viglen Computers.

To view Fransciscos award-winning entry and other works being streamed from the Animex website, visit www.animex.net/audience.

Cartoon Headline News

Cartoon Network & Adult Swim Sneak Peeking at Comic-Con

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim will host a number of panels, special events, artist signings and for the first year ever CN will sponsor a booth, during Comic-Con International, to be held in San Diego, California, Thursday, July 20 - Sunday, July 23, 2006. The various events will give fans a chance to see sneak peaks of new shows and especially the first look at the AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE feature.

Panels include:

THE LIFE & TIMES OF JUNIPER LEEThursday, July 20, 5:00-6:00 pmLocation: 6BThe panelists include:

Star Headline News

Alba Has Eye on Horror Remake

Lionsgate has picked up the Cruise/Wagner-produced remake of THE EYE out of turnaround from Paramount, reports VARIETY. The studio is now in talks with Jessica Alba to star and French helmers David Moreau and Xavier Palud to direct.

Lionsgate hopes to shoot the film this winter.

Directed by Danny and Oxide Pang, the original thriller follows a cornea transplant recipient who starts seeing disturbing images, which spurs her to find out what happened to the donor of her new eyes.

Headline News

Ice Age 2 Melts onto DVD in November

20th Century Fox Home Ent. has announced Nov. 21, 2006, as the release date for ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN, the year's #4 grossing movie with $193.4 million in domestic box office receipts. Nov. 21 is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, positioning the title for top sales on Black Friday, which is traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year.

"We had tremendous success four years ago with a similar release date for the original ICE AGE,'" said Steve Feldstein, svp marketing communications for 20th Century Fox Home Ent. The first ICE AGE sold more than 14 million units.

Headline News

Notorious Cruise South Park to Air Again

After previously pulling a rerun of the Trapped in the Closet episode, Comedy Central has set July 19, 2006, to rerun the SOUTH PARK episode that lampoons Scientology and Tom Cruise, according to VARIETY. The episode was recently nominated for an Emmy.

The move is seen as the a big step in the studios effort to patch up their relationship with SOUTH PARK co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Animation Headline News

Eamonn Butler to Head Double Negative Animation

Double Negative has appointed Eamonn Butler as its new head of Animation. Butler spent 10 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he worked on a number of productions, including FANTASIA 2000, DINOSAUR and REIGN OF FIRE. He was most recently animation supervisor for CHICKEN LITTLE.

Television Headline News

Karen Miller to Head Worldwide TV Creative Services, for Warner Bros. TV Group

Karen Miller has been promoted to svp, worldwide television creative services, for the Warner Bros. Television Group, to manage the day-to-day operations of the creative services department and oversee the conceptualization and design of all print, digital and on-air advertising and promotional materials for the studio's worldwide television marketing, sales and publicity initiatives.

Effects Headline News

Stargate Called to VFX Duty on Premiere of TNT's Nightmares & Dreamscapes

Stargate Digital answered the vfx call to duty on the premiere episode, "Battlefield," of TNTs chilling all-star television event NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING. This four-week collection of eight mind-bending tales from the master of horror, set to premiere July 12, 2006, at 9:00 pm, opens with an effects extravaganza to kick off the series with a bang.

Series Headline News

SCI FI Gives Viewers a Voice in Potential Series Greenlight

SCIFI.COMs broadband channel SCI FI Pulse will premiere two outrageous sci-fi originals on July 13, 2006 a full two weeks prior to their broadcast debuts on SCI FI Channel. Pulse viewers will have the chance to affect the future of the off-beat animated half-hour pilot, AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD, featuring the voice talents of Paul Giamatti (SIDEWAYS), David Hyde Pierce (FRASIER) and Molly Shannon (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE).

Headline News

POW! Ent. Announces Stan Lee's LightSpeed World Premiere

STAN LEE'S LIGHTSPEED, the latest in a series of POW! Ent.'s projects, will premiere on NBC Universal's SCI FI Channel. The live-action Stan Lee Original will air the evening of July 26, 2006, at 9:00 pm ET/PT.

World Headline News

Noodlesoup Renamed, Launches SuperNormal Series

Animation production company Noodlesoup Prods. has renamed itself World Leaders Ent. with the launch of the new animated series SUPERNORMAL, its first global co-production with U.K. TV leader Granada Television.

SUPERNORMAL is the story of Eric Normal, a special boy with no super powers, who attends Superhero Junior High School and befriends three of the less promising but stand-out members of the student body.

Digital Headline News

Digital Artists Snap to Grid

SNAP TO GRID: the UN-Juried ShowLos Angeles, California, USASeptember 14 - October 7, 2006Deadline: August 27, 2006

Los Angeles Center For Digital Art hosts third annual SNAP TO GRID: the UN-Juried Show. In its third annual exhibition of this kind participants each upload one image to be printed on high quality paper (8.5x11) and hung in a grid in our gallery. The show will be widely promoted and will include a reception for the artists.

Comedy Headline News

Giggleshorts Wants Your Funny Toons

Giggleshorts International Comedy Short Film FestivalToronto, Ontario, Canada October 2006 Deadline: August 31, 2006

Giggleshorts is the largest comedy short film festival in the world. Last year Gigglehsorts presented more than 200 short comedy , films, animations, spoofs, ads, etc. For more information, visit www.giggleshorts.com.

Headline News

Jim Noonan Upped to WB Home Ent. SVP

Jim Noonan has been promoted to the newly created corporate position of svp, worldwide strategic promotions & communications, Warner Bros. Home Ent. Group, charged with creating strategic cross-platform, cross-divisional promotions for product distributed via the WBHEG's businesses (including Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Warner Bros. Interactive Ent.). In addition, Noonan will work with Warner Bros. Entertainment's Corporate Communications team in overseeing WBHEG's internal and external consumer and business communications.

Media Headline News

DIC Ent. & Thomopoulos Form Promise Media Prods. for Christian & Secular Markets

DIC Ent. and Thomopoulos Prods. have joined forces to launch Promise Media Prods., a new venture focused on developing, marketing and distributing properties for children and families under the positive value-based Promise Media brand for faith-based and secular markets.

Series Headline News

Tintin and I Profiles Comicbook Character & Reclusive Creator on PBS

Anders Østergaards 2004 documentary, TINTIN AND I, about TINTIN creator Hergé, premieres this week as a P.O.V. event on PBS stations in the U.S. In some parts of the country the show starts July 11, in Los Angeles it airs July 15 at 9:00 pm on KCET and in New York City, the doc airs July 13 at 3:30 am and again July 17 at 2:00 am on WNET. For other cities, check your local listings.

Digital Headline News

D2 Software to Preview Next Version of NUKE at SIGGRAPH

D2 Software Inc. a subsidiary of Digital Domain Inc., will unveil new features for its award-winning NUKE compositing software planned for release in December at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston. The company will also give attendees a look at how top VFX companies are handling compositing on major projects through guest presentations and companion product demos in booth #1231 (co-located with Digital Domain), and offer attendees the opportunity to get a hands-on experience with NUKE at the Guerilla Studio.

Shows Headline News

Ex-FUNimation Execs Form Illumitoon Ent.

Three former execs from FUNimation have formed Illumitoon Ent. Ltd., dedicated to bringing exciting anime titles to the U.S. Formed in January 2006 in Fort Worth, Texas, the company focuses on acquiring exciting anime from Japan, with the emphasis on making them relatable for an American audience.

Of course, we always want to include the original Japanese tracks with our shows, for the serious anime fan, says Barry Watson, the companys president/ceo. Its just that we want it to be accessible and engaging for a mass audience as well.

Visual Headline News

Patlabor 2 Lands on DVD

Image Ent. Inc. and Bandai Visual USA Inc. have released the 1993 anime masterpiece PATLABOR 2 THE MOVIE on DVD.

PATLABOR 2 was directed by acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii (PATLABOR THE MOVIE, GHOST IN THE SHELL, JIN-ROH, AVALON), written by Kazunori Ito (.HACK//, AVALON), with music by Kenji Kawai (GHOST IN THE SHELL, AVALON, RINGU).

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